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Raife's avatar
Raife
Explorer
Aug 09, 2020

First barrage with the dealer

So we went and spent time with the Grand Design Imagine XLS 21BHE today. We spent about 10 minutes with the sales person and then asked if we could spend some time in the unit by ourselves (me, wife, and 3 kids). We just "played" for about 15 minutes, and then did about 70% of Tom Boles Pre Delivery Inspection. We had shore power, but nothing else. Overall the unit was very nice...we found a couple nitpik things.

So then we talked numbers. He started with the same sheet he had sent me which was 18.43% below MSRP (inclusive of freight charge). He said the freight charge was the cost to get it to them. The only fees were (I clarified several times there were no other fees later - he said no. We do get a 1-hour walk-through and "basics" kit):
- Documentary fee: $150.
- Title fee: $116.75
- State inspection fee: $7.00

We said we had an out the door budget that was significantly lower (like 35%) than what he had proposed and that we were looking at several other models as they were much closer to our budget. He tried to go down the finance route, we ignored it, and said we wanted to talk the out the door price first and we already had the means to pay for it. He asked what we were willing to spend, so we gave the number at 26% off.

He did the "let me take it to my manager" game and came back with $300 off. We joked about how that was not really a change.

He then stated with the provided price it was was $1,000 profit for the dealer (which I didn't believe) and said that was the lowest the the dealership would go. We briefly discussed "freebies" he could toss in, primarily being the WDH. He said nope. He then went down the financing route again asking what our monthly payment target was...we ignored it and talked generalities of how the dealer financing worked. He said depending on how the financing played out he may be able to bring the sale price down some more.

We thanked him, said we would be looking at the other models we were considering, but would keep in touch as our hold deposit was good through Wed (although he said if we stayed in contact he could honor it till next weekend).

So a couple basic questions:
1) Do I believe the $1,000 profit and if true is that typical/reasonable for an RV sale?

2) If I calculate out the total cost (MSRP + freight + fees), the current offer from the dealer is 19.25% off...while I know in the "ol'days"
25-30% could be the norm, I question if it is now.

For reference the other two models are the:
- Gulfstream Kingsport Ultrlite 247ABH
- Jayco Jay Flight 224BH

I am opening up the flood gates to the thoughts and opinions of all of you...

Thank you.
  • I know in 6-12 months the market will be better, but we are trying to get some trips in before a big trip in November. I am going to start looking at some campground options in the next day for our potential "shakedown" trips.

    We tend to keep things for a long time (i.e. every car we have owned we sold close to 200K miles), so not worried about selling in a year or two and necessarily being upside down. We also plan on paying more per month than what ever the financing ends up at...

    I know he can sell to someone else without issue as when we tried to put a hold on a unit it was gone in the 30 minutes my wife and I discussed. The subsequent one we now have the hold on happened to be inbound.

    I contact 40 dealers in a 5 hour radius of us and we only got 5 in-stock used or new units that meet my weight, length, and sleeping requirements. 2 were too small...
  • He can go lower, but he can also probably sell it without dropping price the way things are right now. If you wait 6-12 months you can probably get the price you want. But you’d have to weight.

    Everyone is buying RVs right now. Have you tried to get a reservation ina campground? The good campgrounds around me are booked solid.
  • To the OP: Thanks for providing some solid information about your deal and please report back as things move along. As an aside, the Jayco 224BH is a pretty nice unit.
  • Raife wrote:


    So a couple basic questions:
    1) Do I believe the $1,000 profit and if true is that typical/reasonable for an RV sale?

    2) If I calculate out the total cost (MSRP + freight + fees), the current offer from the dealer is 19.25% off...while I know in the "ol'days"
    25-30% could be the norm, I question if it is now.

    For reference the other two models are the:
    - Gulfstream Kingsport Ultrlite 247ABH
    - Jayco Jay Flight 224BH

    I am opening up the flood gates to the thoughts and opinions of all of you...

    Thank you.


    RVs are difficult to gauge on pricing. You will never see the "invoice price" as it is proprietary and the dealer is not allowed to publish or show you as part of their agreement with the RV manufacturer.

    Factory SETS the "MSRP" which is why it is "Manufacturers SUGGESTED Retail Price" as a recommendation. Dealer can sell it for pretty much any price they wish to but they MUST sell it for MORE than what it costs them to buy, have shipped and the floor costs (loans they may take out to buy inventory).

    Taxes there is nothing you can do to get out of those..

    Fees, some places pad the fees with excessive "doc" or "paperwork prep", those you might be able to negotiate some what.

    So, in reality, the dealer is giving you some song and dance, there is no reason for the dealer to add on additional freight charges.

    There is plenty of wiggle room from what the dealer pays for the RV AND the shipping cost to get you well below the MSRP. Freight on your side of the deal should be transparent, you should not be seeing that and any dealer tacking that on is padding the price of the RV..

    Find a different dealer and get a second price..

    And by the way, they DO make much more than $1,000, that is an old tactic often used by car dealers.. They would never be able to stay open if that is all they made on a $20K sale..
  • I am opening up the flood gates to the thoughts and opinions of all of you...


    I would start with another dealer that sells what you want and see what their prices are. Dealers play the game every day and are very good at it, you play it once in a great while and can be rusty. Always enter the dealers lot with your walking shoes on. Never be afraid to walk from a deal that is not comfortable to you.