Camping World RV sales and inflated MSRP

[1ciderdog]

Several years ago I bought tires from Camping Word at a big rally near Redmond, Oregon. They didn't have the tires there so made an appointment to go to Portland to have the tires installed. Got to Portland and there was some difficulty in finding the tires but after an hour or so I was told they had the tires and were mounting them. Well over an hour later the guy comes back and said they couldn't mount the tires and CW had taken them to Les Schwab to have mounted. That didn't build my confidence in CW and I haven't been impressed with anything they've done since then.

[Scarab0088]

Originally Posted by EricBurns

Hi Everyone,
I’ve read some previous comments about RV sales at Camping World, but I wanted to relate my recent experience and see if others have seen something similar. My family and I are planning to trade out of our 2014 Bounder Classic and move into our first diesel. While on a camping trip we visited the local Camping World and saw a Venetian A40 that we really liked. My challenge is, Camping World is showing an MSRP about $19K higher than the Thor website build and price tool. When I asked to see an options sheet that broke down options that would account for the difference, I got a lot of double talk. At one point they literally said ‘there are a number of discounts that dealers get, that they won’t show you on the website, that then get added in’. Is this common with Camping World? Isn’t it illegal to alter a manufacturer’s MSRP? I will say, they are being very aggressive with our trade, if they told me they were showing a higher selling price to offset a trade number, I could at least understand, but when they say ‘that’s the number we get from Thor’, and that’s it, I get very uneasy.

Yes, MSRP is assigned by the builder and shall not be manipulated under penalty of Federal Law:
16 CFR Part223
And
Title 15 USCode 1233

The dealership may add other fees, but not print their own "window sticker" data sheet to make MSRP change.

Thor Motor Coach clearly lists MSRP on their website (2018, A40 is $340,900)...and only has a few options (TMC makes most everything standard equipment - very different from other makers):
See the Features HERE


We DO NOT patronize Camping World for several reasons...deceptive sale practices and misrepresenting warranty service procedures are only the start.

Safe travels

[Superslif]

I have heard this before, but I just want to get this out there. Was getting a price quote on a new ORV trailer at the Idaho CW. Since the ORV services are (warranty work) goes as far east as Denver, the salesman said my nearby CW in Ohio would take care of any warranty work, no questions asked.

So gave my CW a call, asked to speak to the GM and asked if I bought ORV unit out in Idaho Falls CW, do you honor any warranty work that might be needed. "Absolutely NOT". We will not touch ANY RV not bought here. So at least they were to the point.

If I ever did happen to do a deal like this, you would have to get it in writing where warranty would be excepted. Thank God the CW's price was the highest of 5 quotes for the trailer we wanted.

[chuckftboy]

Its always like a big game. They mark up the selling price and give you more trade-in so you feel good about what you get for your rig.

The only thing I would be interested in is the difference between trade and purchase. If they mark up the new coach to 1,000,000 and give you 900,000 trade its the same as selling the new coach for 200,000 and giving you 100,000 trade.

Here in America people can sell things for however much they want to, but because we live in America we don't have to buy it.

[Superslif]

The only thing I would be interested in is the difference between trade and purchase. If they mark up the new coach to 1,000,000 and give you 900,000 trade its the same as selling the new coach for 200,000 and giving you 100,000 trade.

Same here, with further pricing research, ended up with a deal over $5,000 less than the CW dealer was offering.

[EricBurns]

Originally Posted by Scarab0088

Yes, MSRP is assigned by the builder and shall not be manipulated under penalty of Federal Law:
16CFR Part223

The dealership may add other fees, but not print their own "window sticker" data sheet to make MSRP change.

Thor Motor Coach clearly lists MSRP on their website (2018, A40 is $340,900)...and only has a few options (TMC makes most everything standard equipment - very different from other makers):
See the Features HERE


We DO NOT patronize Camping World for several reasons...deceptive sale practices and misrepresenting warranty service procedures are only the start.

Safe travels

It really does seem as simple as that. I had another conversation with the young salesman today, if for no other reason than I just couldn’t let it go. I was able to at least get him to admit that it appeared his company was engaging in ‘shady business practices’. It would appear it’s being done at the corporate level, as they seem to load ‘MSRP’ info into the computer system.

To some of the other posters’ points; you’re obviously right about the ability to sell a product for whatever the market allows, and we as consumers have the right to walk away. That said, in my previous 2 RVs (and for that matter 27 cars and 13 motorcycles), I’ve honestly never encountered this kind of blatant manipulation of a manufacturer’s price. I would think if you were going to do that, you would be prepared with a more plausible explanation.

To be fair, I’ve previously actually had good experiences with CW parts and supply purchases. My question now is how much noise to make about it.

[Gary RVRoamer]

There is only one "MSRP" and it's the one the factory generates. But there is no reason the dealer cannot state a higher selling price, and more than a few of them do. If asked, most will show the factory price plus various add-ons, e.g. transportation cost (to the dealer location), pre-delivery preparation, maybe "paint protection" or similar extras, etc. The dollar value for each is often preposterous, but it makes up the difference. Essentially it is additional dealer margin that they can later give up in a negotiation if necessary, simply by giving a higher trade value or "discount".

A particular dealer or region may get some additional discounts from the factory, but that doesn't alter the factory MSRP - it merely changes what the dealer paid the factory to get the RV.

[Gary RVRoamer]

If you don't know it Camping World Stores are independent business DBA "Doing Business As" Camping World.

I don't believe there are very many of those franchise locations any more. Franchising didn't work all that well for either CW or the stores, so under Lemonis CW has shifted to buying dealerships outright. Most of the independents have either sold out or left CW as their franchise contracts ran out.

[HighDesert]

I wouldn't buy a bar of soap from CW, much less an expensive RV. Past experience with them (Morgan Hill, Ca) and their "mechanics / technicians" turned me off of them years ago. Lot better local dealers with better pricing and after the fact service than CW.

[Crasher]

I don't think Lemonis cares what people think or say about their practices. Those of us in the know are more than likely a small percentage of the potential RV owners that could shop at CW. He makes more profit off the 90% that are uninformed than he would off of the 100% if they were more reputable. It's a calculated business decision that is profitable for him. No need to change. Fewer customers with higher profit works.

[vito.a]

I'm sad to say we purchased a coach from Camping World Savannah. Every little detail was a giant hassle! We walked away several times.

The day before we were flying from AZ to GA to pick it up they called and said they needed two more weeks (they had waited until the day before to start prepping the coach). The airline tickets were non refundable.

Their financial department was hostile! It's like she hated us. I just ended up getting a Temp tag from them to make it easier.

They have a large service dapartment with several technicians, but only 1 or 2 know anything about RV's. Some of the things they did scare me!

They even reneged on the written list of things they were supposed to provide after the sale.

Yet as a company they are buying out hundreds of local dealerships.

[ejpatty]

I would never buy new. Find a used coach that's a year or two old. Go to RV Pricing and Values on facebook and get an appraisal from David for your coach and the coach you want. Then you have the information you need to make an informed decision.

[Quincy]

I just read all the horror stories about CW. Never have heard anything good. We were there a week ago and the inflated prices on their shelves are enough to make one head for the door.

[TonyDi]

CW lost my trust years ago. I never go to their stores. Everything is overpriced.