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Old 03-11-2018, 07:40 AM   #1
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Dealer prep on a used motorhome

I am looking over my contract and I notice a 595 charge for dealer prep.
The contract is for a USED 2010 Newmar bay star
is this legitimate
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Old 03-11-2018, 07:44 AM   #2
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Some dealers tack on prep fees (and in the case of new units, freight charges). This lets them advertise a lower price... The place we're picking up our new unit from next week doesn't. No extra fees - just tax & tags.

I'm sure others with more experience buying multiple rigs will chime in, but IMHO, everything's negotiable. Depends on how badly they want to sell and how badly you want to buy.

Good luck!
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Old 03-11-2018, 08:37 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jarata View Post
I am looking over my contract and I notice a 595 charge for dealer prep.
The contract is for a USED 2010 Newmar bay star
is this legitimate
Just a way to mislead purchaser make additional profit.
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Old 03-11-2018, 08:46 AM   #4
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if the dealer is to maintain the unit during sale, and keep it clean, then, YES, why would the dealer not be 'allowed' to add a fee for this? Have you ever tried cleaning someone else's RV? It ain't easy, especially if you expect potential buyers to find it presentable and spic-n-span... most RVs taken in on trade aren't in the 'best' resell condition. Give the dealer the latitude to pass along a fee for something that most of us don't want to tackle, but EXPECT when we look at and purchase even a 'used' item.
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Old 03-11-2018, 08:49 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jarata View Post
I am looking over my contract and I notice a 595 charge for dealer prep.
The contract is for a USED 2010 Newmar bay star
is this legitimate
Call it prep, freight, profit, or a ripoff. It doesn't really matter to me when I buy. I just negotiate an out the door total final price that I can accept. They can put whatever they want on the line items as long as the total at the bottom is what I negotiated. This has always worked for me on any major purchases.
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Old 03-11-2018, 09:01 AM   #6
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He can add whatever he wants, unless you negotiated an out the door price. HINT: He'll likely add 595 for document fee; the cost of having his minimum wage lot boy go to dmv to apply for title and registration for you, with a stack of other registration paperwork from other sales, and then give you the wrong plates.


At signing is a bad place to see this, but you can still negotiate it. Say I'll give you 150 for doc fees, that's 20 hours at min wage, and you need to tell me what dealer prep was done to MY UNIT that is worth 595. At 15/hr, that's two people working two days straight just prepping my rig. At min wage, it's four people. This rig better be sanitary like an operating room!! And the fliuds better be AT the full mark, not below or above, AT! The glass should be so clean you have to touch it to be sure it's there. So 'splain that to me...
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Old 03-11-2018, 09:18 AM   #7
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let's also add the fact that most folks even buying a BRAND NEW coach will have this fee added.... but WHY!?? a brand new coach just left the factory! WHY does the dealer need to 'add a fee'?

well, the truth is that most folks looking a new coach don't want to see dirt and road grime left on it from the delivery from the factory. An outside wash is certainly in order, at least ONE for when it first arrives, if not several over the months that it may sit there waiting on it's new owner.
The inside is also another story - from the factory brand new, and it needs 'cleaning' or 'prep'?? YES. The factory builds a new unit, and does a fair job of basic cleaning before it leaves, but honestly, we all know that it's not perfect, even then. Drive the unit 1,000 miles to the dealer and you'll start to understand that now we have dust, left over construction debris, and things that need the dealer's attention before it goes on the lot. That's not a 'free' ride for the dealer, either, paying someone to 'spiffy up' the coach(ala cleaning) is not cheap.
Also, add the fact that as folks come thru the unit to look at it on a daily basis, things still need cleaning from time to time... none of us want to look at heavily trafficked units as our new 'baby'... we want to see a 'clean' one!

Run a dealership, or even a car dealership, and you'll start to understand all the time and work in selling even Brand New units. It ain't cheap, baby. (but some are good at just including this cost in their base pricing, others add it later)
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Old 03-11-2018, 09:35 AM   #8
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For sure - any dealer needs to cover his/her costs and make some profit or they won't be a dealer very long. The only issue is how it's presented - as a tack-on fee or built into the sales price. I personally feel the latter is more honest, but either way, as @iluvuk said - the simplest & least confusing is to negotiate the "out the door" figure.
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Old 03-11-2018, 09:51 AM   #9
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agreed, I think the 'after the fact' add-on is what really gets folks hot, not necessarily the 'fee' itself, if presented correctly.
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Old 03-11-2018, 09:58 AM   #10
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The prep and doc fees to me are a cost of doing business for the dealer. Same with transportation fees. Can’t sell a unit you don’t have or haven’t cleaned. I negotiate an out the door price plus tax and registration fees. I don’t care how you the dealer factor in the other fees as long as the total cost is what I am willing to pay.
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Old 03-11-2018, 10:36 AM   #11
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Prep can mean a lot of different things. On a local lot here it means: 1)Lot Porter time to move the unit to the maintenance bay. Tech time @135/hr to perform a 45pt inspection and make any repairs as necessary. Fill propane, install battery, etc; 2)Porter time to the wash area. Detailer time @59/hr to wash and clean inside and out. Porter time to the delivery area and set up. 3)Tech time @135/hr to demonstrate the system features of the RV to the buyer. [These are loaded fees so they include shop supplies, labor, overhead, etc.]. When RVs are priced low in order to beat the guy near by, the dealer will try to recover some of the costs especially if the dealership has the tech guys aligned under the service dept (different profit center).

However, as mentioned above, everything is negotiable except for state taxes and DMV fees. Even these can be itemized separately or lumped together on a buyers order.
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Old 03-11-2018, 10:40 AM   #12
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If it comes to you clean and ready to go, AND the out the door cost is what you expect, then it's fair for both.
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Old 03-11-2018, 10:48 AM   #13
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Anything can be negotiated in/out of the deal. I agreed to pay a dealer prep fee, but got 8 new tires plus any and all deficiencies made right. They even agreed to repair/ replace fogged windows at a later date when the parts arrived. I went back a couple months later and they honored their obligation by replacing all buy 2 of the windows. Always demand to see the actual sales invoice before signing.
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Old 03-11-2018, 11:15 AM   #14
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These add-on fees came into being when buyers started focusing on how much discount they could get and shopping the internet for the lowest sale price. Too often buyers lose sight of the "out-the-door" price. One way or the other, everything the dealer does has to be paid for, whether you call it a "cost of doing business" or an add-on fee. It's going to appear in the price somewhere, so you may as well ask up front about what goes into the "out the door" price.
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