Travel 1,700 miles to save $8k?

[Duggie]

Hello all. I've been reading this forum for months now and I'm getting very comfortable with the idea of owning a Rockwood Mini Lite 2506S.

These units are around $31K here at home and about $23K closer to the factory. Is there a good reason to NOT buy a new TT away from my back yard?

I'd like to forgo the school of hard knocks where I get the test before the lesson...

Thanks in advance. I've really learned a lot reading everyone's posts.

Duggie

[tomkatb]

Need a good pdi. Make sure the rv has upgraded tires!

Prepare to spend a night nearby in a motel, just in case.

For 8k it will be a fun vacation going home. Have fun. We seldom travel over 300 miles a day.

Money fix’s everything. I’d do it in a heartbeat.

We have rv discounters and Couches rv here near Dayton Ohio. Coming here?

[SeaDog]

Welcome to the forum its a great place to get your questions answered. One thing you may run into is your local dealer may not do warranty work on your trailer. RVs are not like cars and dealers are not required to do work on rigs they didn't sell. For 8K I wouldn't worry about it JMHO

[dbledan]

I would travel to purchase now knowing what I do now but plan a few days for them to fix anything found in a PDI or be prepared to walk away paying for the trip. Also make sure you know how to complete a good PDI.

I would first go local and give them a chance to price match just to save the time and more money. No sense paying for the gas if you don't need to. Most of the time the prices are the same but the one negotiates and the other will not much assuming the options are the same on the trailers.

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by Duggie

Hello all. I've been reading this forum for months now and I'm getting very comfortable with the idea of owning a Rockwood Mini Lite 2506S.

These units are around $31K here at home and about $23K closer to the factory. Is there a good reason to NOT buy a new TT away from my back yard?

I'd like to forgo the school of hard knocks where I get the test before the lesson...

Thanks in advance. I've really learned a lot reading everyone's posts.

Duggie

if they would come to within 2500 of that 23,000 then by at home . figure they had to pay to get it shipped . but not 8,000 , some your local dealer has some great wiggle room . if they won't budge then off you go to save some bucks

[Duggie]

Good tips! I'm not sure where we'll buy yet. When the time comes, we'll give the local dealer a chance. Looks like I need to search purchase inspection check points. Planning a day or two at the purchase point makes good sense too.

This forum is a great education!

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Duggie

Hello all. I've been reading this forum for months now and I'm getting very comfortable with the idea of owning a Rockwood Mini Lite 2506S.

These units are around $31K here at home and about $23K closer to the factory. Is there a good reason to NOT buy a new TT away from my back yard?

I'd like to forgo the school of hard knocks where I get the test before the lesson...

Thanks in advance. I've really learned a lot reading everyone's posts.

Duggie

Duggie, we drove from the SF Bay Area to Chicago and back, to get our new HTT, back in 2006.
Saved $4500, even after trip costs.
We moved to Washington and were ready to go to the Midwest again, for our new retirement TT. But we found a closeout new year old model in Arlington, that was as cheap as the cheapest Midwest prices.
But we have no hesitation to do it again, since West Coast dealers know they can jack up prices out here and get away with it.
And FR found us local dealers willing to do the warranty work. If not, we could use an independent RV shop or mobile RV technician. We just have to get pre-approval from FR and be willing to be reimbursed.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Duggie

Good tips! I'm not sure where we'll buy yet. When the time comes, we'll give the local dealer a chance. Looks like I need to search purchase inspection check points. Planning a day or two at the purchase point makes good sense too.


This forum is a great education!

Use the quote from the far away dealer to negotiate with. Tell him to make his price low enough it's no longer worth you taking a trip. Just be sure you are absolutely talking apples to apples with all equipment and options the same. When I bought my trailer I found cheaper units across the country but when comparing included options they were not included on the lower price quotes. As it turned out my unit was purchased by the Dealer as part of an RV Show "flooring package". Loaded to the gills and discounted deeply.

The worst they can do is say no.

BTW, if you do go to the distant dealer to buy, be prepared for local dealers to put you on the "we can't do that warranty work for 6 months" list.

There are often benefits to deal locally.

[httntheroad]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Use the quote from the far away dealer to negotiate with. Tell him to make his price low enough it's no longer worth you taking a trip. Just be sure you are absolutely talking apples to apples with all equipment and options the same. When I bought my trailer I found cheaper units across the country but when comparing included options they were not included on the lower price quotes. As it turned out my unit was purchased by the Dealer as part of an RV Show "flooring package". Loaded to the gills and discounted deeply.

The worst they can do is say no.

BTW, if you do go to the distant dealer to buy, be prepared for local dealers to put you on the "we can't do that warranty work for 6 months" list.

There are often benefits to deal locally.

We bought from couch's, drove from bellingham wa. To ohio.Took two weeks coming back.needed ac repair. (Loose wire) while in eastern wa.no problem at all getting in. 1 week.most dealers will accommodate someone who didn't buy from them when on the road.wink wink. .

[babock]

We drove 8 hours to buy ours. Would have driven further if we were already retired. We bought in Scottsdale AZ and drove up to Prescott to camp for the first night just in case we found anything majorly wrong.

[GreenImp]

Say for example... If your water pump started making a weird noise, would you be the type to tear into it and figure it out yourself (possibly with online help), or would you want to take the RV into the local dealer for service? If your answer is the later, I feel you should seriously consider buying local. Otherwise DO IT. I did... Oregon to Chicago and back and saved about 10k after the cost of the trip.

[babock]

If you need warranty work, no need to take it to an RV dealer. Get a mobile RV repair person and get FR approval for warranty work. Probably get it fixed faster than taking it to a dealer and it's not sitting at a dealer for months with who knows what happening to it while its there.

[NJKris]

At first, I was hung up on dealer proximity too, and my dealer is 3 hours away. Found out it was easier to take it to a local mechanic who Forest River, or in my case, Airxcel (A/C mfr) was willing to work with to do warranty work. So for that kind of savings, I would make the trip too.

[boatpaddle]

I have traveled twice to buy. In 2012 to Iowa saved almost 10G. In 2018 to Missouri saved about 9G both were from Texas. Nobody in the state could match the prices. Like others have said do real through PDI, or hire a inspector. After each buy I made sure I had a place to camp close to dealer for a couple days to really run everything really good and for hours. The dealer in Missouri gave me two days in a local campground. But it does pay to shop around and the money you save can be put back in to make you RV nicer. Good Luck.

[Gsykora]

Hauling the trailer with a carrier 1700 miles probably cost about $3400 (I had our 5th wheel hauled by a carrier and the going rate was $2/mile). So, the $8K is really only $3600 difference. Driving out there empty and then back, you're really doing a 3400 mile trip. Even if you value your truck, time and depreciation at $1/mile (way below the average), you'd still be at the same $3400 total cost. Now if you're vacationing on the way back, then maybe. As someone else said, I'd ask the local dealer to see if they can meet or beat that price.

Good luck.

[bzac1954]

Originally Posted by Duggie

Hello all. I've been reading this forum for months now and I'm getting very comfortable with the idea of owning a Rockwood Mini Lite 2506S.

These units are around $31K here at home and about $23K closer to the factory. Is there a good reason to NOT buy a new TT away from my back yard?

I'd like to forgo the school of hard knocks where I get the test before the lesson...

Thanks in advance. I've really learned a lot reading everyone's posts.

Duggie

The only thing I would be concerned with would be the local dealer balking at repairs because you didn't buy there. Otherwise, I would say have a great trip exploring your new toy!

[Iwannacamp]

As I have stated before. We drove from SW AR to Ohio...925 miles and over 6k after fuel expenses both ways. We drove(I) straight through and camped back.

[Reprise]

I traveled 800mi or so for my current trailer (although I made the 'excuse' of traveling to that area for the Hershey show, anyway.)

It looks like you could get that trailer for under 23K, easily, since you're willing to travel. The lowest priced one I found was $21,844 for a 2020 model, at an Indiana dealer.

Take a look at RVTrader:
https://www.rvtrader.com/Forest-Rive...rt=price%3Aasc


(Up to) $10K saved, for the cost of gas and a nice shakedown cruise on the way back, getting to know your trailer (and figuring out how to spend some of that $10K on mods to make it yours / function better for you) ?

I'd make that trip in a minute.

[NMWildcat]

We buy all our RVs remotely. Bought our current one 12 hours away. Amazing what you can do via FaceTime and other internet options. We never see a dealer again, even for warranty work. We always use independent service only shops who get pre-approval. Never had any problems and get faster, better, service
Turn your trip into a mini vacation! Have fun!!

[rskeans]

Originally Posted by bikendan

And FR found us local dealers willing to do the warranty work. If not, we could use an independent RV shop or mobile RV technician. We just have to get pre-approval from FR and be willing to be reimbursed.

EXACTLY! We traveled 1200 miles to save $9000 from our lowest quote for the same unit. Spent several nights at the selling dealer to fix all of the identified 'nits'. They had their tech on site to fix anything. I have never been back to them and never planned to return.

Several months after returning home the Aquahot needed repair. Called Aquahot and they had a local mobile repair guy fix it under warranty at our house.

Found some other 'nits' that DW wanted fixed. FR said to take it to ANY FR dealer. Well there was a TT dealer only a mile away. They were great! Fixed everything plus some things we missed. The only delay was getting FR to get the parts to the TT dealer.

The bottom line is don't worry about it. FR will take care of you.