How far would you travel to save $$

[Used 2B PopUPTimes]

I just read an article in RV Business about RV buyers - Those who will shop and compare many places to get the lowest price and those who consider thier shopping time part of the price. One fears they'll buy the wrong product the other fears they'll pay too much.

[Kelly]

I think I'm an anomaly ... I don't fit your answers!

I bought my PU from someone who lives about 1215 miles away from me.  I drove about 825 miles to pick it up.  (someone else towed it the other 390 miles)

I saw the outside, but never saw it popped up before I bought it.  But I knew the person I was buying it from through PUT (thanks beckie!) and I knew people who had seen the inside ...

So I guess I would answer more than 200 miles AND for the service.  

[boncrab]

I didn't vote, my choice isn't there.  I shop for both price and service.  We didn't travel but purchased our trailer from North Carolina and had it shipped out to California.  

I fell in love    with the model of our trailer when I saw one online and then found one to buy.

So I guess it wan't service, however, our local Jayco pop up dealer takes good care of us.

[sacrawf]

I drove 180 miles to buy a new popup because of attitude. Most salespeople at other camper dealerships I contacted seemed annoyed that I was calling about information on the popups they had in stock. They only wanted to talk about the larger units they have to sell.  The dealer I purchased treated me with the same respect, patience, and attention as if I was buying a diesel pusher. I would deal there again despite many closer dealerships.

[Dee4j]

don't know how to vote on that..I'm a little impulsive. my PU I had, a firend of mine who worked for an RV dealer new I was "looking" at getting one in the near future. well one came in on the lot as a trade in ... I had to drag DH to go "look" at it....well we bought it. Our HTT we new we wanted one, didn't know exactly which one, so we went to the big RV show looked at all the models and the price was right so we bought it that day...
both were less than 50 miles away

[GeneF]

Normally I do a lot of shopping around before I purchase.

Purchasing the tt was kind of an impulse.  DW and I went to buy a drop bar for our hitch to accommodate the HTT.  Hitch bar was $200 so we ended up buying a 30 foot trailer instead.  Yeah, I know, it was impulse.

However we do like the service department at this dealership but wouldn't recommend the salesman.

[PattieAM]

At the time I was looking at buying a PUP, there weren't any used PUP's which met my requirements (potty/AC), so started viewing new units.  There aren't that many dealerships in my area, but went to two dealerships - the first had some nice popup campers, but none in stock with a potty.  The units felt unstable, and I wasn't impressed with the service department.  Second dealership had several popups set up on a concrete parking lot, so they felt stable, service bays seemed clean, organized and the techs were working together.  So, I bought from that dealership.  While I would have loved a lower price, I was not in a position to bargain shop.

[A2SuperCrew]

Well we "sort of" fit the answer too.

We bought our Popup about 200 miles away from home.  HOWEVER, that location is where my in-laws live in Northern Michigan.  We're there all the time, so getting service from that dealer is generally not a problem.  Good service is very important to us, and they do come through!

[threebeachboys]

I just read an article in RV Business about RV buyers - Those who will shop and compare many places to get the lowest price and those who consider thier shopping time part of the price. One fears they'll buy the wrong product the other fears they'll pay too much.

Well, it's all relative.  We purchased ours from an RV dealer almost 3 hours away.

Basically, the local dealer didn't have the exact model in stock (I wanted the '05 Niagara w/the cassette potty  - not the '06 w/the tank - & it was end of season) AND the price was over $1,500 lower. . . . . Maybe add a category for "best value"?

All things being equal, for a few hundred dollars more, I'd go local. . . . . . . . . my time (not to mention gas-yikes!) is worth something.

Pam

[flyfisherman]

I bought my present Starcraft from a dealer over 200 miles away. It was a left over model from the previous year and I got a super deal as all the old mechandise had to go.

Now, having said that (and based on my experience), buying a Starcraft from a far away dealer is much different then buying from a Fleetwood dealer. With Fleetwood, your totally dependent upon the dealer ... good or bad. With Starcraft, a much different story. Starcraft will see to it that your needs are met, regardless of who the dealer is/was, and they will even send you to a Jayco dealer for warranty work if need be.

Should I buy another new popup, it would be a Starcraft and I'd certainly shop the dealers for the best deal.



Fly

[wavery]

We live in a large metro area (Los Angeles). If we have to drive 100 miles to buy a product (any product) that would be highly unusual. 100 miles would cover south to the Mexican border, north to Santa Barbara and east to San Bernardino (population...24 million) :yikes: . If we can't find the best deal in that area.....we don't need it.

[spicyville1]

Yeah, same here. If we cannot find what we need in the DFW area, we do not need it either. Dealing with the traffic is bad enough :swear: Every once in a while a location in Waco has a couple of deals going on. It is only 90 miles away and that is where I was raised and all my family is still there too. I now take my Jayco to the dealer in Mesquite for anything. It is about an hour drive. The Jayco dealer in Ft Worth (Western Campers) and 30 minutes away will never,never,never,never see any of my business again! Did I say never enough?  AND I MEAN NEVER!  :Z

[MomboTN]

When making purchases I tend to do a lot of research then make a list of the features I need, want and like then I go find it.
I typically buy Cars and the like 2-3 yrs old.  That way someone else can pay for the depreciation.  Many pup and tt owners don't use them very much so you can find some that are like new with out paying dealer prices.  I went to the shows and looked at different Makes and models.  I asked the sales people questions and had them explain how the products were different or better than another.  
We then made a list of the makes, models and features we wanted.
I wanted electric brakes, storage and a king size bed.  DW wanted a potty and AC.  
Then we looked everywhere, e-bay, craigslist, local paper trade-ins after the big show.  We found one in the classifieds about 45 minutes away.
I bought my tow Expedition on e-bay.   We had a few phone calls, a lot of pictures and then hopped a plane to FL to pick it up.

[MotherNature]

I agree about traffic sometimes being the determining factor in finding a bargain!  The dealer we bought from is about 1/2 hour away in off-rush traffic.  However, if you go there during peak traffic it will take 3x as long.

We were willing to travel up to 100 miles to get a bargain on the PUP; fortunately, the above dealership made us an offer we couldn't refuse.

We've only had 1 warranty repair with them and they were just as nice as when we bought it.

My problem with low-price shopping seems to be confined to local retailers (such as CVS) who advertise a special and then don't have it in stock on the first day of the sale.  Another source of irritation is finding common items in stock - yesterday I had to go to 4 different stores (Michael's Crafts, Staples, Office Max, and the local dollar store) to find a plain white piece of 50-cent posterboard.  They were all within a 5-mile circular route but driving a Durango, I bet the gas alone cost $1.50.

We have some of the best farmland in the world and it's being used to build houses and stores - that bothers me to no end but when the stores don't even have common everyday items it just makes me livid.

I'd like to apologize in advance for any of those who I may have offended by the statement about land use.  I understand how people must sell to make ends meet and TOTALLY sympathize with them.  It just makes me mad that the demand for stores, new homes, etc. are eclipsing the needs for U.S.-grown food.

Again, I apologize if I've offended anyone.

[cyclone]

We bought the Flagstaff (used) from the dealer closest to home.  While we got a good deal, dealing with their sales staff was such a nightmare that we have not set foot in their dealership since pulling it off the lot.  (Gotta admit - that's been hard since they moved and I've wanted to check out their new digs for quite a while.  So far, I still refuse...)  Fortunately, there is an actual Flagstaff dealer about 30 miles away so service is not an issue.  There are at least 6-8 dealers within about a 60 mile radius so the next time we buy, I'm sure we can find someone we like better.  And, I know several people who have travelled to Knoxville to buy from a great dealer there so would I would not hesitate to do that.  Guess that puts me in the 200 miles category.