Do I have to take the dealer's word on the MSRP?

Why do you care about MSRP or invoice price? I would think you only care about paying the least as possible. Get quotes from dealers across the country, especially the popular so called wholesale RV dealers. Go with best value negotiated.

I sold cars for a bit in my younger days.

Dealership owners have 2 main goals:
1. Sell cars and make money.
2. Move cars off their lot and reduce inventory to reduce the nut they have to crack every month. The vehicles are not given to them for free. They pay the manufacture a payment every month for each vehicle on the lot. Big inventory, big monthly payment.

I've seen buyers pay a 100 bucks over invoice for a new vehicle when they couldn't come to an agreement with the salesman and it was T/O'd to the manager. To move a car off their inventory.

That vehicle was not sold at a big profit BUT it reduced the dealerships payment to the manufacturer that month. It's a numbers game for the owner of the dealership.

Find a small local dealership with a "big" inventory and that is where you will get your best deal.:W

Get what is called a "build sheet" from the dealer. I you were ordering an RV, that's what you'd use to order the RV and options. It will have all MSRP numbers on it.

GoPackGo wrote:
When I was doing research I stumbled on this site - seedealercost.com

It has invoice as well as MSRP for the base unit and the available options.

Don't need to register at the site - just type in your zip, code and go.

Tim

Thanks! All the option costs are listed there! That site is remarkable. They don't have every, single RV made, but they have every, single RV I'm interested in buying. With that I'm most of the way there.

Now someone educate me on "delivery charges" in the realm of negotiations. Is this a legitimate fee that the dealer has a reasonable expectation that the buyer should cover all or some of that amount? Or has it already been factored in to the MSRP?

When I was doing research I stumbled on this site - seedealercost.com

It has invoice as well as MSRP for the base unit and the available options.

Don't need to register at the site - just type in your zip, code and go.

Tim

2112 wrote:
Doesn't NADA list the MSRP of new units, including options?

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I just checked it out, and yes it does, however, the NADA is always one year behind the newest RV's on the lot. In other words, the present NADA guide lines will give me the MSRP of the 2014 and 2013 models, but not the 2015 models. It also does NOT give the options prices, though it does list every option and/or option package. Still, there are as many 2014 model out there as 2015, and I can extrapolate the 2015 models MSRP from the 2014 MSRP. Knowing the base MSRP is most of the battle. The options I can deduce by comparing the various dealers listings of the MSRP with the various options. This is the tool I needed.

Doesn't NADA list the MSRP of new units, including options?

rockhillmanor wrote:

RKW wrote:
They will gladly tell you outright, or include in an ad the MSRP, but how do I know it's an accurate number? If I negotiate 35% off what I think is the MSRP, it's meaningless unless I know for certain the MSRP provided to me was accurate. How do I determine what actually is the MSRP.

You have the right at any dealership to see the invoice on any vehicle they have on their lot. All you have to do is ask for it.

A "RIGHT" ? I completely missed that there has been a 28th amendment to the Constitution. Does this "right" extend beyond vehicle dealers? Can I demand Walmart show me the invoice to the Shampoo I want to buy?
I have always found the dealers I shop to be displaying the actual MSRP from the manufacturer. If in doubt, call the manufacturer with the VIN and ask. They should be able to quickly access the records and tell you. What you won't have is the MSRP on any items the dealer has chosen to add once the vehicle arrived at the dealership. But that should be a very small percentage of the total price.

Decide what you want to purchase with the options you require. Take that information and put it our to bid by asking multiple dealers what their "out the door" price for that exact model would be. Include one of the national low price dealers like RVW.

Determine if it is worth a premium to buy from someone close to you or a dealer with an excellent service reviews.

It doesn't matter what the MSRP is - just what you will pay for the unit you want.

People who do you think started the MSRP less 30% is a good price game,DEALERS.Forget you ever heard the term and shop and do research.