Need Dealer Advice

[5YPlan]

Hi All!

My husband and I are trying to buy our first RV. We've done a lot of research and have decided to go for a GD Imagine 2500RL. However, when we start to review our local dealers to buy it from, it seems they all have bad reviews and can't be trusted, especially once you sign the paperwork.

Did you find the same thing when you were working with a dealer or am I giving too much weight to online reviews? We would prefer to skip the dealer and buy a used one from a private seller, but haven't had any luck finding one. Also, we will be living in it for at least a year and driving all over the country, so maybe the dealer we buy it from won't matter that much anyway.

Any thoughts or advice?

Thanks!
Marianne.

[The Buergers]

Marianne, where are y’all located? How far are you willing to travel for a good deal/dealer?
Post that info and you’ll get some feedback from the group.

[Lizardqing]

We purchased ours before we went fulltime and have been from one side of the country and back again. The dealer hasn’t mattered service wise, haven’t been back since we took delivery. Have used independent service folks for what warranty work we have had. That or GD sent me the parts direct for simple things. That was one of the reasons we went with GD was that they will do that.
We had dealers in three different states competing for our business. Wound up going with Northgate RV in North Ga and was happy with them. Figured we would be traveling all over once we had it, so a little further to save 10k was not a big deal.

[5YPlan]

We are near the San Francisco bay area would be willing to drive anywhere in California or the neighboring states. However, our other issue is we've never towed a trailer before, so retrieval may be an issue, but we would work that out somehow.

It's great to hear that the dealer we buy from may not be an issue after we buy it and that GD is helpful with repairs.

Thanks!

[redspeed3`]

Trailer hitch RV in Pismo Beach was a great dealer for our purchase. Best deal I could find and were great to work with over email.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[howson]

Hi All!

My husband and I are trying to buy our first RV. We've done a lot of research and have decided to go for a GD Imagine 2500RL. However, when we start to review our local dealers to buy it from, it seems they all have bad reviews and can't be trusted, especially once you sign the paperwork.

Did you find the same thing when you were working with a dealer or am I giving too much weight to online reviews? We would prefer to skip the dealer and buy a used one from a private seller, but haven't had any luck finding one. Also, we will be living in it for at least a year and driving all over the country, so maybe the dealer we buy it from won't matter that much anyway.

Any thoughts or advice?

Thanks!
Marianne.

I ended up buying from a dealer in Georgia (Campers Inn), 6+ hours from home. They were fantastic to work with during the purchase and PDI process. I don't regret not buying from the local dealer (though we did give them a chance to earn our business).

[JCZhome]

We are near the San Francisco bay area would be willing to drive anywhere in California or the neighboring states. However, our other issue is we've never towed a trailer before, so retrieval may be an issue, but we would work that out somehow.

It's great to hear that the dealer we buy from may not be an issue after we buy it and that GD is helpful with repairs.

Thanks!

The dealership does matter! The dealership's location doesn't matter.....you can buy at any dealership that you'd like. We bought six months used from private party. Tried using the original purchase dealership, Mike Thompson's in Fountain Valley and that turned out to be a huge nightmare! Since then, we've traveled ocean to ocean (twice) and have been to a couple of different dealerships, luckily for us, with good results.

I have not used Trailer Hitch RV in Pismo Beach but have read nothing but good things over the past couple of years as far as sales and pricing goes (it seems that most of the posts are from full timers and so they don't return there for service).

Smart to ask actual owners here or on facebook. I would suggest to do the same anytime a salesman or dealership tells you something that might sound even a little to good to be true (ie. yes, you're truck will pull this rig without any problems. Or "don't worry about that, we'll take care of that for you", etc.). Alway, ALWAYS get it in writing first.....before you sign on the dotted line!

[riven1950]

We discovered the 2500RL in Nov while driving back to SE NC from Kentucky. Stopped at several dealers and looked at several manufacturer's RV. Last stop was in SC about 6 hours away from home. We had pretty much decided on the 2500RL by then and they had one in stock. They gave us a price that was the best we had seen. When we got home I contacted a dealer about 45 minutes-1hour away. They had a 2500Rl on order, also could transfer one from another dealer. Price was higher.

WE ended up going with the Dealer 6 hours away. PDI was good. Got the TT home and while preparing for a 2 month trip ( now still traveling ) to Florida 3 weeks away, the converter went out in our front yard . This also caused problems with the HWH and Frig. GD stepped up and authorized a mobile repair shop to do the repairs. We left on schedule. Don't know for sure but I doubt most manufacturers would do that. We still have 3 weeks left on our 2 month trip. We love the 2500RL and so far very impressed with GD customer service.

Time will tell but so far we are happy with our long distance purchase. Bottom line is I don't think distance would matter much. We will likely have some other issues to take care of when we return home. We will fix the minor ones, deal with the selling Dealer or GD on others.

I would not worry too much about bad reviews on the Dealer. Usually unhappy folks are very vocal. Happy folks less likely to submit a review. Campers World is the only Dealer I would definitely stay away from, but they don't carry GD as far as I know.

[Skirugger]

Hi All!

My husband and I are trying to buy our first RV.......

Marianne,

I totally feel your pain (and hesitation)! We were in your shoes about a year ago, at least with our first travel trailer anyway. We had a horrible time of it, but I’ll try not to rehash for my own personal satisfaction. My best advice for you is to know exactly what you want for your 2500 and know exactly how much you’re willing to pay, and go from there. We declined working with our local dealers after they demonstrated being crappy to us personally. Their reviews were all over the place and mostly negative, which I’m starting to belive is more a product of how the retail RV dealers do business as a rule of thumb. That’s sad but it doesn’t change the way it is right now. The thing that has been BEYOND STELLAR so far has been Grand Design and their support. That’s why we bought our GD 2800bh...... based on Grand Design’s reputation for after-the-sale support.

Driving to a dealership you feel comfortable with is a very common thing, and I recommend you consider it, especially if you get a good recommendation from someone on this site. Everybody cares here, and the heavy-hitters (folks that post a lot consistently) are very trustworthy, in my opinion.

As for taking your trailer in for service after the sale, I can’t speak to having done it myself, but I am highly doubting that I will EVER return to the place I bought mine for service, and I have nothing against the dealership that sold me our trailer. I just doubt I will ever go that far for a service unless I had no other choice. I have some very reputable rv repair places around, with generally good online reviews, and the local “dealers” here are charlatans. For any major repair, I would be spending my money at the repair places and not the shady dealers. If it was a big warranty fix, I’ve seen Grand Design work with folks to get it repaired in a satisfactory manner, and that again speaks volumes to their commitment.

Personally, I think you’ve done well picking a GD, now you just have to suffer the Dealer-Pain to get it. I know it is painful, but once that pain is over, it’s a fun hobby. Good luck!

Jim

[MidwestCamper]

General RV has treated us very well with quality work and a reasonable turn around. I believe there is an advantage in having a large dealer who has most likely seen it all. Our dealer is in Wixom Michigan and is a long way from CA. where the nearest to you is in Utah. I also like the fact that they are in many states that I may someday travel to or through and may need service.