A little discouraged

[daibraik]

I hate it when sales people get lazy and cocky, Diane, especially at an RV show, and especially when I'm in the market to buy. Presumably, they've made their sales for the month from the RV show? I'm not sure what month sales drop around here, I'm guessing near summer time when everyone (RVers anyway) hightail it out of her to cooler climates. April? May? It's anytime after October in the Pacific Northwest. Then, they're calling, following up, offering deals, etc.

Probably the most fun I had buying an RV is after I sold my house one time. I went to an RV dealer, picked out a fifth wheel, and negotiations began. I refused most of their pricing, but told them I'm paying with cash. I'm buying an RV TODAY, and this is all I can pay for it. They wouldn't give me a price I could afford so I got ready to leave. The salesman came running after me, the deal was done. The sales manager ultimately brought out his so-called wholesale price list to show me what they paid for it. Pppffftt..

Dawn

"I didn't even have to keep telling myself I wasn't going to buy at the show. The salespeople seemed determined not to sell a single thing. I walked through a lot of units but most were too big. I did see a beautiful Airstream that was waaaaayyyyy expensive. Ah to have unlimited funds...now back to reality...lol. It wasn't a great big sale but I got tired walking around all over the place trying to find the smaller trailers tucked in between the large fifth wheels and motorhomes. It just struck me as funny that the sales people didn't even try to sell me even though some were even sitting around in lawn chairs doing absolutely nothing. Very strange indeed. Oh well at least I didn't feel pressured to buy anything.
And the search continues."

[IrishIroamed]

I'd be really curious to find out how many RV's are actually sold at shows. All the units at the Chicago show this weekend had 'sale prices'. Doubt they do financing directly at the show, and doubt they'd let you drive away with it to keep them from having to haul it back to their lot with the promise of 'I'll stop by on Monday to pay for it'.

[SoCalGalcas]

Hi Diane, I enjoyed meeting you at Usery. I have just finished reading all the messages to you about your tt. Very interesting. And time consuming! Don't get discouraged...take notes! We all have been through this and empathize with you. Hoping to meet up with you again "down the road". Lyn

[drocknut]

It would be nice to live a day or so from a wholesaler but at least I have options for local dealers both here and in Montana. Glad you got your deal Dawn.

[daibraik]

That's a good question, Diane. They have to haul them back to the lot anyway because there's a certain amount of prep that goes into selling an RV before the owner picks it up, so it's not like "Buy this rig today at our lowest price because we don't want to have to haul them back to the lot." My guess is the price drops after they drag it back from the lot, if there has been no particular interest. Melissa is right about pricing though. It's whatever you're willing to pay is what it will sell for. Mark ups are high, high, high. What I've learned to do after my most recent purchase is google the rig I want and look at prices throughout the country. Then I know what the markup is per region. Northwest is high. Lowest is the south, of course. Now, whether you're willing to travel to buy a less expensive rig (which may be too far for "I'm going to get the dealer to fix this" sort of visits), or whether you feel you can negotiate better knowing the lowest price on the internet is up to you.

Dawn

[Bethers]

Many of the rv's at the show are still owned by the manufacturer ( talking the big shows) and thus get discounted more there. Even if the dealer will prep, etc. Best prices ever seen on new rigs have been deals made at shows. And chances are you can even get them lower on the price offered if it's not sold by the final day.

[JudyJB]

I once bought a new car on the phone. I knew exactly what I wanted because my son had the same model and I had been to a dealer. So I went online and found out who had that model in the color I wanted in inventory. Because I was in Detroit, there were a lot!

So I started making phone calls telling them what I wanted and asking the price. I got a lot of "Well, come on down to the dealership and we'll talk" conversations, but I told them I would not do that. I said I was pricing the car over the phone and wanted their lowest price that way because I would not be coming in. (Made a LOT of salesmen unhappy, but who cares!) After about 10 calls, I got the lowest price at a dealer that was going out of business, and told them I would be there that night to sign the paperwork and come pick it up. Ended up buying a brand new $34,000 vehicle for a little over $24,000. (I think they wrote me up as an employee or something.) It helped that this was during the time Chrysler was closing dealerships, but I think it would have worked at other times also.

So focus for now on finding your RV, and then start looking for used and making a bunch of calls. You will obviously have to do some driving to find the right one, but if the price is right, great.

[drocknut]

Thanks all of you. I think I'm going to go into the big city (Phoenix) this week to look at more trailers. There are a number of dealers there so I will probably try to go to at least two. It's a drive but if I find "the one" it will be worth it.