GotLift
Rio Rancho, NM
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Hi, I'm curious if people are willing to travel for the right deal on a major purchase like an RV. Say you are in the market for a new TT, 5th Wheel, or RV and you can save 20% or more at a dealership 5 hours away (10 hr roundtrip). Or you could save 30% on the unit you want but it is 7-10 hrs away (14-20 roundtrip). Would you take the trip to save the money?
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ReverendCharles
on the road
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Yes and make a vacation out of it.
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Brent and Gina
Arkansas
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100% yes. We did as a matter of fact. Made an adventure out of the trip and it was fun. As a matter of fact, when just looking, we drove to many nearby states looking at inventory and prices. The 5W we purchased was about 6 hours away.
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B.O. Plenty
Minnesota
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In a heartbeat! The old "We only service what we sell" story is a bad excuse. The dealers with that mindset won't be around very long. Besides if it breaks on the road you won't be close to the selling dealer anyway. Get the best deal you can no matter where it is.
B.O.
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JayWalker2009
USA
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Just make sure if you do, you find a local dealer who will service it under warranty!
Big thread on that issue in this forum.
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PapPappy
Wilmington, NC
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I think it would depend on several other factors....
1.) Do you have a local Dealership that can service the RV.
2.) Are you willing to be worked in for that Service. While many may not admit to it, our local Dealership did say that they would give "priority" service to regular customers. But, that is really only if they are backed up, so it may or may not be a factor.
3.) Will your traveling expenses to get this new vehicle be offset by the savings that you are getting. If you are saving 5-10% over local Dealer, and it costs you hundreds of dollars to get the RV, did you really save anything?
We bought our MH in Tennessee, and I rented a car to drive to Nashville to pick it up. We dropped the rental off, and drove the MH home. That rental, plus the gas both ways, cost us over $500, as well as 3 days of our lives.
Yes, it was an adventure, and a bit of a vacation, but I didn't have my wife with me, just my daughter, so we pretty much just drove out and back.
Point is, if I had found the same RV locally, at a price that was close, even $1000 more, I would probably have bought it locally.
We typically buy the vehicle we WANT...having looked at so many of them before we finally purchase, that the money, while important, isn't typically the main reason for the purchase....at least not in my opinion.
Would I travel 7-8 hours to get the RV I wanted....YES!! In fact, I did!
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gktsuda1956
Washington
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Live near Vancouver, WA. Last trailer I bought, drove to Claremore, OK. 2,019 miles, 32 hours away. Had a blast. Traded it in for $4k more than I paid for it. Drove 393 miles, 7 hours to trade it in and buy this new trailer. Never had a problem with service/repair. Other than the lousy repair department at the local RV center I choose to do business with. Worst repair techs. Screwed everything up.
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1775
NY
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The closest dealers to me for my RV were all 200 miles away in different directions - a three hour trip each way. We have had to return for service several times and I am beginning to resent the trip - but there is no one closer who will do the service. If the distance were 7 - 10 hours and there were closer alternatives despite a higher price, given the cost of gas and tolls to go back and forth, I would go with the nearest dealer.
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mike4947
N. Syracuse, NY
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We've got a lot of snow birds and full timers in the extended camping family. So it's no problem for them to travel, even long distances, to get a new RV.
But one thing we recommend, and this goes double for folks with sticks and bricks and only local camping, is to contact the RV manufacturer and get a list from them of dealerships, service centers, and mobile mechanics that WILL provide warranty and other service.
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wny_pat
Western NYS
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B.O. Plenty wrote:The old "We only service what we sell" story is a bad excuse. The dealers with that mindset won't be around very long. They've been around for a long time already, and are still around. Don't think they are going anywhere real soon, cause people still go to them for service. The manufacturers don't require them to perform the service, so we get what we got, like it or not!
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