Typical RV sales behavior

bacil wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:

bacil wrote:
Well i even tried to call MHSRV without any luck either (even waited till after 9pm here which would in their case translate just around noon) and no response apart form the receptionist telling me to wait (i have waited for 5 min and then gave up).

But to mitigate the "scam" i have agreed to put down the deposit even without seeing the unit, so they can be sure i will turn up.

What other options i have ? I cant think of any short of flying there and back.

PS: i am not set on New its just the question of layout, and i haven't found many used ones i would like

Putting down a "deposit" is the basis for most of the scams out there. One variation, send them a fake cashier's check, drawn on a foreign bank for the deposit. Contact the seller a few days later with a sob story and ask for the deposit to be refunded. Seller returns deposit, cashier's check bounces next week (because people do not realize out of country checks can take weeks to clear) and good hearted seller is scammed out of that deposit amount. It really doesn't turn a scammer or a lookie-loo into buyer. With the internet at our fingertips dealers have to sort thru literally hundreds of inquiries to make one sale. Very few people buy sight unseen. For dealers, the good leads are ones where they can envision the buyer actually gracing the dealership doors in the very near future.

Agreed, thats why i proposed credit card deposit so they will know immediately that it cleared. Only stipulation i had was that it is pending the personal tour of the unit and that if i should find it unsatisfactory it would either be refunded or used on another unit in their stock or order. I think its more than fair.

Again boat example comes to mind, small entry yachts are about the same price. We normally take $5k deposit on the day they say yes and we draft contract and reserve the delivery date in factory, then 30% of price due when factory confirms the delivery and accepts the config and reminder 30 days before the delivery date. (usually at escrow account until inspection is done and customer takes delivery).

Is it same or similar with RV ?

$5000 deposit will cost the dealer around $200. Refund it, an additional fee of about the same amount. They also have no interest in removing a vehicle from inventory while they wait for a buyer to come in and look it over. If you were dealing on a $500K rig, had made the dealer clearly aware of both your ability to buy and your intention of buying that exact rig, the situation would change. I would expect a similar situation in boats. Yachts are one thing, 19 foot open bow runabout are another. On a fairly generic, relatively inexpensive and widely available model like you are considering, you are closer to a Bayliner than you are a Carver. At that end of the market you aren't likely to get the service you are expecting.