Suggestions for getting best price on MH?

[dmpdx]

We are looking at a Class C, Fleetwood Tioga Ranger 31N. Ready to buy immediately, but could wait a couple months.

Local dealer does not have it in stock. We can order it, takes 6-8 weeks. We picked our options & features, final configuration MSRP $90K.

Farther dealer, 3 hours away, has one on their lot with all our features plus several others that we don't need. MSRP $95K.

This will be our first RV, we have nothing to trade-in. We can pay cash, no financing required - is this helpful, or would financing help our price negotiations?

Experienced buyers have suggested 25-30% off MSRP in other threads for high-end class A RVs. What I couldn't figure out is whether that is also achievable for the RV price range we're looking at. 30% off $90K is $63.5K! Is this reasonable?

Question: What might be the strategy?
1. Ask local for their best offer off the $90K MSRP? Presumably this won't be great number. Take that number and ask the farther dealer if they can beat it even though their RV has more features with $95K MSRP?
2. Make an offer to both dealers at 30% off MSRP? $64K to local dealer, and $67K to farther dealer?
3. Other?

If we buy from farther dealer, would we need to go there for new-MH issues? Can we bring to local dealer, would they be as helpful fixing problems if they didn't get the sale?

I would like to do the negotiations over phone or e-mail if possible. Is this a good approach?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

-Debbie

[Tha_Rooster]

If the unit is already on their lot you will get a better deal its costing them money. 30% is not unreasonable you might could do better by playing the get a price and leave game. You will probably get better service from the purchase dealer.

[dmpdx]

Hmm. Seems like I can get a pretty good deal on a Winnebago with same floorplan. There are also more units available, new and used. What to do, what to do. Is Winnebago a better brand? That's what I'm being told.

[Chuck 1935]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmpdx Hmm. Seems like I can get a pretty good deal on a Winnebago with same floorplan. There are also more units available, new and used. What to do, what to do. Is Winnebago a better brand? That's what I'm being told.

They have GREAT tech help and will be around after the others are gone. Personally I wouldn't have anything else.

[Gary RVRoamer]

I think the best price is obtained by making a low offer and let them negotiate up. When they laugh at your offer, tell them you are shopping at other dealers as well.

As for the Winnie vs Fleetwood, I've been a happy Fleetwood owner for several years but Winnie makes an good rig and has great factory Customer Support as well. If I liked the floor plan, they would definitely be on my short list.

[NLOVNIT]

I agree with Gary. Give 'em both a reasonable but low offer & let them come to you. You will get better service from the dealer you buy from. They want you to come back so you will get preferrential treatment, i.e. going to the head of the line for service over other units not purchased from them - at least ours does.

Lori-

[GaryKD]

Hi dmpdx,
You seem to have all the components to receive the best price. For me, I get the dealers best price by having the sales rep write the contract for the price I'm willing to pay. The contract should say the dealer has XX hours to accept the contract or it is automatically void and the deposit check is to be returned or it will be canceled. 12 hours should be plenty of time.

As to the financing, sometimes a dealer is being paid a fee to finance via a certain provider. This has gotten me a lower price and save me some $s. I work with the finance manager to understand how long the loan must remain in effect for the dealer to get their fee. Calculate the interest that would be paid. Determine the lower cost of the deal if financed. If there is a business case for you to do this, by all means, do it. Keep the loan for the minimum time required and pay it off. Loan providers sometimes provide incentives to get new customers. Once on board the new customer can be informed about the other products the loan provider has to offer.

[Z714X4]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaryKD Hi dmpdx, You seem to have all the components to receive the best price. For me, I get the dealers best price by having the sales rep write the contract for the price I'm willing to pay. The contract should say the dealer has XX hours to accept the contract or it is automatically void and the deposit check is to be returned or it will be canceled. 12 hours should be plenty of time.

Good suggestion.
And always be ready to walk away. Remember, at this stage they need you more than you need them. Walking away can put things into perspective and give everyone a chance to regroup. Last year, I made a substantially better deal on a better equipped MH from a dealer 300 miles away vs the dealer 60 miles away. Saved $5k and got better equipment options. It helps to know exactly what you're willing to settle on.
Good luck!

[62_inrightlane]

I'm not sure what will be the best tactic for you in negotationg you MH purchase, however I will tell you what worked for me.

1. Paying cash or credit can make a difference, but not in the way you may think.
A. Either way they get the agreed to price. Either from you or the bank.
B. Since the banks need good contracts from sellers they may actually make more money by you financing. Banks buy contracts from dealers. This gives the dealer a piece of the action.
C. If this is the case you can always let the dealer finance, just make sure your contract has a no pre payment penalty clause. Put down at least 50% and then pay off the contract on your first payment. You will only incur interest on the first month and may be more than enough to offset the cost of a cash deal.

2. A lot of dealers are selling on the internet and want to sell to out of state buyers. If your willing to travel to get your MH then this can be a good negotationg tool. I found my exact coach 800 miles away for about $6,000 less than my dealer was originally willing to take. When I presented the internet deal to the salesman the owner came into the negotation.

The owner asked me if I was willing to drive 800 miles to buy the motorhome. I explained that I was. It really made no difference to me since I would not have anything more invested than a 12 hr drive and the cost of gas. I was buying a motorhome that I would be able to live in while they installed the Blue Ox tow system and then drive the motorhome back home with toad in tow. I told him that my total cost would be about $500 and my net savings would be $5,500. He then explaned that the factory charges a delivery charge based on miles from the factory. Since the internet dealer was about 100 miles from factory he asked me if I would pay $1,000 more than the internet price from the dealer. I felt that was reasonable and he told the salesman to write it up. I saved $5,000 off the best pice I was able to get after 2 previous visits. I think the discount was about 26% on a coach with a list price of a little over $100K

Good Luck!

Marc & Jan

[bill2011]

Debbie,
In our case we did a lot of research as to normal discounts and read all the posts on various threads as you are doing. I contacted at least 8 dealers about 10 months prior to our purchase date and told them exactly what we were willing to pay as a percentage discount off MSRP. If I remember correctly my feeling at the time was that a discount of 26 to 28% was the norm. However the economy was deteriorating and considering the fact that we were custom ordering a coach to be built, whoever we bought from would have no carrying cost so we felt we could do better. I told all dealers that we were willing to pay 67 to 70% of MSRP and three of them indiacted they were willing to deal at that level. We bought at MSRP less in excess of 32%. Don't know if any of this is relevant now but that was our experience. I must say I very much enjoyed the negotiating.

[SuperGewl]

What ever you do don't get a MH. It will cause you too much pian and suffering by allowing you to get out and get away from the rat race. You will find that coming home is just bothersome and you will end up missing being away and not haveing any real responsibilities or reasons to be any where but relaxing doing nothing.
Don't do it you will turn into a RV Junkie.

Seriously though, do your research as stated. Depending on model you looking for check several dealers in numerous areas of the US. Camping World is a good example of the same overall company selling the same MH at varioius dealers for completly different prices. It all depends on Where the dealer is. So if you are willing to travel you can get a better deal for $1000's of dollars less.

[dmpdx]

What a great forum, what great people! Thank you all so much for the great advice. We stuck to our guns and got 28% off MSRP, which allowed us to afford a new RV instead of used as we had originally thought!

We've agreed on the price, will be putting our deposit down tomorrow, and may be able to pick it up this weekend! This is so exciting!

Now to make final decisions on parking and insurance... can't park at our house due to code restrictions. There are a couple of places with outdoor uncovered spots, but can't find any place with covered parking.

-Debbie

[SarahW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmpdx What a great forum, what great people! Thank you all so much for the great advice. We stuck to our guns and got 28% off MSRP, which allowed us to afford a new RV instead of used as we had originally thought! We've agreed on the price, will be putting our deposit down tomorrow, and may be able to pick it up this weekend! This is so exciting! Now to make final decisions on parking and insurance... can't park at our house due to code restrictions. There are a couple of places with outdoor uncovered spots, but can't find any place with covered parking. -Debbie

Yippee!! Which one didja get? Congrats, and I hope you love your new rig.

[JimM68]

Ouch. Does that lead us to another discussion on hoa's?
From someone who's watching his new to him dp rot in outdoor storage...

Congrats!