First Post - Walked out on slimy dealer

[Whitehall]

Well, we finally selected a Snow River 245RKS, based on many hours of lurking here (tons of good info, obviously), obsessively scouring the Northwood website, and finally visiting a dealer. That part went very well for the first two hours or so, then...not.

The salesman was very helpful and friendly. He patiently showed us several units, answered my questions, and helped us make a good choice after we decided against a smaller unit (we have three teenagers who still like us). My wife and I didn't really know the exact price we should pay, and hadn't intended to buy that day anyway. The salesman asked us what we wanted, and I said 25% off MSRP. He did a quick calculation and threw out a price. After some thought, we said OK. Yay!

Everyone was so happy and friendly. He then mentioned the PDI of $595 "Oops, it went up to $695, but I can let you have it for $595" Whatever. We spent a good 45 minutes filling out all the paperwork, then the guy left us and went somewhere else. After 15 minutes or so, he comes back with the contract marked up in fat blue pen. Says his manager said he can't sell it for that price, and pretty much resets the price to the starting point. I was stunned, as I thought those days were over. Told him no way. He whines they're not making a profit, it's already marked down, blah, blah, blah.

I get up to leave, he goes back for one more try, comes back with about a few hundred off, and we say no. Instant change from Mr. Friendly Salesman to Angry Jerk. If he'd just respected his customer in the first place, he could have had the sale. I might have even bought it for zero dollars off the asking price, if I thought it was the best I could do. Instead he names a low price that triggers our buy decision, then yanks the rug out later on. I'm sure we ruined his entire morning, but I doubt he'll change his approach toward customers.

Between the first and second time he went to The Man With The Blue Pen, I called the other dealer, which is actually closer to home, and made a deal on the phone. No PDI fee, no games, two batteries included. The only reason I didn't go there first was because I wanted to see some Outdoors RV trailers as well as Northwood.

Anyway, notwithstanding the above, we are really excited about finally getting a Northwood trailer. We'll tow it behind our 2012 F350 PSD. Thanks for all of the info, and I hope to be able to contribute here.

[badercubed]

rbpru wrote:
A dealer that sell at a loss is not a dealer very long. It is just a matter of how much profit they are willing to make.

The few times I had to wait for the salesman to get an okay, they had to find me wandering around checking out the different TT features. I sure am not going to sit in a chair and wait.

Personally if the dealer will sell me the product I want at the price I want, I could care less about how much profit they made.

x2 on everything

[Doug33]

badercubed wrote:
In today's world of the internet I am surprised anyone actually "haggles" anymore, whether it be for RVs, cars or anything similar.

I bought my last car at a place called CarSense, which has dealerships in NJ and PA. They basically sell used cars that are maximum 3 years old and 30,000 miles. Most of the cars are off leases. My car was only a year old and had only 2K miles on it, and I got it about $8K off MSRP. There are many other chain used car dealerships now that do the same thing. They list the price, and there is no haggling. Take it or leave it.

[Kayteg1]

SprinklerMan wrote:
Its a game , the dealer will rarely if ever sell for a loss . So if you strike a deal the dealer has made money .

Than in each game you have to loose sometimes.
Years ago on one of the car shows I saw a boat.
I was on the market for the boat, but that one had outrageous price.
I made and offer the salesman refused at the time, but 3 days after the show I've got a call.
It was a Nissan dealer and they definitely were not up to selling the boats.
Turned out they took a boat in trade for new Nissan truck.
So they made money on the truck, but they took boat value from BB for Florida, while boat in California sell way, I mean way cheaper.
So they sold the boat to me at loss (or so they say) and I've got price I wanted.

[thomasgunnar]

SprinklerMan wrote:
Its a game , the dealer will rarely if ever sell for a loss . So if you strike a deal the dealer has made money .

I have absolutely no problem with a dealer making money from a sale. I just don't want them to make it all off of me.

[rbpru]

A dealer that sell at a loss is not a dealer very long. It is just a matter of how much profit they are willing to make.

The few times I had to wait for the salesman to get an okay, they had to find me wandering around checking out the different TT features. I sure am not going to sit in a chair and wait.

Personally if the dealer will sell me the product I want at the price I want, I could care less about how much profit they made.

[SprinklerMan]

Its a game , the dealer will rarely if ever sell for a loss . So if you strike a deal the dealer has made money .

[badercubed]

In today's world of the internet I am surprised anyone actually "haggles" anymore, whether it be for RVs, cars or anything similar.

[GuyGene]

Yes, great OP! Dagnabbit, why does buying vehicles of all kinds have to be so stressful! Let's all be totally ready to walk OUT. Leave them rascals. I'll tell you one great dealer: S&S Apache in Jackson, MS. Mr. Smith, owner, is a wonderful man! We bought our second trailer from him in '78. It's worth the drive there to deal with a dealer like him.

[rbpru]

The DW and I cut to the chase immediately. We use the pricing number being spouted by the saleman as a guide to keep us looking in the price range we want.

When it comes to final figures I tell them I want the best price they are willing to give me. It includes everything; all fees and prep charges and etc. Then I tell them I am going to write that number on the check and I only bring one check; any difference comes out of their pocket.

Do not be afraid to walk out; do not buy on the first trip. They make more TTs every day.

[langbone]

Does Cordellia RV strike a bell?

[Doug33]

I've found that when you go to a dealer with all your ducks in a row, knowing exactly what the sales price is, makes a huge difference. I know many can't do this, but on my last purchase we paid cash, which also makes a big difference (and time savings).

Another critical thing is to stay calm. If a salesperson senses you are emotional, they will use that to their advantage.

Whether it be RVs or cars, I work with the salesperson to make it a win win situation, but being very firm about your thresholds.

If you go in with the attitude that you are going to take them to the cleaners, it will rarely end well.

That being said, if a dealer changes the terms of a deal or renigs in an agreement, run away as fast as possible.

BTW - I can't stop laughing at The Man With a Blue Pen. 🙂

[NinerBikes]

spoon059 wrote:
Good for you OP!!! I'm so happy that I don't have to deal with nonsense like this. I research what I want to buy and know what price I am willing to pay. I contact the internet sales departments (car dealership and RV dealership) and get a price via email. No hardball negotiating, no going back and forth, no wasted hours in a dealership, no sudden surprises.

When I bought my Jayco, we had the price hammered out before I came in to give a deposit (they factory ordered for me). While we were making our deposit, my wife casually mentioned that we were paying a couple hundred dollars more than our best quote from RVDirect.com. We had already agreed upon a price that we were perfectly fine with... well the salesman agreed to knock another couple hundred off the price (still a little higher than RVDirect... but not much!). We were super happy with that. Gave our deposit, made sure that the order sheet was correct and left.

They called us 7 weeks later, the trailer was in. We walked in the door, did PDI and looked over everything. We handed our truck keys to them so they could set up the hitch for us. Walked over to the sales office and spent about 10 minutes getting our paperwork and handing over a check. The transaction was short and too the point... we actually still had to wait about 45 minutes for them to set up the hitch.

I couldn't deal with the long and drawn out "sales process". I would lose my mind.

This is how I bought my Palomino Gazelle. No haggle, no regrets, over the internet, offer and acceptance. Bank made a cashiers check, and I drove Friday afternoon to Monday afternoon to practically Chicago, to do the deal. Got to camp in the TT all the way home, well worth it.

[Need-A-Vacation]

Congrats on the new rig and willing to walk on a slimy dealer!

[Whitehall]

OK, I really didn't want my first posts here to be a call-out of a dealer. I think the internet sleuths among us can figure it out pretty easily, as there aren't many Northwood dealers on the I-80 corridor in NorCal, especially ones that also carry Outdoors RV.

If I had it to do all over again, I would have taken the advice of others above and asked the guy if he could stand behind the offered price, as that is what triggered our decision to buy right then and there while we lounged in the 246RKS. We were just totally in bliss checking out the various units and enjoying the process, then Wham-O! I kinda felt like a rube for not having my guard up, but most people in my line of work are friendly and cooperative and aren't looking to get over on you.