Why I wont buy local!

[glsimms]

Originally Posted by Cowracer

Or...! You can learn to fix stuff yourself, buy from whomever has the best value and live with more peace of mind knowing you can handle what comes up rather than worry if someone else will stand behind it.

My old Roo had 3 issues that I would have considered "Warranty-able". Crud in my sink waterlines kept clogging the strainer filter. One radio speaker was completely dead, and the dining table light stopped working. Each fix was less than half an hour of my time, or approx. 1/100 of the time it would have took to hitch it up, drive to dealer, argue/negotiate over the claim, wait for them to schedule the work, etc etc etc, and 1/1000 of the aggravation.

Tim

Originally Posted by dustman_stx

The po.int is that dealers seem to be much more aggressive on price the closer they are to the factory. I bought my RV from RVWholesalers (3 since 2012, actually), which is almost exactly 1000 miles away. I have an independent service shop about 2 miles from my house. So, I saved thousands, get much better customer service than my local dealers are willing to offer and have better warranty coverage. Not to mention, the vast majority of "RV technicians" I've seen at many local dealers are young and inexperienced- I'd rather fix it myself than let them mess with it.

That's great that you guys can fix things yourselves, but I would venture a guess and say there are many who are not so mechanically inclined. Hence a good local dealer is great to have around.

[jking46]

Seems as if we have many respondents, each with strong opinions. Is this what happens in the middle of winter when we haven't had a new post in 3 days?

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by Cowracer

Or...! You can learn to fix stuff yourself, buy from whomever has the best value and live with more peace of mind knowing you can handle what comes up rather than worry if someone else will stand behind it.

My old Roo had 3 issues that I would have considered "Warranty-able". Crud in my sink waterlines kept clogging the strainer filter. One radio speaker was completely dead, and the dining table light stopped working. Each fix was less than half an hour of my time, or approx. 1/100 of the time it would have took to hitch it up, drive to dealer, argue/negotiate over the claim, wait for them to schedule the work, etc etc etc, and 1/1000 of the aggravation.

Tim

Very true. Unless it is something MAJOR, I fix it myself. I can't understand people taking their RV in for weeks at a time for someone to spend a couple of hours doing basic nailing, screwing, caulking type repairs that are so cheap and easy. Plus, if I save thousands, I can just pay a mobile repair person to come to me and I can sip sweet tea while they make the repairs and still come out WAY ahead on all but the most major repairs.

With all of this being said.....I have had businesses in the past and try to support local businesses. Having been in business, I always priced my products/services to be competitive without resorting to scare tactics such as telling people they can't get warranty work. So, when a local dealers only response to being $5K higher is, "Well, you won't get warranty work", I walk. BTW, if I'm paying $3k+ for it, it's not really warranty work, is it.

[GOTTOYS]

I bought one locally. They were happy to take it in for warranty repairs after I waited 6 weeks for the appointment. Then they kept it for another 6 weeks and only fixed half of it. Some of what they fixed was a mess, like replacing a warped cabinet door with one that didn't match...so they put it on anyway. Finally I picked it up half done and found it on their lot ..unlocked in an open unfenced lot...And they wonder why I didn't get the next one there. I'll go where the price is the best and worry about repairs later..

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by glsimms

That's great that you guys can fix things yourselves, but I would venture a guess and say there are many who are not so mechanically inclined. Hence a good local dealer is great to have around.

I'm not talking repairs that require mechanical inclination such as replacing a major appliance or adjusting a slide out mechanism. But I can't imagine someone getting into RVing that can't tighten a screw, replace a basic light fixture, replace a propane pigtail and other basic common repairs. Must be a real nightmare!!!

[Mewcasa]

Originally Posted by Tcdoughboy

I am a dealer...Not Forest River. Hard for customers to understand that there is a nationwide shortage of RV technicians. That being said most dealers have had banner years in sales and are hard pressed to take care of THEIR own customers, let alone customers from other dealers. We dealers all know you'll buy numerous RV in your camping career, but its in our best interest to take care of our own customers don't you agree? And RV dealers dont have the same agreement with the factory like car dealers, so as a rule we dealers are lucky to break even when we do warranty repairs, so again ALWAYS BUY LOCAL FOR THE BEST OVERALL EXPERIENCE. Read below it may help you understand:
http://www.forestriverinc.com/buy-local.aspx

If a shop other than my local dealer takes care of me, they earned my business... period! My local dealer lost me and I'll never return to purchase or repair squat!

[Scrapper]

So I bought my trailer in central Wisconsin where I live. If I decide to travel to Arizona for the winter and something needs fixed while I'm there. The dealer in Arizona doesn't need to fix my problem because I didn't buy from them. Doesn't make any sense.

What the dealers are trying to tell us is that we should buy a trailer from everyplace we travel?

I'll come right out and say it. What a bunch of morons!

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by jking46

Seems as if we have many respondents, each with strong opinions. Is this what happens in the middle of winter when we haven't had a new post in 3 days?

Nah. It's pretty much a daily concurrence all year long. Just depends on the topic.

This topic, like many others, has no one "right" answer. Although the poster above that said he was a dealer pointed out that RV dealers do not have the same agreement with the factory like car dealers.

Honestly, I think this is one thing that hurts the RV industry. I think if RV dealers were franchised like car dealers are, the service would be much better and much more readily available.

Although I admit I don't know what it would take to make this happen or what is stopping it from happening now. Likely it's a number of different factors.

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by Scrapper

So I bought my trailer in central Wisconsin where I live. If I decide to travel to Arizona for the winter and something needs fixed while I'm there. The dealer in Arizona doesn't need to fix my problem because I didn't buy from them. Doesn't make any sense.

What the dealers are trying to tell us is that we should buy a trailer from everyplace we travel?

I'll come right out and say it. What a bunch of morons!

Another reason I buy from RVWholesalers. They have a nationwide network of dealers and service centers that they work with to get you warranty coverage anywhere you travel. I can make one call to RVW and get my issue taken care of as opposed to researching and calling multiple places trying to find someone that can do warranty work.

[Wobbles]

Originally Posted by Iwritecode

Nah. It's pretty much a daily concurrence all year long. Just depends on the topic.

Gonna be a long weekend with all they folks in the South East trapped at home this weekend.

[txredfish]

Part of the problem is how warranty is handled from factory.
Reimbursement from factory cannot be handled without factory OK which requires pictures, written request etc. This seems to take a lot of time. Reimbursement to dealer is less then going rates thus non selling dealer in some cases loses on warranty work. My RV had a problem that the dealer had to fix when refused by factory.
Factory tried to say damage done by dealer or RV hauler. Some other problems took 3 months and most of time was due both to factory and dealer issues. Factory approvals and dealer put my work after paying customers although I bought the RV from that dealer. I may think twice about my next purchase.

[Gramps42]

Shady Maple RV in East Earl, PA near Lancaster, PA is the most honest dealer I have ever come across in 30 years of RVing and trailering. Low prices and fantastic service.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Tcdoughboy

I am a dealer...Not Forest River. Hard for customers to understand that there is a nationwide shortage of RV technicians. That being said most dealers have had banner years in sales and are hard pressed to take care of THEIR own customers, let alone customers from other dealers. We dealers all know you'll buy numerous RV in your camping career, but its in our best interest to take care of our own customers don't you agree? And RV dealers dont have the same agreement with the factory like car dealers, so as a rule we dealers are lucky to break even when we do warranty repairs, so again ALWAYS BUY LOCAL FOR THE BEST OVERALL EXPERIENCE. Read below it may help you understand:
http://www.forestriverinc.com/buy-local.aspx

So you're saying that i should've paid $5500 more, just so I could have local service?😖
That's over 25% more than I paid.

I told the 3 local dealers that I would be willing to pay $2500 over the Midwest price of $14.5k.
All 3 refused to even come close to that. And back in 2006, delivery costs would have been half of that $2500 or less.

So I refused to deal with greedy dealers that take advantage of West Coast buyers, knowing that few are willing to drive that far to save money.

[glsimms]

Originally Posted by Wobbles

Gonna be a long weekend with all they folks in the South East trapped at home this weekend.

Nah.... Just get some popcorn and pull up a chair!

[salwolfe]

I have 2 local dealers for the kind of RV I got, one of whom does not carry this particular unit and the other who carried none in inventory and said that I could order one, but at a very non-competitive price. So, he's essentially asking me to go to other dealers to look at and drive rigs, but then come to him to purchase it. Pretty good gig if you can get it. When I did buy somewhere else that actually had inventory, let me test drive one, gave me several choices to look at for configuration, colors, etc. my local guy refuses to do warranty work. Sample of 1. Not saying there are all like this but this is my personal experience. Now I am out of warranty and we'll see what happens. If they still refuse work, I'll be surprised but in the interim have found a very good service company about 25 miles farther up the road.

[Misterpiano]

I bought a 2015 Roo 19 in July of 2015. The LED awning lights stopped working on my first trip. I talked to my dealer (1/2 hour away), they got everything in place and called a few weeks later, I hooked up, drove over, and sat in the showroom sipping coffee while they replaced the lights. All of the the other odds and ends that needed fixing I had done myself.

Last month they got in a 2017 23ikss, we went to take a look and it was 100% exactly what we would order if we were to get one from the factory. I had researched and got prices from a dealer in Michigan, and in Pennsylvania. When it came down to the haggling part, I showed the sales manager the prices we had got. I told him although I was willing to drive the 8 hrs from Mass to PA for the price, I would prefer to stay with my dealer because I know if I needed any warranty work I would expect them to do it, and I know that they get reimbursed at a lower rate. In the end, he matched the out of state price. I do know however that with depreciation I took a fair hit on trading a 19 month old Roo 19, so I don't feel too sorry for him.

The way we look at it is that it isn't always about the money...of course that is important...but we got a great trailer at a price that we can live with, and an honest dealer and his employees get to make a living. I will still fix whatever minor issues that I can, but I also just sent in for the FR 2nd year warranty for the major stuff.

We picked up the trailer the next week, right in the middle of the worst snowstorm in December. Got a lot of looks from other drivers......

[Cowracer]

There is one other reason I will fix it myself rather than take it to the dealer. There is only one person I trust to repair my stuff to my satisfaction. Me.

My neighbor once remarked to me that " you must really love working on cars. you do it all the time" I told him no, in fact I really hate working on cars. But after watching some hack 'mechanics' do their thing, I simply haven't found one I trust. ANd with 6 cars in the family, there is always something needing done.

Same thing with the RV. I know when I do the work, its done and done right.

Tim

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by jeffrapp

BTW, your link didn't work.

The link had an extra http in it. This is the corrected link, if anyone cares:

Buy Local - Forest River, Inc.

[JLeising]

Originally Posted by Tcdoughboy

I am a dealer...Not Forest River. Hard for customers to understand that there is a nationwide shortage of RV technicians. That being said most dealers have had banner years in sales and are hard pressed to take care of THEIR own customers, let alone customers from other dealers. We dealers all know you'll buy numerous RV in your camping career, but its in our best interest to take care of our own customers don't you agree? And RV dealers dont have the same agreement with the factory like car dealers, so as a rule we dealers are lucky to break even when we do warranty repairs, so again ALWAYS BUY LOCAL FOR THE BEST OVERALL EXPERIENCE. Read below it may help you understand:
http://www.forestriverinc.com/buy-local.aspx

I bought local, paid asking price. Service was horrible. I ended up repairing myself essentially everything the dealer worked on. In the case of one major warranty repair, after discussing with the dealer service manager and experiencing unsatisfactory minor repair experiences, and being told of major delays and issues, I went to a local independent RV service place - they had competent techs, and did the repair properly in 4 days (vs 4 weeks + estimated by dealer). I had pre-approval from FR, paid the independent myself and sent the bill to FR, who reimbursed me.

So - my issue is dealer service incompetence, unreasonable delay, and inconvenience - and that is for a customer who bought from them at their price.

I believe independents depend on competent service as their business model, while dealers see sales as their prime business and service as an expense to be minimized. As I've said before, I suspect their are good, competent dealer service departments, but not in my experience, and likely rare.

If I buy again I will give ZERO value to local dealer support (will use the competent independent from day one). Even if I don't get reimbursed (which I will try for), competence, first time right fixes, no delays, and convenience will make it worth the cost in my opinion.

[Misterpiano]

Another thing I got with my dealer was 10% off any additional purchases in the parts department. I bought a second battery identical to the one they installed. I checked the price they quoted to online prices and they did indeed give me a discount. I will be bringing the trailer back after the winter and having a slide topper installed, already have the price in my paperwork, all I have to do is call them when I'm ready and they will order the topper. I checked other places and once again they did treat me fairly. Maybe I am just lucky to have an honest dealer close by.

Orchard Trailers, Whately Mass.

As far as fixing other things myself? I agree with the above...I know that the job will be done right. But then again, I am a machinist, and also a cabinet maker for a hobby, so I have the tools and the skills needed to fix almost anything that pops up. If the job needs a part ordered I would bring it to the dealer, but if I can fix it with normal stuff from a hardware store I generally take care of it at home.

We camp with three other couples, I get to do repairs on their trailers too! (Just lucky I guess!)