Howdy, I'm looking to purchase a Mallard M26 soon...

[MindGlove1]

Howdy, I'm looking to purchase a Mallard M26 soon... It is more for work than fun, I am a drone pilot on extended assignments around the US. I have never owned or even been in an RV so COMPLETE NEWB so ANY help is good help at this point!!! I am currently in talks with Gander RV and Camping World up here in MN. Someone told us a while ago there is a way to purchase these suckers a deep discounted rates. That aside if I end up going with one of these vendors what should I look out for and what should I do before purchase?

 

[sengli]

I can tell you if you buy from one of the out of state brokers, your factory warranty is pretty much void anywhere else you night think you might take your unit in for service. Unlike car dealers, the current state of the state for every RV dealer I have delt with is...unless you bought it here we cant help you on warranty services. Its not right, but they can do things, in some cases like outright deny service, or basically tell you they could maybe squeeze you in about 6 months. Several units ago we did this, and saved $20k...but none of the local dealers would give us the time of day. Luckily I took care the few warranty repairs myself with heartland sending me the parts. Hope you are very handy!

 

[Bogie]

Once you select a unit and negotiate the price, you should do a complete inspection before signing any documents or handing over any money. Jim Tanner ( a Heartland member) created a really thorough PDI checklist. You can see it Here on his web site. Plan to spend several hours doing this. Leave the kids (if any) at home. Then you can create an initial list of warranty items and get a repair commitment before signing any papers. This is when you have the most leverage with the dealer. Inspect the unit from top to bottom.

I purchased my unit from a dealer over 500 miles away. After the initial inspection/walk through with the technician, I politely told him he could go, but be available if I needed him. Then I did my own inspection. Once all that was completed, we signed the papers. My dealer was great. We spent the night in the unit at the dealers holding site. They committed to fixing everything the next day with the exception of one major item for which we made a return appointment several months later.