Need help buying/negotiating travel trailer from dealer

[rwbana]

My family is looking into purchasing a travel trailer in the next couple of weeks.

We've done lots of research and have narrowed it down to the specific model we want.

We are dealing with a dealer here locally and the salesman seems very nice and genuine but at the same time we want to make sure that we are not paying for any junk fees, etc.

Does anyone have any experience with making sure that we know exactly what we're paying for without getting surprised with unnecessary add-ons that the dealer makes a lot of money on.

Could also use some help in negotiating the price down more. I don't want to strip the salesman's commission from him but at the same time I need to know how padded those profits can be so I can negotiate accordingly.


Thanks for any and all advice given

[4X4Dodger]

rwbana wrote:
Wow, thanks for all of the really good advice I can't believe how friendly and helpful everyone has been.

Here is a excerpt from an email I got from the sales person Mike who is been very friendly




The list price is $26,941 less the discount of $6,946. Our price is $17,995 plus tax, Lic., and fees. The price I give you has no hidden fees or other undisclosed costs. Hitch work and brake controller would normally run $1,344 but we have discounted it to $998 including all installations.

Your Out the Door price with all the above will be $20,844.91.



He said also included in the price is a Prodigy 2 brake controller and an equalizer 10,000 pound Equalizer sway bar.

The MSRP price of $26,941 also includes a dealer prep charge of $789 and a freight delivery charge of $3888

For a freight shipping charge of nearly $4000 am I better off just driving halfway across the country and picking it up myself?

I also heard that these dealer prep fees are also junk fees which they have embedded into the MSRP.

If it was me I would accept that price as the OUT THE DOOR price Tax and License included. Counter offer that and see what they say...my bet is they accept. I would also make them include any so called "dealer" fees or Transport costs in that.

[silverfz]

One more thing my wife seem to play tough husband card and get way better deal then me everytime . Now days I let her deal. When she is not comfortable she just throws my husband will not agree and do the walk away routine. I have to honest when we thought new RV I just let her do the deal. She did awesome and nearly 2k for the trade in .

[rwbana]

Again... thanks for all the responses...seems like we have some experts in the hauling arena, which is a bonus I was not anticipating in this thread.

For more background info, we have decided on the Jay Feather 23MB which my dealer said MSRP is $26,941 and that in that MSRP is embedded freight of $3,888

Interestingly, I found the same trailer in Coldwater, MI with an MSRP of $23,250 and a freight of $380 bucks!

If I can get my local dealer here in Temecula, CA (1 hr. north of San Diego), to work with me on the seemingly excessive freight charges, then that would be nice.

I guess if I'm paying 70% of MSRP, then I'm not paying the full $3888 freight, I"m paying more like$2721 (70% of $3888)

I'm not willing to drive across the country to save $2000 but I may do it to save $3000.

Then there's the whole buying local in case of servicing, etc. which makes it very convenient to buy local.

It sounds like the dealer already has this at 70% of MSRP but it would be nice to get the Equilizer and the Prodigy 2 thrown into the deal.

[randallb]

Doc fees are just a profit enhancer with most dealerships. Hopefully you live in a state where doc fees are regulated. In TN doc fees are not regulated and the dealership's greed cost them a sale. The dealership can ask what they want for their product and add on all the fees they want but they can not make me purchase from them.
Randy

[noteven]

bfast54 - you spoil sport - you mean it costs money and a person's time to run a vehicle 6000 miles? 🙂

[randallb]

I have no idea what price range you are interested in but we just recently purchased a 15' that has a MSRP of $15600. The dealers here in the SE were advertising it at $12500+ and quoting it at $11900. By the time they added on T&L and, something I refuse to pay, doc fees of $400-$500 the OTD was around $13500. Since we travel up to ND and MN every year I checked with a ND dealer and got the trailer OTD for $10.900 and I will pay the 7% sales tax and $30.00 for registration when we get home for a total of $11700. Your ability to shop and travel with out additional cost has a lot to do with what you pay. If we were just traveling to ND to buy a trailer it is not cost effective but since the Moms are in their 90's the annual trip is mandatory. So we are killing two birds with one stone.
Randy

[bfast54]

geotex1 wrote:
As a data point as you gather from other advice here so far, that delivery fee is not off-base at all folks. Have friends that do the factory deliveries. bfast covered the standpoint per mile, but forgot to toss in the needed insurance and consideration of the premium for a 1-way delivery (i.e., nothing on the ball going home after the drop).

No......did not forget.......Those costs are all costs WE ASSUME hauling........I,nor any of us get paid each way,unless we have a "haul back"...(very rare)...

I also did not include costs for, Oil changes, Tire replacement, new vehicle every TWO YEARS if you haul full time........Food costs, ..........Commercial Plates, D.O.T. inspections (yearly)...

These are ALL COSTS.....We all factor into hauling...




As for the "gas costs",,,....90% of us run Diesels.....Diesel is still as much as $1.00 a gallon More than Gasoline....so,the statement of "gas costs that were sky rocketed"......holds no valid point.

The company that sets up the deliveries,takes a chunk of the Delievery fee..for their costs...so the "maybe $500 high".....takes all that into consideration. As that trailer was most likely made within 50-75 miles of Elkhart Ind.


So,being in calif, if the company dosent have a plant,in Calf..or Oregon,Washington state.......its gonna cost plenty to get it there.

[geotex1]

As a data point as you gather from other advice here so far, that delivery fee is not off-base at all folks. Have friends that do the factory deliveries. bfast covered the standpoint per mile, but forgot to toss in the needed insurance and consideration of the premium for a 1-way delivery (i.e., nothing on the ball going home after the drop).

[SabreCanuck]

For what it's worth when we bought our TT new 4 years ago I was wheeling/dealing with 3 different sources (including rvwholesale). I didn't necessarily throw the other prices in their face but at least I knew what the other prices were... Seeing as how you have nailed down the make/model you are waaay ahead of the game.

We had prices from WI, IL and OH and were willing to pickup and vacation home from any of them which is exactly what we did for a week.

HOWEVER - I've also never once had the trailer in for warranty work nor cared but I can guarantee we would have been last in line at home dealer for warranty repairs. Maybe we were lucky with no major flaws but the small items I fixed myself and camped that weekend instead of dropping off and waiting for 2 weeks for someone to adjust the doors(?). There's not much on a trailer that I can't fix myself but that's just me. Depending on your comfort level and abilities, the local dealer may be worth paying a little extra$$ for peace of mind down the road.

good luck - EXCITING TIMES..!!

[dadmomh]

Agree on the price being about 70% of MSRP. MSRP is a mostly fictional number and is definitely not set in stone, but some sort of figure that sounds good and likely fairly close. The freight charge is going to vary depending on where it was built to your location....to CA is obviously higher than it would be to TN, assuming the trailer was built in the mid-west. You might want to make a couple of calls ahead of time - check your phone book - and get a rough idea. $3800 might have been reasonable when gas was through the roof, but that's no longer the case. Then there is that "prep charge" or whatever they want to call it. It could run anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to SEVERAL hundred dollars. Nope, tell them that you will not pay that and be prepared to walk...or at least look like you're walking. The frills that they may add are likely not worth it. You can wash and wax + detail it for a bunch fewer dollars....which you're going to do anyway. The extended warranty....your choice. If you feel it's worth it to you and the price is acceptable, go ahead. We didn't go with it on our HTT but did on our TT simply due to some physical issues DH has now that would make doing some jobs impossible, so it was worth the gamble for us. Ours is transferrable to the new owner for the balance of the 5 years and could be a selling feature.

BTW, IMHO, this is one time you need to leave the kiddos at home or with a friend until this haggling phase is over and done. I know they're excited and want to be a part, but this part needs you to have all your brain cells working and not distracted. Once the deal is done and signed, then bring them into the fun part....this is not the fun part! Good luck on getting through this phase, the rest is fun and lots of memories.

[silverfz]

Sounds like a good price .hitch work sounds good too as you can get the hitch for 500 and the p2 for 200 online. Maybe u can some off there.

Only you can decide how much money is worth driving and picking up from far. If you had minor issues most RV place will take care of it right away for free.i had 2 issues and the RV place being 2 miles from home was easier and fast to deal with.once I stopped by and said I do not feel comfortable as the equalizer is not setup right with load .they just did it on a Friday evening before a long weekend with no appointment . I know I could have read the manual and tried it myself with no way to tighten the big bolt to 250 lbs torque or waited for an appointment but we were on the road after a short ice cream break across the street. I drove 500 miles that trip and o cannot put a value on that.

[bfast54]

A little different take on the Feight Delivery Charge


Since I Haul Trailers, I inputed Goshen ,Ind to South Lake Tahoe , Calif. Just for Kicks.

With those parameters, ( You most likely dont live on the Edge of Calif.) so, miles wuld be more most likely.


2729 miles is what our router gives, with those Paramerters.

With what they pay us ( Just a "tad" over a $1.00 mile..), and the fee that the Broker, freight company charges, the Fee for that far dosent sound all that far off base. ( about $500 high)


So, Just a Working Mans Perspective on the REAL costs.




Now, if you find the right rig, find a Dealer near Elkhart, Goshen..You can drive there and get it.



BUT, if you need service..You may be in for a wait, because you did not Buy Locally. Just the facts.

[GaryWT]

The freight charge seems way too high, i would look into that. It is great to same money from dealers far away but you also here stories of people unable to get work done at the local dealer because they did not buy from them so I guess it is a trade off, you can pay me know or you can pay me later. As for the extended warrenty, there are some that will never pay for one and there are others who get them for everything, comes down to what you want to pay for and what you are willing to do yourself. I generally get the warrenty as $1000 for 7 years of coverage is worth it and if you trade it in, it rolls over or you get a refund.

[fla-gypsy]

What the ....

"also includes a dealer prep charge of $789 and a freight delivery charge of $3888".

There is no way the freight would be that much. I think you just found some more savings to be had. Go to RVDirect, configure your unit and see what they would charge for freight. I have no doubt it will be less than $1500.

[steve-n-vicki]

I drove 651 miles to pick my TT up , I ended up saving $675 shipping cost( 1000 to ship 325 in gas for round trip = 675) and it was $5000 cheaper than my "local" dealer for $5675 in savings , used the trip up to visit a few places that I wanted to see.
There was a couple from Ca. that was picking up a fiver