Why Buy Local?
The internet is a glorious thing. I'm reaching you on the internet right now! Because of the internet, I am able to reach many of my customers at very little cost via Facebook, Twitter, blogger and my website... for all intents, I am able to be open 24/7!
We are a small family owned business. We have been around for a looooong long time 17+ years. We do not want to be a big dealership because with becoming a big dealership you must hire lots of sales people and we don't like the feel of that. We like to be able to deal with each and every customer that walks into our yard. We like the fact that we know what was said to each and every customer. We like the fact that each customer can rest assured that he or she will see the same faces each time they come to our dealership. And our customers like the fact that we actually care about them after the sale. Not many dealerships you can buy from that you will be able to reach the owners via cell phone or email at any time of the day or night and get a reply, if not immediately, within hours. I'm sure we don't have a 100% satisfaction rating (that would be impossible) but I think we are pretty darn close.
We are a husband/wife team. Before my wife and I owned the business, I (Dave) worked for the previous owners and in the RV industry for 11+ years. I have basically have done nothing but the RV business my entire life, But for someone else. I digress...
Back to the internet. It is wonderful for our business... but it also presents many, many challenges that we are running into more and more frequently and which I would like to address.
We refer to these problems (not so affectionately) as the "Internet Wholesalers". There is nothing wrong with being a smart consumer and doing your research. My wife and I do the same exact thing with most large ticket items that we buy. However, what so many people around us are failing to do is look at the big picture and the long term value of what they are purchasing. Price and value are two completely separate things.
Let me begin by saying that when we purchase a camper... lets say brand x from the manufacturer... even though we are a little bitty dealer in Podunk Alabama, we pay the same amount for the camper (assuming it is optioned the same and there haven't been price increases, etc) as any other dealer. But all of our campers are built in Northern Indiana or Southern Michigan... that is approximately 900 miles away from here. So, even though we pay the same amount for the camper, we also have to pay an extraordinary amount of freight to get that camper to our lot that the Northern dealers do not have to pay.
So... Lesson #1 When you are comparing our prices to a dealer in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana or basically anywhere in the North... you are not comparing Apples to Apples. I have to pay to get the camper down here. Just like you will have to pay to get the camper down here from that dealer or you will have to take time off work and drive 15+ hours each way to pick it up. And, then... when you get up there, what happens if that camper isn't just like they promised? What if they try to throw in some hidden fees? What if there is some damage or flaws on it that you didn't notice in the photos? What if during the delivery show the air conditioner stops working and they have to order a part for it? What if when you get up there they can't figure out how to connect your brake control module? I am not making up these scenarios... they are all actual stories that we have heard from actual customers who have driven up north to try to save money.
Now... on to the next issue... future service concerns. Buying a camper is not the same as buying a car. Every single camper ever made will eventually need to have service work done on it. Most new units will have at least 1 (usually 2 or 3) warranty claims during the factory warranty period. I will confess, I don't know how car manufacturer's payout their warranty claims to auto dealers, but I will tell you, warranty claims to an RV dealer are a money loser. We get paid flat rate time for warranty claims. So, while it may take my service tech an hour to replace the electric jack motor that went out on your travel trailer, the factory only pays me for 15 minutes worth of labor. I also do not get reimbursed for all of the time it takes me to order the parts, file the claim, schedule the appointments, etc. In the end, it costs me a lot of money to do warranty work for my customers. But, we do it, and we do it quickly for our customers because that is part of what our customers pay for when they purchase from us.
So... Lesson #2 What happens if you drive up North to save $1500 on your camper and then you get home and your electric jack goes out and you find out that I am the nearest dealer of brand x campers. Are you going to drive 15 hours each way back to your selling dealer to do the warranty work? Or are you going to call me and ask me if I can do it for you? Chances are you will be calling me. My answer to you will be the same as to every single other person that calls with the same question. Yes, we will do your warranty work. However, you will have to drop off your camper and get in line. Our customers with warranty work come first. Then our paying jobs come second. Then we will work on yours. This could mean wait times of 2-6 weeks depending on the time of year and our current service schedule. And we may also require reimbursement for labor charges that are not paid for under the factory flat rate schedule. So if the factory only pays for 15 minutes of labor but it really took 1 hour, you may be responsible for 45 minutes of labor which you will have to pay out of pocket. Note: we do not do this for customers who are traveling through... as a customer service, we have always made it a policy to service customers who are traveling through (on a cross country camping trip, etc) as quickly as possible and we do not charge them for unpaid labor hours. And, the final issue... when shopping online and comparing prices, make sure you are comparing apples to apples.
Lesson #3 Make sure you are getting a written quote with: year, make, model and a list of all options on the camper. We are one of the few dealers in the U.S. that orders most campers fully loaded with options. Most dealers will order their units stripped or semi-stripped down to be able to sell them cheap. We don't want cheap campers, we want to sell great campers.
Also, be sure that your price quote includes any "hidden fees" that the dealer will be taking on. This may be in the form of prep fees, doc fees, etc. We do not have any hidden fees. And be sure that your quote includes all items that you will need for your camper (weight distribution hitch, brake control, wiring, battery, propane, starter kit, etc). Our prices will include all of that however most dealers will tack on upwards of $1500-$2500 to the price of the camper for all of the "extras/fees".