# Purchasing



## Fuzz4141 (Dec 14, 2010)

Hello all I am planning on calling Holman tommorrow to firm up a deal on a 250rs... the price is very good compared to the Canadian market... with them being a wholesaler, is there still room for them to move on their price? Or shud the negotiating be done on the extended warranty, or accessories like a battery or whatever??

I have bought a couple new trucks and 2 new motorbikes over the years so I have some negotiating experiences, but they were not wholesalers with low prices and they did have some room to move...

thanks all


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Between Holmans and Lakeshore RV, you will get the lowest price available. I drove from Oregon to Michigan and back and saved $5000 AFTER the cost of the trip.

Well worth the time to go to one of them (I went to Lakeshore)

Wouldn't hurt you to call Lakeshore (as for Marci) and tell her you were sent by Outbackers.com. She can do AMAZING things with prices.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

From Holmans or Lakeshore do not expect much wiggle room on price, the quoted price is what it is. Give it a try and let us know if you make any head way getting them to come down.

On a side note, stay away from extended warranties unless you get a rock bottom price, have read the agreement in detail to know the exclusions and have confirmed you have a local dealer that will honor the agreement as written. Even then if you are handy just put the money in the bank and use it to make repairs yourself if you actually need to.


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## Dave_CDN (Sep 13, 2007)

We purchased from Lakeshore in 2009 and had our unit shipped to the border crossing at Calais Maine. If you are having it shipped you may want to get that quoted iso you can determine the overall cost. It may end up having an impact on which is the best deal depending on which border crossing Holman's coudl be 100's of miles further as was our case.

We had quotes from Lakshore and Holman and neither moved from the original numbers. We were able to negotiate a good price on our Equalizer and power lift.


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## Faups (Jul 15, 2009)

Our family bought a new 2010 250RS from Holman last March - their pricing was very competitive, much less than our local dealers in SE MI and their service was top notch. We dealt with Jamie. I wanted to purchase from Lakeshore (shorter drive to make the purchase) and without bashing them I will just say that communicating with them was a major challenge...I'm not going to beg a dealer to buy a new camper (inject humor here). Holman was great to work with and I would highly recommend that you reach out to Jamie.

Couple of quick thoughts regarding upgrades we have installed on our camper:

Winterization kit (it's a chore to install in the new 250RS model - not a ton of room under the sofa bed for install). You might want to request Holman install the kit for you before you pick it up...will make life much easier next fall.

Vent cover for living area. MaxxAir covers are cheap - we installed one over the living area roof vent - I believe the bathroom already comes with one from the factory.

Power jack: easy to install and makes set-up a snap. We bought a 3500 series Atwood from Holmans.

Equalizer hitch - excellent hitch set-up for this camper. We pull with a 2500 series Suburban and you can barely tell the camper is behind you with this 4-point anti-sway set-up.

The 250RS is a GREAT unit - our family loves our camper. Our standard warranty expires in March and we have not had one thing require repair - very solid construction - just fyi. I agree with the other comments regarding not purchasing the extended warranty. Just make sure you complete the entire (PDI) checklist before you drive off the lot.

Hope this helps...

Faups



Fuzz4141 said:


> Hello all I am planning on calling Holman tommorrow to firm up a deal on a 250rs... the price is very good compared to the Canadian market... with them being a wholesaler, is there still room for them to move on their price? Or shud the negotiating be done on the extended warranty, or accessories like a battery or whatever??
> 
> I have bought a couple new trucks and 2 new motorbikes over the years so I have some negotiating experiences, but they were not wholesalers with low prices and they did have some room to move...
> 
> thanks all


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## hautevue (Mar 8, 2009)

X2 with faups. We bought from Jamie at Holman and sent the PDI sheets to them well in advance. That warned her (gently) that we'd need 3 - 4 hours because we were "newbies." She's done it many times, but it's only fair to have her know you'll take ~4 hours rather then show up and have them expect to do it in 2 or 3.

The PDI guy is on a time schedule so some suggestions:

1. don't bring the kids. They'll get bored and you'll get rushed. If you have to travel to Holman with the kids, contact Jamie well in advance and see if she can help set up a babysitter for you. That'll be the best $40 or so you spend!
2. Have DW wear slacks, jeans or some such so she can climb up and around without flashing everyone. 
3. take a flashlight, three ball point pens (you'll lose one, guaranteed!) and a notebook so you can write down stuff if you need to. (I did.) 
4. Have the PDI tech set up your hitch and then show you how to hitch up. Then unhitch, and you do it while he watches. Unless you know what you're doing (and I didn't) it'll be a strange experience, especially backing the TV up to the TT without whacking anything. Better to make your mistakes at slow speed inside their service bays than in the campground in the dark on the way home... 
5. Try everything out, of course--that's why you have the PDI list, so that you don't forget something.
6. Holman will let you camp overnight for free, "up against the fence". Your propane and fresh water will be filled, and they have 30a power, so you'll be comfortable, but that overnight stay will really help you. We discovered that the microwave door opener push button was unreliable. The PDI guy changed the whole unit for another one in 10 minutes. Arrange the overnight parking w/Jamie before you arrive. She will be very accommodating.

Others have written about PDI checking and I recommend you check that on this site. But our experience w/Holman was very positive. Good luck!


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

hautevue said:


> X2 with faups. We bought from Jamie at Holman and sent the PDI sheets to them well in advance. That warned her (gently) that we'd need 3 - 4 hours because we were "newbies." She's done it many times, but it's only fair to have her know you'll take ~4 hours rather then show up and have them expect to do it in 2 or 3.
> 
> The PDI guy is on a time schedule so some suggestions:
> 
> ...


All good stuff but for newbies it is also a very good idea to have a video recorder for the how do I do that questions. Then when the tech shows you then you will have a better record of the instructions. It also is good for recording the as received condition.


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## Fuzz4141 (Dec 14, 2010)

Only thing is we are not going to pick it up way too far, way too many miles on my truck!! The border crossing is only a couple hours from here, so we will not be doing the PDI with someone... the sales dept told me the tech does a walk through video that shows him doing all the tests of the systems... I am a firm believer in extended warranies, not so much in vehicles cause they are 3 yr warranties usually... but def for something that only guarentees their product for a yr like large electronics/appliances, Motorcycles, atv's and Trailers!! I have had a few issues with motor bikes and with electronics after the maufacturers warranty was up... and was damned glad I had the extended warranty!! We will see what they can do for us today.. little nervous still!! I have read good and bad reviews about Holman.. I also ditto the bad communication with Lakeshore, I have tried to contact them a few times with no response... finally sed "f" you is you don't want to make money... someone else can have it!!


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## luverofpeanuts (Mar 9, 2010)

As others have said, you probably won't get much wiggle room in price; when I was shopping, there was nowhere that came close to what Holman or Lakeshore could do. We bought from Jamie at Holman's. As others have said, you can have great and bad experiences anywhere. I had a great experience at Holman's. Clearly they are are large dealer, and Jamie was a very busy person, so I did have to be patient in waiting for her return calls or emails. It goes with the territory.

Holman's did offer an extended warranty, but I didn't pay too much attention to it, as I wasn't very interested in them. Holman's didn't pressure us at all, simply made very clear it was available if we wanted it I'm not totally against them, but since the RV manufacturers aren't providing the extended warranty, I'm wary of how truly accommodating they would be in the event some serious repairs were needed. If you want an extended warranty, I would do some googling to see if there is any clearly superior RV extended warranty companies out there, and get some quotes on what it would cost. At least then, you'll have an data point to compare what Holman's offers.

My rig from Holman's came with the basics... battery, full propane, sewer hose, water hose, chemicals. Since you're not visiting Holman's you won't be visiting their onsite store. We were offered 10 or 15% off anything we purchased that day, so we bought a few goodies. Perhaps they could offer you a one time discount for online purchases from them?


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## outbackmac (Feb 1, 2005)

Before you buy please check General RV i boyght from them in september of this year and did better, and iam 30 mins from Holman. Ask for jim morris or morrison tell him Jerry mcadams sent yea


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## cdnbayside (Jul 16, 2009)

I got quotes from alot of dealers, both in Canada and USA. Holman was the cheapest, then General RV, then Lakeshore. General RV matched Holman's price so we bought from General. We picked up the trailer in Wixom, MI which is half the distance as going to Cincinnati. Excellent buying experience from General RV, online, phone and in person. I would highly recommend them.


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## Fuzz4141 (Dec 14, 2010)

Well we dropped the hammer and our deposit is in on a 2011 250rs 10yr Anniversary Edition!!!! We went through Holman Motors and so far they have been very easy to deal with!!! Eddie Holmberg has been great and not pushy at all, always has time for my questions (there were a lot!!)...

I attempted to get into contact with Lakeshore RV, but never recieved a reply both from Gary England, and also tried emailing the sales email addy without response....

I also spoke to John Charest at General RV (someone from here recomended General), he was very good to deal with and was very competetive with Holman's price but still couldn't beat it, but was very quick to respond, and worked on the out the door price to get it comparable to Holman's....

Our unit should be in at the begining of February, but they will store it until April and then it will be delivered to the border where I will pick her up just in time to start the campin season!!!!! Hopefully Spring come early this year and we don't get the dreaded April snow dump!!! Or late May snow dump for that matter!!


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## luverofpeanuts (Mar 9, 2010)

Congrats! We dealt with Jamie (Eddie's wife) and Eddie helped when we arrived to pickup our Sydney last year. It was a smooth saturday morning pickup and we were on the way back to Minnesota by the afternoon.

Ask him how Cooper is doing ;-)


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## Fuzz4141 (Dec 14, 2010)

Heading to pick up our unit tommorrow, even tho spring has not sprung in Alberta!! I am sick of staring at white snow!!! Spring should be here by now!!! I want to at least see my brown grass, at this rate with the weather and late snow falls, wont see any green grass till june or July!!

Oh well it shal be exciting finally seeing the new unit, have only seen it on the dealers webpage!!


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## bowhunter2819 (Apr 27, 2011)

Wow just got a quote from holmans for my parents delivered to their front door. Brand new 2012 Wildwood X-lite 28bh for $15732.04, minus tax and tags for Maryland.

Thats $2300 less then just the unit from our local dealer who claims to below MSRP when hes above it for $300 bucks. He also charges prep an frieght ontop of his unit price.

However on my OUTBACK he was $10 more expensive then my local dealer, so i dun good with my new baby!


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