Cannot find MSRP price for new 2017 Coleman travel trailer

[Labmom]

Hello,
My DH and I are looking into purchasing a new 2017 Dutchmen Coleman Light LX series 1605FB. I am trying to be prepared before I go in to the dealership to negotiate however I cannot find the MSRP anywhere. I has read do start 30-40% off MSRP. I have looked on the Coleman site and other sites and the MSRP is TBA. Does anyone have any recommendations on where I can go to find the MSRP price and what the camper is actually selling for? The dealer is the only one in my area that sells this brand too so I can't go to another dealer to check their price. Thanks in advance!
Labmom

[Labmom]

Thank you all for your responses! This is definitely going to be a tricky process in getting a fair price on a trailer. I prefer getting used however there iseema to be a limited supply
In what we want.

[Community Alumni]

As said before, the MSRP is a made up number by the dealer. From one dealer to another, even locally, the MSRP will vary on the exact same units. Dealer's know that people are going to come in asking for 30 percent off MSRP so now they just add 30 percent onto the actual price and call it the MSRP. It ends up being a win win for the dealer. The buyer thinks they scored an awesome deal since they got 30 percent off and the dealer clears the profit that they wanted.

Also previously mentioned, be careful with the "invoice" price. The invoice price is not how much the dealer will ultimately pay for the unit. The actual invoice price is a well guarded secret and isn't handed out willy nilly to potential buyers.

Go to NADA Guides and find out how much the trailer will be used. Normally you can find the used price for the current year. This is how much it will be worth the day you pull it off the lot. You're not going to be able to get the trailer for this price, but it will give you an idea of how much you're overpaying for it. At the end of the day remember that the dealer has to make some money, but they don't have to take advantage of you either.

[BadgerMcAdams]

ktmrfs wrote:
unlike the auto industry which by law requires the vehicle mfg to post the MSRP on the vehicle, the RV industry is not bound by that law. so, trying to find out what the real MSRP is for a RV is difficult. And unlike the auto industry where you can go to the mfg website and build a vehicle and see the MSRP, I don't know if that is even possible for the RV industry. Some MAY post MSRP, but certainly not all do.

Now I do wish that the RV industry would either comply with or be required to print and post the MSRP on RV's. But don't hold your breath.

Starcraft RV will allow you to do a build out on a trailer model or see the options for a basic floorplan on their trailers and let you see the MSRP of the trailer.

Mind you, This is THEIR pricing of the models...What they are showing as an MSRP for a trailer, and what the "going for" price is at the dealership can be vastly different.

Case in point, the wife and I are looking at the Autumn Ridge 245DS. With all the options shown to simulate the one we looked at at CW, there was about a -$8000 price difference between the MSRP and the "going for" price.

So Shop wisely, and do your homework...and as I have seen here many times...If you don't like the deal your are getting, get up, say thank you, and walk away...They just might change their tune...and price.

[minnow]

Two that I know of are Jayco and Grand Design that provide MSRP's.

[ktmrfs]

unlike the auto industry which by law requires the vehicle mfg to post the MSRP on the vehicle, the RV industry is not bound by that law. so, trying to find out what the real MSRP is for a RV is difficult. And unlike the auto industry where you can go to the mfg website and build a vehicle and see the MSRP, I don't know if that is even possible for the RV industry. Some MAY post MSRP, but certainly not all do.

Now I do wish that the RV industry would either comply with or be required to print and post the MSRP on RV's. But don't hold your breath.

[minnow]

Isn't Coleman a brand exclusive to CW? I know its a Dutchmen product line who falls under the Thor conglomerate. I'm sure you'd be able find a very comparable floorplan in another Dutchmen/Thor branded product sold by someone other than CW.
Years ago we owned a Dutchmen fifth wheel which held up well. But that was before Thor got its hands on the brand.

[bobndot]

If you don't buy the trailer from your local dealer and buy it somewhere else, where will you go for service ? To the dealer you didn't buy it from ? If you plan to go back n forth to a different dealer then you might end paying more for it in gasoline. Doing a quick search on that model shows we are talking about a TT that sells for $12k to $14k .
Split that, you have $13k average . IMO, you might not see that much of a spread between dealers to make this worth your while.


I would buy any RV from a trusted dealer that takes care of his customers after the sale and NOT letting them get lost in the 'after the sale shuffle' of big box dealerships. This alone is worth the amount of money you may possibly save on this TT.

[mike-s]

Claiming only a CFO knows the MSRP just shows you don't know what MSRP is. It has no relation to dealer cost or invoice prices. The "R" stands for Retail.

Some manufacturers publish price lists showing the MSRP, others don't.

[JIMNLIN]

The RV/mobilehome industry isn't the auto industry when it comes to a MSRP or a mfg suggested invoice pricing.
My wife was a accountant for a large mobilehome/rv dealer ship. No one but the dealer himself or his company CFO knew a MSRP number. Not even the sales mgr knew how much the dealership actual cost of the unit was....and that number can vary between dealerships usually based on total sales. A 30 unit a month high volume dealer got a lower mfg price cut on each unit than the 10 unit a month dealership.

Don't be confused by a "invoice price" vs a MSRP number.
A dealer may advertise a "invoice price" but its not what he paid for the unit and that price will include his mark ups. A dealers invoice is what it is and can have nothing in common with a actual MSRP number ...if the mfg actually had one.

[mike-s]

MSRP is Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price. While I have no doubt that dealer's often claim a particular "retail" price so they can create an arbitrarily large discount, if one is making up an MSRP, that's fraud plain and simple.

But even an inflated "retail" price can get them in trouble, depending on how they pitch it.

[kerrlakeRoo]

As was mentioned earlier, check RV trader, put in the make model etc of what you are looking at, and you will see a wide range of prices.

Some very high, (they leave a lot of room for downpayment and trade in to make financing easier, and then offer you a huge discount)

Others very low, (usually with high transportation, and dealer prep and administrative fees)
Go to the websites of the listings and you can usually find what the fees are on the lower priced ones which gives you a little better idea of what the mean average of the two methods are.

Welcome to car buying in the wild west days.

[donn0128]

CW sales have over the years had less than an honest reputation. Coleman brand is pretty new in the business, so check out brand quality reputation before you plunk down your money.

[handye9]

What Don said !!

MSRP is established at individual dealers, based on overhead, dealer markup, shipping costs, and actual unit cost. All of which, vary from one dealer to another. If your salesperson tells you an MSRP number, that number was established by that particular dealership.

I did a search for your make / model, on RVtrader, and found prices between 13.5K and 21K

[Labmom]

Thanks for your responses. I saw it at Camping World dealership and the model and MSRP is not listed on website. I did finally find one in another state. Stupid question but is the price in one state comparable to what the price is for locally for me? Also, the price that is listed on the camping website is that the MSRP? It is not clarified on the site. Thanks so much in advance! This is such unchartered territory for me!