Making an offer question

[Sillybugs2]

How do you decide what to offer a dealer? Certain percent off msrp or other? We bought our first before I found this site. Sold that now looking again. Found one but not sure what to offer. It is a Keystone Hideout 28BHSWE. Offered at $22988/ msrp they say is $29800. What would you offer? Even though new we do plan to get it inspected prior to sale. Do we do that before coming to an agreement, during or after. Thanks.

[Big_Love]

The internet is your friend in this situation. Do your research and walk into the dealership prepared and more than willing to walk out without making a purchase.

Remember that once you are face to face with the dealership, they have all kinds of techniques to make the deal better for them. They will read your body language...and know if you are in love with a specific RV.

I have had success looking at the online prices of large dealerships near where the RVs are built and then negotiate in the deal other perks such as throwing in a high end hitch or vent covers, etc.

[Sillybugs2]

APT wrote:
I would get a quote from Holman and consider how much more you are willing to pay for your travel. For about $30k MSRP, I'd start with an offer at $19k and maybe accept $21k if your location is the state of Washington.

Holman doesn't carry the WE version.

[time2roll]

Offer half then break the blank stare with a chuckle and ask for a counter.
Know your price before you start.

[Sillybugs2]

Thanks everyone! Good info to ponder as we research. We have others we like too and always ready to walk if we don't like a deal.

[APT]

I would get a quote from Holman and consider how much more you are willing to pay for your travel. For about $30k MSRP, I'd start with an offer at $19k and maybe accept $21k if your location is the state of Washington.

[RavensFan24]

I had agreed on a price at an RV show for our current trailer. It was going to take a few weeks for delivery since my actual trailer was being built as we were negotiating. Since I had the time after the show and before delivery, I was able to do lots of research online. I found and noted a bunch of dealers across the country with lower pricing for the same unit. I told the dealer they need to do better if they want my business and I ended up getting another $3k off the price of the trailer prior to taking delivery.

Research pays!

[Ozlander]

What counts is the difference in price between your trade-in and theirs.

There are some '16s for 19K online.

[schlep1967]

Good old fashioned telephone. Find the brand & model you want and write down the information including all options. Check the internet for dealers in your state (or even further away) that sell that brand. Start making phone calls asking if they have that model. If they have it ask for their best price. After getting their price tell them thanks and you will get back to them after calling other dealers for prices. Odds are they will tell you to call them back if you get a better price. Eventually it will come down to extra options added so you know you are comparing apples to apples.

[Community Alumni]

30% off MSRP is a joke these days. Dealers, even manufacturers, know that everyone is going to come in looking for 30% off MSRP. So they just adjust the MSRP to add in the expected 30% off. The consumer walks out thinking they got an awesome deal and the dealer gets the profit margin they wanted.

Searching the internet for similar trailers is a good start. When looking for the lowest price on the internet, take into account the transportation costs from the factory to the dealer. Often times you can find the lowest prices in the states near the factories, partly because they have very little to no transportation costs. I'm not sure if Keystone has factories out west, but you could be looking at couple thousand dollars in transport cost alone. Put more weight behind prices that are near you or areas that you're willing to travel to for the trailer.

I like to look up about how much the trailer will be worth after I pull it off the lot. You can use NADA Guides to get the price off of used 2016 units. Reasonably, no you will never be able to get down to that price. You have to remember that you're buying a new unit, there's some transport costs, and the dealer does need to make some profit to pay their bills. However being aware helps keep you from straying too far from the value. The last thing you want is to have life change quickly after you purchase, you need to unload the trailer, but you've overpaid by $10k.

[trail-explorer]

Jebby14 wrote:
everything is worth exactly what someone is willing to pay for it. I would look around the area at competitors and privet sales then start low. worst they can do is say no.

ditto

[LakeN]

Search web for other units, note prices for same model at other locations. Use as ammunition to negotiate your best price. Your geographic area may sell at higher prices but you can learn what they sell for in other areas of the country and use that to your advantage. Keystone is widespread.

[korbe]

I always prefer competition for my dollar. It helps to have a second, or even a third choice from the dealer's competition. Some may say that a low-ball offer isn't good negotiating (I do it always), but the way I look at it is their original sticker price is their "high-ball" starting point. And I always keep in mind that I can get up and walk (over to the next dealer).

If the dealer knows that you really want THAT rig, they have the upper hand in the negotiating process, IMHO

[evanrem]

I would search the web for the cheapest you can find it and start lower than that number. If they take your first offer usually you did not get the best deal. If they throw in a bunch of stuff same thing probably. I have the bad habit of heckling days over a few hundred dollars, in the end it's probably more trouble than it's worth. I read some where that people who spend a ton of time haggling over prices and hours at the dealer and in the end get a better price are less satisfied with the purchase over those who spend less time at the dealer and pay more. Go figure

[cruz-in]

IMHO always good if the dealer. Knows you are dealing with. Multiple dealers. I do negotiating via email. Then when we go to the dealer all we are concerned about is do we want that Traile, car or whatever. Price is already set...