Are you happy with your dealer?

[micwtx]

When we were looking at Redwoods we talked to Todd at Tiara Rv in Elkhart Indiana. Todd also had Montanas and Cameos and several other brands and we compared several models to each other, and the Redwood came out tops. Todd was very knowledgeable about all of the brands and models that he carried and his pricing was VERY competitive from the very beginning. Due to time constraints we moved on to Indianapolis and went to an RV show and saw a 36RE but still wanted the 36RL. Again due to time constraints we had to move to Kentucky.
DH called many dealers while we were in Kentuckyand priced a 36RL with the options we wanted and only one came up with a matching figure to Todd. That was Lisa Johnson with Colerain RV in Indianapolis. We were able to get a unit that was already in production and add the options we wanted (except for one) without much delay. From the time we ordered to the time we picked up the unit was about 3 1/2 weeks. We elected to go with Colerain as it was closer to us than Elkhart. Lisa was great to talk with, and anything she didn't know she found someone who could give her the answers. We also bought an extended warranty while we were there doing the paperwork.

When the unit arrived from the factory it had the wrong hitch on it so the purchase was delayed by a week while the dealership got the correct hitch in and installed it. They also didn't have the vent cover on that we had requested, plus they had to fix a couple of things we noticed during the walk through.

We were not allowed to do a walk through of the unit until after we did the paperwork, and we couldn't start the paperwork unitl 1pm. It took about an hour. The walk through took about 1 1/2 hours, so now it was 3.30pm. The weather was getting cold and it was starting to rain but they wanted us to have the new unit in one location and the unit we were trading in at a different part of the dealership so that meant we would have to carry everything a long distance to load. We are new fulltimers and we had lots of stuff! We finally convinced them that we needed them to pull the new unit outside so we could park the two units with the doors facing each other so we could hand off the contents from one to the other. That took another 30 minutes so we didn't start loading until 4pm.

By 5pm Lisa and service people would stick their heads in the door to see how we were doing and to ask how much longer we would be. No offer of help, no offer of water or coffee or anything. After the third time of that we asked what the problem was and was told that they could not leave until we were finished and gone. We had begged and pleaded to be allowed to do the walk through while waiting for the financial guy to be ready to do the paperwork and possibly start the loading but they would not allow it. We finally left the dealership at 6.30pm.

We found later that one or two items that were supposed to be in the Redwood bag with the manuals were missing and had to get them sent to us by Brian at the Redwood factory. We had contacted Colerain and told them what was missing and they said they would take care of it but never did.

We have not gone back to Colerain RV for service as we have not been back in that area. We have taken the unit to Johnny's RV in mobile Alabama for service and they were great. Very professional, prompt and courteous. We have to take the unit in again for more warranty work and will have to take it to a service location near Shreveport Louisiana. We had a problem with the water heater's electric thermostat going out in December. We were going to have to pay for someone to come out to fix it or pull the unit 40 miles to a service center for the water heater. We went and got the part ourselves from the service center and put it in ourselves. We had to deal with the water heater manufacturer rather than Redwood so it got a bit confusing who we were talking to! We also don't have all the manuals for the items in the unit, we found that out when we needed to get parts or find out how to remove things.

While we enjoyed our sales experience with Lisa and Colerain RV (she worked hard for the sale), it seemed that the moment the money was exchanged the after sales relationship did not seem to matter, the deal was done already. We have called Colerain and talked to the financial guy (Steve or Stuart Gilchrist) regarding the extended warranty and he has been very helpful.

[Happy Camper]

We are still waiting for manuals on the Toshiba TV, the convection oven, the fridge and the stereo system. At least we have the appliances.

[DoddsCP]

WOW, we had the exact opposit experience when we picked up our 36RE at Toscono's RV in Los Banos, CA. They were great!! We didn't do our paperwork signing until the very end and we were sure everything was to our satisfaction. They pulled our old Toy Hauler right next to our new Redwood so we were door to door and they offered to help with the transfer of items from one RV to the other. Since they were also installing the slider hitch and Firestone airbags on our truck they gave us one of their trucks to use to go to lunch and dinner. They allowed us to stay overnight at the dealership for 2 nights for free so we could throughly test and check out our new Redwood. All the minor problems we found were fixed on the spot. It was a great experience so I highly recommend them to anyone looking for an RV in northern CA.

Charlie

[5th_Time]

I was totally impressed with Bob Wilson and Leo's Vacation Center in Gambrills, MD.



First, I requested the MSRP order sheet from Redwood listing all the prices and options. It's actually an interactive PDF, so when you check off the selection boxes, it totals the MSRP of your unit for you. Then, I contacted the four closest dealers - of which Leo's was the most distant, emailed them my order and asked for quotes. Admittedly, myshopping was easier, as it was acash (no-trade) transaction. All were extremely interested, but Bob Wilson at Leo's was consistently the lowestpriced and without a hint ofpressure. He also maintained the negotiated discount on additional equipment I ordered after the initial quote without any games. This is where you calculate how much you are really paying for your options.



After I placed the order, he placed it with Redwood immediately and surprisedme when he called back within a week to give me the VIN #. Once the order was in,I added a couple additionaloptions (still same discount) and was worried that sometimes these late additions sometimes"fall through the cracks". When my unit arrives in 8 weeks, he personally inspected it off the truck and Redwood had done a fine job and included every option and additionwithout error.



When I arrived at Leo's after a 6 hour drive, everyone was waiting for us. The place was huge and well capitalized. The tech, Jim, that had cleaned and prepped my unit was also there to do the walk through. The unit was spotless. I checked every single thing on my PDI and there was not one thing wrong except a tinyantifreeze stain on the bedspread. Jim knew everything about Redwood and instructedand demo'd every system on the unit including options like dishwasher, washer/dryer, generator, every switch, latch and window shade. Thewalk through took about two hours and there was no hurry at all. At the end, Jim asked usto go over the unit one more time and make certain we were completely satisfied - which I was. At the end, he gave me his direct phone # and email address and asked me to call and let him know how he did.



Only after they had mehooked up, disk brakes tested and Trail-Air adjusted did we meet to close the sale.When I sat down withthe finance managerto do the paperwork, everything was in perfect order and filled out for us in advance.



I'm kind of a cynical guy and always look for the "dark side". But I must say I was totally blown away this timeand feel I got exactly what I wanted, at the lowest possible price from the nicest possible dealer. Everything was perfect! I drove out of the lot... still scratching my head at my good fortune.Edited by: 5th_Time

[KR2011]

Mike I hope my dealer is as equipped as yours was but I'm a little gun shy right now with thesalesman the rest of the team seem to be on the ball.

[Bill36re]

George Sutton RV in Eugene, OR was dishonest (ok I know this is the RV industry but this guy was something else). They lied about the price I was quoted on the phone, this after buying two Airstream's from them in the past two years. Sutton made up fake Redwood MSRP sheets and inflated options including $4K for factory freight.

I complained and got no love, so I posted my thoughts on Yelp. Sutton himself responded to my Yelp comments by call my a liar on line in four different posting before later taking them down.

Sutton's PDI was poor. Redwood was great. I had about $700 in warranty work needed. They told me to get it done and send them a bill. I had a check back to me in 10-days!

Anybody use Toscano in California?

[Rooksfive]

I hope Redwood will look at the dealership in Eugene OR and think twice about leaving their sales contract with them. With this forum and word of mouth it will get around about this dealership and hopefully people won't by anything there.
When we were shopping for our current Montana we experienced a really bad dealership and so many complaints Montana pulled their contract and gave it to a different dealership. I even told Montana that I would never even recommend Montana to anyone else if something was not done. Needless to say the dealership closed its doors and I was delighted to have them gone.

[DoddsCP]

I purchased my Redwood 36RE from Toscano's in Los Banos, CA and they were great!

[Dave&Ginny]

After talking to several dealers all within a 8 hour drive from my home ( the closest one was 3 hours away), I decided to buy my unit from Lifestyle RV out of Grain Valley MO. The salesman I used I was Rich. The whole team there from Barry (the owner) to the service technicians, all treated my wife and I like kings and queens. They were understanding of our needs and seemed to have respect for what we wanted. Most of our dealings were on the phone with the exception of going to an RV show in Kansas City.

They didn't try to play the full price game with me but at the same time I knew they had to turn a profit. I actually negotiated the same deal with 2 dealers and then picked the one that I liked the best.

One of the dealers closer to my home (3 hours away) kept dodging the question of price and then got upset when I went further down the road.

The day I picked up my RV the dealer paid for a spot in a camp ground across the highway from the dealership so I could check out the trailer before heading home with it. I onlyfound 1 thing wrong and the service department fixed it quickly before sending me down the road.

Lifestyle Rv
1100 NW Pamela Blvd
Grain Valley MO 64029
1-816-847-1699

It was well worth our drive
Edited by: Dave&Ginny

[Happy Camper]

We originally tried to deal with Explore USA in Ft Worth TX. The salesperson was great, but she didn't have any backing from above. They just didn't want to negotiate - more interested in how much down we putting. We ended up buying at the Austin show in February from the Explore USA store in San Antonio. What a difference in the overall staff.

[lillyputz]

I check with quite a few dealers also. the highest was lazeday in tucson by $21,000 and los banos in california,by $15,900.went with corey at windish rvin lakewood colorado. very little haggle. it pays to check around and if you are willing to drive.



LillyputzEdited by: lillyputz

[Rooksfive]

We found Corey at and RV show in Denver a couple of years ago. He was great and spent lots of time with us at the RV show to answer questions we had on the Redwood. At that time we were not ready to buy. We were even more impressed with Corey that we did not hear constantly from him to see "if we were ready yet to buy". Needless to say we went again this year and bought the 36RL and once again Corey was great. He sat and talked to us, emailed us quickly with answers we had about the RV, and gave us a great price. He even encouraged us to stay in the RV as long as we wanted at the RV show and continue looking and getting a feel of it and get more questions that we would NEED answers to.

Since our purchase we have been to Windish in Lakewood a few times to talk, ask a few questions, see the 38BR (had thought about purchasing this model), and just to see how the unit is coming. Again Corey would walk around the lot with us and sit in RV's with us and talk and answer more questions. I have never felt like he did not want to talk to us or that we were being a pain in his side with just stopping by on a Saturday when that is when they are so busy.

We have already used their service department for repairs on our current Montana and we can say they were great. We brought it in and they fixed it within a week. They had no problem with the fact we did it buy our Montana from them but was more than willing to fix it. Believe me we had it sitting for 6 weeks at another dealership and they told us that because we did not buy our Montana from them they would work on our Montana after everyone else. After 6 weeks and it not even moving on their lot we pulled it, took it to Windish and had it back in a week.

We are more than thrilled that we found Windish and even better yet Corey. If you are looking for an RV, not even. Redwood you might consider Windish RV in Lakewood, CO and their phone number is 303-274-9009 or 800-748-3778. Tell Corey John and Kathy sent you and he will help you anyway he can even if you have questions.

[Dan]

I have been dealing with Victor from Riders Connection in Cold Lake Alberta of all places. We have been working on this for over a year. Ourpurchaseprice wasapproximately65-75% of MSRP he has been great to deal with, I would send him a question via email and I would get an answer with in a couple of hours some times with answers from the factory. He has even gone so far as to have a whole bunch of Americans dumper off the production line so I can get mine early, ha ha justkidding. So far this process has been going verysmoothly

[Grandpa]

Our 36RL was purchased in Boerne Texas at ExploreUSA. It's the second unit we've purchased from them. After the first experience with a Carriage product I was inclined to avoid them due to a bad service experience and sloppy work. However, with a new manager in place, Jeff Benoist, the place is really humming. New service manager as well, Robert Muenster. Quality work is important to these guys! The purchase was a little rough due to a new sales person who wasn't up onthe product. But in his defense, it was a new line for the dealership. We've owned our unit for six weeks now and have nothing but good things to say about it. We're working on a short punch list for the first service appointment. Can't seem to come up with enough stuff to make it worth the trip for warranty work.

[Robin'n'Marian]

Originally Posted by Dan

I have been dealing with Victor from Riders Connection in Cold Lake Alberta of all places. We have been working on this for over a year. Ourpurchaseprice wasapproximately65-75% of MSRP he has been great to deal with, I would send him a question via email and I would get an answer with in a couple of hours some times with answers from the factory. He has even gone so far as to have a whole bunch of Americans dumper off the production line so I can get mine early, ha ha justkidding. So far this process has been going verysmoothly

Are there no dealers in BC? I know we have at least 4 different dealers in Alberta, with one dealer having 3 locations, so 7 locations here, and one dealer in Saskatchewan (Saskatoon) that I am aware of. I quess we have lots of choice (and competition) here for Redwoods. I haven't heard of any in BC, but I expected them to have just as many. Anyway, congrats on your Redwood.

[Dan]

Originally Posted by Robin'n'Marian

Are there no dealers in BC? I know we have at least 4 different dealers in Alberta, with one dealer having 3 locations, so 7 locations here, and one dealer in Saskatchewan (Saskatoon) that I am aware of. I quess we have lots of choice (and competition) here for Redwoods. I haven't heard of any in BC, but I expected them to have just as many. Anyway, congrats on your Redwood.

chewna
Nobody here in BC, I talked with most of the dealers in Alberta and Saskatchewan but ended up with this dealer just seemed to be the right fit for me, it will just be a two dayjourneyto bring her home.

Dan

[tompatty6670]

We purchased our Redwood 36FB from Lazydays in Tampa Fl. Price was much better than we arranged with other dealers-By a bunch! But in reality who knows when you have a trade. We couldn't have asked for a better sales experience from the time we walked in their door until we left with our new unit. If you want to be treated great,talk to Cindy Bell when you go. She is GREAT!!

[Bill36re]

After six RV's:

Every dealer gets a "A" for taking our money and the order.
Every dealer in my humble experience gets a "D" for the PDI and this includes 2 Beaver Marquis, 1 Holiday Rambler Endevor, 2 Airstreams and now 1 Redwood. Check and operate everything before you leave the dealer and get every promise in writing before you hand over your hard earned money.

Rather the list some of the funny things the missed (OK never even looked at) I'll just say check it yourself. We were told our dealer in Oregon sells over 100 trailers a month. The service and PDI guys are over worked and they are not paid to deliver a great experience, they are mostly paid to move product out the door.

I will say we had about a dozen issues and rather than the dealer, Redwood agreed for us to use a local service facility. We paid about $800 and Redwood sent us a check in 10 days! I was surprised to say the least in a good way.

[Dave&Ginny]

My dealer right now has a chance to prove themselves because I finally have a problem. My water lines are kinked going to my washing machine. So far they are holding up their end of the deal and are trying to figure out where they're kinked. They seem just as concerned as I am about the situation and I believe they'll prove themselves to be worthy of the money that they made off of the sale.

[KWire]

When you guys have been doing your PDI have you got out the torque wrench and checked the wheel lug nuts, axle/suspension nuts, and the hitch bolts?

I've read on other forums where most of the time they are WAY out of spec, almost to the point of falling off. I even saw one post where wheel came off on their way home.

There is one company that recommends they all be checked every 500 miles or so.

Just curious, Keith.