Realistic?
Hi there. New here, and hoping for some insight into a process that is new to me - purchasing a travel trailer. This may be long, so hopefully you can forgive me.
I like to think I'm pretty capable of researching with the best of them, negotiating, and closing a deal, but this purchase process for a travel trailer is an ongoing nightmare.
I performed an incredible amount of research prior to my wife and I hitting the local dealers. Unfortunately, local means no less than an hour away, but we've been to 3 lots and browsed just about every online dealer we come across in our searches. Some of these dealers have high MSRP prices, some not so much. Some have sale prices with the MSRP crossed out. Some have the bottom dollar price listed. They are all different. This was expected, based on what most folks in my position have faced in the past, present, and future.
First things first, we found a floorplan we love. We've learned that there are only about 2,000 brands that carry that floorplan. But then we found the trailer we consider a great fit for us. And even better, our local dealer has it. In fact, the dealer in question has 2 lots in the area, and they have 4 of this model - three 2015s and one 2016. At the lot we prefer (closer to us and near where we would store it), the dealer has 2 - one 2015 and one 2016.
So we started the negotiations. Using information we'd found online, and the lowest "sale" price as a start, we kicked an offer to the dealer via email - straight to a salesman we had brief discussion with on the lot. We asked for this to be out the door, but excluding a hitch and brake controller. Considering this further, this first offer was probably low, but not overly so.
They contacted us pretty quickly, and came back with an out the door offer that basically matched their sticker price (sale price), and added on all the extras - taxes, tags, prep, processing. Then they added on the additional cost of the hitch and brake controller. This was about 5k more than our offer. We were taken aback, and already disheartened. We turned back to our research and reminded ourselves that this part wasn't supposed to be fun.
We touched base after seeing the numbers, and they noted they could come down, but only by swapping to a lower quality hitch (from Blue Ox down to Pro Series) and dropping the brake controller. But they stuck to the same trailer price based on our calculations.
The next day, we shot them a note, and they called to discuss. We let them know where we stood, and what we hoped for. The salesman had to check with his sales manager each time, so there were periods of waiting. They finally came back with an offer with a lower trailer cost, but the overall cost is still higher than we are hoping.
We bumped up yet again, and we are now at our calculated limit. We let them know that we had to have an out the door with everything "except" the brake controller under our limit.
They came back with a price about $439 over this limit.
This is for a 2015 Hideout 27DBS. Our desired cost is $19,000 out the door with a Pro Series 1200 hitch with friction sway control. It was originally 18k, but we reconsidered based on further thought.
Sticker "sale" price is 18,900. Their original OTD offer was 20,910. There latest offer is 19,439. The breakdown puts them at:
17.5k = trailer
599 = hitch and install
750ish = taxes
110 = tags
The rest of it is fees - processing, dealer business license, online filing fee, etc.
So you can see, the fees are the deal breaker at this point.
I feel as if we've come up quite a bit, with very little adjustment on their end. So I sort of want to take a hard stand at 19,000.
Which brings me to the end... Am I being unrealistic? Did I go into this thinking we could get this trailer at such a price, since it is a 2015? What would you do?
We could probably get it cheaper by heading a bit west, such as Ohio, but the local relationship would be nice. But I also don't want to have a sour taste in my mouth due to the negotiations. Some of the sticker prices we've run across are in the 16.9 range, so we had hope. Should we still?
Should we drop them off radar and just hit the Hershey RV Show a few hours away?
Is 19 not reasonable for this trailer and a hitch OTD?
What say you?!
Look forward to getting our home away from home soon, so I can become an active member here!
Edit: Forgot to note that this is an all cash offer we are making. No trades or anything.
I like to think I'm pretty capable of researching with the best of them, negotiating, and closing a deal, but this purchase process for a travel trailer is an ongoing nightmare.
I performed an incredible amount of research prior to my wife and I hitting the local dealers. Unfortunately, local means no less than an hour away, but we've been to 3 lots and browsed just about every online dealer we come across in our searches. Some of these dealers have high MSRP prices, some not so much. Some have sale prices with the MSRP crossed out. Some have the bottom dollar price listed. They are all different. This was expected, based on what most folks in my position have faced in the past, present, and future.
First things first, we found a floorplan we love. We've learned that there are only about 2,000 brands that carry that floorplan. But then we found the trailer we consider a great fit for us. And even better, our local dealer has it. In fact, the dealer in question has 2 lots in the area, and they have 4 of this model - three 2015s and one 2016. At the lot we prefer (closer to us and near where we would store it), the dealer has 2 - one 2015 and one 2016.
So we started the negotiations. Using information we'd found online, and the lowest "sale" price as a start, we kicked an offer to the dealer via email - straight to a salesman we had brief discussion with on the lot. We asked for this to be out the door, but excluding a hitch and brake controller. Considering this further, this first offer was probably low, but not overly so.
They contacted us pretty quickly, and came back with an out the door offer that basically matched their sticker price (sale price), and added on all the extras - taxes, tags, prep, processing. Then they added on the additional cost of the hitch and brake controller. This was about 5k more than our offer. We were taken aback, and already disheartened. We turned back to our research and reminded ourselves that this part wasn't supposed to be fun.
We touched base after seeing the numbers, and they noted they could come down, but only by swapping to a lower quality hitch (from Blue Ox down to Pro Series) and dropping the brake controller. But they stuck to the same trailer price based on our calculations.
The next day, we shot them a note, and they called to discuss. We let them know where we stood, and what we hoped for. The salesman had to check with his sales manager each time, so there were periods of waiting. They finally came back with an offer with a lower trailer cost, but the overall cost is still higher than we are hoping.
We bumped up yet again, and we are now at our calculated limit. We let them know that we had to have an out the door with everything "except" the brake controller under our limit.
They came back with a price about $439 over this limit.
This is for a 2015 Hideout 27DBS. Our desired cost is $19,000 out the door with a Pro Series 1200 hitch with friction sway control. It was originally 18k, but we reconsidered based on further thought.
Sticker "sale" price is 18,900. Their original OTD offer was 20,910. There latest offer is 19,439. The breakdown puts them at:
17.5k = trailer
599 = hitch and install
750ish = taxes
110 = tags
The rest of it is fees - processing, dealer business license, online filing fee, etc.
So you can see, the fees are the deal breaker at this point.
I feel as if we've come up quite a bit, with very little adjustment on their end. So I sort of want to take a hard stand at 19,000.
Which brings me to the end... Am I being unrealistic? Did I go into this thinking we could get this trailer at such a price, since it is a 2015? What would you do?
We could probably get it cheaper by heading a bit west, such as Ohio, but the local relationship would be nice. But I also don't want to have a sour taste in my mouth due to the negotiations. Some of the sticker prices we've run across are in the 16.9 range, so we had hope. Should we still?
Should we drop them off radar and just hit the Hershey RV Show a few hours away?
Is 19 not reasonable for this trailer and a hitch OTD?
What say you?!
Look forward to getting our home away from home soon, so I can become an active member here!
Edit: Forgot to note that this is an all cash offer we are making. No trades or anything.
