What's Fair?

We'll probably try to sell ours ourselves....IF we decide to go with something else. I know we'd take a beating by trading ours in. We love our floor plan and really have no complaints with our G'town other than it's a gasser which means it's somewhat noisy on the road and we get pushed around by trucks. The small DPs we've looked at seem like they are heavier, have more power and have creature features that we like.

It may be we have cabin fever and once this snow & ice melts off so we can get outside, we'll get over the DP fever but it's doubtful....

We do want to stay small.. 34-36'. Anything larger & we'd have a hard time getting in our drive and would have to lengthen the garage for the MH. It seems that the used smaller A's are hard to find. :(

Ivylog wrote:
Since you already have a MH and assuming you want to trade it in... MSRP, % discount are meaningless. You could get 35% off of MSRP but they are going to screw you on your trade. Too many games in a trade so it's how much money they want in addition to your rig for you to upgrade.

Trades do complicate thing greatly.

If you want to trade, realize that you will be leaving more money on the table than if there is no trade.

Not to say trading is a bad deal. We are trading our MH in sig for a DRV and are happy with the deal we got. Why? I'm realistic in my chances in selling a some what expensive used class A and realize that its not going to appreciate over the year I try to sell it. Knowing that and seeing that my best case "real" number is only about 7k less in a deal worth around 300k that 7 grand wasn't material for us. Especially with sales tax eating up most of that if we sold ourselves and bought the new unit.

Obviously on a % basis you can't go in expecting bottom barrel pricing on a new unit and expect them to pay top dollar for your used one. There has to be some profit in there for them somewhere. How much is all depending on how reasonable everyone is and how fast they think they can flip your MH.

I think many owners are pretty unreasonable in their expectations of what their rigs are worth and that causes a lot of issues come time to sell. Many are also upside down on loans which doesn't help things either.

Since you already have a MH and assuming you want to trade it in... MSRP, % discount are meaningless. You could get 35% off of MSRP but they are going to screw you on your trade. Too many games in a trade so it's how much money they want in addition to your rig for you to upgrade.

Get some price sheets from different dealers from all over the US
Price it out, let them know you are looking for price
When you get them back take the lowest to the local guy
See if he will match it
If not decide the premium value of using him over getting it else where


We got 25.5% off MSRP on our Newmar and was happy with it. We had another offer for 1.5% more but the value of having a local dealer was worth that premium.

Also remember that the MSRP is set from the manufacturer not the dealer. They are set high for a number of reasons, ie that's what other manufacturers with the similar items and size coach is selling them at, they all work hand in hand with one another. As others stated give a price that you feel is fair for the product you intend to purchase.

Sometimes hard to find "fair." The deal you make with them is hopefully fair to you.
I have paid more than negotiated for work done around here, because I felt it was fair and could afford to at the time.
The Dealer is going to look out for his pocket or what is fair to him.

IMHO, so called MSRP is largely a myth. The dealer can peg it whatever he wants. Too high he can offer deep discounts 25% means it is overpriced to start with, too low he either gets hard nosed or goes out of business.
I suggest shopping around and compare prices on the model you want. Average them out then make an offer that you think is fair. If he says have a nice day ask him for a counter offer. If outside your range offer to split the difference. There is no magic percentage, it's up to you and your negotiating skills.
I was in outdoor power equipment sales, often my response depended on the customer's attitude. If he/she came in primarily to grind me down I dug my heels in and quoted what I wanted not necessarily what I needed. If the client wanted an argument take it somewhere else, I refused to get beat up just to make a sale. Anybody that treated me like a crook got shown the door. If he/she asked me nicely what I could do for them I would try to be fair to both of us. After all, I had to eat too.If they wavered I would try to sweeten it by offering some extras to throw in.

WOW this pricing is really confusing.

Check the internet first by looking for units similar to the ones you are considering for ACTUAL sales price, NOT the asking price. In their listings, eBay has "completed" auction prices and the prices in green are the ones that sold and for how much. Once you find an approximate price that the units are selling for it should give you a place to start. Don't put much faith in NADA estimates or other book values. Look for actual sale prices.
The more things you can stack in your favor the better. Cash sales have the best chance of getting accepted for the lowest price. Don't be afraid to offer a ridiculously low price because he is probably offering the coach at a ridiculously high price.
If you have to rely on the dealer to find you financing, you are in the worst position to negotiate for a lower price.
If you have decided on a certain model, gather information about all of the other units that are for sale so that the dealer knows that if you don't buy his, you can go somewhere else.
Know exactly what you are looking for before you go to the dealer. If they try to get you to change your mind, accept the changes only with a huge reduction in price. If the unit looks like it has been on the lot for awhile, make your offer very low. Don't worry about the dealer making money. USUALLY they won't agree to any contract at a loss.
Don't be afraid to just walk away.

If you are going to make an offer start at 40 percent off msrp, you won"'t get it but it is a starting price. Be sure that the msrp is a true figure by looking at several dealer sites and remember you can always go up on price but you can never go down once you make the initial offer. If you have a trade it's meaningless. Your only concern is the difference. Try to sell your trade on your own, price it below competition and it will sell.

Nick