Lessons learned buying your RV (TT -> Class A)

[DrtEmaxChvy]

Hello everyone,

I have see. There has been discussion about some of the experiences and general tips and best practices people have seen or experienced. I have also seen some attest to the best purchasing experience ever with 0 issues with their RV TO DOWNRIGHT HORROR stories.

Though I would like to keep dealer bashing to a minimum, IF you really had a bad experience please let others know. Again lessons learned and the best tricks tips dealers and accessories during your purchase.

Happy camping


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[pconroy]

Lesson Learned on buying a used motorhome - check everything. Ours was so new (previous owner used once, put 200 miles on it) that I didn't check the generator. $700 to fix it.

[rsday75]

Use the on-line dealers to help get an "honest" price from local dealers. This saved us $8000 over the "show only" special from the local dealer....

[eng45ine]

Becoming a member of JOF was instrumental toward researching which TT to purchase. I did hours and hours of reading, asked questions in threads and via private message to a couple of individuals. I was given sound advice about TT's, WDH's and accessories/gear that needed to be purchased to support my Jayco. Between JOF, Google and You Tube, I do believe that I was a confident consumer when I went to the dealer to make my purchase.

[mike837go]

Be prepared to spend some time negotiating. We went 6 rounds of the sales rep checking with the sales manager. Plus 1 AFTER the sales managaer wrote "You Win" across the top of worksheet.

Also expect to compromise. We paid $3k more than planned. Got 3 extra feet of trailer and 110% of the ammenities we wanted.

[need-a-vacation]

Probably the biggest thing learned was just because the tow rating is "XXXXlbs", doesn't mean the 1500/150 (or any vehicle for that matter!!!) is actually capable of towing said trailer. Unfortunately the tow rating wars pushed the numbers up a fair amount. And while there is now a "standard" for the tow ratings, only using a flat bed trailer with 10% tw is misleading when trying to look and shop for a high walled rolling bricks.

That there are more factors besides said tow rating: payload of the truck, factory receiver hitch rating, and rear axle rating being the most important.

Should add that while a few select sales people will steer one in the correct direction and not look at just the tow rating, most only go by the tow rating. And those will try to sell way to large of a rig. You have an 8000lb tow rating, well this model is only 7892lbs..... See here in the brochure where it states this.

[DRbilllZ]

Always ask CW for complete breakdown of fees before even going there. Total waste of time otherwise. Local dealer killed them in price because there were no BS fees.

[JFlightRisk]

I've found that you have to have the right salesperson. They are the ones giving the "first impression" of how things will go. Same dealer, but different salesperson, completely different experience.

[1carguy]

One of the biggest potential problems with used trailers is possible water leaks. Sometimes leaks are not easy to see or detect. I once bought one from a dealer and later found severe water damage in the roof and they wouldn't do anything...bought it as-is. Inspect thoroughly for signs of leaks, look inside cabinets, feel around for soft spots in floors and walls, look for discoloration in paneling. If you smell mildew, that means leaks. Look for soft spots and raised areas on the roof.

If buying from a dealer, make sure they put any promises in writing, no matter how small.

[SparkDr]

If buying from a dealer, don't be afraid to "fire" your salesman if you don't feel comfortable working with them. On our most recent TT purchase, it quickly became apparent we were working with a total newbie to the business. I will always believe that the person doing the buying should do their homework and ultimately know more about the specific unit than the salesman before signing on the dotted line. An experienced salesman should be able to ask questions, LISTEN to the buyer's response, and direct them towards models to fit their criteria. As previous Jay Flight owners, our newbie never wavered from showing us models in the Flight series. By the time we left, we had written off Jayco for our new TT. It wasn't until a return visit to the same dealership to look at a used Laredo when we were asssisted by a different salesman (our newbie had the day off) that it was suggested we give the Whitehawk some consideration. We had previously discounted the entire line as a cheapened down version of the Jay Flight. The salesman sat in the Laredo with us, asked what features we wanted, and walked us over to the exact Whitehawk we would eventually drive away with. We were so blown away that he nailed it on the very first try that we actually looked at several other Whitehawk models on the lot just to make sure we had found the "one". This guy saved a sale for the dealership, the brand, and for the future as we're pretty sure a Northpoint 5er is next in line when we decide to travel a bit more. I have no idea how the commission was paid or divided in the end, but I made sure to press a $100 bill into that salesman's hand and let everyone at the management level know just how well he had done for us. This time, we got lucky and stumbled across a quality salesman purely by accident and it's my fault for not taking charge of my own shopping experience from the get-go. I wasn't happy with the newbie from the start and almost cost myself by giving too much benefit of the doubt to the learning process. I won't make that mistake ever again.