Help with sales advise

West Beachhouse wrote:
So how much does naivety play in the purchase of an RV. We have made an offer on two trailers following the guidelines from NADA and the RV Comparison Guide (10 - 30% rule). It seems the two dealers, currently and in Oct 2011 are unyielding. The offer in Oct 2011 was for a trailer not even on a lot whereby the sales person suggested I was purchasing a trailer no one had sat upon or passed gas on (term omitted). So any advice would be helpful.

Depends on the dealer. We have a couple of dealer in our area that put their bottom price in the RV on the lot. Meaning they have already came down off the MSRP as much as they are going to. They will help with hitches, and there are always free chairs and things. But the sale price makked is the bottom.
And we have a couple of dealers that come down a little off the MSRP, and fight for every penny. They are the ones, that if you walk off, they will call for days, and come down every time. Until they get down to where the first dearler was to start with. I take the first type of dealer best

Don't get hung-up trying to get a % discount. Most dealers make up their own MSRP, unlike auto builders that are required by law to have the builder's MSRP sticker posted.

On RV's, you can find a dealer's MSRP well below another for same unit and options, but showing little or no discount.

Figure out what you what to pay for a trailer then go find one that fits your needs. You could be looking for a loooong time if you're trying for a certain % discount, and it may not be the lowest priced unit.

Get a price from the wholesale sites like RVdirect & RVwholesalers and get them to match it. If not just buy it out of state if the saving are substantial. This is what I did and I bought out of state and saved $4K over any CA dealer and the RV was delivered to my door.

Now is the prime RV sales season. Dealers have plenty of customers and are not very flexible on the price. If you want a good discount on a trailer or other RV, then buy one in when the dealers are starved for sales and getting hungry. Buy your RV in December, January, or February if you want a big discount!

Ed

How much of a discount you get is also dependent on how long the tt has been sitting on the lot. The biggest discounts are on last years models, the smallest discount is on special orders. The rest of the trailers fall somewhere in between. The discount will also depend on the popularity of the brand/model, whether or not it has slides and other features, and how popular those features are in the local area.

We got a great deal on a Jayco 22FB in April. It had no slides, no bunkhouse, and the dealer had three of them (more than 30% off). There are other Jayco dealers in the area.

In January we got a pretty good deal on a Sprinter 27RLSS. He wouldn't come down as much %-wise but threw in some free things (extra battery, vent covers). The Sprinter has a slide but no bunkhouse (both popular items here) and is heavy for its size (unpopular here in the land of SUV). There are no other Sprinter dealers in the area.

If you want to buy a trailer cheap, look for ones that have been sitting on the lot for a while. When you start seeing the 2014s on the lot, you will see the price go down for the 2013s, sometimes significantly. Buy a brand that has competition in the local area.

We spent four months looking for our second trailer, browsing prices on line and visiting over a dozen dealers up to 250 miles away. Some salespeople were great, giving us the tips above; some salespeople not so great. Personally, I wouldn't buy any distance away that I am not willing to drive to at least once or twice. We got lucky on both our tt purchases in that both dealers are less than 20 miles away. Both tts went back to the dealer twice, each one once for warranty work and once for add ons.

30% off of MSRP is a must for me. I do the research. Trailer Mfgr.- floorplan- construction materials etc.. When I've decided on a make & model then I start the negotiations. Each time we've bought new it was easy to determine the MSRP. The dealers would quote me via email and they just filled out the factory buy sheet (Retail Price List with options listed) and sent it to me in pdf format. I in turn printed it out for future reference. Be polite and indicate you're very interested in buying soon.
Each time I get in verbal (phone) contact directly with the dealer(s) and manufacturer. I've found out information that the dealers didn't know about even.
Just yesterday I received a low bid on a 2014 Keystone Cougar High Country 321RES Trailer so I bought it. Build is scheduled for 4/16/2013 and I should have it a week later.
Distance can be a factor in your final decision. I certainly wouldn't go with a dealer a 1000 miles away just to save a $1000.
Happy trails,

All that matters is the bottom line, check prices at the big discounetrs and shoot for the closest price you can get locally. You need a GOOD local dealer for support when problems arise.

Some dealers deal more than others. We have a dealer here in Salem Oregon that thinks all their units come with a "pot of gold" in them. Before we bought our new 5'er a week ago we went to a different local dealer to deal on a 5'er and they didn't want our trade. Went 300 miles out of town to another dealer that was more than happy to take our trade site unseen. We don't buy our vehicles here either. It's a one trick pony town. One dealer for each make/model. 45 mins away and there's dealers for all makes/model.

What it boils down to is what your willing to pay. Some aren't comfortable going out of town to a different dealer for a better deal. Which is totally understandable as warranty work could be difficult to get. Just depends on the manufacturer.