Super_Dave wrote:
And in my case, it isn't all about trailer price. As our salesman mentioned, they can go low of trailer price and lower on trade in value. One has to look at the whole package. Responding to Todd, I've seen the low priced ads being manipulated also by not including destination & prep. Everyone seems to have their game to get you in the door.
1) I agree, it shouldn't be all about price. A local trustworthy dealer was very important to me, and I was prepared to pay more for that arrangement, but In the end I had offers lower than RVTrader pricing from two local trustworthy dealers.
I passed on buying from RVOne, which were another $4k cheaper, because they weren't local (and don't have a good service reputation).
Bottom line: the online RVtrader lowest prices still have a lot of margin built into them. Your local dealer, if they are brand authorized, should be able to beat them. Mine did by $3k with no added fees.
2) If your current rig is paid off and you have a free place to keep it, I'd suggest selling privately instead of trading in. That's what I was able to do, and I sold my rig a week later for $3500 more than trade in offer. If you're not making payments or paying to store it, you're better off getting retail price. Now is the time, with spring on the way, seller's market.
My buying price on my new rig was $3k lower than RVTrader without a trade in.
Good luck.