Travel Trailer Buying/Financing Questions

The best prices I have seen are during and right after RV shows in are area.

The dealers require nothing as they are not the ones financing. They go through banks and credit unions just like car dealers. You might want to check out credit unions ahead of time as they seem to offer some of the best terms.

Rather than financing, why don't you save the hard-earned money and purchase with cash. Start saving RIGHT NOW. If the RV is something that you really want, then it's worth more than that new smart phone, that meal out, that other new toy. Instead, put the money into a safe place (like a savings account), and do a LOT more shopping around.

Lynn

You can use a dealer to finance or go to your own bank or credit union. Or shop around to find the best rates. That is what we did. You can do 0 down. Save that money now for a down payment when you buy. If we all waited till we could pay cash we might never camp.

Find the dealer that has the unit you want. doesn't matter who it is. Chances are no matter what the dealer warranty work will be out 1-2 months if needed. We had our scheduled for the end of the season and kept using it while I had a temp fix in place.

Have you considered used? Chances are you will use it and find you want something different after a season or two. Used is a cheap way to find that out without loosing big depreciation. We are on our 3rd camper in 5 seasons. If going this route get a good inspection done to find issues. I have friends that have bought used trailers and traded for more than they paid after a few years.

In answer to your questions I will in part repost a prior post ,

December as a Best time to buy may be partly correct in that some states (Virginia for one) charges dealers property tax on all units they own on 1 Jan. So dealers will sometimes try to get rid of as much inventory as possible to ease the tax bill.

Down payments will depend on two things
How good is your credit, and how high an interest rate you will pay.
Good credit will get better rates.
Larger down will also help the rate sometimes.

On price I'll repost this,,,

A huge part of the difference is the disappearance of the local dealer. Mega chains buying out the local mom & pop locations and then putting in place all the bad things from the old jokes about used car sales.
Pricing based on you being gouged in the financing, thousands of dollars in hidden fees and mandatory upgrades, and the pressure to buy now or the price will go up next week. All spouted to you by someone that likely has never used the products they are selling as experts.
Use the megastores and rv shows to decide on size and floor plan, and then narrow the field of possible lines according to your wants/needs/budget. (ie; metal or glass sided, interior finishes etc)
And then use the advanced search feature from an online sales program such as
RV Trader
or
RVT.com
And search for specifically what you want, visit the dealers websites, see which ones price their units straight up, no fees. And then compare apples to apples , out the door for what your price is.

The dealer is free to price units how they wish, as an example some may require you to use their "preferred" financing to get a sale price. Or they may add fees such as
Shipping ,,,,,,,,, $1700.00
Dealer prep ,,,,,,,,$750.00
Pre delivery insp
or walkthrough,,,,,$700.00
documentation ,,,,,$399.00

Dealers that price their units straight up are usually proud of it and say so on their websites, those that have the add on fees generally say nothing. Yes, all dealers have to make a profit to stay in business, but as the buyer, make sure you are comparing deals, Apples === Apples.

CW may have a good price on a unit, they will have fees, but if the price is enough lower it could make up the difference.

Local dealer may be convenient sometimes, but many have months long lines for poor service. And if you are using your rig when something breaks, there is a good chance you wont be close to home anyway, so "local" becomes an irrelevant term.

eubank wrote:
Rather than financing, why don't you save the hard-earned money and purchase with cash.

Same old, an answer to a question that was never asked. :( I'd bet that the vast majority of recreational vehicles are purchased with financing - not up to any one of us to tell the OP which is better for them. :R

eubank wrote:
Rather than financing, why don't you save the hard-earned money and purchase with cash. Start saving RIGHT NOW. If the RV is something that you really want, then it's worth more than that new smart phone, that meal out, that other new toy. Instead, put the money into a safe place (like a savings account), and do a LOT more shopping around.

Lynn

:R :R :R

I should have stated that I’m not interested in anything David Ramsey would say. Yes I could save money and go camping 5-10 years from now. My goal however, is to get out camping with my daughter while she’s young and get her interested in the outdoors.

I’ve looked at used, but I’ve got enough used junk laying around that I have to work on all the time. I don’t want to be fixing things when I’m trying to take a relaxing trip.

I’ve looked at rates from my credit union and will possibly use them. I have an 800+ credit score. My car will be paid off soon and I have plenty of money to make the payments.

1. Inquire at your local bank or credit union, dealers might be able to do better because they get a kickback, but do your own homework. An RV will depreciate faster than you can pay it down if you finance the bulk of the price, so that is a treadmill that I wouldn't jump on.

2. The best time to buy is when you find the right unit for the best price, that can be any time of the year. You are the boss till you sign those papers.

3. Search and you will find many disgruntled CW customers. Let them quote you an out the door price, not the come-on prices you see in ads. Personally I wouldn't consider CW for anything beyond small items that I need right away.

Rjpoog1989 wrote:


I’ve looked at used, but I’ve got enough used junk laying around that I have to work on all the time. I don’t want to be fixing things when I’m trying to take a relaxing trip.

You have a lot to learn about finance and RV's. I buy with cash so I have money to repair and modify the NEW trailer so it is slightly usable.

1. Down payment is just like buying a car. The lender may or may not require one. It is a good idea to get pre-qualified from your bank first.

2. Seems like there is always a “sale” going on. I would concentrate on finding what you want as far as floorplan and what your vehicle can tow. As you look around, you will see a variety of prices. The MRSP can be as much as 33% over the selling price. Once you’ve got a good idea of what you want, get a few quotes of Out The Door prices. Checking around the ‘net can give an idea of what certain units are going for. Knowledge is king.

3. CW is the Mal-Wart of RV stores. Some hate em, some love em. For us, it was the only game in town for quite a while. Our Asheville store has been decent as far as I know. I didn’t buy our camper there. Personally, I would buy from any dealer that I didn’t get a bad vibe from.