Grand Design purchase

[fly4fun]

I am in the market for a new fifth wheel and have just started the search. Is there any dealers in Texas that will get right on the price? In the DFW area the only GD dealer is McClains and so far they are not that interested in selling for a good price. I am not opposed to used but so far all the ones Ive seen thus far are almost as much as a new one would be with some good haggling, i.e. 30% off. Any guidance would be appreciated.Also how much wiggle room is there when negotiating on a second a/c if needed or a new fifth wheel hitch?

[dryfly]

DallasSteve wrote:
An additional thought:

Grand Design seems to be different that most travel trailer brands. They seem to have a contract with the dealers that they are not allowed to advertised discount prices. We can assume this is so Grand Design can rip off their customers as much as possible. In the travel trailer market discounts of 25% to 35% off MSRP is normal. I think this is also true for Grand Design, but I'm not sure.

Steve

Please explain why not advertising discount pricing is a way for GD to rip off customers as much as possible?

Any buyer can contact any dealer and receive a discounted price off MSRP. Different dealers equal different discounts. I can't see how a manufacturer would make any more off a trailer that is eventually sold to the customer at MSRP or heavily discounted.

[laknox]

fly4fun wrote:
Thanks for all the info guys. Today I started contacting dealers within a 600 mile radius for pricing. I am willing to travel for the right deal.I am sure a good deal will come along and I am very patient.

One thing I found during my 2 year search for a new FW, was that a lot of dealers are using Craigslist, RVTrader and RVT. With Craigslist, there is a nice tool that will search =every= CL listing, including Canada and Mexico. It's called Searchtempest and is very flexible on search filters. If you've got enough RAM in your computer, you can open every location at once, search through any results, then close each tab as you finish it. It will also search evil-bay, too. One thing that helps is knowledge of Boolean search logic as that will cut down on a lot false hits.

False hits are one of my biggest complaints with RVTrader. You search for a specific model and it will return many other results. RVT, OTOH, almost never returns falses, though it's much smaller.

Lyle

[fly4fun]

Thanks for all the info guys. Today I started contacting dealers within a 600 mile radius for pricing. I am willing to travel for the right deal.I am sure a good deal will come along and I am very patient.

[TxGearhead]

Maybe Holiday World in Alvarado. You might get a decent price, but their service is terrible, at least in Houston. Look on their website. Hwhrv.com

[DallasSteve]

garyp4951 wrote:
I tried hard to buy a GD in February with three different dealers, and 15% off is all they would go, so I just kept mine.

15% off. That's rough! Maybe a good recession would soften their prices.

[garyp4951]

I tried hard to buy a GD in February with three different dealers, and 15% off is all they would go, so I just kept mine.

[patperry2766]

Crestview RV

Explore USA near San Antonio area

Have you been dealing with the Denton or Burleson store?

I'm also interested in GD, but not ready to start negotiating yet.

[smlranger]

We got a 2019 Solitude in Nov 2018 for 26% off the MSRP. Check with Campers Inn RV. They have many locations but not sure any in Texas. Another dealer that seemed to have good pricing on GD was General RV.

RV Trader is a good place to look.

[laknox]

fly4fun wrote:
I am in the market for a new fifth wheel and have just started the search. Is there any dealers in Texas that will get right on the price? In the DFW area the only GD dealer is McClains and so far they are not that interested in selling for a good price. I am not opposed to used but so far all the ones Ive seen thus far are almost as much as a new one would be with some good haggling, i.e. 30% off. Any guidance would be appreciated.Also how much wiggle room is there when negotiating on a second a/c if needed or a new fifth wheel hitch?

All mfrs are on a "buy local" kick, but won't support a true dealer network. Given that, find a floorplan you like, then contact every dealer within 200, 400, 600,etc., miles and see what they will do on price on the same unit. Take those prices to your local dealer and see how badly they =really= want to sell that rig. If they won't get within a few hundred, then tell them they're not serious about doing business and you're taking your business elsewhere...and STICK TO IT.

Lyle

[DallasSteve]

An additional thought:

Grand Design seems to be different that most travel trailer brands. They seem to have a contract with the dealers that they are not allowed to advertised discount prices. We can assume this is so Grand Design can rip off their customers as much as possible. In the travel trailer market discounts of 25% to 35% off MSRP is normal. I think this is also true for Grand Design, but I'm not sure.

Steve

[DallasSteve]

I went to McClains in Denton last year and looked at some models. They didn't seem eager to negotiate, but I never got that far. I decided to postpone the purchase. My suggestion is browse the models you can see around the country on websites like RV Trader. I think you can see discounted prices on new 2019 Grand Design models that are still in stock. Then call or visit McClains and tell them you are ready to buy at X dollars, or be willing to travel to another dealer hours or days away to get a better deal.

[B_O__Plenty]

Hitches and add ons are best bought online for a good price. Tweedys will ship anywhere and has great prices and service. If you negotiate well you should find a dealer that will sell for 35% off list with no additional charges. I bought my last two that way. Shop the internet and be willing to travel. Don't worry about the warranty it only lasts a year. Appliances and furnace so on are covered by their individual manufactures warranties. You can get them fixed anywhere.

B.O.