Champion in Austin, TX

[Susan]

Has anyone had any dealings w/Champion dealerships in Central TX? We are trying to view one of their homes to get a feel for their quality, but the dealerships that carried them in Austin are no longer in business. I think it may be because of road construction and they may be relocating, but I want to make sure we are not about to look at another Oakwood that's about to bail!

Also, if anyone has any comments on Champion's quality and dealings after the sale that would be greatly appreciated. We should be selling our stick built house so we can move to the country at the end of January and are narrowing down the field.

We've pretty much got it narrowed down to 2 or 3 manufactures we can afford, but Champion is one we haven't heard much about other than it is a good home for the money as long as you get the upgraded construction.

We appreciate the help as we are in a bit of a rush and don't want to make any stupid mistakes!!

Thanks!!

[rmurray]

Champion has been closing plants and retail lots country wide...They have NOT filed bankruptcy..but are making adjustments to reflect the current market...

I would suggest that you buy from a local family owned dealership instead of a corporate store...You will find the desire to serve customers is the strongest there..

[Kevin]

Susan

You might try this outfit to get some info on the Champion homes.

www.a-1homesriverranch.com
(512) 989-8081 or (866) 989-8081

They are setup in a brand new park on Dessau Rd, and if they are still in business I imagine they could order anything you wanted.

Hope this helps

[Kevin]

Forgot to mention in the other post that there was another A-1 (Champion dealer) on Ben White (aka Palm Harbor Alley), but when we were looking they were clearing out the inventory they had, and claimed they were going to a high end Champion product.

(512) 386-7200 or (888) 386-7203

I knew these old business cards would come in handy some day!!!

[Susan]

A-1 is gone, but thanks for the info! I think we are going to go w/Palm Harbor because we got tired of trying to find a Champion dealership! LOL! They seem to build a good house for a decent price. Now comes the fun part of trying to make sure we get a good price.

[Kevin]

I tried calling the A-1 that was in the new park, and they did answer the phone as A-1 Champion Home Center.

As far as Palm Harbor goes, the dealer with the best pricing seemed to be Austin Quality Repos. They do sell brand new, ordered from the factory homes, despite the name. Two dealers that we determined we didn't want to deal with were the Buda store, and also the one out east on 290.

Just make sure you are comparing apples with apples between the dealers. They do seem to like and confuse the issue with the different series they offer, which come with different warranties, and standard features.

[KVR]

Kevin,

Thank you for providing the web address for the A-1 dealer in Austin. We looked at their web-site and liked how they show actual pictures of some homes and not just floor plans. We contacted one of their dealers by e-mail and recieved a wonderful response about the home (model #) we are actually looking to purchase. Unfortunately, I believe we are too far away to take their offer seriously, as they provide land packages and we can not move to Austin, but did get more info and bargain room for the dealer we are looking to purchase from here in our area. We may be able to discuss just the sell of the home and are looking into it further. This board provides great info. Thanks again.

[Susan]

Thanks for the info, I agree I think Austin Quality Reos does have the best prices and they still have access to all the other Palm Harbor lots. We're still trying to come up w/the pefect floor plan w/out having the extra cost of a custom plan. So far the best deal seems to be Keystone by Palm Harbor, we'll just have to do the tape & texture.

One big plus for Quality Repos is if you tell them the budget you want to stay in, they will work hard to find one to fit, not try to stretch your budget to fit their house like most places try.