Negotiating new or used camper

Great advice so far. One thing I would add is to not be afraid to walk away when you feel you are at an impasse. Any salesperson worth their salt will try to get contact information from you before they begin the process. I always give them my cell number. On several occasions with RVs and vehicles I have walked out of the dealership empty handed and received a phone call from the salesperson within an hour asking me to come back. Now you are in control of the process as you know you are very close to making a deal or they wouldn't have called. I usually finish the negotiation on the phone before I return to the dealership to sign papers. It is also helpful to let slip to the salesperson which of their competitor's you are going to next as you leave. It lets them know you are a serious buyer and they have competition for your business.

Knowledge is power. The more research you do prior to actually looking at the unit the better negotiations will go for you. Know book value of RV, trade-in value ahead of time (if you have a trade) and arrange your financing ahead of time as suggested earlier. This way you enter the negotiations holding the cards. If you go unprepared, they hold the cards.

If you are buying used, remember that NADA and KBB are estimates and averages and are guidelines. Some rigs are worth less than low NADA and some you'll end up paying more. I am looking at a rig and the owner is way over low and about 10%over average. Right at High NADA. I'm thinking it's worth the extra.

It's a value judgment call at best and desire at worst.

Not sure if it will help you at all, but I will be picking up a camper tomorrow. It is a 2014 XLR 24HFS toyhauler. The MSRP on the unit is roughly $35,000. I was able to get the dealership down to $25,000 and they are throwing a $500 weight distribution hitch in with the sale... so that means I'm basically getting the trailer for $24,500. It isn't a GREAT deal, but I had one major factor working against me. I had already shopped online and this one was the closest to me at almost 4 hours away. The dealership knew this (saw my license plates) so they knew that I wasn't going to play the walking away bluffing game. However, what I did do to help my case a bit was to bring offers from other dealerships (mainly RV wholesalers) with me as well as obtaining financing on my own before going to the dealership. This allowed me to basically say "I was financed for this much and that is the best I can do" kind of thing. I first tried for $22,000 and they pretty much gave me a firm "NO"... which told me that I was way too low. We went back and forth and finally agreed to $24,500. The wholesalers were selling the trailer at around $23,000. So it wasn't a bad deal, but I probably could have gotten a little better if I really fought it. However, I really didn't want to keep driving around (next closest one was almost 5 hours away).

Due to some complications with a crack found in the gray water tank during the inspection / prep, they are now giving me a perfectly identical 2015 for the exact same price... so all in all, I'm happy.

We are in the market to buy a used TT or 5th wheel. We're not good at negotiating the asking price and trade in value. For those of you that are, how do you consider what to pay for the new or used camper versus what they are asking and how much your camper is worth. Also how much information do you give the salesman while negotiating. I don't like to tell them if I'm paying cash or getting a loan but they always ask. Any information you have in negotiating for a new camper will be helpful. Thanks!

If you are purchasing 'preowned' the condition of the unit is probably more important than anything else. The dealerships often try to get more profit from you by selling you a 'starter kit' worth almost nothing for several hundred dollars. Try to pass on it.

For preowned you can just about figure that the coach will have depreciated about 50 percent in five years from new. That is generally a good indicator of about what it is worth.

Don't confuse your 'trade-in' with the coach price of what you are looking for. Establish the price you pay first for what you want and then the value they will give you for what you have. If you tell the dealership you have a trade up front they will work the numbers that either you don't get as much for the trade or you get more for the trade and pay more for the coach you want. It is a numbers game.

As far as what you tell the dealership folks-- as little as possible in the beginning. They will ask questions to understand if you are a serious buyer and that is OK. They will ask if you want to pay cash or finance. It is OK to answer that. If they ask about a possible trade, just tell them what you have but first you want to find the coach you now want and at the price you want to pay. Then you can work the numbers on the trade. Expect to get very little for your trade if you play hardball with the dealership on the one you now want. Make sure the coach has batteries, propane, PDI, wheel bearings and brakes checked and new tires if not new included in the price. Maybe even a nice hitch.

If you still owe money on the trade it gets more complicated as the dealership will try to get you out of the loan by often increasing the value they give you to get you out of it while at the same time giving you less of a break on the newer coach you now want. Be certain you know the loan amount still outstanding before you walk into a dealership. That is an important number.

Be able to walk away from a deal if it does not feel right for you.

The markup is enormous, even on used units at dealers. Most of the larger dealers here are slow inventory turners and have a very large markup on used units.

Does the buyer have any leverage when buying direct from the manufacturer? There are several very attractive new units out there from manufacturers who do not utilize a dealer network.

First off, go to your local library, they will have both the NADA and BlueBook books on RVs. This will give you the wholesale price for your RV. You need to know this because it is what the RV dealer is suppose to give you for your RV, if it is less you will have proof of their honesty. Then the dealer is going to try and rip you off by keeping the price of their RV at full retail. Ideally, you will get full wholesale for your RV and the dealer will drop the price of their RV 10-15%. Or they may play with the numbers and give you more for your trade in and not drop their RV or they may do both. The important thing is for you to know what yours is worth so when they play the numbers game you have the knowledge to know if you are getting stuck.

As for the paying cash or financing just tell them that is not part of the discussion right now, right now you are focusing on price only, paying for it will come later. This way you can avoid then throwing monthly payments at you while you are dealing. If they know how you are going to pay, this gives them more knowledge and they use that knowledge against you.

Just remember, when you have a final price, walk away and think about it at least over night, this helps remove the emotional aspect from the deal and allows you the chance to check over the figures to see if you are getting a good deal. Make sure you get a copy of the MSRP sheet with their figures written down on it so they cannot change something while you are thinking about it.

Another thing you can do is to deal with multiple dealers over a large area and see who offers the best price by using email. This completely removes you from the pressure of one on one dealing and the money you save could more than pay for the trip to go get it, because any dealer will handle the warranty work. Plus this puts you more in the drivers seat as the dealer knows that you are working with others the same way and makes each one come to a better deal, just do not let one know what the others are saying, you want an honest deal, if you share information, you put them back in the drivers seat.

I always bring my own financing to the table (either cash or arranged loan) so all they need to know is that they will not be doing the financing. Once we arrive at a price, I will give them the opportunity to try to beat my financing if going with a loan, but you have to check the rate and terms closely to make sure you are comparing apples to apples. I've had a dealer try to pull the slightly lower rate, but extend the term further trick.

As far as the negotiations go, on new units most say to expect about 20-25% off. When I shop, I look around at similar units on the internet and if possible check a discount dealer like RV Direct to get an idea of what prices are running and base my price on that information. If I can't find any good information, I just start at about 35% off from the asking price.

Used are more difficult to determine because you don't know what the dealer has in a unit and there is no way to determine that absent them telling you. I do similar to new units in researching to see if I can find some similar units selling and what they are selling for. Absent that, I start at about 35% off also.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that this is a business transaction and you have to keep it that way. Some people will be hesitant to give a low offer because they are afraid of offending the dealer. If they are that easily offended, I'll just go somewhere else. Also remember that in a lot of cases, they will simply reject your offer as too low and ask for a higher offer. Don't make another offer until you get a counter offer from them. Make your offer and be quiet. If they can get you to raise your offer before they provide any counter, they have already gotten that much more money from you because when they do counter, it is likely to be the same offer you would have gotten had you waited for them to counter only now you are basing your counter on your original offer instead of the one they got you to raise to.

If you really don't like negotiating, enlist a friend to do it for you as a disinterested third party or do all of your negotiations via e-mail. You can also just do take it or leave it offers, but you have to do your due diligence to ensure your offer is reasonable. Some dealers may not be as eager to work with you so you might have to expand your dealer area some. I have friends that buy all their cars, boats, and RVs via e-mail and never set foot in the dealership (other than looking/test driving to decide what they want) until they come to settle up.

No matter how you decide to go, just remember that it is your money and to keep it all business. You are doing the dealer a favor by considering purchasing a big ticket item from them, not the other way around.