Long Distance Purchase--It Worked For Us - Montana Owners Club

Bowie · 03-13-2007, 05:19 PM

We returned yesterday from picking up our new 3400RL from Lakeshore RV in Muskegon, MI. Those of you who know us will think that Muskegon is a pretty long haul from upstate NY--and it is!! But we could not be happier with our decision to go with a long distance purchase and would do it again with Lakeshore RV in a minute. Designing our rig with assistance from our salesman John Sobczak was a fantastic experience. We had several very specific needs which were generated by our ownership of an '04 2980RL and John's creativity in meeting those needs was exceptional. The purchase price which we negotiated with him was noteworthy. It was eight weeks from order placement until delivery of the rig on 1/16/07. Winter weather intervened numerous times and delayed our pick-up date over six weeks. Lakeshore was gracious and more than willing to work with us to accomplish a safe pick-up.

When we arrived Thursday afternoon with the 2980, Lakeshore was ready for us to spend the night on-site in our new camper. We stayed in their on-site camp for three nights. The temps went down to 5F and the Montana performed wonderfully. We were delighted and warm!

We used the 12 page Montana Owners site PDI as our guide for inspecting the 3400RL. We had an entire day and a half with an excellent service specialist whose sole job was to walk us through all the components of the new rig and guarantee that our rig was functioning at 100%. Mike did an amazing job and it was obvious that he knew his product inside and out. He was a pleasure to work with as were all the members of the service group who worked with us.

This is not to say that there were not issues with the unit. There were. But all the issues were dealt with in a professional and expeditious manner. The most difficult problem was due to the fact that Lippert has changed dimensions for the kingpin mounting bracket, expanding them 3/4" and moving the bolt hole locations. Keystone installed the new dimension kingpin assembley from Lippert without notifying the dealer. (Remember that we all have read the disclaimer about Keystone's right to change components without notification.) We had planned with Lakeshore to move the TrailAir kingpin assembly/Air Ride assembly from the 2980 to the 3400 on Friday morning. When the change in dimensions was apparent, this plan instantly became impossible. Fortunately, Lakeshore owner and Service Manager Adam Sobczak was on the floor, called directly to Lippert's president and arranged for the proper assembly to be in Lakeshore's shop by start of business Saturday morning. Additionally, he was able to obtain the SuperGlide hitch parts which then needed to be welded to the new kingpin assembly. The entire operation was finished by 4PM Saturday when a successful hitch-up was accomplished. That was impressive service in our opinion!

Additionally, the wonderful new couch with inflateable mattress arrived with a huge lump in one cushion. John Sopczak and Pat determined that the cushion was installed in the upholstered cover upside down and backwards with the addition of some extraneous polyfil. Half an hour of work on their parts solved that problem. And the couch/bed is a great addition to the rig. The Apollo oven had visible defects and was replaced. There was the usual run of adjustments and tweaking which needed doing--and all were accomplished with ease. All systems seem to be in terrific running order

Lakeshore RV has won our confidence with their performance. We are delighted with every aspect of our purchase. Now it is up to Keystone to stand behind the great rig that we pulled back to NY from MI.

If anyone on the site is considering a long distance purchase (something which is especially alluring for those who will be full-timing and may not need a home-town dealer) you might like to investigate Lakeshore RV.

Now we can't wait to get this baby on the road. (And we'll change our signature as soon as we can manage it.) Thanks to all the site members who were so helpful in answering questions for us as we went through the purchase process. As always, you are all great. Safe travels and we hope to see you down the road.

Montana Sky · 03-13-2007, 06:57 PM

Bill and Pat,
This is such a great story! Thank you for sharing it with all of us. Let me be one of the numerous who wish you many happy and memorable miles ahead with your new 3400RL. Enjoy your new coach!!!

Bill and Lisa · 03-14-2007, 12:29 AM

Bill and Pat,
We probably saw you in the Lakeshore RV dealership. We picked up our first Montana on Wednesday and were leaving about 1 PM on Thursday. Although our salesman was "Nevada" Bob, everything else about your experience echos ours. One thing I will add that really impressed me - we purchased a Kipor 3kw generator while there. Not only did they ask if we wanted them to assemble it, they also came back and asked if we wanted the wheels put on or left off. We chose to leave them off and the unused pieces were put in our basement. When I found them Thursday morning it took me a minute to figure out what they were, since the pieces were 4 brackets and two axles. One of the tech went out and dove the dumpster for the missing wheels which had inadvertantly been left in the packaging but I digress. We live in Virginia Beach and were going to make some stops on the way back and were not scheduled to arrive home until Sunday. Although we stayed in CGs with full hook ups the whole way the service techs didn't know that. When I got the generator home and started to get familiar with it I found that the spark plugs had been installed, if was filled with oil AND gas and started with a turn off the switch ready for use - Now that meets my definition of Assembled! and all at no additional charge!
I would buy again from Lakeshore in a heart beat and have no reservations about recommending them to anyone else. We were "planning" on purchasing a 5er in June but the price quote my wife got from Lakeshore rapidly accelerated our plans. We found them through looking at units on EBay. We originally were interested in a used Mountaineer but Bob took the time to talk to us and find out what our requirements were and suggested the 3000RK instead. It met Lisa's kitchen requirements even better than the mountaineer and was a new 2007 for only slightly more money.

Anyway, wanted to echo your experience, and help others feel comfortable if they choose to go that route. Oh, one final thought, According to Bob most of their sales are from out of state and most are "delivered" vice picked up so that option is available. We felt more comfortable being able to spend the night on site and give the unit a through check out before it left the dealer's lot but that is us.

Bill

TheCoachPotatoes · 03-14-2007, 01:33 AM

Congratulations Bill and Pat!!! Sounds like not only did you travel to get your new Montana, but you got a nice little mini vacation as well. Hope you enjoy your new purchase! Any chance you might make it to the Northeast Rally?

Emmel · 03-14-2007, 03:24 AM

Congratulations to both of you guys! Here's to many happy miles and years of joy in your new Montanas! As a suggestion, let Lakeshore RV read both of your posts, it would be nice to share your pleasures with them. That sounds like you were very satisfied with their service and the owner also. ENJOY!!!!

Mudchief · 03-14-2007, 03:39 AM

Congratulations, now comes the fun times of using it.

richfaa · 03-14-2007, 03:48 AM

I would echo Emmel and both of you be sure to send off a copy of your post to the dealer for a job well done.

DHenry · 03-14-2007, 04:45 AM

Congradulations to the both of you. Our local Montana dealer has a reputation for high prices and poor service which is the reason we choose to look outside of our area. We chose to purchase from Cousin Gary's in Redding, CA which is 250 miles away from where our main home is located. Our experience with the salesman and service mirrors both of yours. Good luck and we hope to see you down the road someday.

fulltimedreamer · 03-14-2007, 06:36 AM

Congrats on the new coaches!!! It is great to hear about dealers who meet and exceed the customer's expectations. I hope you have many years of fun with your new toys!

campbud · 03-14-2007, 07:35 AM

Congratulations Bill and Pat....Bill and Lisa! Sounds like you picked an excellent dealer and Montana! Nice to read that things went so well for all of yous! Happy Camping To All!

Bowie · 03-14-2007, 09:51 AM

Thanks for all the good wishes. Yes Steve and Rich, the entire topic has been sent to our salesman, John Sobczak, brother of the owners. We agree that when a dealer does a great job we really need to let folks know. Too often we only hear about the problems we encounter. It is a real pleasure to share a positive experience.

Steve and Brenda · 03-14-2007, 10:02 AM

Price was our main concern when we picked ours up in the Dallas area. Had these Dallas guys not met our price goal our next candidate was up in Michigan and we certainly had plans to drive the 1100 miles. They offered on-the-lot camping and a fantastic wring out of the Montana.

Glass Guy · 03-14-2007, 11:30 AM

I also bought my Montana from John at Lakeshore RV, The price was the main reason, but the service was also top notch I had a couple of warranty issues and they repaired all but one that they could not get the Montana to leak under the kitchen slide without towing in the rain, But after some time I was able to track down the leak and repair it myself. Good luck with your new Montana, Roman

Okie Guy · 03-14-2007, 04:06 PM

Bill & Bill,

Thanks to both of you for the posts. I talked on the phone yesterday with Bob about a new unit. His price was UNBELIEVABLE! He is price is around $15,000 less than the local dealer here in Oklahoma City. I must say after talking with Bob on the phone for about 45 minutes I am ready to purchase from them. They even deliver and walk through with you at your house. What a great dealer!

Tom Gina 06 · 03-14-2007, 04:47 PM

When we purchased our 3400 last Fall we shopped all over the country. I told the dealers up front to shoot their best price because we were shopping in 5 different states. Most of them asked why would you drive 1000 miles to pick one up? Dahhhh, A couple of thousand bucks can sure go a long way in purchasing extras. Not to mention the mini vacation and saving thousands verses the fuel cost, sales tax, ect.. Kind of a no brainer IMHO. Congrates on your savings and happy days to come!

vtspencers · 03-16-2007, 11:46 AM

We too bought long distance. Actually we purchased our unit off ebay (sight unseen except for pix) from a dealer in (Masters RV) in Spartanburg, SC. The deal was too good to pass up. I asked our local Montana dealer (at the time) to quote on it. They couldn't match it and would't tell us how far away from the deal they were. They have since lost the franchaise to the dealer where we took our unit for inspection and service. It's now a match.

We made our trip from Vermont to SC last March. We took delivery, practiced hooking and unhooking, driving around their lot, backing up and even backed it into the spot we moved it out of to do our practice. All the first timer things. But you learn best by doing....and we learned a great deal.

It sounds like others have also done the long distance thing with equal success. We've been very happy with our Montana and will be in Buellton for the rally later next month.

Regards,
Jim

bigred715 · 03-16-2007, 02:24 PM

If you don't mind me asking what are the prices you are getting on your 3400's. Are most of you trading in? Here in Eugene Oregon I went to the recent RV show and they had a 07 3400RL on sale for $53,000. Is this a good price or can I get a better out of state. I don't like the idea of trade ins because I feel they come out better.

mwebber78 · 03-17-2007, 05:38 AM

Local dealer for a Montana Mountaineer 342PHT "Show Price" is $39,999.

1st phone call to LakeshoreRV - $30,500 with all the whistles minus 2nd AC (wired, not installed).

Yea I'd gladly drive 700 miles and take a weeks vacaion to save $9K......... Super nice folks and one of the owners is from Maine - pretty cool!

Connorsmom · 03-17-2007, 11:46 AM

I went to the Rock Financial Showplace RV show looking to buy a Montana. To make a very long story short, I had more than one dealership involved. But, the dealership at the RV show, A&S out of Auburn Hills, MI gave me the most outstanding deal. They didn't mix words, and didn't play games. Told me the bottom line price right off the top, and told me what they would include. To round it off, I got the Monty for roughly $43,000. I did trade in my SOB with them also, and they gave me more than the other dealership would. This of course raised the cost of the deal due to my having negative equity with the trade in. They also included in the price, the Reese 16K sliding hitch, and brake control...installed.

The Monty is prepped for W/D, and wired for second A/C. It has the Customer Convenience Group, the Value Package, Moving to Montana Package, Arctic Insulation Package. It has the outside shower, aluminum wheels, full size sofa bed, king size bed, end table and lamp, and high-back desk chair. It has the ceiling fan, the Fantastic Fan, fireplace and central vacuum.

I would drive to another state if the deal was worth it to me. Especially when I can inform the "losing" dealership that they just lost a sale due to greed. Which is exactly what I did with the other dealership involved with this story...:-)

*On edit-Something I hadn't noticed before..while looking over the Montana brochure just now, they have a little notice printed on the bottom back. "Visit the Montana Owner's Club website, independently created and maintained by Montana fifth wheel owners, at www.montanaowners.com" Cool...:-)

Jan

dscott · 03-17-2007, 03:36 PM

BigRed
I orered my 3400RL from Lake Shore RV with washer dryer combo and slide awnings for about 9000 less than your number.It just came in, there getting it ready know. They have a great service department over there. Good Luck

You may also like: