Dealer Support

FunontheRoad · 08-17-2017, 06:54 PM

We are about to purchase a Melbourne 24L. We have not decided from whom yet, obviously price would have something to do with it but so would dealer servicing. Does anyone have any observations on purchasing from one dealer but taking it to another? We have one dealer about two hours away and another over four hours away, neither one of them close as far as I am concerned. If we buy from the one four hours away will the dealer two hours away take his time to fix repair items? Any idea on what any of you would pay, as far as price difference to go to the closer one? Any ideas on this would be helpful. Thanks.

Grumpy · 08-17-2017, 06:58 PM

That's a question only the dealer can answer. Due to the volume of sales the last couple years many dealers only provide warranty work for their customers.

Love To Travel 2 · 08-18-2017, 05:28 AM

One of the main reasons we purchased locally but paid a little more was due to the convenience, 46 miles vs 300 miles. I'm hoping for a trouble-free unit, but if not, having the work done closer to home without worrying about hotel rooms and getting stuck that far from home hearing "Oh, just one more day and it will be finished" means a lot to us.

We purchased our first RV, a TT, locally. When I would call for service, the first question they would ask was if we bought from them. I would answer yes, and it was still 5 weeks for a simple state safety inspection. I don't know what they would have said if we would have purchased it from another dealer and needed service or warranty work.

Like others have said and will say, you need to talk to the dealers to see what they tell you about service if you didn't buy it there.

jkaras7 · 08-18-2017, 08:10 AM

We had the option of purchasing locally & paying a little more or going over 300 miles to purchase and save about $700. We researched the reputation of the dealerships in both locations by reading what people said about them. It turned out that the local dealership, a family owned entity vs. a national sales entity, had a much better reputation regarding their maintenance and support of the products they sold. We also read the comments of people who had purchased their RVs elsewhere and tried to get them taken care of by these two dealers. It was clear that both dealerships gave priority to those who purchased from them as opposed to those who purchased elsewhere and wanted service. In neither case was service denied, it was just that those who had not purchased from the dealership had longer waiting periods to get their RV worked on. As a result, we purchased locally. To date, we feel this has been an outstanding decision.

FunontheRoad · 08-19-2017, 05:02 PM

Thanks for all the comments on purchasing locally. It seems from what I understand that a new motorhome will require service at some point due to the number of things that can go wrong. Purchasing more locally could save a lot of problems in the future. Who knows it may even save money down the road.

Thanks for all of your input.

jkaras7 · 08-19-2017, 06:28 PM

Good luck. We own a Melbourne 24L and by having the dealer close by we can get warranty work taken care of it a timely fashion.

jasum · 08-19-2017, 06:31 PM

It does NOT seem to matter a whole lot it seems with dealers anymore...........just because you buy from them does NOT mean they will get you in ahead of another customer.

Good Luck

SouthCo · 08-19-2017, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Love To Travel 2

We purchased our first RV, a TT, locally. When I would call for service, the first question they would ask was if we bought from them.

So to "play devils advocate", if the local dealer has to ask if you bought from them I assume they don't know? So a person could say yes even if it wasn't true and still be serviced as if they had bought from your local dealer? I would expect in this day in age a simple computer check would allow the dealer to answer this simple question for themselves... maybe next time you could ask them why they don't know the answer to this question if it really matters when it comes to providing service....

Grumpy · 08-19-2017, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthCo

So to "play devils advocate", if the local dealer has to ask if you bought from them I assume they don't know?

It just means they haven't typed your name into their computer before asking the question since the service writers don't know every customer.

SouthCo · 08-19-2017, 08:46 PM

Exactly... they don't know every customer. So wouldn't the service writer be the one to check the computer while making the appointment? Why ask if they are gonna check anyway? Do they really check? Just asking. Neither of my two Jayco campers have ever needed to go to a dealer so I don't know.

Love To Travel 2 · 08-20-2017, 09:16 AM

Truthfully, I didn't get far enough to give them my name for them to check in a computer. When they said it would be 5 weeks to get me in for a simple state inspection, I said thanks but no thanks and haven't been back. They were a nice family sized dealership at one time, but have exploded in sales, and they didn't bother to expand their service bays, so now they sell but can't properly service what they sell, let alone others. If RV owners are OK with waiting 5 weeks to get an appointment, then why expand if you have a captive audience?

thirdktm · 08-20-2017, 02:59 PM

I decided that if the local dealer (Albuquerque Camping World) would come within $2K of a better deal, I would buy local. They did.
I was prepared to fly to California and drive it back.
There is nothing wrong with asking the two dealers how they deal with nonbuyers. I was told that Camping World is considering charging nonbuyers a higher hourly rate...

SouthCo · 08-20-2017, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Love To Travel 2

Truthfully, I didn't get far enough to give them my name for them to check in a computer. When they said it would be 5 weeks to get me in for a simple state inspection, I said thanks but no thanks and haven't been back. They were a nice family sized dealership at one time, but have exploded in sales, and they didn't bother to expand their service bays, so now they sell but can't properly service what they sell, let alone others. If RV owners are OK with waiting 5 weeks to get an appointment, then why expand if you have a captive audience?

I totally agree with you. And I wouldn't have waited 5 weeks either, that is crazy to me. So in that case buying local still didn't get quick service. Thank goodness I've never needed dealer support with either of my Jayco's....

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