Lance Travel Trailer, can I afford one?
Ok, I've seen the Lance Travel Trailers and they are real nice and heavy duty. I'm looking for some advice here, which I know I will get some :) In general Ive been told that RV have a 30 percent ...
Forum Discussion
I haven't bought too many RV's, but I'm trying to read this thread with my car-buying experience in mind. I suspect it's not too different.
I have to say, it seems like I must be living in an alternate universe.
In my experience, the salespeople are WAY, WAY better at this game than I am. I have gone in with my guard up, a bottom line price in mind, and STILL been taken to the cleaners. In my (recent) experience, the place the game is played is not in the price dickering, but in the fees. We did what I thought was supposed to be the hard work of negotiating the price, got to a price we all agreed on, then sat down to complete the paperwork. That's when things got crazy. One fee after another that I had to make them explain. When I would challenge them and tell them that I wasn't interested in that service, they basically said, "That's what we do in all our transactions." In my last purchase, even in spite of all my diligence, I discovered when I got home that I had paid $90 for a cleaning! They had told me while we were doing the paperwork that they were going to "bring the truck inside and clean it while we signed the papers." The never told me that the cleaning had a $90 price tag on it. Everyone was all smiles and pats on the back throughout the whole transaction. But they were padding the deal the whole time.
If you can manage to pull off that "here's my check; take it or leave it" approach, good for you. You're a better negotiator than I'll ever be. But keep in mind that you have to be rock solid that the "price" you all agree on must not include any fees. Good luck with that. Fees are the place the game is played in today's world. In my opinion.
-Speak
I have to say, it seems like I must be living in an alternate universe.
In my experience, the salespeople are WAY, WAY better at this game than I am. I have gone in with my guard up, a bottom line price in mind, and STILL been taken to the cleaners. In my (recent) experience, the place the game is played is not in the price dickering, but in the fees. We did what I thought was supposed to be the hard work of negotiating the price, got to a price we all agreed on, then sat down to complete the paperwork. That's when things got crazy. One fee after another that I had to make them explain. When I would challenge them and tell them that I wasn't interested in that service, they basically said, "That's what we do in all our transactions." In my last purchase, even in spite of all my diligence, I discovered when I got home that I had paid $90 for a cleaning! They had told me while we were doing the paperwork that they were going to "bring the truck inside and clean it while we signed the papers." The never told me that the cleaning had a $90 price tag on it. Everyone was all smiles and pats on the back throughout the whole transaction. But they were padding the deal the whole time.
If you can manage to pull off that "here's my check; take it or leave it" approach, good for you. You're a better negotiator than I'll ever be. But keep in mind that you have to be rock solid that the "price" you all agree on must not include any fees. Good luck with that. Fees are the place the game is played in today's world. In my opinion.
-Speak
