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Old 09-08-2017, 04:19 AM   #1
Swell Camping
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Wholesale dealers

Does anyone have experience with RV Outlet USA? They have offered a price far below what my local dealer can offer on the Raptor 355ts. They are about 200 miles from me v. the 60 miles for my local dealer when I need repairs. Are these wholesale dealers reputable? Is their volume so high they really can discount the units so steeply or do I need to be on the lookout for hidden costs and fees? Thanks in advance for your expertise!
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Old 09-08-2017, 05:28 AM   #2
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Bought mine there. Not just because of price, but because of everything. No games, no muss, no fuss. They are 4 hours or so from me but I drive by them twice a year so if I need anything I know I'll be over that way. I know others who have bought there and traveled good distances to do so. At least one is on this forum, probably others I don't know of are too. They have people come from all over the country and also deliver them. I have gotten service when I needed it by calling and telling them when I'll be over that way and them getting me in when I get there. I have yet to have to leave my RV there for anything. This is the first unit I have bought from them but unless things change they will be the first place I look for the next one and would probably buy even if they weren't "the cheapest". I had been stopping in there for a few years window shopping when I was looking for this one, and after seeing everything had already decided that that was where I wanted to buy, "cheapest" or not. Others will tell you to buy local because of service. There's only one place I would buy local (within 2-3 hours) from and they don't sell anything I want to buy. YMMV
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Old 09-08-2017, 05:36 AM   #3
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Thank you. Exactly what I was hoping to hear. The sales person I'm working with seems fantastic.
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Old 09-08-2017, 05:48 AM   #4
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Swell,
I'll give you the same warning as others:
Keystone salesmen sometimes indicate "nationwide network of dealers for warranty work" - and technically this is correct.

I don't know that any Keystone dealer can refuse to warranty one of their products, but I DO know that they any dealer can say that they are backlogged for months (think 6 months, that was the answer I got when calling a Keystone dealer for warranty work on the road). A local dealer will do repairs, but again, how quickly and how well they do them tends to vary quite a bit.

I'd venture to say - and this is just my opinion - that most new Keystone RVs will need some repairs. I'd expect relatively minor, but if you're unlucky (like I was) you're looking at major....

You're gambling lower cost against making it harder (perhaps much harder) to get warranty service. You may be betting right (hopefully). If you bet wrong, it can be a real cluster.

Personally, I'd probably roll the dice on it, but I just want you to know what you are looking... NEW RVs do not have the same quality as new cars, nor are "dealer" repairs nearly as successful.
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Old 09-08-2017, 07:07 AM   #5
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Swell,
I'll give you the same warning as others:
Keystone salesmen sometimes indicate "nationwide network of dealers for warranty work" - and technically this is correct.

I don't know that any Keystone dealer can refuse to warranty one of their products, but I DO know that they any dealer can say that they are backlogged for months (think 6 months, that was the answer I got when calling a Keystone dealer for warranty work on the road). A local dealer will do repairs, but again, how quickly and how well they do them tends to vary quite a bit.

I'd venture to say - and this is just my opinion - that most new Keystone RVs will need some repairs. I'd expect relatively minor, but if you're unlucky (like I was) you're looking at major....

You're gambling lower cost against making it harder (perhaps much harder) to get warranty service. You may be betting right (hopefully). If you bet wrong, it can be a real cluster.

Personally, I'd probably roll the dice on it, but I just want you to know what you are looking... NEW RVs do not have the same quality as new cars, nor are "dealer" repairs nearly as successful.

I agree with all you said EXCEPT Keystone dealers have to repair Keystone products. Some will ask if you bought the unit there. If the answer is no they will tell you they will not work on it, especially warranty items. Some will only work on it after warranty, others will work on it no matter what. Remember, new sales are prepped 1st, prior customers 2nd, paying customers 3rd, warranty from other dealers last, if at all.
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Old 09-08-2017, 07:25 AM   #6
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I would imagine that if a dealer refuses work because someone didn't buy their RV there, they would be in violation of the Magnuson-Moss warranty act. The same act that protects consumers from a car dealer refusing warranty work on your car because you had the oil changed by Grease Monkey. Of course, they can still refuse the work accepting the risk that you will not take them to court which would probably cause more heartache than it's worth. Usually in that case, it's best just to find a dealer who will do the work.
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Old 09-08-2017, 07:45 AM   #7
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I would imagine that if a dealer refuses work because someone didn't buy their RV there, they would be in violation of the Magnuson-Moss warranty act. The same act that protects consumers from a car dealer refusing warranty work on your car because you had the oil changed by Grease Monkey. Of course, they can still refuse the work accepting the risk that you will not take them to court which would probably cause more heartache than it's worth. Usually in that case, it's best just to find a dealer who will do the work.


Nope.

Camper dealers are under no obligation to do warranty work.


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Old 09-08-2017, 07:46 AM   #8
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There is always the possibility of finding an independent rv repair shop that does warranty work.

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Old 09-08-2017, 08:38 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by Swell Camping View Post
Thank you. Exactly what I was hoping to hear. The sales person I'm working with seems fantastic.
Who are you working with? Most of the people there, sales, shop, ownership, have all been there pretty much as long as I've been going in there, quite a few years. Most of them know me on a first name basis. It's nice to be treated like a good, long time, valued customer, even though I've only bought one thing there.
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Old 09-08-2017, 09:02 AM   #10
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Nope.

Camper dealers are under no obligation to do warranty work.


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BINGO!! We regularly get customers from 2 other dealers that WON'T do any warranty work on anything they sell.
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Old 09-08-2017, 09:20 AM   #11
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Sales person

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Originally Posted by canesfan View Post
Who are you working with? Most of the people there, sales, shop, ownership, have all been there pretty much as long as I've been going in there, quite a few years. Most of them know me on a first name basis. It's nice to be treated like a good, long time, valued customer, even though I've only bought one thing there.
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Old 09-08-2017, 12:38 PM   #12
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I agree with all you said EXCEPT Keystone dealers have to repair Keystone products. Some will ask if you bought the unit there. If the answer is no they will tell you they will not work on it, especially warranty items. Some will only work on it after warranty, others will work on it no matter what. Remember, new sales are prepped 1st, prior customers 2nd, paying customers 3rd, warranty from other dealers last, if at all.

This is just my guess - based on nothing.
My guess is that if you want to sell Keystone's products that part of that deal is that you have to agree to warranty Keystone's products. I believe this is why Keystone salesmen can say that the warranty is "nationwide" and if you call Keystone support on the road, they'll just help you find the local dealer.

I, myself, have never been told "no" to warranty work, but I have had dealers simply give me ridiculous wait times (6 months for something really simple).

You may very well be right that they are only required to work on what they sell, but in that case, there wouldn't be a "nationwide" warranty at all.....

Someone that owns an RV dealership would need to tell us.
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Old 09-08-2017, 12:41 PM   #13
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Nope.

Camper dealers are under no obligation to do warranty work.
It's interesting. Someone is on the hook for Magnuson-Moss. Standard sales contracts and Keystone's verbiage put warranty repair responsibility FIRMLY on the dealer, but you'd be suing Keystone for a violation of Magnuson-Moss.. However that sorts out.

Selling Keystone's - especially dealers doing hundreds of units a month and not servicing them, I'd think that would be a serious win-win for the dealership.
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Old 09-08-2017, 12:51 PM   #14
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It's interesting. Someone is on the hook for Magnuson-Moss. Standard sales contracts and Keystone's verbiage put warranty repair responsibility FIRMLY on the dealer, but you'd be suing Keystone for a violation of Magnuson-Moss.. However that sorts out.



Selling Keystone's - especially dealers doing hundreds of units a month and not servicing them, I'd think that would be a serious win-win for the dealership.


Some dealers make it so difficult to get service they really hardly service what they sell. A little research will show units sitting months before looked at and longer before parts are ordered


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Old 09-08-2017, 01:17 PM   #15
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Some clarification: RV dealers get to decide which brand/model they want to sell with the only limiting factor being geographic location of another dealer selling the same model.
ANY dealer can decide at ANY TIME, NOT to sell any given brand/model. The only manufacturer that I can say will "force" a dealership to do warranty work on either customer or non customer's units is Tiffen. That's based on conversations I've had with our VP. There may be others but I'm not aware of them. Even then we have the right to limit the list of customer concerns to 5.

As I posted earlier, we regularly get calls from customers that bought from one of two dealers near by that won't service what they sell.
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Old 09-08-2017, 01:49 PM   #16
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I'm the "other" forum member that bought from RV Outlet USA. I live in the Knoxville, TN area and searched a large area around Knoxville last October for the exact T.H. that I wanted. I couldn't find anything local so I expanded my search for the Impact 303. RV Outlet USA popper up and they had a 2016 advertised. I called first thing on Monday and that unit had been sold over the weekend. I was told that they had a another one coming in, but it would be a 2017, and of course I expected a big price difference. The salesman checked and it had actually arrived and was on site. He quoted the price for me and it was less than $300 more than the '16 that they just sold.

We did the complete deal over the phone except the normal signing of paperwork. His name is Randy and I couldn't have asked for a better person to work with on the purchase. I explained to him that since was my first ever camping type trailer, I was going to need an extended PDI walkthough and it happened with no problems. The entire experience was silky smooth from start to finish and I am 100% happy with the dealership....although I've not taken it back for any issues....I've taken care of a few things myself. I drove 375 miles to the dealership in Ringold, VA from Knoxville and I have to say, it was all good.
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Old 09-10-2017, 10:12 PM   #17
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I purchased from RV Outlet USA in April. I drove from Colorado to pick it up, but I had other business in VA. I worked with Kelly and he has great. I also did everything over the phone and when I arrived to pick it up everything was as expected. Purchasing locally was not an option for me, the nearest dealer for the unit I wanted is 5 hours away so I figured I might as well travel further a get a good price. The discount was staggering compared to a couple other quotes I got.

As for the warranty service, I do most repair work myself. I hope I won't have any major problems that require warranty work, but it is only good for a year in any case; after that I will be a paying customer. If a dealer is going to turn me away because I did not purchase from them, I don't want to do business with them; and probably would not trust them either.

This whole issue gives the RV dealers that won't provide service a bad rep. I own a Ford and can get it serviced anywhere in the country; no problems.

These dealers need to understand that RV's have wheels on them and are designed to travel; problems can occur anywhere. What about full-timers that move around the country?

I would not hesitate to purchase from RV Outlets USA again.
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Old 09-10-2017, 10:52 PM   #18
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I purchased from RV Outlet USA in April. I drove from Colorado to pick it up, but I had other business in VA. I worked with Kelly and he has great. I also did everything over the phone and when I arrived to pick it up everything was as expected. Purchasing locally was not an option for me, the nearest dealer for the unit I wanted is 5 hours away so I figured I might as well travel further a get a good price. The discount was staggering compared to a couple other quotes I got.

As for the warranty service, I do most repair work myself. I hope I won't have any major problems that require warranty work, but it is only good for a year in any case; after that I will be a paying customer. If a dealer is going to turn me away because I did not purchase from them, I don't want to do business with them; and probably would not trust them either.

This whole issue gives the RV dealers that won't provide service a bad rep. I own a Ford and can get it serviced anywhere in the country; no problems.

These dealers need to understand that RV's have wheels on them and are designed to travel; problems can occur anywhere. What about full-timers that move around the country?

I would not hesitate to purchase from RV Outlets USA again.

Understand that your local RV dealer is not a "Ford" dealership. They sell lots of "brands". The comparison of car dealerships and RV dealerships is like apples and oranges.
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Old 09-11-2017, 06:07 AM   #19
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Understand that your local RV dealer is not a "Ford" dealership. They sell lots of "brands". The comparison of car dealerships and RV dealerships is like apples and oranges.
I feel better now! Oh wait, I paid more for the RV than I did for the Ford.

So, what do we compare them with? Or do we just give them a free ride and a blank check?

We are talking about Keystone dealers servicing Keystone products, apples to apples. In any case, the topic here is the dealer refusing service because the unit was not purchased there.
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Old 09-11-2017, 11:35 AM   #20
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We are talking about Keystone dealers servicing Keystone products, apples to apples. In any case, the topic here is the dealer refusing service because the unit was not purchased there.
And Keystone dealers that refuse service to units they did sell.
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