Buying from Lichtsinn Motors

[Luckiest Dreamer]

It is just a bit over two hours drive from Des Moines to Forest City and about the same from Minneapolis. Chances are flying into DSM will require a plane change and into MN will not. I would rent a car in MN and drive from there. It will take nearly an hour from the Mason City airport to get there.(guesstimate) I purchased mine in Davenport from another dealer but have always had it serviced at the factory. I am not going to attempt to rate a dealer as I have only bought from one. My experience was satisfactory for me or I would not have made the purchase. You may or may not get the deal that you want in Forest City but you will get a dealer that seems to have a good reputation. They always have a presence at the National Rally each year!

[SeeTheUSA]

My experience with Lichtsinn is as follows:

- great place to buy parts, the parts guys are very knowledgeable and helpful

- when I visited the sales side of things a few years ago, couldn't hardly get anyone to acknowledge we were there, left feeling ignored

- when I discussed a trade with "Ron" a few years later on the phone, he couldn't even come close and did nothing to negotiate after his first offer, which was a really poor one . . . I beat that offer by about $20k elsewhere as I recall

[Cooperhawk]

Originally Posted by jerichorick

Thanks for keeping us flying safely all those years.

You're welcome, but I got paid very well for my time.

[Five2o]

When I bought my coach at Lichtsinn I had emailed many dealers from Florida to Calgary getting a quote on the coach I wanted. In my case Lichtsinn was about 22k cheaper for me and I put a 10k deposit to hold the coach for a week.

There's no need to go anywhere to view a coach before the deal is hammered out...you can see the new Winnebago lineup almost anywhere.

Buy the best price...you can get warranty work done almost anywhere...most of the best are not Winnebago dealers.

[bachler]

The burning question remains, If you have a dealer in your area , WHY would you go 100/1000/2000. Miles to Buy it ???? Rather then support your own community ??? what am i missing.. This must be the same people complaining about there community dying.. Wake up before it's to late;; Life is good..

[SeeTheUSA]

Originally Posted by Five2o

When I bought my coach at Lichtsinn I had emailed many dealers from Florida to Calgary getting a quote on the coach I wanted. ... snip ...

My own experience with the whole "email offer" thing yields very few, if any, bottom-line bonafide offers. Wish it did, would certainly simplify the purchasing process.

[aauummm]

Originally Posted by Luckiest Dreamer

It is just a bit over two hours drive from Des Moines to Forest City and about the same from Minneapolis. Chances are flying into DSM will require a plane change and into MN will not. I would rent a car in MN and drive from there. It will take nearly an hour from the Mason City airport to get there.(guesstimate) I purchased mine in Davenport from another dealer but have always had it serviced at the factory. I am not going to attempt to rate a dealer as I have only bought from one. My experience was satisfactory for me or I would not have made the purchase. You may or may not get the deal that you want in Forest City but you will get a dealer that seems to have a good reputation. They always have a presence at the National Rally each year!

I got mine in Davenport also! We actually were just in town to take care of some family business and were going out to dinner at a restaurant that is across the street from the Winnebago dealer. As guys will do, I thought I'd drive through the RV lot first and check out the RV's, maybe kick some tires, etc. We had no plans to trade ours in at the time.

It was after normal hours but the dealership owner happened to be there walking around the lot, so we gabbed with him a bit. He showed us one that the wife liked a lot and it was all over. We went inside and he shot us a very good deal.

We have the motorhome taken care of at the factory because we are closer to Forest City than Davenport.

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by Cooperhawk

You're welcome, but I got paid very well for my time.

As well you should. You, who keep the flyways safe, save more lives each day than most cops do in a lifetime and many of them get big buck. Your stress level, from the way I see it, had to be high more often than not. Those 'close calls' because your directions were not followed must have stopped your heart at times.

My thanks stand unblemished by your paycheck status.

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by SeeTheUSA

My own experience with the whole "email offer" thing yields very few, if any, bottom-line bonafide offers. Wish it did, would certainly simplify the purchasing process.

You might not have gotten any quotes that came close to the price you were willing to pay, but on the other hand you didn't spend hours on the road or in the dealerships to find out the same thing.

When we bought our first motorhome I sent out an e mail to 12 dealerships with the specs for all the options we wanted along with an RFQ (request for quote). Of the 8 dealerships that responded only 2 had somewhat reasonable prices. We went to the closest one and did some more negotiating. When we left we had an unsigned contract with all the prices filled in. We were going to mull it over for the weekend and return the signed contract by mail the next week.

The next Monday the salesman called and said he'd made a mistake on the contract and needed an additional $300.00 or he couldn't complete the deal. I called the second dealership and offered them $500.00 less than what we'd agreed on with the first dealer. He jumped on the price and the deal was completed the following weekend.

Had I not sent out the e mails I wouldn't have had any idea of what to expect from any of the dealers. In addition I wouldn't have had any idea of which one to turn to next when the original deal fell through.

Fast forward a dozen years and we went through a similar process. Once again it was the second dealership we purchased from when we couldn't arrive on a price with the first one.

[bachler]

In our shop we made a lot of different Equiptment. Loaders . Fireplace inserts, Boats. The list goes on and on, I an just Mentioning this to make a point;;; When a factory makes a Part No matter how small or how large. You have different price scales. And the Final Retail price; You cut that price and we will pull your franchise; Now it works no different with Motorhome dealers. They all have a bit of dealing Laditude. They can offer More on trade in's . . I still maintain support your local dealer. When someone bought elswere and came to us for warrenty work. They were put on the end of the longest list.. WHY should we be good.nice to them. They basicly said to hell with you when they ran all over the country trying to find the best deal. Take your Problems there for repairs.. Life is good.

[TeJay]

Early last spring we decided to start looking for a MH. We had a 2014 TT to trade. When we went on-line LM came up and I was impressed with their on-line video's and even their offer to do a video walk through on any unit they had on their lot. I have searched for a lot of MH's and didn't recall any other dealer doing that. OK so they are technically up on when it comes to selling that is no assurance that they are a good dealer.

We contacted them and after several calls we settled on a coach that we wanted to order. It was model change time and things were being changed on the 2014 coaches that were new. The interior and exterior color schemes were going to be different and nothing was out yet. We traveled to FC with our TT. They paid our TT off and later we saw our TT listed on their web sight $5,000 less than what we were paid for it. We also got the MH at about 30% off MSRP. We do have a CW 10 miles from us that sells WBGO's but when I spoke to the GM he could or would not even come close to LM prices. We ordered the coach in early MAY and picked it up on the first of August. The trip was about 600 miles for us. If you call them they have several ways for you to fly into FC. They will even pick you up at one of two airports and there are several motels close to the dealership and one across from the factory. We also did the tour. After we finished the tour the driver took u and another couple around the lots so we could look at any coach we wanted to. We were able to see several units with the 2014 new colors both interior and exterior so we had a better idea what we wanted.

We stayed in FC for another 3 days so we could try everything and have any items fixed that needed it.

IMHO When it comes to MH repairs. Keep in mind that my background is just that. I taught automotive for 35 years and can fix just about anything. I do a lot of my own work on the MH even if I should take it to the dealer. I generally don't use them unless it's something that is just to costly or requires a complete unit change. There are many items on MH's that are unique. I believe if you spend $100,000 plus dollars on a MH any major repair, depending on the extent, I'd take it back to the factory. Some of these things can get very complex and even out of the range for the local dealer. There are just some things that should be repaired at the factory if you want them done right.

I have called LM service department with a few questions and they were handled very well. Their advice on some issues were spot on. If I had a major issue I feel that I could call them and they would advise our local CW technicians if it became necessary. Yes they would like me to drive up to FC for service and repairs but 600 miles one-way is asking a lot. They seem happy that we bought from them and are willing to take what they can get if we do happen to stop in for repairs.

Our experience with LM's was good and if decide to trade I'd go back.

TeJay

[Cruizer Bill]

You guys are terrific! Thanks so much for the advice. I am reading every one of them. Based on your advice, we will wait until April to pick up a motorhome and will give our local dealer a chance first. However, I now have four quotes in my hand to use for bargaining and will travel if necessary.

[erstanfo]

Cruizer Bill,
I was in the same situation 2 years ago when we purchased our 2012 36m, custom order with the options we wanted.
I talked to Roy Robinson and Uhlmans in Chehalis. On the same coach and options, Uhlmans was less than Roy Robinson. Also sales tax is cheaper in Chehalis than Marrysville.
I live in Olympia so it is shorter drive for me. When I factored in the 1 way plane ticket, vacation time, diesel to drive it back, I decided to go with Uhlmans.
Good Luck,
Ed

[forest]

Everyone talks about service, but has anyone seen the new building Lichtsinn is putting up?? Guess how many service bays it contains. And how many technicians do they have? They rely on the factory and every other dealer in the country to take care of the product they sold. Not that it isn't handy and great marketing, but when that little space and staff is required to run a dealership service center, then obviously they win. No other dealer in the country could sell as much as they do with just 4 techs on staff.

[rream]

Guess they should add more staff and space they do not need. Is it their fault that most of the customers they sell to are not local.

[forest]

Originally Posted by rream

Guess they should add more staff and space they do not need. Is it their fault that most of the customers they sell to are not local.

No, but everyone who buys there and expects to get top notch and prompt service from their local dealer needs to remember that if LM had to service all of what they sold, the waiting list would be months.

[bachler]

Strange as it may seem. The flag still is flying in Our free country. You/I can buy when/where we want; I even Knew a Man that came from the midwest. and on an Alaskan caraven He bought one it Alaska. WE thouht he was nuts. Maybe ! but free.. Life is good

[rream]

Originally Posted by forest

No, but everyone who buys there and expects to get top notch and prompt service from their local dealer needs to remember that if LM had to service all of what they sold, the waiting list would be months.

Did you buy from them, I see your profile is blank do you even own a Winnebago Product ?

[jerichorick]

And to add a bit to the formula of where to buy and where to service. These things, as with all types of RV's, are sold with the implied intent of vacationing or traveling long distances with in order to get the most 'fun' out of them. With that being the overall intent of the RV industry how can any dealer show prefered service to any RVer asking for service? They ALL want us to go far away from where we bought the thing from to begin with!!! It is not even reasonable to require that the rig be returned from Seattle to Forest City to have a slide gear replaced! Give me a break. In my case, this is my home. When i need emergency service I need it where I am at the moment. Getting QUALIFIED, good and accurate service is a huge challenge when on the road as we are.

I still say make your best deal where you can. We drove 1200 miles after searching about a year for this coach. I doubt if we will ever go back to that dealer or even be in that part of FL again for a very long time, if ever. We are now near Dallas and will soon be heading south and west. Will be on the west coast for at least 2 years. So, how will my dealer service this rig?

Rick

[Izzyblueye]

jerichorick X 2