I was hoping to hear from someone who has taken delivery from both a dealer and a manufacturer on new purchases. Or, any feedback is always good. I asked yesterday at the dealer and he told me that it was a $3000.00 cost to pick up a new motorhome at Newmar. We are in Eugene, Or. so someone either the dealer or Newmar is saving a chunk of money in fuel and labor not to drive it out here 2200 miles. What are your thoughts about what a factory does that makes it worth that much extra. We are planning on visiting the factory this summer while on vacation. Thanks for the help as always.
-- Edited by Oregonhiker on Tuesday 17th of February 2015 09:24:20 AM
igotjam said
03:37 PM Feb 16, 2015
Tried to buy (a 5er) from the factory but they would only sell through a dealer. Can't help ya..........
TRAILERKING said
03:42 PM Feb 16, 2015
Likely most manufacturers do not sell direct.............It's part of "Dealer Support" Program.
Even a lot of accessories have to be purchased through "Dealers". The manufacturer will not sell direct, they give you a list of their Dealers that you must go through.
Oregonhiker said
04:01 PM Feb 16, 2015
I realize that it would have to be purchased through a dealer. I was more wanting to know about picking it up from the dealer vs the manufacturer after the purchase on a coach that we were to order.
Terry and Jo said
07:40 PM Feb 16, 2015
Rick and Jenn,
I would venture to say that going through a good dealer would be best for you. I can't speak from actual experience as to the picking up through the factory, but I can relate what I've read elsewhere from some that have. A good dealer can be essential in looking at the "delivered" RV and performing a pre-delivery inspection of the unit. That is a method of having someone to double check the quality control department of the factory. I've known of a few that commented online and have picked up at the factory and later found that there were issues that they had no idea of even checking.
Terry
TRAILERKING said
11:11 PM Feb 16, 2015
Well unless the factory will do the "Pre-Delivery Inspection" prior to you driving it away. Seeing you would be buying through the dealer and just picking it up. Could be possible.
Vagabond said
09:41 AM Feb 17, 2015
I asked this question of our local dealer, just last week. I was hoping to save the freight charges, by driving 300 miles to the factory, and towing it back myself. The answer was "No, I'm sorry, we can't do that for several reasons, not the least of which is insurance". Makes sense, unfortunately. Unless you are willing to sign all the paperwork at the dealer, and "Own" the RV, before driving down to pick it up, I doubt you will find a different answer.
When I worked in the motorcycle business, we had people asking to buy new bikes in the crate, to save money. "Nope, sorry, can't do that", was always the answer. No PDI, no setup=no warranty.
If you find out otherwise, I'd like to know. I'd still like to avoid the well-padded "freight" charge!
Regards, Kyle
bjoyce said
11:36 AM Feb 17, 2015
Newmar has traditionally had the option of factory delivery, for a price. They have people ready to do the PDI and handle it well. You still buy from a dealer.
Jo And Craig said
07:24 PM Feb 17, 2015
Here is what we did, and possibly a solution for you...
We struck up a friendship with a wonderful gentleman who gave us a plant tour at the Lifestyle factory in Middlebury, IN. He knew our lives were hectic and he volunteered to put together our MSRP sheet with everything he knew we wanted on our rig. I did not want to wait 3 months and $$$$ later to have our rig delivered to Texas. So, I asked him who his top 3 dealers were in his area. He gave me the name of those top 3 dealers. I e-mailed each of them the MSRP sheet and told them to give me their best shot the first time around and the "best man" would win my business. I ended up getting 36.5% off MSRP, we drove to Elkhart to pick up our rig, saved $$$$ in delivery charges (because the dealership was so close to the factory), and months of waiting on delivery all at the same time. It was a big win for us all the way around! That's how we did it!
-- Edited by Jo And Craig on Tuesday 17th of February 2015 07:35:07 PM
Oregonhiker said
01:13 PM Feb 18, 2015
Jo and Craig- That is a great idea. I did that some years back when I bought a new car and honestly didn't think about it for the motorhome. I will try that also when we are ready and see how it works. I can't see paying a delivery fee when I am the delivery person so getting a dealer close by makes sense. 36.5% is amazing as I was just hoping for between 20 and 25%. I guess that all depends on manufacturer and the MSRP that they set. I also have had a couple of quotes from RVDirect.com. We will see where it all stands when we are ready.
Bill- I knew that Newmar offers a factory delivery of a new coach but was seeing if I could get feedback from anyone who has used this service. We have bought 2 used MH's in the past three years. I know that from the dealer on these that I can expect 1 to 2 hours on the walk through. Some have rumored that Newmar allows up to a week with a tech to learn and get the bugs out. That and they spend quite a bit of time pre-delivery on making sure everything works well before the new owner steps into it. Which I think the latter there is usually left up to the dealer.
TRAILERKING said
02:08 PM Feb 18, 2015
At 36%+ discount...............It goes to show just how much "Mark-Up" there is in these products.
After that kind of discount they're still makin' money.
Oregonhiker said
09:36 AM Feb 22, 2015
I posted this same question on RVillage. I got this reply on there and wanted to share this amazing story of the pleasure it was to pick up their coach at Newmar. Thank you Ken for this response.
"Yes we opted for factory delivery last April and will be returning to Newmar in April again this year. You will find mixed opinions on this topic but I can tell you without reservation I would do it again. We custom ordered our Ventana 4369 and took the option for factory delivery which is still about $2,800.00. This amount was included as an option into the total cost for the rig so in the grand scheme it was a minor cost.
What happens is when the coach comes off the production line a technician is assigned to your coach for about 2 1/2 weeks. Every single item you would use, touch, drive, turn on or off etc is exercised several times by the tech. There is no way a dealer is going to allocate this amount of time to your coach to make sure everything is right. Now there are those who would argue for the amount of money these rigs coast nothing should break and my reply is they would be wrong, that is just not practical. You have basically a large apartment rolling down the road here so there will be things that come up from time to time. The process Newmar follows makes sure the number of items you experience are minimal. If we do ever decide trade up to either the Dutch Star or Mountain Aire we will do exactly what we did with our Ventana again. The factory delivery/VIP process was worth every single penny and more. I can offer one significant example of what can occur.
During the 2 week period of which a technician was assigned to prep our coach he found that the 50 AMP electric cord reel clutch went bad. Now this electric cord reel is huge, heavy and is not something that any dealer keeps on their shelf as a spare part. So without factory delivery my coach would have been sitting at the dealer, waiting for the new reel which would take days if not weeks to get. Instead, the bad reel was removed and a new one installed, no questions because the tech found and corrected the issue before we arrived. That item is not something even under warranty that Newmar is going to overnight ship to the dealer. So we would have been without a power reel and our coach sitting on a service lot at the dealer waiting for the part and then waiting probably longer for the old one to be removed and the new one installed.
What I can tell you is after almost a full year of being in our brand new coach the items we have for warranty are minimal. In fact we have a Newmar dealer not 20 minutes from us and they have never been inside our coach for a warranty item. We are going back to Napanee at the one year point basically for a short vacation and to let Newmar techs check out the coach for anything I cannot see."
-- Edited by Oregonhiker on Sunday 22nd of February 2015 09:39:12 AM
gwcamp said
07:11 PM Feb 23, 2015
Newmar corp Hats off to you and thanks for sharing
HighwayRanger said
10:40 PM Feb 24, 2015
I would definitely prefer a factory-delivery. Most dealers sell multiple product lines, so the guy who does the PDI with you also has to do them for multiple brands. With factory delivery, the people who built the RV give you the walk-through, and correct any defects that occurred during the manufacturing process RIGHT OVER THERE, in the factory. How can this not be the better option? The people who built the RV, the management team, and, perhaps, the president of the company, works RIGHT OVER THERE.
It is totally worth it to me to be able to take factory delivery if at all possible. Two of the three rigs we are considering allow factory delivery. That will be a major factor in our decision.
I was hoping to hear from someone who has taken delivery from both a dealer and a manufacturer on new purchases. Or, any feedback is always good. I asked yesterday at the dealer and he told me that it was a $3000.00 cost to pick up a new motorhome at Newmar. We are in Eugene, Or. so someone either the dealer or Newmar is saving a chunk of money in fuel and labor not to drive it out here 2200 miles. What are your thoughts about what a factory does that makes it worth that much extra. We are planning on visiting the factory this summer while on vacation. Thanks for the help as always.
-- Edited by Oregonhiker on Tuesday 17th of February 2015 09:24:20 AM
Even a lot of accessories have to be purchased through "Dealers". The manufacturer will not sell direct, they give you a list of their Dealers that you must go through.
I realize that it would have to be purchased through a dealer. I was more wanting to know about picking it up from the dealer vs the manufacturer after the purchase on a coach that we were to order.
Rick and Jenn,
I would venture to say that going through a good dealer would be best for you. I can't speak from actual experience as to the picking up through the factory, but I can relate what I've read elsewhere from some that have. A good dealer can be essential in looking at the "delivered" RV and performing a pre-delivery inspection of the unit. That is a method of having someone to double check the quality control department of the factory. I've known of a few that commented online and have picked up at the factory and later found that there were issues that they had no idea of even checking.
Terry
When I worked in the motorcycle business, we had people asking to buy new bikes in the crate, to save money. "Nope, sorry, can't do that", was always the answer. No PDI, no setup=no warranty.
If you find out otherwise, I'd like to know. I'd still like to avoid the well-padded "freight" charge!
Regards, Kyle
Here is what we did, and possibly a solution for you...
We struck up a friendship with a wonderful gentleman who gave us a plant tour at the Lifestyle factory in Middlebury, IN. He knew our lives were hectic and he volunteered to put together our MSRP sheet with everything he knew we wanted on our rig. I did not want to wait 3 months and $$$$ later to have our rig delivered to Texas. So, I asked him who his top 3 dealers were in his area. He gave me the name of those top 3 dealers. I e-mailed each of them the MSRP sheet and told them to give me their best shot the first time around and the "best man" would win my business. I ended up getting 36.5% off MSRP, we drove to Elkhart to pick up our rig, saved $$$$ in delivery charges (because the dealership was so close to the factory), and months of waiting on delivery all at the same time. It was a big win for us all the way around! That's how we did it!
-- Edited by Jo And Craig on Tuesday 17th of February 2015 07:35:07 PM
Bill- I knew that Newmar offers a factory delivery of a new coach but was seeing if I could get feedback from anyone who has used this service. We have bought 2 used MH's in the past three years. I know that from the dealer on these that I can expect 1 to 2 hours on the walk through. Some have rumored that Newmar allows up to a week with a tech to learn and get the bugs out. That and they spend quite a bit of time pre-delivery on making sure everything works well before the new owner steps into it. Which I think the latter there is usually left up to the dealer.
After that kind of discount they're still makin' money.
I posted this same question on RVillage. I got this reply on there and wanted to share this amazing story of the pleasure it was to pick up their coach at Newmar. Thank you Ken for this response.
"Yes we opted for factory delivery last April and will be returning to Newmar in April again this year. You will find mixed opinions on this topic but I can tell you without reservation I would do it again. We custom ordered our Ventana 4369 and took the option for factory delivery which is still about $2,800.00. This amount was included as an option into the total cost for the rig so in the grand scheme it was a minor cost.
What happens is when the coach comes off the production line a technician is assigned to your coach for about 2 1/2 weeks. Every single item you would use, touch, drive, turn on or off etc is exercised several times by the tech. There is no way a dealer is going to allocate this amount of time to your coach to make sure everything is right. Now there are those who would argue for the amount of money these rigs coast nothing should break and my reply is they would be wrong, that is just not practical. You have basically a large apartment rolling down the road here so there will be things that come up from time to time. The process Newmar follows makes sure the number of items you experience are minimal. If we do ever decide trade up to either the Dutch Star or Mountain Aire we will do exactly what we did with our Ventana again. The factory delivery/VIP process was worth every single penny and more. I can offer one significant example of what can occur.
During the 2 week period of which a technician was assigned to prep our coach he found that the 50 AMP electric cord reel clutch went bad. Now this electric cord reel is huge, heavy and is not something that any dealer keeps on their shelf as a spare part. So without factory delivery my coach would have been sitting at the dealer, waiting for the new reel which would take days if not weeks to get. Instead, the bad reel was removed and a new one installed, no questions because the tech found and corrected the issue before we arrived. That item is not something even under warranty that Newmar is going to overnight ship to the dealer. So we would have been without a power reel and our coach sitting on a service lot at the dealer waiting for the part and then waiting probably longer for the old one to be removed and the new one installed.
What I can tell you is after almost a full year of being in our brand new coach the items we have for warranty are minimal. In fact we have a Newmar dealer not 20 minutes from us and they have never been inside our coach for a warranty item. We are going back to Napanee at the one year point basically for a short vacation and to let Newmar techs check out the coach for anything I cannot see."
-- Edited by Oregonhiker on Sunday 22nd of February 2015 09:39:12 AM
It is totally worth it to me to be able to take factory delivery if at all possible. Two of the three rigs we are considering allow factory delivery. That will be a major factor in our decision.
Roy