The reason I bought local

[Foldbak]

I have purchased 2 new rigs from my local dealership. I could have purchased further away and saved some money but I choose to buy local for easy access for warranty and non warranty repairs. Case in point, I dropped off my rig to have my wet bolts replaced and 3 wheel bearings repacked. That was 6/7. I told them I'm leaving for the coast on 6/22 and need to pick up on 6/16 so that DW has time to prep. I got there today to pick up and the rig was in the shop on jack stands but the tech was pulled off to do repairs on 8 trailers that were sold this week.



Now I could have lost my S*%# but instead I had them bring it out so I could take it home. Always smiling.....as much as I could. I rescheduled it for 7/14 when they can have it for 2 full weeks. It cost me $15 in diesel and an hour of my time. Not the ideal outcome but they can only do what they can do with 4 tech's. It would have been so much different if I had to travel a longer distance


Message? Buy local and make friends with your service department.

[Cat320]

Say what you like, but that's bad service. I never drop my coach off and leave it for repairs lasting a day. The only time I drop it an leave it is if I can pick it up by COB.

[LeftOverParts]

For a counterpoint, we live in SoCal and purchased our unit in Iowa. We ordered it in early 2021 when the local dealers were running out or low on stock and not budging on price. We wanted a specific model and upgrades, but were getting quotes at MSRP or higher and told it could take 6 months. Basically heard the same thing up and down the state, OR, and AZ. Found a dealer in IA that was significantly less and 6 weeks. It ended up taking 10 weeks but was worth the wait.

The dealer is part of the PriorityRVNetwork and they assured us that if we have a problem on the road 100+ miles from home, we could take it to a network dealer. Well, we ordered the unit with dual panes and one of the panes was fogged up at the PDI. That was the only issue so we took delivery and they arranged with Keystone and a local, large SoCal dealer so that the window would be shipped to me by Keystone and then I took it and the 5ver for the repair. All went well with the replacement.

Now, the service person at the SoCal dealer that handled the window for us was talking like I could bring it in for routine service. I haven't tested that mainly bc I'm a DIYer so did the bearing repack and lube recently. Also been able to handle a couple of minor maintenance/repair items (entry door alignment, replacing a couple roller shades, replacing the LA batteries) with the help from the good folks on this forum.

Buying this way isn't for everyone but it has worked alright for us.

[Vet4jdc]

I'm glad I can replace wet bolts and pack four wheel bearings at my house in about 4 or 5 hours and a dealer is not involved.


They had your rig for 9 days and could not fit in that small amount of work. Say what you want but that is poor service.

[ep4me]

I always buy local because second camper from these guys and feel a little guilty are dealer is 90 keystone and Montanas get moved to the front of the line over other keystones. Plus they are price competitive i was was looking at some other brand before i bought the montana and told him the Kansas dealer is lower on the price for the same model he told me that if i bought it in Kansas they would not do warranty work on it. i will never buy anything from that dealership

[BB_TX]

Local is great, IF it is a good dealer. Not so for a not so good dealer. I bought local. After about 3 weeks I realized there was some kind of wiring/electrical issue with the outlets in the living area. Called the dealer and he said bring it in. I did and they put a tech on it while I waited. Took about 2 hours to figure out the problem and it was going to take a few more hours to correct the issue. I left it and they called the next day to say it was ready. Never had another issue with it requiring taking it back to the dealer so can't say beyond my initial experience. But that was a good one.

[Foldbak]

Everyone has their own opinions. 2023 standards are nothing like the standards that our generation expects. I challenge you to find that kind of service anywhere these days! I've been in some form of management most of my career and still working as a manager. I've learned to lower my expectations when it comes to quality and service and over the last 5 years and I only hire 40 plus.


My point was that I made a conscious decision to buy local so that I could cultivate a relationship with the dealer. One that would ultimately work to my advantage in some degree. And so far it has. In the past I would have lost my s@%# but I've adapted to this new whatever it is. As far as doing the work myself, I could if I was retired. But I don't have the luxury of time.

[DutchmenSport]

Living in Indiana central Indiana has it's advantages. All the RV dealerships are "local". But I do have my favorite, only 5 miles from the house. Yes, they did warranty work for me on my Montana when I purchased it from a different dealership. And they've had the service repairs on all my campers for 20 years now. I suppose, because there are several RV dealerships across Indiana, competition for sales and service, even if it's warranty purchased from another dealer, affords really good customer relations. That's what they strive for here, so they'll get your repeat business.

Still, even the best of them, the wait time can be trying.

[scottz]

Originally Posted by Foldbak

My point was that I made a conscious decision to buy local so that I could cultivate a relationship with the dealer. One that would ultimately work to my advantage in some degree. And so far it has. In the past I would have lost my s@%# but I've adapted to this new whatever it is. As far as doing the work myself, I could if I was retired. But I don't have the luxury of time.

Perhaps I am missing something if the experience you describe in post 1 "worked to your advantage". They promised you a completion date and did not deliver. Purchasing local gained you nothing. Not good service in my opinion. I would not have "lost my s@%#" with them, but they certainly would not be getting any more of my money; sales or service.

[Foldbak]

Originally Posted by scottz

Perhaps I am missing something if the experience you describe in post 1 "worked to your advantage". They promised you a completion date and did not deliver. Purchasing local gained you nothing. Not good service in my opinion. I would not have "lost my s@%#" with them, but they certainly would not be getting any more of my money; sales or service.

They didn't "Promise me a completion date" They told me it shouldn't be a problem. New unit sales have been in the toilet and as luck had it they sold 8 units the day prior. So the limited staff was allocated to prepping those units. Because of that I have empathy as I'm in business and understand their situation. Now as I stated mine was in the shop on jacks and they had planned to work on mine the following day. They assumed I could pick up on Saturday but I had plans. I did have the option to pick up Monday but I wasn't comfortable with that short time frame should they find something else that might cause me to have to cancel my upcoming trip.

They have treated me great. Gave me a battery that was out of warranty. Minor repairs at no charge, even loan me jack stands and tools when needed. I can't complain.

[mlh]

Originally Posted by Foldbak

They didn't "Promise me a completion date" They told me it shouldn't be a problem. New unit sales have been in the toilet and as luck had it they sold 8 units the day prior. So the limited staff was allocated to prepping those units. Because of that I have empathy as I'm in business and understand their situation. Now as I stated mine was in the shop on jacks and they had planned to work on mine the following day. They assumed I could pick up on Saturday but I had plans. I did have the option to pick up Monday but I wasn't comfortable with that short time frame should they find something else that might cause me to have to cancel my upcoming trip.

They have treated me great. Gave me a battery that was out of warranty. Minor repairs at no charge, even loan me jack stands and tools when needed. I can't complain.

When you work for yourself you tend to understand you can’t always do what you said you would try to do so you apologize and do the best you can.
I would rather buy locally but I buy used and that isn’t always available locally. I’d rather let someone else take all that depreciation. Anything that breaks I’ll fix myself anyway.

[Mikelff]

I bought out of state. I have a local dealer with a great service department and have had great service. They always deliver on promised delivery dates. They sometimes will only give estimated completion dates and specify that it is only an estimate. They keep me in the loop on progress. If I give them a “must have” date, they either commit to having it done by that date and always have it done on time, or say they cannot promise that date and I make my decision from there. A good dealer makes all the difference in the world. It’s worth taking the time to find one.

[seasure1]

I agree with Tony, I was prepared to travel six hours to save a couple of thousand on our Montana. After weighing the pros and cons decided to buy from the dealer 30 minutes away. It's hard to get anyone to service anything here in NJ. There is one mobile RV mechanic who is fantastic but is always booked up weeks in advance

[Mark7]

If I were to ever buy anywhere for service reasons, I would ask the salesman to introduce me to the service manager and the store manager.

I would tell them all... I am not going to beat you up on price, but if I ever need service I want to go to the top of the list, no questions asked and I expect the work to be done correctly the first time with your best man on the job. You only get one chance and then no repeat business.

If they could not promise me that, I would shop price and go wherever I could get the best deal. If the local dealer can blow you off for a week, what is the difference if you go somewhere else?

As it is, I always do my own maintenance and repairs so I have nobody else to blame if it doesn't get done right or on time.

[BB_TX]

Originally Posted by Mark7

If I were to ever buy anywhere for service reasons, I would ask the salesman to introduce me to the service manager and the store manager.

I would tell them all... I am not going to beat you up on price, but if I ever need service I want to go to the top of the list, no questions asked and I expect the work to be done correctly the first time with your best man on the job. You only get one chance and then no repeat business.

If they could not promise me that, I would shop price and go wherever I could get the best deal. If the local dealer can blow you off for a week, what is the difference if you go somewhere else?

As it is, I always do my own maintenance and repairs so I have nobody else to blame if it doesn't get done right or on time.

If I was that service manager I would tell you to take your business elsewhere. No sensible, and honest, service manager is going to make a promise like that. The last thing I would want was a customer who somehow thought he was more privileged than the other customers, many of whom would already be repeat customers. Best keep on doing your own work.

[432bartman]

We bought local, and so far so good. Our friends, who also live in So CA, bought a brand new 42' Montana with full body paint directly from Indiana. Buying out in Indiana they saved $25K, and for any rig work they use an independent RV facility that they swear by. I guess if you buy local, just check customer reviews on their service departments, or source out a quality independent shop like our friends did.

[Mark7]

Originally Posted by BB_TX

If I was that service manager I would tell you to take your business elsewhere. No sensible, and honest, service manager is going to make a promise like that. The last thing I would want was a customer who somehow thought he was more privileged than the other customers, many of whom would already be repeat customers. Best keep on doing your own work.

... and then I would! I of course am talking about buying new and paying their asking price, not something used. If said service manager told me that, that would speak volumes about their business and I would not want to buy there anyway.

I wish I could say this suggestion was my idea. I learned it from a man I learned most of what I have over the last 40 years when concerning matters of business, managing money, and dealing with life in general. That would be Mr. Bruce Williams of "Talknet" fame. I owe a lot to him. Being a truck driver I listened to him for 3 hours a night for thousands of hours for many years. He left us a few years back but I am glad I had a chance to thank him for what he taught me.

Anyway, that is how Bruce did business, and he usually got his way. When he didn't, he walked!

Anyone else here ever listen to him?

[JNLVaughn]

Dutchman Sport....dealer Walnut Ridge by chance?