RV dealers rant and question

Gebrown wrote:
We've been to three lots, one of them twice and only one of them seemed to want to do business. One kind of screwed us over by shot gunning our credit app out costing us many hits so now were debating on just waiting so that'll clear.
One straight ignored us the first time we went. And one didn't have what we want, ironically they were about the best but really still nothing to write home about.

My issue with this is these are luxury items, I don't have to have one! I would think and hope if I owned an RV dealership my sales staff would be highly attentive and helpful!
I can find plenty of other ways to spend money. Not only that, I have to modify my truck so that costs me even more for this whole deal.

We just bought a new car, the car lot was 100% better than any RV lot we've stepped foot on!
People need cars to go to work, school, etc, people don't need RVs. Seems to me RV lots would love to see us drive onto their lot.

Anyway, end rant. Also, I'm aware some people live in them etc etc. My rant is based on the fact I can't seem to find an RV lot to suit my needs.

Anyone else run across this, is this normal?

Welcome to RV-101 class..:B

World of difference between RV and auto/truck purchasing.

Know exactly what you want. Brand, model and options.

If you can wait - do some price shopping on the internet - far and wide.

When you find the best price for exactly what you want - apples to apples.....that is now your "benchmark" price.

Now you can check with local (or closer) dealers to see if they will meet or come close to your benchmark.

If not - you decide if you are willing to travel or buy "locally".

If you must have a unit from dealer stock - the above is a moot issue!
Unlike autos, dealers have fewer units - and (usually) plenty of buyers.

BTW - sales folks that ignore you or let you "do your own thing" on their lots while looking - are a genuine bonus!

Lastly - when it comes to sales people.....you probably should only consider his or her first name as being the only truthful thing you will hear...:W

Good luck!

~

rockhillmanor wrote:
I was paying cash for a Class A. And to my surprise I ran into many RV dealerships that insisted on running a credit check first, prior to any type of contract was drawn up. Was it a high end product yes. But a credit check was not required to confirm eligibility to warrant the salesman precious time and quick qualify them for a certain priced unit.

Which is a moot point because the sales person does not know or have anyway of finding out just how much cash money the customer can and/or will put down on a unit they find that they like. WHICH in the case of the OP the dumb salesman has pigeon holed himself into only showing the customer certain lower priced units based on their credit check.

When in essence he could have showed them a higher priced unit and made a bigger commission. Once a customer falls in love with a vehicle it is amazing how they can come up with a bigger down payment.

I sold cars for several years so yes I do know about that end of the process. And credit checks are done ONLY after a contract is signed that requires a loan. There are no exceptions. And when a poor unsuspecting customer has their credit hit 4 times in a day looking at different RV's by irresponsible dealerships his goose is cooked for getting a loan. The customer must say no to credit checks prior to contract. Technically is not allowed which is why they must present you with a statement that you must sign allowing them to do so. They run it without your sig you have recourse.

So, you agreed to having your credit files pulled, when you were paying cash? That makes no sense. Something else was the reason why they needed your credit file/scores.

rockhillmanor wrote:

bigdogger wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:
You are not the lone ranger. The first time I went to look to buy an RV I found then aloof, unaware and uneducated on RV's. Many not even wanting to go out on the lot to open one up to look at at. :R

I have the same advice as above, sadly you DO have to keep looking for a dealership that really cares and want to assist you in buying an RV.

...One kind of screwed us over by shot gunning our credit app out costing us many hits so now were debating on just waiting so that'll clear....

As far as this goes, as you have now learned, is NEVER fill out a credit app until you are positive you want the RV and know you can afford it. Many want you to fill out one 'just' to see if you are financially capable of buying one. THOSE are the lazy sales people fearful of wasting one moment of their time showing you RV's. And/OR won't show you ones of better quality and lower price! :W

I don't know what line of work you are in, but there are very few businesses that can survive serving people who cannot or will not be buying from them. You can call the salesperson lazy, but he is not paid to waste his time. He makes his money selling rigs, not showing them to people who cannot pay for them or who are going to be buying elsewhere. As for the person who claimed the dealership screwed them over by shotgunning their credit app all over the place, that could have only happened if they had agreed on a purchase and the dealer was trying to get them financing. A dealer will only pull one credit report themselves. They won't be sending applications anywhere until they have a sale to try and finance. The only thing that could have possibly happened was the people contracted for a purchase and then the dealer couldn't get them financing for whatever reason. Then they went to another dealer and that dealer took the easy way out and said they credit took a hit because they had so many inquiries instead of telling the customer the whole truth, which is their credit won't support a purchase of an RV.

I was paying cash for a Class A. And to my surprise I ran into many RV dealerships that insisted on running a credit check first, prior to any type of contract was drawn up. Was it a high end product yes. But a credit check was not required to confirm eligibility to warrant the salesman precious time and quick qualify them for a certain priced unit.

Which is a moot point because the sales person does not know or have anyway of finding out just how much cash money the customer can and/or will put down on a unit they find that they like. WHICH in the case of the OP the dumb salesman has pigeon holed himself into only showing the customer certain lower priced units based on their credit check.

When in essence he could have showed them a higher priced unit and made a bigger commission. Once a customer falls in love with a vehicle it is amazing how they can come up with a bigger down payment.

I sold cars for several years so yes I do know about that end of the process. And credit checks are done ONLY after a contract is signed that requires a loan. There are no exceptions. And when a poor unsuspecting customer has their credit hit 4 times in a day looking at different RV's by irresponsible dealerships his goose is cooked for getting a loan. The customer must say no to credit checks prior to contract. Technically is not allowed which is why they must present you with a statement that you must sign allowing them to do so. They run it without your sig you have recourse.

Credit checks are and can be run at any time during the sales process. To say they are "ONLY" run after a contract was signed would apply to maybe one sales outlet but not to most. In order to run a credit check, practicality forces one to have certain personal information such as and including the person's social security number. The prospective buyer would certainly have to be a "poor unsuspecting customer" if they gave out that information without thinking there would be a credit check run.

"Shot-gunning" a credit app is often common practice and not necessarily detrimental to the consumer. Very few lenders will act on these applications if a proposed deal is not attached. This action allows the dealer to offer choices as to availibility of financing and terms offered such as interest rate. It is the equivelant of shopping from dealer to dealer for the best price.

Multiple credit inquiries associated with financing the same type of purchase within a short period of time do not do abnormal damage to a person's credit rating. The FICO system is calibrated to recognize multiple inquiries associated with a car purchase, as an example, and treats them as one event if done over usually a thirty day period of time. If a person makes application for a car loan, house loan, and credit cards over a short period of time...there will be a negative effect.

Any time a credit check is made by a merchant, the Federal Law requires a consent form to be signed by the consumer. Any thing less, whether a contract exists or not, carries a serious monetary fine to the merchant. It never ceases to amaze me how often consumers sign this consent form and give the merchant personal information only to then claim ignorance that the merchant was going to run a credit check. Usually this claim comes when the consumer is rejected for credit reasons. Then, Federal Law requires the consumer to be notified their credit was declined and a reason stated for this action.

Dog Folks wrote:

Uma & Papa wrote:
I'm with you Gun Ship Guy......I don't want ANY salesperson around me no matter what I buy. If I have a question then I'll let them know. Being a woman and out shopping for a car....amazed at how many salespeople don't pay us any attention. Had several more or less tell me to bring the hubby in so they could talk to him...excuse me...I have my own money. Think a lot of the ladies on here have a say in buying the RV too. And BTW both of our daughters make more money than their husbands so salespeople Don't assume it's all up to the man.

Absolutely. We went to buy a new Harley for my wife, at a dealer that I had already bought two bikes from. The salesman kept talking to me, the DH. My wife would ask a question and he would respond, looking at me! I finally told him that if he expected to sell the bike, he had better start talking to my wife. I then walked away, so he had to.

She bought a bike, but not from that salesman.

Substitute Suzuki for Harley, and this was my exact scenario.

The few lots I have stopped at over the last few years were very attentive to wait on me till I told them I was looking for a truck slide in, then they just say sorry and vanish. One very large lot in Indiana the sales woman did invite me in to her office and she gave me some literature and said they could order one for me if I wasn't in a hurry.

I like dealer lots where you can walk on and the trailers are open. You can look as long as you want. If you find something you then go inside and find someone to help you. Hate the places that the lot and every unit is locked and you need to walk with salesman so he can open up the trailers. If all the sales people are busy you either wait for someone or leave. Usually I have looked online so I know they have something for me to look at. Hope you find one that meets your needs.

Years ago when I was in the car business the credit inquiries can stay on your report for up to two years and usually only lower your score 2 points per inquiry. I don't know if things have changed alot in the last few years since I've been out of the business. I wouldn't really worry about it too much because the lenders kind of expect a few inquiries when a person is shopping for a large purchase.

One of the first things I do when I go on either a car lot or RV lot is tell the salesman that I am just looking and don't ask for anything related to a credit report. I have had requests for credit information after saying this anyway so I just leave. YMMV

This time we "show roomed" at the Pomona RV show and found the unit that met our needs/wants. We waited a few months before buying to see how the IRS and CA treated us for 2013 taxes. In February, we checked in with the salesperson who showed us the rig and that dealer no longer had one. The stated delivery time on an order was 8 weeks so I figured we would be lucky to have it in 12. That being the case, I went on the internet and found a close enough dealer (La Mesa RC in San Diego) who had the exact unit. I made contact via the internet and an internet salesperson contacted me to say that they had the unit for sure. Went to see it the same day. The internet staff handed us off to another sales person who only had to handle the test drive and demonstrate the features. Then, we went through the financing rigamarole. You all know what that's like. Made a deal and the unit is ours. Almost enjoyed the process. Now...the payments are another story but, the interest rate was much lower than our last purchase 9 years ago so payment stayed the same and we have the new rig that better suits us. Seemed like a lot of folks that had to split the commission.

RGar974417 wrote:
We have 2 RV dealerships in our area that I will not buy from.One of them,I have purchased 4 RV's from,but they changed hands and when I bought the 4th one under the new owner,I vowed never to return.You would think a customer who bought 3 previous units is one you would want to keep but guess again.He is rude and arogant and I was ready to should have walked away at that time.I'm sure he has alienated others who were looking to buy from his dealership.Now we're in the market for something new and will look elsewhere.I know a little bit about how to treat a customer because I have been in business for 26 years and most of my customers are ones I have worked for before.Apparently many RV business owners have no clue.

who exactly are you upset at? was it someone in a position of authority? Lots of customer issues are easily resolved when escalated. This may not have been necessary in the past but is common practice now.