Community Forums

McRod · 07-19-2015, 08:07 AM

I'd like to know how most people go about negotiating their fifth wheel purchase.

Did you negotiating with the retail outlet, private party, or manufacturer.

Did you negotiate a cash deal, or did you finance from your bank or the dealer?

Did you buy a unit already built on the lot or did you request to have modifications from a factory order?

If you asked for modifications, did that impact your negotiating price? i.e, did you get to a price and then say, you would agree to it if they threw in an upgraded item or two? (bigger fridge, washer/dryer, etc).

What was your final price difference from the MSRP or from the NADA value? (i.e. purchase price divided by the MSRP).

Feel free to add in other details that impacted your final price... for example, extended warranty, financing at the dealer, etc.

Bamaman · 07-20-2015, 07:00 PM

[QUOTE=McRod;2656249]I'd like to know how most people go about negotiating their fifth wheel purchase.
Did you negotiating with the retail outlet, private party, or manufacturer.
You negotiate with a dealer or a private party--whoever you're buying from.
Did you negotiate a cash deal, or did you finance from your bank or the dealer? Best to go to a local credit union and setup the deal. If the dealer can beat their deal, go with them. Negotiate the price first.
Did you buy a unit already built on the lot or did you request to have modifications from a factory order? I bought a unit already on a stock order, made some changes and it showed up 3 weeks later.
If you asked for modifications, did that impact your negotiating price? i.e, did you get to a price and then say, you would agree to it if they threw in an upgraded item or two? (bigger fridge, washer/dryer, etc). No.
What was your final price difference from the MSRP or from the NADA value? (i.e. purchase price divided by the MSRP). I went to a dominant dealer in the retail market, and the dealer I bought my unit from bested their deal by $1K
Feel free to add in other details that impacted your final price... for example, extended warranty, financing at the dealer, etc.Keep any additions separate from the deal. This is where they'll really get into your pocketbook. I didn't want any of their high profit add on's.[/QUOTE]
xxx

rskeans · 07-22-2015, 10:20 AM

I bought as equiped on the lot. Dealer was closing out. Ended up with 35% off MSRP. Currently adding the extra's that we wanted. i.e. washer/dryer, autoformer, surge protector, cord winder, etc.

taken · 07-22-2015, 11:39 AM

If you're willing to travel, 35%+ off is standard fair even on ordered rigs. We got 36% off our ordered unit from Couch's RV Nation with no haggling. RV Wholesaler's will do the same but they are not nearly as nice to work with. I wouldn't buy off the lot personally. There are so many options and decors and I am just too particular to settle on anything but a custom build. On financing, some places actually discount more if you finance through them as they get a kick back from the bank.

McRod · 07-22-2015, 07:32 PM

Did you custom order your unit through RV nation? I looked at their site, but they seem to only offer Forest River and Heartland RV's. Even so, they didn't offer the Forest River Cardinal, which was our second choice. We have been looking for dealers that sell Keystone Montana's (our first choice).

The other thing I don't really like about both of these "wholesaler" websites, is the first thing that ask for is your contact info before they give you any pricing details. My experience is that sites like that use the information and sell it as another revenue stream. I don't prefer to just hand over my personal details. Their hidden prices seem gimicky to me, so I tend to just go somewhere I can get the information I need.

taken · 07-22-2015, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McRod

Did you custom order your unit through RV nation? I looked at their site, but they seem to only offer Forest River and Heartland RV's. Even so, they didn't offer the Forest River Cardinal, which was our second choice. We have been looking for dealers that sell Keystone Montana's (our first choice).

Yes, we ordered through them. It was a great experience but like any other dealer, they can only carry so many brands.

W1ndChaser · 07-24-2015, 08:46 PM

We printed off a spec sheet from a wholesalers webpage. We sent the invoice pricing to our local dealer and told them we wanted to buy locally, and had them offer their best price for the listed options. We ended up paying a little over $1k more locally and saved ourselves an 800 mile trip to the wholesalers lot. It took about 10 weeks for heartland to build and deliver the fifth wheel.

2014 Ram dually
2015 bighorn 3570rs

J Birder · 07-24-2015, 09:42 PM

I searched the internet for the lowest price that I could possibly find. Then I went to my nearest dealer, armed with printout for the low price that I had found.

My dealer gave me his "best" price, which was about $5k higher than the price that I had found. I handed him the printout and told him that I would much rather buy from him than from a dealer 200 miles away, but $5k was too much of a premium for buying local. He matched the low price.

Joel

taken · 07-25-2015, 06:12 AM

I envy people who have local dealers willing to do that. I hear it happening from time to time but it certainly isn't the norm. Good for you guys though!

tuffr2 · 07-25-2015, 08:49 AM

I found a unit I liked at a dealer. I traded in a 5 year old small trailer. I used the NADA book to get a fair trade-in value plus 36% off MSRP on the new rig.

I had them add an electric outlet in the bedroom at no additional charge.

taken · 07-25-2015, 10:27 AM

See, you guys in IN and OH are near the manufacturers. More competition and very low shipping to the dealer. My rig would have cost the dealer 1500 or so just to get it to the east coast. Still doesn't explain their 9500 mark up though.... Wouldn't even return phone calls or emails when I told them the price to beat or come close too. Unless you have a brand that Pete's RV in VT sells, there aren't high volume, good price dealers in New England. (Or at least not for any brand I've ever shopped and I've bought 4 rigs in recent years...)