Forum Discussion

RTHARIO's avatar
RTHARIO
Explorer
Jan 04, 2018

How much below MSRP should we be paying for a new TT?

Hello all, my wife and I are in the market for a new TT. We have had both a folding trailer and currently a hybrid so we are not new to RVing. Recently, we discovered Outdoors RV and really like them.

Since there is only one dealer in AZ, we don’t have a comparison for pricing and what a reasonable price would be to pay. We have not purchased a new trailer before but I would imagine is pretty much the same as buying a car.

MSRP for the unit we are looking at (‘18 Timber Ridge 27BHS) including some additional options is $45,669.

So, what have you paid for your trailer? How was your negotiatiating experience and please share any tips or advice you have. (Not specifically with Outdoors)

Thanks in advance.
  • It's also going to depend on how popular the model is.
    When we bought our Arctic Fox last year, nearly 100% of them were sold before they hit the lot. Your not going to steal one in those conditions.
    Still, we got about 23% off the full blown MSRP.
  • I third 25-30 off MSRP. I went in at 30 off, offered cash and bought mine on the spot.

    I would walk if less than 25 off. Mark up on most RV's is in the 35% range but a dealer has to pay the light bill.

    Best time to buy is NOW. Floor plan tax is looming, dealers want to unload and avoid paying the tax.
  • I'd agree 25-30% seems the norm. We actually got them down to 40%, we'd shopped and narrowed it to one of two (same model) at two dealers and I waited till last day of the month and let them battle it out to see which would give me the best deal.
  • There is no set percentage off for any class of RV, some dealers will negotiate while others are less forthcoming with counter offers. Since Outdoor RVs are mostly a west coast product with a limited number of dealers, it may prove to be more difficult to get a killer deal as compared to the mass produced units available from hundreds of dealers nationwide.

    That being said a quick internet search had your unit priced from the mid 40s down to the mid 30s. Hard to say if the dealer in the PHX metro area is willing to play ball, all you can do is give it your best shot, at least it is a good part of the year to try to negotiate a price you can live with. Keep in mind, no matter what deal anyone has ever boasted about, rest assure the dealer made their profit margin and then some.
  • Based on actual dealer cost, shipping, dealer mark up, sales volume, and dealer prep costs, MSRP is set by individual dealers. It's not unusual to find two trailers of same year/make/model/options at different dealers, with different MSRP. I've seen as much as 10K difference, and in some cases, the units located closer to the factory, were actually higher on MSRP. Those dealers must have had higher mark ups.

    The norm for mark down, seems to be 25 - 30 percent off MSRP.

    I did a search on your year/make/model and saw MSRP's between 44,529 and 48,495. I also saw some sale prices in the low 30's.
  • I googled that model and came up with 5-6 across the country. The MSRP is $46,876 and I saw prices ranging from 36,800 up to the MSRP. I would probably offer 65% of the MSRP or 30,500 and then go from there. I might even go a little lower than that. The only thing they can say is "NO".
  • Rule of thumb is 30% below MSRP but that all depends on supply & demand as well as time of year. We bought our trailer in May of 2013 and we only got about 15% off MSRP. If we had been able to buy in Feb of that year I know we would have gotten more off.
  • X2 nice way to line things up. also don,t be afraid to look out of state. we,ve had four rv,s all bought in other states. remember msrp is just a figure some body picked out of the air.
  • If you are already sold on a particular model, try searching RV Trader and RVT .com and see what prices you can find, it may give you either a choice for another dealer in another state to use or a competing price to use in working with the current dealer.
  • Offer about half of that and say with a counter offer! After they get done laughing, walk away. They'll counter offer. Take half of that offer and do it again. It's a cat-and-mouse game, but some dealerships are a bit more generous than others. All you can do is try to low-ball and see where it goes. And don't be afraid to walk if you think their price is still too much. Bottom line, the price of the RV might be listed, but the "value" is still in the hands of the buyer. It's true value is ONLY what the buyer is willing to spend.