Purchasing an RV - negotiating a sale price

[NewTTcamper]

I have seen various discussions regarding negotiating with a dealer. What I haven't seen is the following: if you purchase an RV with upgraded options from the factory, can you still negotiate a lower price with the dealer or are you stuck because you ordered options instead of taking an RV off the lot?

[hawkeye-08]

It really depends on the trailer and time of year... My Dad got a good deal on one in the last couple weeks because the dealer did not want to sit on inventory over the winter... It is already winterized but Dad is already out camping (using porta potty and water bladder) and loves it. They are not as willing in the spring and early summer.. I would not pay dealer list price, they will always come down some or throw extras in.

[Ron3rd]

oughtsix wrote:
Get a price quote from the an RV wholesaler. Go tangle with the RV dealer over price. Buy from the wholesaler!

Get a quote from rvwholesalers.com and rvdirect.com and use that as leverage. Both very reputable companies to do business with. My local dealer matched their price on a factory order.

You'll at least know what you could theoretically buy the rig for.

[B_O__Plenty]

2Macs wrote:
Figure a beginning offer at 55% of MSRP, then be willing to go up 5% more.

If the dealer wants to sell, that should put you in the right range.

I don't think 55% off is a very realistic figure and it might get you run off the lot. I do believe 30-35% off is possible. Maybe not at the dealer of your choice but probably somewhere. It all depends on the market in your area. Don't expect that anything "thrown in" will be free. It cost the dealer something and they have to add that cost into the price of the deal. Most of the time you can purchase these items online for way less than the dealer adds in to the sale price for them.

B.O.

[FireRob]

cruz-in wrote:

2Macs wrote:
Figure a beginning offer at 55% of MSRP, then be willing to go up 5% more.

If the dealer wants to sell, that should put you in the right range.

that would give you a very good deal indeed....although doable....2 of the last three trailers we have have brought at over 40% off list...

When I buy my next trailer I want to hire you two to negotiate my deal for me. If you get it for 55% off Ill give you the difference of 35%. (in other words Ill pay you the 20%) Don't know how yall are pulling off deal's like that. I am not calling any one a lire but man yall are talking impressive numbers I just don't believe.

Sticker on my trailer was $38,075.50, I think they were advertising $35K and I paid $29K and got the hitch thrown in (I am not a math major but I think that is 23% off sticker) and really had to work my dealer to get it there.

[rbpru]

We opted for a used TT.

The DW and I bought a 3 year old TT trade in. It looked in mint condition. It was sticker priced at the NADA Average Retail which was at the high end of what we wanted to spend.

We agreed on the NADA price if it included; all taxes, prep charges, fees etc. and the sales man offered a WD hitch. Basically the amount on the check was the price on the trailer sticker.

Was it a good deal? Well we have 14 weeks and 8000 mile of travel so far this year in a TT that we bought for the price we wanted to pay. So you make the call.

[spadoctor]

You should be able to get 30 to 35% off retail with no problem. Usually you can do better on a unit you order as the dealer has not made a floorplan payment on it ( floorplan runs 2 to 5% ). I would not buy over the internet as no local dealer is REQUIRED to perform service work on a unit they did not sell as are car dealers. Some here have not had a problem with service others have as have a few I know personally. A good dealer and dealer customer repor go a long way when there is a major problem.

[ThreeEs_and_One]

gcloss wrote:
I was in the market for a new travel trailer. I wanted a specific model Jayco Eagle with specific option. I went online to RV Direct and picked out the model with desired options.

When I received the quote via email, I went to a Jayco dealer near me with the quote. The dealer met the price right to the penny.

We just picked up our Jayco 32BHDSB this weekend and I did the very same thing, and added $200 gift card to boot. I was pretty happy with the deal.

[cruz-in]

2Macs wrote:
Figure a beginning offer at 55% of MSRP, then be willing to go up 5% more.

If the dealer wants to sell, that should put you in the right range.

that would give you a very good deal indeed....although doable....2 of the last three trailers we have have brought at over 40% off list...

[oughtsix]

Get a price quote from the an RV wholesaler. Go tangle with the RV dealer over price. Buy from the wholesaler!

[2Macs]

Figure a beginning offer at 55% of MSRP, then be willing to go up 5% more.

If the dealer wants to sell, that should put you in the right range.

[_tiredTeacher]

bobndot wrote:
I think it would depend on the dealer and how its doing. Some dealers have an inventory that's financed . Those units need to be sold to make loan payments . I would think they will do a deal to make a sale but buying from inventory will probably get you a better deal.

Not necessarily true. A dealer gets his trailer allotment from the manufacturer and has to sell that unit for as much money as he can to stay in business. He'll special order one for you and YOU get to wait out the 8 weeks to take delivery. Your unit doesn't affect his allotment.
If he sells you the unit sitting on the lot at a bare-bones price, HE has to wait for his turn to get another trailer to sell while you're out camping.

[Community Alumni]

Factory orders are still negotiable. Factory orders are nice because the dealer still gets to make money, but doesn't have to worry about any of the carrying cost for the unit to sit on the lot. They might be more motivated to negotiate on inventory they have on hand though. Find the used price for the trailer first. That will be how much your trailer is worth once you drive it off of the lot. Use that as your target price. There's a good chance you won't hit that price. There's shipping costs and whatnot plus the dealer has to make some money for making it available to you, but it will give you an idea of what you should be shooting for.

[NinerBikes]

dadmomh wrote:
No, you should still be able to negotiate a price. CA tends to be higher priced than most places. The general rule of thumb is around 30%+ off MSRP, which by the way, is a mostly fictional number. Not like the MSRP when buying a car. But, doubt that you're going to be that lucky in CA. A friend on both RVNet and Hybrid Explorer drove from northern CA to Chi to get their hybrid and after trip expenses were about $4000 ahead. We did the same from West TN to RVWholesalers in OH. On our hybrid we were about $4000 ahead and more on our TT. The one thing you can do to possibly help is to gather info and pricing from places like RVW or RVDirect, assuming they sell the model you are interested in, and use it as a bargaining tool. You might decide to turn delivery into a little vacation....or not....but your local dealer doesn't need to know that. Shoot for 30%. Good luck, it's a frustrating experience. And remember DO NOT believe everything a salesman tells you.....often they have no clue and the rest of the time it's for THEIR benefit.

I did the same thing in 2012. Made an offer on Black Friday, and drove from L.A. to Chi in 3 days... $1200 in fuel and rooms later, I was about $5000 ahead on my travel trailer, less the 1200 in expenses/which for me, I turned it into a road trip vacation. Davenport IA was 11F the morning I left my first overnighter at WalMart, rough on a guy who has lived his whole life frost free in So CA.

[gcloss]

I was in the market for a new travel trailer. I wanted a specific model Jayco Eagle with specific option. I went online to RV Direct and picked out the model with desired options.

When I received the quote via email, I went to a Jayco dealer near me with the quote. The dealer met the price right to the penny.