RV Direct

nazrev87 · 08-16-2012, 05:55 PM

Has anyone purchased from RV Direct? They have offered the best price on a flagstaff 829rkss and I can pick it up at there Des Moines, IA "facility". Are they an actual dealer with rv's on a lot and service area? I live in south K. C. MO, so Des Moines is pretty close to us. Would like any feedback that anyone might have for me.

tmmar · 08-16-2012, 06:05 PM

Bought our Berkshire from RV Direct in Buffalo, NY. They are usually the best price wise. They have full service facilities in Buffalo and Albany in NY and I think in Florida and as you mentioned, Des Moines. Deal went very smoothly. I did have one minor glitch where the brochure said one the love seat was a jack knife bed and it turned out that it wasn't. I guess that was really Forest Rivers problem. Other than that, everything went fine.

Emptypockets · 08-16-2012, 06:13 PM

We also bought our "Little One" thru RV Direct & yes they have a dealership in NY. The lot in Iowa is a satellite terminal as the one they used to have in Elkhart IN where we picked ours up. Found them to beat all others prices. You do have a good Flagstaff dealer east of KC to compare prices. Rebeca Klob is the sales lady we dealt with at RV Direct. Would do it over in a heart beat.

hkreck · 08-16-2012, 07:02 PM

We got our Solera motorhome from them, had it delivered from the Des Moines site. Everything was fine and no problems other than they didn't fill our propane tank, but RV direct refunded our money for the propane afterwards. I would probably do business with them again.

4bnabird · 08-16-2012, 07:15 PM

We live just north of KC, we bought from RVdirect and do not regret it at all!!! We had been looking for quite some time for next new RV. Had done our research online and at the RV shows (we usually go every year looking to buy or not) so we knew kinda what to expect for what models and so forth. When we were ready to buy I got a couple quotes on different fivers that RV Direct offered. Tried to deal with our local dealer here in town. She was $7000 more. Asked if she would consider dealing advising that we could go an hour south to KC or an hour north to Omaha. Nope!! Didn't want to deal. So we drove south to Nationwide and looked at the model we were interested. They came down to within $4000 of what RVDirect qouted us. Asked if they would come any closer. Nope!!! We would of bought if they came within $2500.00 Went home that evening and ordered through RVDirect. It was easy, ordered the options we wanted, in the colors we wanted and paid for less for it!! We had outside financing, of course they wanted us to buy their extended warrenty. We passed on it as we did get the Forest River 2nd year warrenty for $150.00 and DH is also very handy. We picked it up within the time frame given. (We ordered end of May and picked it up last month.) In fact it came offline 2 weeks ahead of schedule. We drove to Des Moines to pick it up. Very easy to get to from I35. It was only 2 1/2 hours so why not!! We arrived an hour early and even though they were short staffed they let us in to look at it and even started our PDI early. We were there about 2 1/2 hours for our PDI. (Not our first camper so they didn't have to explain every little detail, but we did do a thorough inspection and the guy we had was very patient and explained everything to us and answered all questions.

Now some people will mention about how some dealerships will refuse to do warrenty work on your trailer if bought from a wholesaler. That is true. We came to the conclusion that with the area that we live in and the many dealerships we have within an hour or 2 away, the fact that we have an RV repair shop local (who is not a dealer) and also inquired with RVDirect aka Des Moines RV about doing warrenty work at their facility that the savings were worth us going through them. The way I see it is that if a dealer doesn't want to deal (and I'm not expecting them to give it away) but I am not going to be taken advantage. If they don't want to do warrenty work then to me that is not good advertisement for future business for me.

paulmlac · 08-16-2012, 07:18 PM

We bought a Sunseeker through rv direct from their buffalo location. Picked it up two weeks ago today in fact. Little odd buying something so expensive sight unseen. They were very responsive when we had questions. I was a little nervous ensuring the paperwork would be what we needed to title, register, and plate the vehicle but no issues at all at DMV. The pickup including demo was excellent. At least their buffalo location is a real dealership with many units, parts, service, etc As far as we can tell everything is as it should be. Bottom line is we would definitely buy from them again if had to do it again.

4bnabird · 08-16-2012, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulmlac

We bought a Sunseeker through rv direct from their buffalo location. Picked it up two weeks ago today in fact. Little odd buying something so expensive sight unseen.

I agree!! We were a little nervous about it all too. Especially with wanting all of the payment up front. But after seeing what the salesman did inside the rv we looked at at a Kansas City dealership (he was actually hanging off the kitchen cabinets,trying to poke holes in the floor with a pocketknife and and hitting the ceiling with his fist!

) , we at a little ease with the conclusion that since this was coming from the factory that at least there hadn't been hundreds of people inside it doing who knows what!

nazrev87 · 08-20-2012, 12:09 PM

DW and I just sent the signed paper work to RV Direct and they will send in the order for our Flagstaff Classic Super Lite 829RKSS today! I am excited but a little nervous also. I have never made such a big purchase over the computer and phone. Rebecca said we should hear back in 2 or 3 days about an aprox. date of completion from the manufacturer.

hkreck · 08-20-2012, 12:58 PM

FYI, just remember it's an approximate delivery date nothing set in stone. Then the delivery to the dealership from the factory can take a little while. So don't get too stressed when it seems it's taking forever.

wnytaxman · 08-20-2012, 01:24 PM

We also bought from RV Direct and they are the best ones out there that we have found. Best price and great service.

On another forum people are comparing notes between RVDirect, Motorhome Specialists, and Lazydays and RVDirect is coming out as the best dealer by far.

Emptypockets · 08-20-2012, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nazrev87

DW and I just sent the signed paper work to RV Direct and they will send in the order for our Flagstaff Classic Super Lite 829RKSS today! I am excited but a little nervous also. I have never made such a big purchase over the computer and phone. Rebecca said we should hear back in 2 or 3 days about an aprox. date of completion from the manufacturer.

Good to hear that you DID IT - Rebecca is the same sales lady we had over two years ago - good to hear she is still there.

trudinator · 08-20-2012, 04:31 PM

Not to hijack your thread, but we have the sister to this model - the Rockwood 8293RKSS and we absolutely LOVE it. It suits our needs perfectly and we can't say enough good things about the HUGE bathroom and the outside kitchen. And this big, beautiful space sleeps exactly - 2!!!! Just the way we wanted it.

Merry · 08-21-2012, 07:07 AM

We picked ours up at the Buffalo location two weeks ago. Our experience was a little different because they had the model we wanted in stock. I had priced one online and received an email from Rebecca stating there was one in Buffalo, just 45 minutes from us. Saw it and loved it. Very easy buying experience. Everyone was very professional and helpful. A real pleasure start to finish

ITDetailer · 08-26-2012, 12:50 AM

Fellow Campers,
I've heard of lots of satisfied customers going thru RVDirect but I recommend you check out TerryTown RV in Grand Rapids, MI. I bought a custom-ordered Rockwood trailer thru them last year - and had a very pleasant experience. My sales rep's name is Tom Boynton, give Tom & TerryTown a shot to earn your business - you won't be sorry. Happy Camping!

RvBill3 · 08-26-2012, 06:05 AM

Bought ours from RvDirect. Picked up in DesMoines in March. Everything went very well. Paperwork sent to us was all in order and easy to get title and plates. PDI was very complete. They spent lots of time going over things then let us do our own inspection and came back to answer more questions.

Pick up location is in a wharehouse district. Our inspection was done inside a large garage (it's cold there in March) . Full service dealership is a couple miles away.

We saved $8000 over the best price a dealer would give us. Dealer was 5 hours away. DesMoines pickup was 6 hours (different direction) . So far we have had no need for warranty work. Had one issue where FR offered to locate a repair shop but gladly sent the needed part when I said I could fix it myself.

Overall experience with RvDirect was outstanding. Will do it again (but not soon, since we love what we have) .

alerra · 08-29-2012, 02:45 PM

We have finally decided on a Rockwood 2604. Price quote from RVDirect was mediocre compared to RVW Wholesalers. This was a disappointment because I live about two hours from RVDirect in Orlando. Does anyone here have experience with RVW Wholesalers? From what I read elsewhere, they offer a very low price (in my case it was $4000 less than RV Direct) by pretty much abandon you after the sale. Servicing must be done elsewhere. Any comments or advice would be appreciated.

ITDetailer · 08-29-2012, 11:20 PM

Alerra,
Congrats on your selection of the Rockwood 2604 - it's an awesome floorplan and the one I wanted but wound up getting the smaller 2304S instead. Whatever price you get from RVWholesalers, take that price to Mr. Tom Boynton at TerryTown RV (Grand Rapids, MI). I think he can match it and perhaps even beat it. I spent a long time researching various "wholesale" dealers and decided TerryTown was the "right" one for me. I hadn't even slept in a travel trailer before, but Tom made the whole transaction (about 15 phone calls & 50 e-mails, mostly novice questions from me to Tom) extremely pleasant and informative. I'm a military guy, 25+ years. The "deal" I got included the hitch and brake assembly, full orientation, propane, hoses, etc. TerryTown even let me camp in their locked parking lot that night just to make sure I was "okay" with the trailer. On top of that, Tom paid for me to stay one night at a beautiful RV resort (Hidden Ridge) about 20 miles from TerryTown. You're likely buying a unit that RVW has in stock. TerryTown's 115 miles from the Rockwood factory and have many trailers on their lot just like RVW, including the 2604 model. But they can also order one straight from the factory. That's what I did, which allowed me to get upgrades I felt were important. I had to wait 6 weeks to get it, but it was worth it. I will be upgrading in the future and have every intention of going back to Tom Boynton and TerryTown. I drove 2K+ miles one-way to get to TerryTown and have Zero regrets a year later.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alerra

We have finally decided on a Rockwood 2604. Price quote from RVDirect was mediocre compared to RVW Wholesalers. This was a disappointment because I live about two hours from RVDirect in Orlando. Does anyone here have experience with RVW Wholesalers? From what I read elsewhere, they offer a very low price (in my case it was $4000 less than RV Direct) by pretty much abandon you after the sale. Servicing must be done elsewhere. Any comments or advice would be appreciated.

alerra · 08-30-2012, 06:39 AM

Thanks for the advice. I will check TerryTown RV. I have a question, though. From what I understand the problem is with RVW Wholesalers is that other dealers often refuse to do warranty work when a unit is bought elsewhere. I would imagine that would also be the case with TerryTown RV or any remote dealer.

I'm not clear on how this works with RVs. When you buy a car, you can have it serviced anywhere. The car manufacturers would not allow a dealer to refuse service to a car owner under legitimate warranty under any circumstance.

Clarification on this would be appreciated.

TURBS · 08-30-2012, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alerra

Thanks for the advice. I will check TerryTown RV. I have a question, though. From what I understand the problem is with RVW Wholesalers is that other dealers often refuse to do warranty work when a unit is bought elsewhere. I would imagine that would also be the case with TerryTown RV or any remote dealer.

I'm not clear on how this works with RVs. When you buy a car, you can have it serviced anywhere. The car manufacturers would not allow a dealer to refuse service to a car owner under legitimate warranty under any circumstance.

Clarification on this would be appreciated.

Your local dealer may,can refuse to do warranty work and or put you at the bottom of the list for warranty repairs if you don't buy from them .
Albeit bad business that's there choice.
Plenty of people complain about this after buying from a wholesaler and saving money only to find out there dealer close by refuses to work on it.
Ron

paulmlac · 08-30-2012, 07:11 AM

It's funny how people have different experiences with dealers. I called terry town to get a quote. I already had one in hand from rv direct. I don't remember the exact numbers but recall terry town being about $5000 / 9% higher than rv direct. Moreover, the guy in sales that I spoke to had what could only be described as an extreme take it or leave it attitude. I remember hanging up and thinking I wouldn't even buy toilet paper from them.

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