Why people have negative views of Dealers

[Grapehound]

Do we have a pinned thread somewhere where people can post about their stellar experience with great dealers? I have been following the posts, for example, about Amish RV in Indiana.



It would be great to have one list in one placeof all those dealers who go above and beyond through first hand posts about people's experiences. I can't read all the threads to consolidate just the good dealers.

[GL1800Rider]

You are a good man Mike

Sadly, I see this way too much. Not just here but on several Facebook groups. Sometimes I think to myself these people have no business owning an RV but have to look back 20 years ago and with the exception of my mechanical knowledge of how things work I was in the same position.

Dealers like that should be reported to the manufacturer.

I would also like to think that most of us "seasoned" RVers who are regular posters on here would do the same thing. It's a brotherhood and a great bunch of people.

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by Grapehound

Do we have a pinned thread somewhere where people can post about their stellar experience with great dealers? I have been following the posts, for example, about Amish RV in Indiana.



It would be great to have one list in one placeof all those dealers who go above and beyond through first hand posts about people's experiences. I can't read all the threads to consolidate just the good dealers.

We have an entire sub-forum. Each thread will be marked as positive, negative or neutral.

Dealer Reviews - Forest River Forums

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Iwritecode

I agree most of the blame should go to the dealer, but I feel like it's an 80/20 split between the dealer and the buyer.

Who buys a TT without doing any sort of research at all on how to use it? I was by no means an expert when I bought my first pop-up and the internet was in it's infancy back then (I don't even think google or Youtube existed) so there wasn't a real easy way to research how to do things. We also bought it used from neighbor so no dealer PDI.

We figured most of it out on our own but we did bring some more experienced friends on our first trip who helped us out quite a bit.

The fact that anything you could ever want to know about camping is literally right at your fingertips gives these buyers little excuse to have apparently done no research though.

THIS^^^^^^
In this Age of Information, that someone spends thousands of dollars on a purchase, yet doesn't do any research on this product, is inexcusable.
People use the Internet to compare prices, Yelp reviews, Amazon reviews, EBay reviews and other methods to make sure the product is good, the seller is good and the price is right.
Yet when it comes to putting thousands of dollars on a RV, many do nothing like this.
Not saying that the OP did this, just that I read thousands of posts from new RV buyers who seem to have done nothing to prepare themselves, for buying a RV.

[dahagen]

i went camping in the town my son works in a few years ago. He is a RV repairman. Campers pulled up in a used, but new to them travel trailer and prepared to set up. Couldn't get the camper door closed, no propane, didn't know how to use the awning. My son and his buddy had just gotten off work and were sitting at our table with a beer in hand. The were chuckling about the 'newbies'. I asked them to help them out. They went over and fixed the door, showed them how to use the awning and dual propane tanks and other 'secrets' of RV's. Now the 'newbies' send their RV friends to my son's shop for repairs. It all comes around.

[CaptnJohn]

I wonder if that buyer purchases a vehicle without getting inside, starting the motor and more.
CW in Myrtle Beach schedules every purchase for 2 hours with all systems hooked and running. It is 2 hours scheduled but take as long as you need. I’ve seen guys there at 10:30 pm for those that cannot get a here until late. For a newbie I think 75% falls on him and 25% on dealer.

[waybeck2018]

Originally Posted by Kacz

Very cool of you to stop and help out. I'm sure it was appreciated. Funny though no where in your post was this 'novices' age... only they were new to camping. Sadly a couple of old fogies leveraged your good deed to bash young people for no reason at all?

Right on Kacz! Seems a lot are here just to show how smart they are and blast people. Many extenuating circumstances could have happened with the "Newbie" before he bought. I think we are here to help and suggest, not throw rocks and place blame? Just my thoughts.

[waybeck2018]

Originally Posted by bikendan

THIS^^^^^^
In this Age of Information, that someone spends thousands of dollars on a purchase, yet doesn't do any research on this product, is inexcusable.
People use the Internet to compare prices, Yelp reviews, Amazon reviews, EBay reviews and other methods to make sure the product is good, the seller is good and the price is right.
Yet when it comes to putting thousands of dollars on a RV, many do nothing like this.
Not saying that the OP did this, just that I read thousands of posts from new RV buyers who seem to have done nothing to prepare themselves, for buying a RV.

Well this is true, BUT, there are some people who are not computer savvy or comfortable with the internet. NEWSFLASH, yes that is true. For us that are computer savvy, is it our place to slam the few that may not be?

[redhooker]

Originally Posted by waybeck2018

Well this is true, BUT, there are some people who are not computer savvy or comfortable with the internet. NEWSFLASH, yes that is true. For us that are computer savvy, is it our place to slam the few that may not be?

I again agree wholeheartedly!


You can do plenty of research, but UNLESS you are spending time on FORUMS or certain social media groups there is no slew of consensus websites (and certainly not the gaggle of RV shows on TV) just warning you to:


1. Never trust the dealer
2. Your RV WILL have many things overlooked

3. Numerous items will break on your 1st trip out
4. It is up to you to bring a list and request all systems get tested on PDI since almost no dealer even hooks up water on a standard PDI


If someone has no friends in this hobby to guide them and doesn't do forums it is not likely to find all this negative info on the standard "consumer" websites. I understand how difficult it is for some on this forum to understand-but we have to remember we are in a "bubble" of fantastic information here that most of the 7 million RV owners are not a part of. The fact that Dealers Suck is definitely not news for us, but I am sure it catches many good people and families by surprise and ruins this great hobby for them.

[Bluepill]

There are actually some GOOD Dealers. Last year I wanted to add a 19 foot TT to my inventory. I looked at some youtube videos from different dealers showing off the various features of the unit I was interested in (Coachmen 192RBS). One dealer really stood out with his in-depth knowledge. I checked his website, and he had a few in stock, and his no-haggle out the door pricing was 35 percent below MSRP. I spoke to him a few times, and I agreed to drive 350 miles to see the unit with a bank check in hand, subject to our liking the unit. I asked if we could conclude the deal the same day and he said "NO".

HUH?

He said he insisted on a full 24 hour PDI with all systems fully checked, water in the plumbing to check for leaks, etc. He agreed to set the trailer up and start the PDI the day before we arrived, and it would be ready to travel the next afternoon if we approved. We arrived the next morning and we spent about half an hour looking at all the features, etc. When the wife approved, we started a two hour walk through with the service manager. After that, they set up my WD hitch to match the tongue weight.

Later in the year we took a 7 week 7500 mile trip, with no problems at all in the trailer. What we did find was that out tow vehicle, although rated for the capacity, was tricky to handle in the strong cross winds and limited in power in the strong headwinds found in the West.



Not having the money or desire to buy a new tow vehicle, we decided to sell the trailer. The dealer took it on consignment, and had it sold at a good net price to us within 3 weeks.

BTW: Paradise RV in Warrior AL. They specialize in the Coachmen TT's.

[Bob2019]

My experience with my last 3 rigs is dealers will tell you anything you want to hear to make a sale. Almost lost the first travel trailer in the wind due to needing a weight distributing hitch – could hardly steer the truck. Turned around at the first intersection and back to the dealer. Second travel trailer salesperson made no effort to be sure we could get home as the pigtail to truck was too short and kept coming loose from the truck. Had no turn signals or brake lights on the way home after pick up after a day of work. Our latest experience was told the PDI would be inside since it was below zero outside. Actually, it was outside with the generator and furnace going full blast. No info was provided beyond the most basic – here is this or that and buttons to make this or that work. No info where to turn off WH bypass later, propane shutoff would not turn, what to do if jacks don’t retract and slides. No remote for Jensen, where up in the cabinet hiding was the TV amplifier button, and on and on. Was also supposed to have me drive unit with him to become familiar with our first class C. That didn’t happen either. I have to admire others who get such extraordinary help with their new rig. One will say I should know better, but when something is new, you don’t know what to ask about. Probably since I owned previous units, I would know everything. I would encourage everyone to have a printed list for the dealer to go through. Unfortunately, we only know to ask questions or learn of this site after purchase. Next thing to solve is finding a lot of water in the pass-through compartment and a procedure to winterize around the water filter.

[RVerIn-NH]

We were given a walk through for both of our campers. Different dealers. They demonstrated how to operate everything, do's and don'ts and I think just to prove everything worked before we left the lot. During our last camper pick-up a burnt out bulb was found when each light was tested. It was the only non-LED light in the camper. YouTube has been a very big help for many questions and procedures. I wish we had YouTube available when we bought our first camper. I did find a control board of some kind with fuses when I was checking out the hot water tank some time later. I am not sure of the fuse's exact functions since I can't read the person's hand writing.

[Diane fromMaine]

I once was a brand new RV owner. I knew nothing. Did the PDI with the dealer tech. I had no idea if he left something out because you can’t ask about something that you don’t know exists.
The tech even told me a couple times that he didn’t know about a few things or parts that were in a drawer.
I stopped at the Dynamax plant on my way West and asked if they could answer a couple questions for me, one was about the generator shutting off. The first guy didn’t know why so went inside and brought two more out who couldn’t figure it out either and brought out another guy, he didn’t know why either. They all said they knew it was something simple but just couldn’t remember what. They asked me to stay overnight so the tech could check it out in the morning.
They next day they all came out. Then the tech h came out and said “oh yeah I know what it is” and s minute later it was fixed.,
So it’s not always the newbies fault. Everyone’s a beginner at some point.

[cdinatl]

Originally Posted by W5CI

Thank you for helping out a New RVer, but Sham on him for not asking any questions before accepting delivery oh a new to him rv. I guess he was in to big of a hurry to get to camping or didn't have time to schedule his PDI. don't blame the Dealer blame the Customer in this case. Just ask how does this thing work before laying down your cash

Hey. Not necessarily. People don’t know what they don’t know. Dealer fault totally.

[Native Texan]

I’m a strong believer in Karma and you should have some good things coming your way for being a standup guy. I also believe we are meant to help and teach each other. Knowledge is meant to be passed on.

[Ibee]

In August 2018, my wife and I decided to start shopping for our first RV. For nearly a month we searched throughout our area (Central Oregon) for our dream coach but were never able to find one, at least at the right price. Through RV Trader, we expanded our search nationwide and found the coach of our dreams at a dealership (Berryland Campers) in Ponchatoula, LA. We negotiated the price over the phone and were assured that the coach was exactly as described. We set up a time to fly down to NOLA to check it out. Even though the dealership was about 60 miles away, they dealer had a car and driver to pick us up from the airport and take us to Ponchatoula. After getting a brief overview and taking it for a test drive we agreed to the purchase. The dealer, however, said that before they would consider finalizing the agreement that they would take us through the PDI to make sure we were totally comfortable with the rig before purchasing it. If after the PDI we still wanted to proceed, we could finalize the purchase. They then said that since this is our first RV that they would like for us to stay at the dealership's RV park (with full hookups) for two to three days (for no charge). They said that questions always arise and then we could have access to one of their techs who could answer our questions and make any repairs that we felt needed to be done. We ended up staying three nights as a number of questions came up. Even though we were rubies, when we left we felt fairly educated on all of the RV systems. During the two days while we were there, the dealership gave us a company car so that we could shop for necessities to outfit our new coach. Not only did we get an amazing price, but we had even a better buying experience. Though we were first-timers we had a wonderful and seamless trip back to the West Coast, thanks to the professionalism of the dealership.

[Jakieboy]

Many first time RV buyers expect the same kind of competence from the sales staff and the dealership as if they were buying a new car. The RV industry is still in a state of gradual maturity, and is not as mature as the new car business. Some RV dealerships are already good at customer service, and provide comprehensive pre-delivery inspections and tutorials on all systems. Many do not.

Kudos to TitanMike for providing helpful assistance to the "Newbie" and his family. We have done the same thing for other new owners of RV's over the years, and we hope all other veteran RV-ers would do the same. "Do not judge lest you be judged."

[Onelizzyjane]

Thanks for helping out! When I picked up my new TT they told me it would be a 90 minute walkthrough...it turned out to be about 10 minutes. I now wish I had insisted on a more thorough inspection and overview...but lesson learned. Just took her out for my second trip..and going good. Now if I could only learn to back up!

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by waybeck2018

Well this is true, BUT, there are some people who are not computer savvy or comfortable with the internet. NEWSFLASH, yes that is true. For us that are computer savvy, is it our place to slam the few that may not be?

The information is still out there. There are books and magazines with info. Or simply talking to a friend, family member, neighbor, fellow camper in a CG that may know a few things. Or find a friend or family member that IS computer savvy and let them navigate the WWW for the plethora of information available.

If someone spends 1000's of dollars on something with as many moving parts as an RV, there really is no excuse to at least do some basic research.

It'd would be like me trying to jump into the cockpit of a 747 and fly it around by just hoping to figure it out once I get there.

[Ladycel]

Brand new silverback fifth wheel had to be returned to the dealer after two camping trips for multiple issues. Camper was there for 2 1/2 months and still the work had not been completed. As the camping season was quickly escaping me I opted to pick up the camper when the major issues have been repaired and return it to them for the minor issues after season. When I went to pick it up batteries for a stone cold dead. They gave me a jumpstart and told me everything would be OK. Went camping twice using for hook ups and then return the camper to have the rest of the issues resolved plus a new AC. Again batteries were stone cold dead. Tech told me it was good to run the batteries 2 Zero. Planning on going Boondocking, I tested the batteries to see how long it would take to discharge to 50%. Only had the inverter and refrigerator turned on, It took a little over two hours to discharge 70%
Now the battle begins. I feel they destroyed by batteries and want replacements. They are pretending to be deaf. Am I wrong?