Closing the deal

We traded our Avion Platinum in on our current MS sight unseen. We told them all that was wrong up front when doing the deal. they said price could change upon inspection. They did not say a word and the deal went thru. I was shocked! I figured they would come up with some reason to make our trade worth less. I always have had a negative opinion about RV dealers but Poulsbo RV in Puyallup, WA earned my respect.

Point is be honest about any problems with your trade or you may be told the offer is now less!

Way back in he '70s, I traded a PU and PU camper on a Class C motorhome. The dealer saw the PU but the camper was on a storage lot. When I told them that I would pick it up, I was told no problem they had drivers that could do it. Two months later, I recieved a notice from the storage lot that I was two months behind on rent and since PU campers have no title, they would sell it at auction if the rent remained unpaid. I notified the dealer and they picked it up the next day. That's how much they cared about my trade. Out of sight, out of mind.

Poptup wrote:
So, we went to the dealer and checked out the unit we wanted, they did an appraisal of our's sight unseen. We disclosed any issues that we are aware of and they gave us a value based on the assumption that they just send it to auction.

I'm hearing of more and more dealers doing this. They take the low NADA figure, give you 70 to 75% of that figure.

Yes, your old trailer is likely worth more than that in a private sale.

But for the sake of convenience, you agree to the lower trade-in value, and the dealer really has almost no risk. If you can tow it in, they can likely get that much or more at auction.

Poptup wrote:
We completed all paperwork and scheduled pick up and delivery for this weekend. I can't help but worry that they'll try and pull a fast one..
But, we already signed the contracts...
And they're a reputable dealer.
Am I goofy for thinking this way?

Don't confuse the way car dealers work with the way RV dealers work.

There are a lot of the same issues with salesmen and finance people, however, the RV dealer has a lot less risk of financial loss than the car dealer.

Between the money the RV dealer makes off the new rig, the money made off financing, and the low risk of the value they allowed for your used unit - their profit margin is covered.

If they try to change something - just walk away.

There is another dealer out there with the same unit or a near identical one available.

For units in the price range of yours - the numbers are pretty fixed.

Things get more complicated with more expensive rigs. There was a thread on here recently about a fellow who had taken delivery of a big RV, only to have the dealer come back and say there was a mistake and the price was listed on the paperwork was wrong by several thousand dollars. Both the dealer and the new owner said the price on the paperwork was far below the numbers quoted in the dicussions.

After much debate, the company ended up taking the rig back - because even though the new owner had a contract - it wasn't worth the costs of fighting the thing in court.

Yes, we know the dealer name. Send me a PM if you want to know.

If the dealer valued your trailer as if it was just going to auction then they gave you the lowest trade in value for it. They are not going to ask for more money. If they get more than that it is good for them. Obviously you are happy so I wouldn't worry.

A few years back we made a deal on a new truck. The trade in $ we were allowed was quite generous we thought, considering the trade in would be going to auction. The day we drove trade in for the new one it had a major malfunction on the 2hr drive up. It had to be towed. When we heard all that was wrong we felt guilty and offered the dealer to re negotiate the trade in $ since he was not getting what he thought he was. He said no, the deal stood. There are still some dealerships that go above and beyond. They even paid the towing as they considered the truck theirs from the day we made the deal.

Downsizing so traded our 2012 2500 CC Ram on a 2013 Super Cab Ford with the Ecoboost. I knew going in I was going to take a beating, but the price was right. Windowed for $44500 and bought for $33000. Got a call a few days later asking me to come back into the dealership to sign some papers. They bought my gas and I went in to find that they wanted to jack up my interest to 5.6% and raise my payment about $37.00 per month. I told them bring my Ram back up and I would drive off home in it and they could keep their Ford as I wasn't signing anything. Finance man hemmed and hawed and I told him he was singing, but I wasn't dancing. They decided to stick with the original deal. Must have thought I was stupid and would jump on their deal. They also wanted to null and void the GAP insurance and extended warranty. I still have both. I'm 76 and if it blows up it's covered. JMHO If you want the dealers name, send me a private email

Maybe they can afford to do that because they are charging you SO much money for the new one that the trade in doesn't matter?. Just sayin..

B.O.

We did the same thing last year sight unseen on our pop up and I disclosed everything on it. Well when I was at the dealer for some minor warrenty work a couple of weeks ago they still had our old pop up on the lot for sale.

That's what happened with my first tt. We hadn't used it for awhile, and it was old and in rough shape, which I fully disclosed honestly. Dealership made the deal, we signed the papers, I went home and brought my unit back several days later. They didn't even look at it. I'm sure they didn't lose any money one way or the other.

Moved from ATC

I do believe that you will be fine as they have already taken pretty much everything into consideration. Sounds like you are happy with your decision. Good luck and congratulations on your new home!!!! Enjoy.