Long Distance Purchase

danemayer said:

There's no reason the dealer can't order exactly what you want.

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Dan,

I'm looking to do that now. I was hoping to get a deal on a 2014. After reading some replies. I'm less concerned about a distant purchase. Especially if I can save few thousand dollars.

Thank you

thommfl250 said:

Dan,

I'm looking to do that now. I was hoping to get a deal on a 2014. After reading some replies. I'm less concerned about a distant purchase. Especially if I can save few thousand dollars.

Thank you

Click to expand...

I know that it's popular to look for end of model year or end of season deals. I've always figured that while the dealer might be more motivated toward a steeper discount if you buy the 2014, he'll have no carrying cost to recover on the custom ordered 2015. If he wants to, he can sell you the 2015 for the same price and should make more profit. But then he still has to find a buyer for the 2014.

There are small wholesale price increases from year to year, but that's a small consideration compared to the dealer discount.

One more thing to consider is how long a 2014 has sat on the lot, not being maintained. Check the manufacturers sticker for the date of manufacture, it could be a year or more old! All this means is that the outside has been exposed to the elements. Caulking has been "weathered", and may need replacement. Tires, which have a manufacture date all their own, could be even older, an more prone to issues.

I've even seen dealers magically morph a 201x into a 201x+1 on their ads... Just to bring people in to look at the "latest from Heartland".

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Tried to get the local dealer to do some warranty work on our rig, he at first, didnt out and out refuse to do the work, but after he found out we didnt buy it there. We got he old, we can get you in about 6 weeks routine. When I challenged them on the timing, he finally just said due to the fact we we didnt buy local they didnt want to do the work on my coach. This was from the service guys, not the sales people. So its a fact that they can and will refuse you if they want to. I guess you can just hope you get a coach without a lot of issue's, or just plan on doing the work yourself.

This is why you want to do business with a high volume dealer.......Or order your rig. There was one thread in HOF forum. The mans purchase had been cannibalized by the service department before he took delivery. There are some shady dealers out there and those with just down right poor business practices. From a business aspect, turning down simple warranty work is a bad business practice. I would put your rig in my shop no matter where you bought it, and then I would try to get you to buy something for your rig.

TravelTiger said:

One more thing to consider is how long a 2014 has sat on the lot, not being maintained. Check the manufacturers sticker for the date of manufacture, it could be a year or more old! All this means is that the outside has been exposed to the elements. Caulking has been "weathered", and may need replacement. Tires, which have a manufacture date all their own, could be even older, an more prone to issues.

I've even seen dealers magically morph a 201x into a 201x+1 on their ads... Just to bring people in to look at the "latest from Heartland".

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

sengli said:

Tried to get the local dealer to do some warranty work on our rig, he at first, didnt out and out refuse to do the work, but after he found out we didnt buy it there. We got he old, we can get you in about 6 weeks routine. When I challenged them on the timing, he finally just said due to the fact we we didnt buy local they didnt want to do the work on my coach. This was from the service guys, not the sales people. So its a fact that they can and will refuse you if they want to. I guess you can just hope you get a coach without a lot of issue's, or just plan on doing the work yourself.

Click to expand...

A lot of small issues and adjustments are not things they can collect waaranty time from Heartland for. Other repairs that are covered by Heartland often pay at a lower hourly rate than they normally charge for customer pay work. There is also administrative time and they often have to wait to collect for the warranty repairs..Same as the car business. If they aren't too busy they may do some of your warranty but don't expect a non-selling dealer to do a bunch of adjustments and so on for free. They made nothing on the sale of the trailer, someone else got all the profit. Unlike the auto industry they are not obligated to do your warranty work....All things considered I would still buy mine from an out of the area dealer if the price difference is high enough. There is no guaranty that the service you get from a local dealer is worth a hoot anyway...Don

Think about it . . . !

thommfl250 said:

Dan,

I'm looking to do that now. I was hoping to get a deal on a 2014. After reading some replies. I'm less concerned about a distant purchase. Especially if I can save few thousand dollars.

Thank you

Click to expand...

Thinking that the outgoing model year will be discounted is an absolute falicy!

Just because it is last years' model doesn't mean that it will be less expensive just because a new model year is out!

And . . . another falicy is this . . . just because a new model is out doesn't mean that the new model is better than last years' model!

Think about it . . .

By the way, I am in sales, and I do understand that a new model year means nothing as to quality of product or value of same product.

Our 2013 Heartland Trailer Runner trailer is a perfect example . . .

The 2014 has a price tag about $5000 more than our 2013 . . . and the main differences are that the bathroom layout was switched around . . . and the outside paint job was different . . .

In all reality . . . it is basically the same trailer with a few minor differences.

Was it a better trailer for the $5000 price difference . . . NOT!

Except maybe it matches the trucks' paint job a little better . . .

As a side note, I just bought a brand new 2015 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD two weeks ago for about $5000 less than I was quoted for a 2014 Chevy Silverado 1500 (non-HD) a few days previously at the very same dealership!

Re: Think about it . . . !

It becomes a factor when you are floorplanning rigs, you want to make room for newer models and and want to take advantage of manufacturer incentives. In Texas they will be reducing inventories to avoid property tax on inventories. Why would a dealer pay interest to his bank and taxes on last years model. Dealers aren't going to take a bath on the sales price but they are motivated to move rigs. We all know how hard it is to motivate a dealer, but during certain times he is motivated, you just must know when he is motivated.

But perhaps the best purchase would be to buy from a high volume dealer get a deep discount on a 2015. I did, i got a better deal on a 2014 than a local dealer could give me on a 2013.

It does not matter what I say, fact is that you should get several quotes over the phone. First you need to find one with like you want and how much the options are worth and what are they worth to you.

I ordered mine and dumped a bunch a junk out of that rig in favor of options I really wanted.

JohnD said:

Thinking that the outgoing model year will be discounted is an absolute falicy!

Just because it is last years' model doesn't mean that it will be less expensive just because a new model year is out!

And . . . another falicy is this . . . just because a new model is out doesn't mean that the new model is better than last years' model!

Think about it . . .

By the way, I am in sales, and I do understand that a new model year means nothing as to quality of product or value of same product.

Our 2013 Heartland Trailer Runner trailer is a perfect example . . .

The 2014 has a price tag about $5000 more than our 2013 . . . and the main differences are that the bathroom layout was switched around . . . and the outside paint job was different . . .

In all reality . . . it is basically the same trailer with a few minor differences.

Was it a better trailer for the $5000 price difference . . . NOT!

Except maybe it matches the trucks' paint job a little better . . .

As a side note, I just bought a brand new 2015 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD two weeks ago for about $5000 less than I was quoted for a 2014 Chevy Silverado 1500 (non-HD) a few days previously at the very same dealership!

Click to expand...

Re: Long Distance Puchase

Anyone ever seen a rig builder........?

https://www.couchsrvnation.com/heartland/build-and-price