1st time buyer - 31 vs 35 ft trailer?
We are planning to get a 5th wheel trailer soon and are debating between a trailer that is 31 ft and one that is 35 ft length. It's our first time pulling a 5th wheel trailer so we are leaning to...
Forum Discussion
frenchmr wrote:
I went to the local Hideout dealer this afternoon. They have the trailer listed for $33k, retail of $45k. That price is consistent with other dealers in the general region. I tried negotiating down to $30k, but the most they would come down to is $32k. I countered with $31.5k and they wouldn't budge. What kind of discount is reasonable to negotiate? It's my first time buying a new trailer.
We got =very= lucky on our KZ. It had been sitting on the dealer's lot for 10 months and, on one call, I ended up getting the owner directly. He said, "I need to move this and get something new. I'll sell it for $XX, plus T&T." I about cr@pped myself and told him I needed to talk to SWMBO and get back to him. Called him back about an hour later and gave him a grand down on a card. Was about 42% off retail and, as far as I can tell, was right at, or just below, his cost. He said they were losing $5k; not sure I believe it, though. This was new old stock, with full warranty.
In what I've read here the past nearly 15 years, I'd say 30-35% off "MSRP" is about the going discount. Of course, "MSRP" can be some number that that particular dealer pulled out of his nether regions. There've been numerous reports over the years of identical rigs with wildly differing "MSRPs". They always seem to blame "delivery charges" for the difference even when the dealers are only a couple hundred miles apart. Jayco does have a "build and price" feature, which prevents this kind gouging and does give the lie to the "delivery charge" b.s. for nearby dealers. While I haven't looked at too many dealer sites recently, Jayco is the only one I know of off-hand that has the build and price feature, but there may be others.
Lyle
