2. Recently, Mike Molino, RVDA President,
wrote an editorial in the September/October
issue of RV Business. This magazine is
primarily an inside industry trade magazine
that informs those that supply, manufacture
and sell RVs of current affairs. I read with
astonishment the candor in which Mr. Molino
delivered the current philosophy of the
Recreational Vehicle Dealer Association.
3. It appears the association is concerned with sales that
occur outside a dealership’s given territory and with
service centers that work on RVs that don’t sell that
product. Interestingly, if the association had their way,
customers would pay more for their RVs because you
would only be able to buy your RV from a local dealer.
Consequently, they would pay more to have their unit
serviced because the customer could only get their unit
serviced by a stocking dealer that would charge more per
hour for repairs in order to cover the large overhead
associated with stocking large inventory. By restricting
the options a customer has can only increase the cost of
both the unit and servicing the unit after the sale.
4. At Nexus, we sell Class C and Class B+ motor homes directly to the
retail customers, and we have set up a network of servicing
dealerships throughout the country that is more extensive than any
other dealership in the industry. The fact is RVers travel throughout
North America and relying on the local selling dealership to handle
the service needs is nearly impossible. Many times the RVer is
thousands of miles away from the selling dealer and must rely on
mobile service centers and “non rolling stock service providers” to
get them on the road. The current Manufacturer-Dealership
business model has failed horribly with supplying customers with
the service support they need. Removing all the politics and
restrictions to making customers happy is the foundation that
Nexus RV is working toward.
5. As for the selling of RVs directly to the retail customer, without the dealer network, will
save customers money. The buying experience when buying from a factory direct
cannot be matched by a dealership. The overwhelming advantages are easy to see. First,
retail customers are looking for as much information on how their unit is built as
possible. In fact, many retail customers want to understand each and every process and
component that goes into the building of the unit. As a factory direct company, we
know everything there is to know about our product and the reason behind each
design. When visiting a dealership, the customer can only look at finished product and
the dealership personnel have little information on each model because they represent
many different companies and they have too much to remember. This lack of
knowledge can cause many other problems down the road. Secondly, when buying
factory direct, the retail customer has the ability to “menu customize” their unit.
Picking fabrics, outlet locations, paint colors and important options makes the retail
customer feel like they had some input on their unit. Contrarily, buying from a
dealership, the retail customer is pushed hard into buying the “green one” on their lot
because the dealership is trying to move the inventory as it has been on the lot for up to
a year or more. Enticing customers to buy aged units with “rot lot” by lowering the price
is a recipe for a dissatisfied customer. Buying factory direct, the retail customers gets to
buy a unit with little miles on the odometer and that has been freshly built. The unit is
truly new.
6. Finally, one of the most compelling reasons to buy factory direct
is the value customers get when eliminating the “middle man.”
At Nexus, we have measured the savings we have given our
customers. After a year in business, we have saved our customers
an average of $7,100 dollars. Imagine, a better buying experience
because of more information, better service because of a
national service network, a better unit because it is newer and it
is built to the customers specs and at a lower price. Do not let
anyone tell you different, if you can get all those benefits to
buying from a factory direct, you should do it!
