Community Forums

cool lake · 02-05-2023, 08:42 AM

We stopped at a dealership to look at a used Newmar coach. We spent an hour looking it over and we were extremely interested. During this time, the salesmen never mentioned this coach was on consignment. When we came back two weeks later to make an offer, we found some issues that needed to be addressed and the salesman states that "I'll have to check with the owner". Were we supposed to ask if this was a consignment coach, or was the dealership supposed to tell us? We felt somewhat blindsided that after spending so much time looking and at least a dozen emails, we never knew it was a consignment coach.

**pasdad1** · 02-05-2023, 08:47 AM

Does it make a difference that it is consignment?

For me I might prefer it actually, since nobody knows the coach like it’s previous owner, and you might get questions answered about its history.

cool lake · 02-05-2023, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pasdad1

Does it make a difference that it is consignment?

From the standpoint that now I'm negotiating with the consignor instead of the dealership, and I would make a lower initial offer, knowing the dealer is only concerned with making their consignment fee, so yes.

cool lake · 02-05-2023, 08:57 AM

Quote:

For me I might prefer it actually, since nobody knows the coach like it’s previous owner, and you might get questions answered about its history.

I did see some service receipts. Was that my sign that it was a consignment? Don't the dealers withhold service records on trade-ins?

**pasdad1** · 02-05-2023, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cool lake

From the standpoint that now I'm negotiating with the consignor instead of the dealership, and I would make a lower initial offer, knowing the dealer is only concerned with making their consignment fee, so yes.

But doesn’t the owner have to approve ALL offers? I don’t think dealer could autonomously approve ridiculous low offer.

cool lake · 02-05-2023, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pasdad1

But doesn’t the owner have to approve ALL offers? I don’t think dealer could autonomously approve ridiculous low offer.

I wasn't thinking ridiculously low, but "how bad do you need to sell" low - I would think a good starting point, lower than a dealership's lowest price.

Dennis C. · 02-05-2023, 10:33 AM

I think the dealership policies and their contract with the owner come into play in your situation. Consignment policies vary considerably from one dealership to the next. If you’re shopping at a large organization like Camping World, then they will have consignment coaches for sale right next to new coaches and non-consignment coaches. The sales people often don’t know which coaches are on consignment until they check the details for a specific coach.

Many consignment agreements give the dealership a range for the sales price, so they can negotiate with buyers. Most consignment coaches are sold “as is”, which explains the need to contact the seller for repairs.

I think the dealership should have informed you that it was a consignment coach earlier in the process, but from their perspective it doesn’t matter too much. I bought my Newmar at a dealership as a used coach, not a consignment coach. The dealership provided me with all the service records with the original owner’s personal information removed.

Gary RVRoamer · 02-05-2023, 03:23 PM

It doesn't really make any difference unless the dealer offers some sort of warranty on his own units (rare). Whether consignment or dealer inventory, you are buying the vehicle as-is plus whatever fixes/upgrades you negotiate for. With a consignment, it just takes longer because the negotiation is with a remote party rather than the dealer sales manager onsite.

The salesman advised you of the consignment status as soon as it became relevant (you asked for a seller concession), so in my view it was completely ethical.

If your attitude is that you want nothing to do with a consignment sale, I suggest you make that clear to any salesperson right up front.

alank · 02-05-2023, 03:36 PM

If it's a consignment coach, the seller usually provides the minimum amount they will take. The dealer won't want you talking to the seller because once that contact is made, the sale may be worked out with the seller down the road in time and leave the dealer out of the deal.

moisheh · 02-05-2023, 04:56 PM

Not all consignment dealers are the same. I had a unit st a dealer and they called me to say my unit needed a new windshield, fridge and a bunch of other falsehoods. He had an offer but wanted to deduct the repair costs. I told him I would be there tomorrow to pu my unit. He quickly changed his tune. Sleazy industry.

Iceclimber · 02-05-2023, 05:38 PM

I am relatively new to the game, but after looking at Class A's at a bunch of dealers I vowed to never step foot on a lot again. That's just me, maybe the seller is just unavailable to show it. Regardless if you like the coach then end of day what does it matter. The seller is the one giving up the money, but shop hard and pull values. Thing about used RV's, trailers and boats there is always another one.

Domo · 02-07-2023, 06:46 AM

If it's a consignment the dealership can disavow any defect or history while intimating that the dealership has done all sorts of extra work already.

We inspected a consignment RV for BIL. Salesman stated batteries had been changed, other repairs to HydroHot - etc. etc. Nothing was done, unit was always running when we showed up to inspect despite our stipulation to NOT have it started that day. BIL did end up buying the unit and verified upgrade/fix to Hydro hat not been done, etc. etc. Salesman's reply was, "oh, they said it would be done..." (BTW, BIL loves the rig and has enjoyed doing the repairs.)

But, I doubt it would make much difference wether direct or consignment sale the dealer is just someone in between that will make some money for doing the paperwork (correctly?).

Even if it was a brand new RV sitting on the most prestigious dealer's lot I'd still do a complete inspection (just read about new RV quality).

Focus on the unit and how it fits your needs - good luck and get on the road!

SandiaMan · 02-07-2023, 09:32 AM

When we were shopping for our current class A 3 years ago we seen several consignment class A coaches from dealers locally, we just never felt comfortable trying to negotiate with a middle man, aka dealer as there was no transparency. We purchased 3 of the 5 RVs we have owned over 3 decades of RVing from dealer lots and were trying our best to purchase from private sellers where pride of ownership was dully noted. It took a couple of years to finally find a class A coach from a private seller that was in great shape and priced to sell, glad we stayed vigilant in our search, this time we were not in a hurry to buy and could not be pressured into a sale by dealership tactics.

Bigceasar · 02-07-2023, 10:16 AM

It wouldn’t bother me, one way or the other. The fact the rig is on consignment can he attributed to many different reasons. Maybe the seller lives in an area where there would be few to no buyers. Maybe they don’t want the hassle and risk of selling it themselves. Maybe they want the security of a trusted third party handling the sale.
It may work to your advantage. Consignment commissions to the dealer are usually calculated as a percentage of the sale price. If you offer $10,000 less than asking price the dealer’s commission may only go down a thousand whereas taking that same discount on an owned unit will cost the dealer the full ten grand.
Buying a used RV is almost always a buyer beware situation. That being said a dealer does have a reputation to protect. Few would knowingly sell a pile of junk be it out of their inventory or a consigned unit. Unlike a Big Mac there is no secret sauce when buying an RV. Find what you want. Inspect it, negotiate a price you can live with and enjoy it. Whether it was a consignment, a repo, or a dealer trade in will never cross your mind after the purchase.