Have you ever heard of paying for pre-delivery inspection??

[Nvr_lost]

I am in the process of getting quotes for a travel trailer. One dealer wants to charge $1200 for transport of the trailer from the factory to the dealership (200 miles) and the pre-inspection delivery and tutorial (included filling up two 20 gallon propane tanks. I have purchased two other RVs and have never paid for this (at least to my knowledge.) They have the trailer discounted 29%. What do you all think? Has anyone else ever paid for this additional dealer mark-up?

[JKrussow]

Make sure you also known the costs of registration and title. Those too can be inflated by dealers. Have them explain what their "documentation fee" encompasses. If buying out of your home state know if you need to pay sales tax or not.

Knowledge is power.

[mlts22]

Had an almost identical happen to me back in 2011. Dealer gave a price, I was about to hand over a deposit... then he started adding about $5000 in fees. The kicker was the family member with me overhearing him talk about how many fees he could toss on. Needless to say, said salesperson did not make a sale that day.

[monkey44]

One thing to watch for: Wiggling the price around, then come to an agreement. THEN, after the price finds its way on the contract, a list of 'extras' find lines beneath that price.

And when questioned about it, "OH, that's not included in the price" ... it's like the add-on for tax and license, which everyone knows. So, it fits in as if it's 'expected', instead of in the original quote.

That's why we always ask: How much is the check I write. That the number to compare. Not the sales price, not the pre-deal price, not the before the add-ons price. What is the number we write on the check? That's the only one that matters.

And, make sure the dealer pays the license and tax fees too. One time, quite a while back, we bought a used truck from a dealer out of state. We wrote a check for the entire package. THEN, we went to the RMV and it wanted to charge us again for tax and license. We then returned to the dealer, and got the 'OH yeah, we forgot to give you the check for tax and license." -- And never would have given it if we'd paid the RMV and not returned to dealer.

Lots of good, honest dealers out there, lots of shady ones too. Just make sure you pick the right one.

[monkey44]

JiminDenver wrote:
It reminds me of seeing new cameras at stupid low prices. You would get no battery, cords, cards, software, or lens. They had all of that and by the time you completed the kit, it cost you more than buying it at normal prices.

My question is that I always see people say that it's the dealers that have a deal with the factory and fix all of the things the factory screwed up. So now they expect to get paid from the factory to make it right AND from the customer too. Niceeeeeeeee

Yes, exactly right. each time a new camera gets released at 'MSRP' a buncha online shops order it, take apart the box, remove everything but the camera. Then try to sell you the 'support parts' and the end price is more than a camera with everything direct from factory.

[wing_zealot]

JiminDenver wrote:
...I always see people say that it's the dealers that have a deal with the factory and fix all of the things the factory screwed up. So now they expect to get paid from the factory ...

People say all kinds of things, but because you read on the internet that dealers are getting paid by the factory its just got to be true. Think about what you are saying for a moment.

It's only the number on the bottom line that matters.

[beemerphile1]

You pay for PDI or prep one way or another. Either it is a line item or it is rolled into the price. Only the final out the door price is what matters.

[tnscoutr]

Tried to buy a new trailer this past Saturday. The sales agreement had all of the fees listed. I crossed out his final number and wrote down what I would pay. They declined the offer so I shook his hand, thanked him for his time, and we left. The final off the lot price is the only number that matters.

[riven1950]

I got a really good price on a 2014 model TT in Nov. We agreed on a cash price over the phone. Looked at it and added in a wdh and max aire vents which they agreed to instal free. Then he hit me with the prep fee which was like 169.00, kind of a surprise. But like someone said I thought I was getting a deal and didn't argue about the fee. You got to look at the bottom line and decide for yourself. goodluck

[JiminDenver]

It reminds me of seeing new cameras at stupid low prices. You would get no battery, cords, cards, software, or lens. They had all of that and by the time you completed the kit, it cost you more than buying it at normal prices.

My question is that I always see people say that it's the dealers that have a deal with the factory and fix all of the things the factory screwed up. So now they expect to get paid from the factory to make it right AND from the customer too. Niceeeeeeeee

[peaches_cream]

Nvr*lost wrote:
I am in the process of getting quotes for a travel trailer. One dealer wants to charge $1200 for transport of the trailer from the factory to the dealership (200 miles) and the pre-inspection delivery and tutorial (included filling up two 20 gallon propane tanks. I have purchased two other RVs and have never paid for this (at least to my knowledge.) They have the trailer discounted 29%. What do you all think? Has anyone else ever paid for this additional dealer mark-up?

Tell the Dealer to keep the 29% discount and I bet he will knock-off the other charges.

[DSDP_Don]

It's like buying something on EBAY. One price is $100.00 plus $6.50 shipping. Another place is $102.00 plus $5.00 shipping. You just have to do the math to see the best OTD price.

[4X4Dodger]

Many folks here have it right. Get the "Delivered price" Everything included. Thats the bottom line.

But HOW you GET to that price and How the dealer does it is almost as important...

For instance: by all means let him charge you for the inspection and put it in writing...this is to your benefit. That way if anything is out of order when you get it the dealer cant claim that "your price didnt include the inspection."

Get everything in writing even if it's just an email acknowledgement.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

spoon059 wrote:

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:
The dealer does have to pay three or four man hours of labor for a PDI - $300-500 lost opportunity time for that/those employees to be working on a rig for a paying customer.

Sorry... but there is no way they are paying much more than $15 or $20 an hour for labor. At 4 hours labor that is $80 at the HIGH end.

I was talking about opportunity costs - not direct costs.

That employee in that four hours should be generating income at shop labor rates - $100-125 per hour. Rather than spending it on a non-income producing half day.

[spoon059]

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:
The dealer does have to pay three or four man hours of labor for a PDI - $300-500 lost opportunity time for that/those employees to be working on a rig for a paying customer.

Sorry... but there is no way they are paying much more than $15 or $20 an hour for labor. At 4 hours labor that is $80 at the HIGH end.

OP, like others have said it is a way for the dealer to either recoup some money or get some profit. Personally I don't really care HOW they label charges, I just care about the bottom line. I would think that 30% off MSRP is a fair price, before tax and tags. Any "delivery fee" or PDI fee or other extraneous fee should be included in that 30% off MSRP.