Buying our first Fifth Wheel
My husband and I are just starting to shop for a 5th wheel to begin our camping life. How negotiable are the prices quoted when visiting RV shops. Of course they tell us each time the price they are...
Forum Discussion
evanrem wrote:
Look for the cheapest price online and go lower than that. I hear 30 to 35%. Is what you want to shoot for.
That's 30% below MSRP, if you can find an accurate MSRP. Finding an accurate MSRP is easy with some brands, with most not so much.If you're expecting 30 to 35% below the lowest advertised price you can find on the net good luck. Pricing online is all over the board. Some dealers blow the price way up, some have it close to the lowest you'll find or get.
As an example.
When we were looking for our Rockwood Roo 23WS, I could find online pricing from $19,995.00 to $28,995.00.
Rockwood ships an MSRP document with every unit so finding that mythical number is easy as long as the dealer does not remove it or print out his own.
The MythicalSRP on our 2017 Roo was $31000.00
We paid out the door, taxes and everything $20500.00. The taxes (PA 6% sales @ $1152.00) and fees ($150.00) were added to a sales price of $19,198.00. We came to that $19.2K number when I told the semi local dealer who carried the line, that I was prepared to drive to the other side of the state and purchase from the dealer who advertised online for $19995.00.
As a comparison I was also quoted $20,000.00 at RV Wholesalers, but that price comes with some caveats which I won't get into.
If I would of expected 30% below the lowest advertised online price, that would of been $13995.00. I sure would have liked to pay $14K, but not going to happen.
All of that said I have run into two other people who purchased the same model at about the same time. One paid $22,999 prior to taxes/fees. another $27,500.00. I also had an online conversation with a lady who purchased the same model for $23,500.00.
Do your research, join a few forums and see if you can find some members who have the same model they purchased recently. Send them a PM and ask nicely, most will tell you what they paid and not BS you. You can leave a lot laying on the table with dealers if you don't know what you're dealing with on a realistic basis. Get as many quotes as you can get online. If RVW, Couches RV Nation, and some of the other self proclaimed wholesalers carry the brand and model your interested in, get quotes from them. These dealers all pay the manufacturers the same, any that tell you they are wholesale or get volume discounts is a load of horsepoop. The only difference is transportation cost from factory to dealer.
