RV show Travel Trailer pricing

[BeerBrewer]

We attended our first two RV shows in Hersey PA and another near Baltimore over last week. As we expected the pricing at the two shows seemed rather similar. We heard from almost every salesmen at both show say that "these prices are rock bottom". As a general rule is that true? Meaning, I'm sure that someone somewhere can haggle a really low price, but overall where the prices that we saw at the show really "rock bottom" or were they business as usual?

I ask this question because we saw a number of TTs that we liked and we were even tempted to make a purchase, but we didn't. Well since we've gotten home we started looking for "new-ish" (2016 and up) used trailers, similar makes and models to the new ones we saw at the show, and the used trailer pricing isn't that much lower than the what we saw at the show.

The really annoying part in all this we both happen to like two brand new TT models, so finding a used model like them isn't possible and we may have want to buy new. If we do how much off of MSRP can we expect to get? For instance we saw a trailer with a MSRP of $30,500 selling for about $24,000, plus almost $2000 for delivery, dealer prep and a battery. Is charging for delivery and dealer prep normal in this industry? Frankly it really really rubs me the wrong way, almost feels like a "scam".

[spoon059]

BeerBrewer wrote:
We attended our first two RV shows in Hersey PA and another near Baltimore over last week. As we expected the pricing at the two shows seemed rather similar. We heard from almost every salesmen at both show say that "these prices are rock bottom". As a general rule is that true?

Generally, no. They like to take advantage of those people that are prone to instant gratification and make them think they are getting a great deal.

I went to Hershey, Timonium (the one near Baltimore) and Dulles for about 3 years before we bought our current camper. Took a while to determine that this is the one we wanted. I talked to every dealer that sold Jayco's and got a wide range of prices for the exact camper I wanted. They all promised me that this was the absolute BEST price they could do.

Nonsense, I determined that the BEST price was from RVone.com. I went to one other local dealer that wasn't at any of the shows and got a quote from them. They came within $600 of RVone, which was thousands less than the "best" prices I had heard at any RV show. I signed a contract, then they took an additional $200 off when they realized that I could have gotten it cheaper elsewhere... AFTER I signed and agreed to the higher price.

No, 95% of the time those sale prices are about what they normally run. Usually the lowest price deals are for the demo models that they don't want to haul back after the show... but you are getting a trailer that has been trampled through, had ice cream spilled behind the couch, cabinet doors pulled lose, etc. I'd rather pay a little more and get a NEW camper. They use excitement and instant gratification to sell more.

[Jay_Coe]

Ralph Cramden wrote:

Ron3rd wrote:

Jay Coe wrote:
Doc fee is BS also. That's part of the dealer's cost of doing business like heat, electric and insurance on his building. Title and registration are the only legitimate documentation fees for a buyer.

I agree doc fee is BS.

At a lot of dealerships the person doing the finance and registration work is essentially a contractor and is paid by the number of transactions. That amount is included in the doc fee over and above the actual fees related to financing and gubmint. B&M till your head explodes but if a dealer has no separate line item shown as a doc fee you're still paying it just the same. I can guarantee no dealer anywhere is footing the bill for doc fees or anything else, the buyer is.

Well of course they are. Just like their utilities, insurance and the wage they pay the janitor. What I'm saying is they need to cover these expenses with the profits they earn, not tag it on to a sale. Those profits are the TOTAL the dealership makes off all their business, not just sales of units. Service, parts, whatever makes them money needs to cover that "business expense". It's overhead.

[Ralph_Cramden]

Ron3rd wrote:

Jay Coe wrote:
Doc fee is BS also. That's part of the dealer's cost of doing business like heat, electric and insurance on his building. Title and registration are the only legitimate documentation fees for a buyer.

I agree doc fee is BS.

At a lot of dealerships the person doing the finance and registration work is essentially a contractor and is paid by the number of transactions. That amount is included in the doc fee over and above the actual fees related to financing and gubmint. B&M till your head explodes but if a dealer has no separate line item shown as a doc fee you're still paying it just the same. I can guarantee no dealer anywhere is footing the bill for doc fees or anything else, the buyer is.

[Lynnmor]

Ron3rd wrote:


Depends on where you live. In California the delivery fee is a legitimate expense the dealer must pay to get the trailers out here from Indiana, where most come from. You also pay a delivery fee when you buy are car in most cases, ie, "transportation fee". We're talking about 2,000 miles or so with a hot shot carrier.

American made cars have standardized delivery fees, no matter if you are next door to the plant or at the other end of the country, the price is the same.

[Ron3rd]

Jay Coe wrote:
Doc fee is BS also. That's part of the dealer's cost of doing business like heat, electric and insurance on his building. Title and registration are the only legitimate documentation fees for a buyer.

I agree doc fee is BS.

[Ron3rd]

Walaby wrote:
Delivery fee is BS. Doc fee, yes, begrudgingly depending on how much.

My local dealer (Campers Inn) charges $399 doc fee, and that's it. No delivery fee, no prep fee. The Camping World across the street wanted to charge delivery fee of $1500+ AND a prep fee of over a grand. Doc fee changes by the day, and sometimes by the hour.

I don't pay MSRP for trailer, and I've never paid sticker for a new vehicle. So, the fact it has a delivery charge on the sticker doesn't mean a thing.

Mike

Depends on where you live. In California the delivery fee is a legitimate expense the dealer must pay to get the trailers out here from Indiana, where most come from. You also pay a delivery fee when you buy are car in most cases, ie, "transportation fee". We're talking about 2,000 miles or so with a hot shot carrier.

Having said that, you'll normally get your lowest price from rvwholesalers.com and/or rvdirect.com. Use that as leverage with your local dealer.

[GrandpaKip]

The only way I ever buy large ticket items is out the door price and at an even number with 2 or 3 zeroes. Let them do the math.
I like to negotiate what I and the dealer feel is “fair”.
The only real “deal” is when someone offers zero percent interest for the same price as cash. Did that on a car and a tractor.

[Jay_Coe]

Doc fee is BS also. That's part of the dealer's cost of doing business like heat, electric and insurance on his building. Title and registration are the only legitimate documentation fees for a buyer.

[Walaby]

Delivery fee is BS. Doc fee, yes, begrudgingly depending on how much.

My local dealer (Campers Inn) charges $399 doc fee, and that's it. No delivery fee, no prep fee. The Camping World across the street wanted to charge delivery fee of $1500+ AND a prep fee of over a grand. Doc fee changes by the day, and sometimes by the hour.

I don't pay MSRP for trailer, and I've never paid sticker for a new vehicle. So, the fact it has a delivery charge on the sticker doesn't mean a thing.

Mike

[Farm_Camp]

Ralph Cramden wrote:

Farm Camp wrote:
Camper "MSRP" Yah - I've seen the exact same unit - same options - priced at a 10K or more different "MSRP" at Dealers 100 miles apart... I do not know if you can find a reliable MSRP for a RV like you can a Car or Truck to be honest. MSRP is whatever the dealer slaps on his "Super SALE!"

True, but some manufacturers have an actual MSRP. Rockwood is one. Every unit they ship has what amounts to a window sticker shipped inside the unit. The issue is a lot of dealers remove it when they take delivery. When we ordered our 17 Rockwood our dealer gave me the Rockwood printout that showed dealer cost in one column for base price and every availible option, and MSRP for all in another column. Most will not offer that up.

Agree with you - if you can dig deep enough you might find similar info buried in a drawer - If that is more common now it's a good thing! When I ordered mine it came with what I guess was their version of a factory invoice. But I never saw/found one in a dealer unit. kudos for any manufacturer (edit: or Dealer) that sticks it to the glass or someplace very hard to miss.

[Farm_Camp]

Oh - I also discovered what somebody else on here mentioned. When you see "Wholesale" dealers - especially the online ones. It appears many/most/all of them are in fact just some dealer masquerading as a wholesale outlet. Sometimes they are brazen enough to list the "MSRP" of the camper on their "Wholesale" website at a different (normally lower) MSRP than you'd find if you visited the LOT or their dedicated dealer web site. Maybe those are gone now too - but 5 years ago that seemed fairly common. Looking at small print you'd see "Wholesaleisus.dot.whatever" is really "SomeRVDealer" D.B.A.

[Ralph_Cramden]

Farm Camp wrote:
Camper "MSRP" Yah - I've seen the exact same unit - same options - priced at a 10K or more different "MSRP" at Dealers 100 miles apart... I do not know if you can find a reliable MSRP for a RV like you can a Car or Truck to be honest. MSRP is whatever the dealer slaps on his "Super SALE!"

True, but some manufacturers have an actual MSRP. Rockwood is one. Every unit they ship has what amounts to a window sticker shipped inside the unit. The issue is a lot of dealers remove it when they take delivery. When we ordered our 17 Rockwood our dealer gave me the Rockwood printout that showed dealer cost in one column for base price and every availible option, and MSRP for all in another column. Most will not offer that up.

[DownTheAvenue]

BeerBrewer wrote:
For instance we saw a trailer with a MSRP of $30,500 selling for about $24,000, plus almost $2000 for delivery, dealer prep.....Frankly it really really rubs me the wrong way, almost feels like a "scam".

Then you haven't bought a new vehicle in 40 years! Every vehicle will have a delivery charge added on the window sticker. almost every dealer (there are a few exceptions) charge a "documentation fee".

[Farm_Camp]

Camper "MSRP" Yah - I've seen the exact same unit - same options - priced at a 10K or more different "MSRP" at Dealers 100 miles apart... I do not know if you can find a reliable MSRP for a RV like you can a Car or Truck to be honest. MSRP is whatever the dealer slaps on his "Super SALE!" tag...

You just have to look at as many prices as you can find, guesstimate what a "real" MSRP might be and negotiate from there. In my humble opinion the best prices are had after a show when dealers have units on the lot, paying for them to sit there without a crowd of people tromping through them.

Well, it wasn't exactly planned, but that's that way we did it. We wanted enclosed underbelly and a larger fridge and the local dealer had none (and so scoffed at the idea of me asking for one because it was such a waste when he had a perfectly un-enclosed one sitting right there).

We ordered the exact unit/options we wanted new built from the factory - 13K less the my local dealer's "best possible deal on earth" and 25%(ISH) less than my best guesstimate of what the MSRP for the unit was. I just had to drive 100 miles to get it.

Maybe things have changed since I got mine - does not sound like it.

[Lwiddis]

Show specials are mostly baloney. Offer the "show" price at the dealer's lot and they'll take it quick.