Who buys an RV from an RV show?

The DW was in San Diego for a week and I decided to go to the Seattle show in '05 to see what was oput there in bunkhouse TTs. We had a '99 Wilderness 27X and wanted something bigger with a slide and bunks. I got there early and really looked at everything on the floor and wound up spending two hours in the afternoon looking at a 32' Jayco metal side two slide bunk unit and an almost identical Cougar 304BHS and keeping out of the way of the salesmen.After they had seen me several different times,they started homing in on me. I finally decided I wanted the Cougar as it appeared better built,had nicer cabinets and was fiberglass.Got a price from TWO different salespersons from the same dealer and they were both different.Hummm.
I went home and went online and asked four different dealers for quotes and heard from one the next day,Foley's,one two weeks later,Tacoma RV who had the unit at the show and not from the ones in Richland or Portland. Worked out a deal with Foley's which had all the options the show model had,plus 6V batteries and a locking battery box and all for less money. Pulled the 27X up to Marysville the next Saturday,left it and they hooked up the new hitch on the 'Burb,also included,we did a one hour PDI and he took me to lunch while they fixed EVERYTHING we found wrong and I was back home in Bremerton by dinner. Had a small problem getting it up the driveway,high centered on the rear bumper and had to store it for three months while I changed the grade on a section of the driveway.

According to my local dealer, enough people that about a third to half the show inventory gets sold, and other show visitors end up coming to the dealer to buy something that didn't get bought at the show.

How happy the customers are, I don't know. Shows generate quite a few impulse purchases, not that they weren't planning to buy something eventually, but rather what was at the show does not work out as well as something else that got left behind at the dealership.

We bought our first new truck camper and a 16' bow rider/80hp Ev in a 1972 boat and sport show......the 8.5' TC was 1075 bucks and the Glastron boat and Ev motor/trailer was 3195 bucks.
Gas wars had regular down to 19 cents a gallon. Kids were 6 and 10. Sure have some great memories with that combo.

We bought ours first day of the show early. It was then locked up and taken back to dealership that night.
SAVED 35%

pointrow wrote:

pigman1 wrote:
We special ordered our Bus at the Hershey show. We'd been after Bob to do a 43' without Hydro-Hot for 3 years and with the help of the Tiffin show representative and the dealer pressure, they agreed. Got just what we wanted and at the price we were willing to pay. It did take until mid January until it was delivered, but it also took a lot more special engineering work than I thought it would. Do your homework and enjoy.

Just curious why no Hydro Hot ?

We boondock a lot and the Hydro-Hot uses a LOT of electric power for burners, fans, pumps and valves. LP is much more efficient from an electric standpoint.

I don't think it matters if you buy at a show or visit the dealer's lot. The main issue is you have to do your research and homework.

We were just starting our "looking" phase. We were planning on attending a couple large RV shows while in Florida plus visit the largest RV dealer down there. I spent a couple hours researching prices of my trade. I also researched and found the lowest prices for a few of the models we would be looking at.

When we visited a dealer (Tampa) prior to any of the big RV shows we had no intention of making a deal. We told the salesman that up front. We spent 2 or 3 hours looking at different makes/models. At the end of the afternoon he shot us a trade figure that I actually thought was a mistake it was so low. I still felt the need to negotiate some add-ons, but we really got a much better deal than I ever imagined!

We did go to a couple of the RV shows later and I did not see any price indication that made me think I could have done better.

We bought our motorhome at an RV show, but we knew the basics of what we wanted going in. At the show we finally found a rig with everything on it from our want-list, so we merely had to negotiate them down to a fair price right at the show.

No regrets so far after 8 years of ownership -> but RV's do take maintenance regardless of manufacturer's model, dealer, or price.

And, for what it's worth ... we did not consider floorplan as being the highest criteria on our want list.

Yep!

ken56 wrote:
We did, kind of, it was coincidental to when we found a unit online we liked and the show going on. We made the deal at the show with the dealer there, but it had to be brought over from Nashville to Knoxville. Nothing signed or completed till we got to inspect the unit in their lot. All went well and we are happy campers.

Similar story for us - the Class C was brought from the east side of MI to Grand Rapids for our approval. We bought a brand new MH for $2000 LESS than the used (same) models we had been stalking from another dealer.

One (small) regret: in our case, the RV Show was in January; and our C was driven over salted roads. Being the middle of winter, nobody washed it, and by the time we took possession in March, there was already some rust on the exhaust system. But in all fairness, ANY of us in the north, who like to go south for some sunshine, are going to drive on salted roads; and over the course of 10 years, we never had any problems.

We purchased both our travel trailer and our class A at the local RV show. The first one a trailer was just on a whim. It was a cold day and we went to the show to get out of the house. We where walking the last building that day and the wife went inside one of the last trailers and said this is it. Talked to the salesman worked the price a little bit and said we would go get a coffee and talk about it. Came back and gave them a deposit. That was a great trailer and great dealer to work with. Last year same show we went looking for a slightly bigger trailer due to the fact we now have three grandkids that will go camping some day. First trailer was only good for maybe 2 adults and two small kids. Walked the show and did not find the right trailer. Not with out going into a 5th wheel and new truck. We had the twin 1 1/2 year old grandsons with us that day and we went into the Class C and Class A unit to keep the boys busy. The last class A the boys found the TV and bed and as they say the rest is history. Used the smart phone to check out other dealers for pricing and options. Found the one we looked at had every option but full body paint for that model and cheaper than the other dealers, for less optioned units. Worked the deal on our trade in and even got better financing than first quoted. Only wish this dealer was as good as the first dealer on repairs and their promises.