Our Reflection 298BH purchase experience

[Whitexc]

Just wondering how the experience of others went when you bought your new coach?

We recently purchased a 150series Reflection 5th wheel from a local dealership that has a few locations in our area(Western NY). The dealer is pretty good size, selling many units from various manufacturers and everything from teardrop tow behinds to the large diesel pushers.

The salesman was great, doing his job while not trying to push unnecessarily. He sat, listened and sold us our 298BH based on ours wants and needs after looking at a few different models and floorplans. I would give him good marks.

The managers were typical, sticking to their guns but also willing to make a deal happen, if that makes sense. While I don't think we walked away with a smoking deal I think what we got is pretty good and fair in the current world in which we reside. Everything has gone up in price and at the end of the day, these are toys or extras to most of us and with that comes a price tag. There was definitely some pressure from the finance dept to purchase their extended warranty that we did decline. They were adamant that we should have coverage. My reply was that the sales team just told us we bought the best of the best (its a house on wheels and we know things happen to them). I have not shopped around yet but am certain I can find something much cheaper than what they were trying to add back into the deal. Ok marks here.

To preface this next portion of the review, we arranged for the dealer to store the coach for this winter. I typically store our RV elsewhere to make room during the winter months. Having said that, we requested the cliff note version of our new RV introduction with the full version come spring time when we pick up the new coach.

Now for the onboarding, walk through, orientation, meet and greet....whatever you care to call it where you get acquainted with the new coach. This dealership leaves this to the parts sales staff. They are nice, friendly employees that are willing to help and get answers if they don't have one. They seem knowledgable on current parts, accessories etc. They too work on commission so they did push a few items, which is expected.

The not so good part, and not their fault as I see it, is that they aren't exactly familiar with specific models and or "things" that different models may have on board. It's probably me being picky (we did spend some coin there) but this tells me they are more about the sale and not so much about the service/relationship side of things. I feel, based on my research, reading and posting here and other forums along with past RV experience under my belt, that I knew as much and maybe more about the new coach than the staff that was tasked with showing us around. There were a few questions asked my myself and my DW that they stumbled and had to figure out (the Jenson stereo/combo for example does play DVDs and they were unsure). Some of this isn't a surprise to me and I sort of expected things to go this way based off what I knew and heard about the big dealer(s). So so marks here.

To compare, our most recent TT came from a small family owned RV shop about 3 yrs ago just as the world shut down due to the pandemic. I felt things just flowed, no pressure and take as much time as you needed to decide. The walk through took a cple hours with them showing us everything about the coach. No attempts to up sell anything or push a warranty 5x the cost down your throat. A great offer on our trade. That really was a nice experience, considering the pandemic times we were in.

I hope this doesn't come across as a negative experience. We certainly are looking forward to getting out and enjoying our new Reflection. Just figured I would share. I have left names and specifics out and will follow up after we take possession and get some smiles in the new 5er. Thanks for reading and happy camping everyone.

[Soundsailor]

Pretty typical experience @Whitexc, most dealerships seem to be focused on the sale. Our PDI after the sale was similar to yours, a friendly and somewhat knowledgeable person but there was a limit on how much time they were willing to spend. My take is that I try not to depend on the dealer too much, GD does push them for warranty work but I try to take care of everything else myself. And we've been able to find a reliable mobile tech in our area who can help with things I can't do.

[trailrydr]

I also agree that the OPs sale experience is typical. I also understand why the dealership pushed the extended warranty, given all the issues during these last couple of years with service and parts availability, production and factory final inspections, and the RV inexperience of alot "current" buyers due to COVID. My guess, orher than trying to make an obvious buck, they may have also tried to save you from spending yours in the future due to reasons I listed.

We love our 150 295RL and its been a good reliable trailer. Hopefully you to will get to enjoy your RV trouble free as we did with just the normal wear and tear issues.

[downsc123]

We got our new 5th wheel in western NY as well this August (I was a repeat customer with them - Wilkins RV). Where did you get yours? We had very good experience with them. Got a very good deal (beat Myers RV by a good amount) and they let me do a very detailed PDI. Also, when we did the 'tour' of the parts department, I pointed out a few items I wanted (about $150 or so in value). During my PDI, the sales folks brought them out to me and said here you go and they are on the house. Also they have been very responsive with the inevitable warranty claims that we had on this trailer and on our old unit as well (e.g., got me in quick, charged me nothing for any of the diagnostics which they could have if then found nothing wrong or the claim was declined by GD, and gave me the trailer back with everything done right the first time).

[SGT ROC]

We got our new 5th wheel in western NY as well this August (I was a repeat customer with them - Wilkins RV). Where did you get yours? We had very good experience with them. Got a very good deal (beat Myers RV by a good amount) and they let me do a very detailed PDI. Also, when we did the 'tour' of the parts department, I pointed out a few items I wanted (about $150 or so in value). During my PDI, the sales folks brought them out to me and said here you go and they are on the house. Also they have been very responsive with the inevitable warranty claims that we had on this trailer and on our old unit as well (e.g., got me in quick, charged me nothing for any of the diagnostics which they could have if then found nothing wrong or the claim was declined by GD, and gave me the trailer back with everything done right the first time).

We got ours from Wilkins in Bath. We had been to several dealerships over the course of a couple of months. Wilkins was the last one and we both liked them over all of the others. They also had more to offer. We have had a couple of relatively minor issues over the years. They have been right on top of EVERYTHING.

[downsc123]

I took delivery from Bath as well but setup the deal out of Churchville (I am in the Rochester area). They can't deliver the reflections out of Churchville as Myers RV (now Campers World) has those local rights. Both Churchville and Bath locations have been great to work with. All the horror stories you read with getting warranty work done in a timely manner just don't seem to exist at Wilkins. They are not prefect but they do seem to work hard to do what's right and they keep your informed pretty well along they way. I have had 5 warranty claims on my new unit. One was a skylight roof leak that started on a Saturday, They got my unit in under cover that Monday morning and did a temporary fix that week. When the replacement skylight came in 3 weeks later, they got me in for that in the same week. That level of service is almost unheard of.

[SGT ROC]

I took delivery from Bath as well but setup the deal out of Churchville (I am in the Rochester area). They can't deliver the reflections out of Churchville as Myers RV (now Campers World) has those local rights. Both Churchville and Bath locations have been great to work with. All the horror stories you read with getting warranty work done in a timely manner just don't seem to exist at Wilkins. They are not prefect but they do seem to work hard to do what's right and they keep your informed pretty well along they way. I have had 5 warranty claims on my new unit. One was a skylight roof leak that started on a Saturday, They got my unit in under cover that Monday morning and did a temporary fix that week. When the replacement skylight came in 3 weeks later, they got me in for that in the same week. That level of service is almost unheard of.

Yep, great people!!!

[Whitexc]

Got the factory puck system installed, the B&W set up and 7 way plug installed in the bed. Installing Timber Grove bags asap and will be picking up the 298 in a cple weeks.