Who buys an RV from an RV show?

[das]

Just wondering how many people actually buy a camper from a RV show. We bought our first camper at a show 3 years ago. Checked some prices and I thought at the time that we got a pretty good deal without all of the haggling at the dealer. Thinking of upgrading and are looking forward to heading to some shows this winter. Wonder if anyone buys or just window shops. Always plenty of people looking at the shows which makes it easy to compare similar models all in one location. If nothing else, makes everyone wish that spring is right around the corner.

[ol_Bombero-JC]

Caveats:
Often competing dealers of/for the same brand are excluded from shows.
(Competition is beneficial for *you*!!).

Are you looking for an expensive MH - or an inexpensive pop-up?

Are you willing to *order* what you want -or- do you want it now?

*If* you are willing to *order* what you want, and shop across the country for the best price....you will be in the driver's seat before you attend the show.

IMO - chances are (for that one) the dealers at the show won't meet or beat the price you found with a bit of research.....
however - will they get close enough to make a "local" deal - a good (or great) deal for you?..:@

~



Decisions, decisions...

[pigman1]

We special ordered our Bus at the Hershey show. We'd been after Bob to do a 43' without Hydro-Hot for 3 years and with the help of the Tiffin show representative and the dealer pressure, they agreed. Got just what we wanted and at the price we were willing to pay. It did take until mid January until it was delivered, but it also took a lot more special engineering work than I thought it would. Do your homework and enjoy.

[kab449]

I always do my homework BEFORE going to the show. Shop close dealers and internet. Then when you go to the show you know if the deal is better. Every time I did this the show price was always better by a lot. The show I attend is the PA show at Hershey. It was in Harrisburg originally. This show is a manufacturer show so its my understanding that the manufacturers provide some cash incentives. Shows produced by dealers only will not have as much discounting. Worked for me many times.

[dewey02]

We did. It was actually an RV display at a Home Show.
I had a heart attack and surgery that late winter, and the home show was my first time out of the house for some R&R. It was purely an impulse buy, after a major life moment like that, you tend to make silly decisions sometimes.

We love the travel trailer we bought, but the dealer was an absolute jerk to deal with, and he was 100 miles away from the home show and where we lived. He later listed the trailer we traded him (3 years old) for more money than we paid for it brand new. We also had some options that he told us were standard that didn't show up on the trailer. After arguing out loud in his showroom later that spring (before we took delivery) he finally agreed to have them installed. One was installed wrong, so I ended up fixing it myself.

Again, it was an impulse buy that eventually turned out well. We liked the trailer, got a decent price, but had to deal with a really lousy salesman/dealer.

[GaryWT]

Bought our last 2 at the Boston show. Like to window shop as well...

[Parrothead_Mike]

Big show coming up January 14-18, 2015 in Tampa. We're going while down in Florida, but not really expecting to purchase...just lookin'.

http://events.frvta.org/florida-rv-supershow/

[scrapperlila]

We bought ours at the Hershey show. I did my research for months before we went so we could focus on just looking at the 3 that interested us. We custom ordered what we wanted and will be going to pick it up this week.

Good luck

[path1]

If you've done your homework and get a good deal why not? If you haven't done your homework, don't fall in love with any RV.

Last RV show we went to was to specifically speak to the manufacture rep. Sales people didn't/couldn't answer some our questions we asked a month earlier on their sales lot. These reps usually know a lot more than the rv sales people. We were able to have a conversation about some of the construction and the build up from a non-monetary point of view with the manufactures rep. Rep answered questions the dealer didn't know. Some of our questions the rep didn't know, but he e-mailed answers after he got back to their corp. So yes RV shows are worth it, depends how you go prepared and what your after. And at RV show I would never sit down with a bank rep, your local credit union usually has better deals if your financing.

Of course it's always fun to watch people fall in love. It's also sad that a starter RV is so expensive. I bet a lot of young families would love something that they can do the basics in with out spending a fortune.

[garysol]

We special ordered our unit from the show. The price was good and we got them to throw in a Superglide hitch on top of the deal. It was nice having the factory reps on hand to talk to and those contacts came in handy later on when I needed some factory support. We went in with the attitude of "if we can make the deal great but if not thats fine to".

[Crowe]

We also bought one at a show, but not the floor model. Do your research first, then go. If you don't like the price or aren't quite ready to commit, don't worry-if you go within a few weeks of the show they will often honor the show price.

[Crowe]

We also bought one at a show, but not the floor model. Do your research first, then go. If you don't like the price or aren't quite ready to commit, don't worry-if you go within a few weeks of the show they will often honor the show price.

[das]

Asking because I don't know but with all of the RV show/dealer/salesperson/manufacturer hype and discounts, is there still much room for negotiating? They seemed pretty firm on the prices at the shows from my experience. Guess like anything else, you can't be afraid to walk away.

[Dog_Folks]

We bought ours from the dealers lot while all the high pressure salesman were at the show.

Got a good deal too.

[midnightsadie]

I would buy from a show BUT NOT the rv at the show. every knob or thingy that moves has been tampered with. and I,d still haggle intill I got my price.

[beemerphile1]

Might not be a good idea unless you have researched that RV previously. Impulse purchases often become problematic.

I have never purchased at a show. I study and study some more before any large purchase.