RV dealers and MSRP above RV maker prices?

[mlts22]

Why is it that some RV dealers put their MSRP of a rig above the MSRP of the RV maker's website, then offer a "special" that is still above the MSRP from the RV maker?

Is that just a sign that they want you (as in the customer) to take your business elsewhere, or are they assuming you will buy local due to the fact that only the selling dealership tends to honor warranty service?

[Tom_N]

OH48Lt wrote:
A RV has a MSRP sticker? I've never seen one, have looked at hundreds, maybe thousands if you include those at RV shows, have yet to see a MSRP sticker on any window. Plenty of dealer manufactured sheets and cards, and a few supposedly factory invoices and some factory order sheets, but no factory sticker.

Go back a few posts. I posted my MSRP sticker from my new factory ordered 2005 Itasca Suncruiser. All new Winnebago motorhomes have a window MSRP sticker.

Please read the fine print on the top of my window MSRP sticker.

-Tom

[mich800]

Duke-44 wrote:

FunnyCamper wrote:

Duke-44 wrote:
The rig I bought (see previous post) had a $45,500 MSRP. The factory price to the dealer was $27,500. I actually paid $31,500.

Go figure!

How did you find out the factory price?
that isn't something I see out there when pricing campers.

When a vehicle is registered in WY., the state somehow has access to the factory prices. So when I received the registration it had the factory price listed on it.

Maybe someone on this site who works for a state DMV can tell us?

I would be more inclined to think that is some sort of taxable value provided by the manufacturer. Like automobiles there can still be other incentives to the dealer not disclosed to arrive at the actual price paid by the dealer.

[OH48Lt]

A RV has a MSRP sticker? I've never seen one, have looked at hundreds, maybe thousands if you include those at RV shows, have yet to see a MSRP sticker on any window. Plenty of dealer-manufactured sheets and cards, and a few supposedly factory invoices and some factory order sheets, but no factory sticker.

[willutfid]

Only way I know of to get a decent deal is via completion. On the last RV we purchased (about 1.5 years ago), we had already decided we were going to order the unit so we could get the options we wanted. I contacted six different dealers - and I told each of them what I was doing - contacting a number of dealers and was planning on going with whoever gave me the best deal. To do this you may have to go out a ways in regard to distance. Several of the dealers were over a thousand miles away from me - but I figured if they gave me a great deal, the drive was worth it. And with the internet it's simple to track down dealers all over the country. In any event, I got offers that varied by thousands of dollars - and I went with the lowest which was around 300 miles from home. I did the same thing when purchasing my last car. And regarding the RV MSRP, most dealers sent me order sheets, which showed the factory MSRP and contained a list of options. In my instance, these matched up - same MSRP and same cost for options.

[GoPackGo]

I found this site to be helpful - seedealercost.com

Tim

[down_home]

One Mfg prices their MHs more than double reasonable profit levels. The Dealers negotiate for what they cna get. A savy Buyer, familiar with what the units cost and reasonable profit for the Dealer can get a reasonable deal. However some Dealers won't sell at a reasonable price because they think or know someone else will come along, that doesn't know and they can make a big killing. It would be a good investment to have someone intimate with pricing etc to buy for us or acompany us to buy. Whne you see Mhs with "all wood" pressed wood cabinet doors etc, for 800,000.00 plus you now there is a huge mark up. Even the paint quality has been backed off, the last couple or few years to gie a larger margine of profitability.

[Duke-44]

FunnyCamper wrote:

Duke-44 wrote:
The rig I bought (see previous post) had a $45,500 MSRP. The factory price to the dealer was $27,500. I actually paid $31,500.

Go figure!

How did you find out the factory price?
that isn't something I see out there when pricing campers.

When a vehicle is registered in WY., the state somehow has access to the factory prices. So when I received the registration it had the factory price listed on it.

Maybe someone on this site who works for a state DMV can tell us?

[John_S_]

Funny thing is that most MSRP prices are higher to make it easier to take a trade and to finance the unit. The lender looks at down payment and MSRP and if you are underwater on your trade you can make the numbers work but you will be drowning then.

[FunnyCamper]

Duke-44 wrote:
The rig I bought (see previous post) had a $45,500 MSRP. The factory price to the dealer was $27,500. I actually paid $31,500.

Go figure!

How did you find out the factory price?
that isn't something I see out there when pricing campers.

[ol_Bombero-JC]

kcmoedoe wrote:
Before you condemn the dealer to hades, be sure you have followed all the permutations regarding all the options on the rig. For example, on my motorhome, the in motion satellite system showed an option msrp of $1575.00, but to get that option you had to buy the Automatic satellite system for $2750.00, making the net msrp for In Motion satellite $4325. It would be real easy to just take the $1575 and add it to your list and skip the $2750 if you were spec'ing it out on your own.
Also, you need to check the MSRP line by line to be sure each rig is EXACTLY the same. Personally, I have never encountered a dealer that screwed with the actual MSRP from the manufacturer. There is plenty of markup in that price for any dealer. They will, however add a bunch of "stuff" at the dealership you probably want to avoid, like paint protection packages, and they may even add a few things you might want like a bundle of accessories such as hoses, leveling blocks, adapters and the like.

No matter how you slice it, the above is still balogna..:R

Dealers do what dealers do - plenty of price-mutations and manipulations, ROTFL.

Buyer beware - buyer be informed - buyer "BOHICA"...:S

~

[Duck]

amandasgramma wrote:
MANY companies have done that for years......maybe their building/land costs more than in other areas.

Also you have to take a look at the delivery cost from the manufacturer to the dealer that the dealer pays I believe.
Don

[JJBIRISH]

Most I have seen had the MSRP…
And if there was a DSRP it has the add-ons not supplied by the mfg.… example window awnings or slide covers… they might even add the battery on that doesn’t ship with the trailer…
They are all highly negotiable items…

[Fishinghat]

The MSRP was the product of a law passed after WWII when dealers were posting different prices on cars, but it covers only cars and possibly light duty trucks (pickups and SUVs). The MSRP was standard from the manufacturer and had to be posted in the window of every new car.

There is no such law regarding RVs or used vehicles. That MSRP posting can be anything the dealer or manufacturer wants to publish. As for the actual wholesale price to the dealer, that is subject to adjustments, such as rebates on advertising, flooring (finance) discounts, sales objective rebates, etc.

We've discussed discounts from MSRP here on the forum many times and the most common remark is a 25 to 30% discount. However, there is no hard and fast rule due to the previously mentioned reasons.

Your best solution is to shop and compare. Good luck.

[Duke-44]

Francesca Knowles wrote:

easycamper wrote:
Do RVs generally have an MSRP? I rarely see these on manufacturer's websites.

Exactly what I was thinking. I read "MSRP" as meaning something like "here's what you'd pay if you bought it from the factory", and few if any mfr.s with dealer networks allow such purchases.

MSRP = "Manufactures Suggested Retail Price". A dealer can sell it for more or less.
The rig I bought (see previous post) had a $45,500 MSRP. The factory price to the dealer was $27,500. I actually paid $31,500.

Go figure!