Are you a fan of buying at RV Shows?

[NekkidFish]

I have talked to a number of people locally, and a few of them are fans of two big dealerships, whereas other folks say they think you get better deals at the big RV Shows?

Anyone have any input on this?

Thanks! Jules

[Mnewfield1]

NekkidFish wrote:
Fantastic input!! That is what I was thinking, but having never bought one, I wasn't sure!

Thanks bunches! Jules

Never buy at the show. We did this once and it was a disaster. You end up buying a unit 1,000 people have walked through and we ended up with a ton of issues. Also, those dealers pay a small fortune to be there. Because of that, the deals you get at the dealership will always be better.

Point in hand, We bought a new 2014 Fuzion 390 chrome earlier this year. We got a great deal at a local dealer. My wife and I decided to go to the Hershey PA RV show to see if we could have gotten an even better deal. After 40 minutes of discussions, they could not even get close.

[TXiceman]

The shows are a good place to look, compare models, plans, etc. Once you have decided on what will work for you, that is the time to start shopping. The so called "show prices" I have seen are never that good of a deal.

Ken

[Winged_One]

Hey, if you can get the best deal at a show, why not.

But I perfer to purchase something on the lot versus ordering, if at all possible. Seems people have much more problems with ordered because they are generally awestruck by their new rig and don't fully review it before hauling it off.

A rig on the lot can be reviewed several times and changes are generally made/repaired before buying it. Least that is what we did with our last two. Our previous was an order and had many more issues we had to go back for.

[pitch]

We bought ours at the Syracuse show a couple years ago. We had narrowed down to 3 models that we researched. We physically inspected all 3 models at the show, made our choice and hammered out the deal. We factory ordered ours at an excellent price. Had it 6 weeks later.

[wintersun]

I am not a big fan of buying an RV or similar item (boat, motorcycle, airplane) new. When something depreciates and loses 15% of its value in the first 12 months of ownership and as much as 50% in the first 3-4 years and the RV is likely to have been in actual use 2-3 weeks out of the year, then it makes more sense to buy a lightly used RV than a new one.

With a used RV the prior owner has had to work with the dealer and the factory to resolve any problems or defects and I avoid spending my time and energy and money.

There is also a history for a 3 year old or older RV that I can easily research on the internet. With a new RV I lack this history and it is much more of a gamble.

[mileshuff]

It is my understanding that for the most part, RV manufactures no longer sponsor RV shows except for a few traditional shows in a couple of locations around the country. There has not been such a show in Arizona for over a decade now. Prior to that we had at least 2 large RV shows a year. Manufactures gave dealerships substantial kickbacks during the shows. It was a great time to buy much cheaper.

Today we have a few smaller dealer run shows. Most of the time its a single dealership that takes their RV's to the local convention center etc. Prices are no better than what one could get at the dealer since the show is not manufacture sponsored.

[BuckBarker]

NYCgrrl wrote:

BuckBarker wrote:
My daughter signed the paperwork for a new TT at a show in MI several years ago. The deal was done till they got a call from the dealership telling them the salesman made an error in the price and they wanted $7,000 more. Well, they didn't know who they were dealing with. My daughter and her husband picked up their new rig 2 days later and no extra money changed hands.

I really wish someone would try to tell me that a signed contract and price wasn't good. Some people are sooooooo silly and think you are following in their footsteps.

Glad your DD and hubby learned at the feet of a master.

They stole it fair and square!

[fla-gypsy]

NO

[NekkidFish]

Well, I will make an admission to damaging some RV's at the shows. Twice in the past we went to the big RV show in Pomona, CA ... and I am sure that I drooled in several of them as I went through. 🙂

[APT]

I have never seen advertised show prices or heard people report on this forum their sales price lower than the so called wholesale RV dealers in the midwest. And the wholesaler RV dealers sell more customer orders than orders for lots. So my opinion to to pay less for my custom specified model that no one has trampled through. I like to browse at RV shows to compare brands and see what's new.

[KMP44]

NekkidFish wrote:
I do plan on researching and shopping through the winter. I already know we will go to the Cincy/Dayton RV Show, and the one that is in Louisville. I've also got the names a few big dealers here and in Louisville that we will visit.

Nothing wrong with buying at the show - if you know what you want, what dealer you want to work with, and what you should pay. We bought our last 2 trailers at the local RV show.

But, my advice if you want the best price is to negotiate at the show, then walk. They write up all their sales leads and follow up like crazy the week after the show. The dealer we didn't buy from called back 2 days after the show and dropped $2K off the "best deal" they offered at the show - which was already $1.5K under the show special.

This will probably get you as good a price as you will get - but if you have your heart set on a specific rv, it might be sold by the end of the show, so you have to wait for them to get another one ordered.

[kvangil]

ford truck guy wrote:

I had to wonder if the parts guy is running the showroom :B might be a GOOD DEAL !

Funny...We went to a local county fair where there was an area setup for the local RV dealers to show off and sell their campers. We ended up buying our used 23B from this fair. The person from the dealership who was at the show was the mechanic/parts-guy. He couldn't close the deal, only took down our info. 🙂 We closed the deal at the dealership next-day.

[NekkidFish]

Thanks everybody for the great input!

[JamesBr]

I have shopped at dealerships, I have shopped at shows. I stroked the dealer at the 2013 Hershey show, but that was not until I spent some time working on them for several hours and going off to look at other units and enjoy the show. In the end the price I paid I could not find one advertized that bested it.