By Chuck Woodbury
EDITOR
The following is right from the website of Gander RV & Outdoors, which is essentially the same company as Camping World.
Our advice: Never, ever, do this. Never!
Never buy an RV without checking it out thoroughly, and if you’re smart you’ll have an independent technician check it out, too. He or she will see problems you would likely never see yourself.
Legally, I suspect, you could turn down the RV upon delivery, but I’ll bet the delivery person (salesperson) would try every trick in his or her book to keep that from happening.
Chances are you’ll never be offered a deal like this from another dealer, just Camping World or Gander RV, the leaders in selling cheap RVs and financing them for 15 to 20 years. The profit for Camping World is in the financing, as well as selling you extended warranties, road service, tire protection and anything else a naive buyer would fall for. “Hey, it will only add $4 a month to your payment,” the salesman will say, and the customer will think no big deal, “Okay, toss it in,” realizing that’s for the next 20 years, plus interest.
If another dealer offers you a similar deal, don’t do it. Never.
This is Marcus Lemonis, the CEO of Camping World and Gander RV. He’s a smart businessman, who cares about himself and his stockholders. He cares about you, too, for your money. He operates legally, but it’s all about Marcus and his empire, not you. So be careful.
Again, never buy an RV that is delivered to you, sight unseen.
##RVT931
When we bought our motorhome we wanted a washer/dryer as the unit was set up for one. We didn’t buy the motorhome from CW it was used, CW had a sale going on so we bought the W/D and made an appointment to have it installed. The place for the installation had a reinforced shelf to install the dryer over the washer. After the installation we were taken out to inspect it and they had taken out the shelf and installed a combo kit that actually raised the dryer up higher than DW could reach, we made them replace the shelf and take their combo kit off, that was in Nashville. So anything they can do to increase your cost they do.
I fully agree about no home delivery from Lemonis and company. What are your thoughts about home delivery (or across the border delivery) from a reputable company like Escape Trailers located in Chilliwack BC?
I purchased from Camping World in Nashville when I purchased my first RV and had great service from purchase to service and warranty work. When we were involved in an accident 2 years ago they were only place that would take it to be evaluated if totalled or not and they were great working with insurance getting info needed.
We did not purchase again because they did not have what we were looking for. We had full replacement insurance and decided to up grade at that time.
We purchased from Cullem and Maxie that now has changed to Gander. Again great service. I told the salesperson what I wanted “gave a list” and he found it. If you have full replacement insurance you have to replace with an RV that has never been titled. So we purchased new. Never regretted buying from with place.
When using service I always have made a appt and let them know if I had reservations and when. They were great having issues done. So I think not all are bad.
It is great that you had a pleasant experience. not everyone is so lucky. The Nashville dealer obviously realized the importance of good customer service. Senior management at Camping World needs to follow this good example. All it takes is one revealing investigative documentary on a show like TVs 60 Minutes to destroy this company.
Lisa, I’m so happy to read about a positive experience with Camping World. We have never bought a camper from CW but we have used their service department and shop for parts and supplies at their store. They will always match the lowest price if we find it cheaper on their website. Our closest CW is Tom Johnson Camping World in Marion, NC. Also have eaten many good and reasonably priced meals at TJ’s. Their catfish is excellent!
What if the RV breaks down in transit to you?
“He operates legally” is not entirely true, at least not with that oversized flag issue he started.
Stay cool
To continue: Never BUY any RV from Camping World or Gander Mountain!
You see that “BLANK” eating grin on Marcus Lemonis’ face! Do you wonder what he is really thinking? I can only imagine myself. But the first word that comes to mind is: “SUCKER”! Or “I got your money now go away”!
And for those people who think his little CON Job statement he makes on his ad, “If you’re not happy, I’m not happy”, is just that. a CON job. For people who try to contact Lemonis via the Email listed, you are not talking to Lemonis at all! Most likely to some paid STOOGE, who will respond sympathetically and promise to get back to you, “RIGHTTTTTT”!
People simply need to learn, “DON’T BUY ANYTHING FROM CAMPING WORLD”!
OR, if you cannot learn from other peoples mistakes, then let the NIGHTMARE begin and go ahead and BUY that “GREAT DEAL” from “RIP OFF WORLD”!
Yes, we found out the hard way too about Camping World !!! The only reason we bought from them is because they were the only dealer for the Jayco we wanted. Needless to say we had a problem 24 hours after we got the trailer. We called the dealer got no help, they were like ….sorry…call your insurance. There was no support after the trailer left their lot. I ended up calling Jayco direct and they made the arrangements to get the trailer fixed under “their” warranty . I was thankful but also extremely upset with CW. I too had sent an email to the CEO and got a prompt response and then promised that it would be resolved……BS…..You will never get through to the actual CEO just some customer service rep. We never did a get resolution, corporate said they reached out to the dealer, etc. Still never got a response. After several more emails to Corp. I got a call from a so called manager who basically told me that the dealer had gone over and beyond to resolve the issues and that everything was my fault…..I was stunned!! He wouldn’t listen to anything I had to say…like if it is was supposedly my fault why did Jayco not see it that way and took care of us?
Needless to say I was beyond mad….and blasted back at him and said I would NEVER deal with a CW again…..and he could have cared less, said “maybe that was for the best” then called Jayco direct and let them know how the dealership was treating customers that bought their brand. Any issues that we have had since then I just call Jayco direct and they have been very helpful in getting things fixed.
Live and learn, I ordered a spare tire cover with an American flag printed on it May 5th. After 3 weeks of them taking my money, I got an email saying the item was on back order. I called a week later and asked why I wasn’t told about it being back ordered when I placed the order so I could’ve selected something that was in stock. Customer service then canceled that order and placed another order from CA that arrived July 2. I was in CW in Chattanooga June 10th with my son in law where he bought a plain cover $3 less than mine, I could’ve had one 3 weeks earlier and $3 less but they already had my money. I’m still waiting on a refund for a bed lift kit that was too heavy duty for our bed that I returned.
I was told by the head of the Coachman users group that Mike Terlep the President of Coacmen will not sell to Camping world because of the business practices of Marcus Lemonis. When purchasing our first MH we walked out of Camping World after an hour with the sales person and have not returned except to take advantage of “we install anything for $39.00. I try not to visit Camping World so I do not know first hand if this is true, I would be interested in knowing if they sell new Coachmen RV’s to them.