I don’t know where these big discounts come from other than it seems people really believe they got them… but
A $21000 TT from a wholesaler might be bought for $14000...
The dealers asking price is going to be several thousand below the $21000 to start with. Maybe somewhere between $18000 and $19000... The same trailer should easily be negotiated down to $16000 at a local dealers lot… so we are looking at a $2000 difference… but I think most people would and do report this as a $4000 to $5000 savings compared to the dealers price… any claims can be made because they can’t be verified…
I guess if you double the cost of the trailer you could double your savings at both the wholesaler and the dealer, and high end RV have such a huge mark up you should secure huge discounts to brag about as well, but a lot of it is smoke and mirrors…
What do you get for that $2000 in savings… well you get a trailer of coarse but if it is 1000 miles away you are looking at a $1500 delivery charge… even if you pick it up and consider your time not of value you are still looking at roughly $700 or more in cost before you get it home, and problems getting local service…
That might ok if you have a lousy local dealer to start with I guess… but under normal conditions I doubt it was a good idea…
I hear a lot of you say there is no local dealer near you… well soon more of you will be able to say that…
When that dealer disappears along with him your schools, community, and state lose taxes, maybe a little league team or 2 lose sponsorship, or a coach… other charitable organizations lose donations, a few others lose their place of employment and that adds to those loses already mentioned…
All of this in some small way adds to your loss and cost in the end…
I will add this only because Forest River has offered the best explaination I have seen about local warranty service…
Forest River Encourages You to Buy Locally
Forest River, Inc. strongly encourages our retail customers to purchase from their local dealership whenever possible due to the following factors:
Our Dealers are as a rule, independently owned and operated businesses. Outside of those customers they personally sold products to, they are not contractually obligated to perform warranty service on Forest River products that were purchased elsewhere. There may be an occasion that you would be required to return to the point of purchase to satisfy warranty requirements.
Although many dealerships will eventually service products not purchased at their place of business, they will usually take care of their customers and other Forest River customers who are traveling away from their local dealer as they would their own.
Local purchases allow a customer to establish a relationship with a dealer close to home. This relationship provides the customer with a convenient location for service and support from a "home town" professional.
The opportunity for a thorough PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection) and product orientation is an additional benefit of buying from your local dealer. Further providing the opportunity for refresher courses or the ability to get questions answered much more conveniently.
For our Canadian customers, there are also requirements which must be met to bring an RV purchased out of the country to their home. Although not insurmountable, these requirements may involve such things as additional inspections and certifications, taxes and fees. Your local Canadian Dealer is a professional at meeting these requirements.
Forest River's goal is for all RV Owners to fully enjoy their RV experience. In light of this goal, and considering the advantages of buying local, we encourage you to be thorough when determining what product to purchase and which dealer to purchase it from as both are key to your ultimate satisfaction and the realization of your dreams
Love my mass produced, entry level, built by Lazy American Workers, Hornet
I shopped and leveraged the wholesaler against the locals and ended up seven grand less than the best local price I could find. I have the written offer to back it up. By the way, it took a lot more to get that out of my local dealer than it did to get it online..... "can you email me the final price? Sure."
The best comparison that I can come up with is that I don't buy an extended warranties, and I'm not going to pay two, four, five or more thousands of dollars just so the dealer can provide service.
This is a problem for lots of people that the dealers and the manufacturers have created.
It works for the car manufacturers to have warranty service done by any dealer, why not Rv dealers?
2013 Voltage 3905
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All I know is when I tried to get the local and by local I mean the ones within 200 miles to come close to the wholesale price at least 2 dealers told me that they payed more than the price that the wholesalers offered me on my current unit. They also said if they were me they would drive the distance for what I was paying.This was in early 2008 right before the economy really tanked.It might be different now . I would not have driven the 600+ miles for $2,000 but when It is a little over $9000 I certainly did.I do believe you can get a better deal at most places now with the current economy. So it might make better sense to stay closer to home. Just stating the FACTS of my previous wholesale experience.
theoakman wrote: From what I was offered and from what I've read, trade-in prices from a dealer (in most cases) are a joke. Your best bet is to sell it yourself and then go shopping.
Are you concerned about who will do warranty work if Big Daddy is far from home?
x2 sell it yourself you'll get way more dealer quoted $500 maybe we sold for $4500 craigslist.
I suck at haggling and got within $1,500 of the wholesale prices (after delivery of $975 or driving to pick it up for $500+). I also had been swapping emails with the manufacturer's factory rep about the model - he sent me encouragement to buy local. After our extended time of swapping emails about this model, it meant a lot to hear it from him. In the end, I decided to buy as local as I could (the closest dealer was just a PITA to deal with on pricing).
2013 Sabre 36QBOK
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FW Hitch: B&W Turnover Ball + Companion hitch
Nights Camped: (2013: 10, 2012: 52, 2011: 28) Blog about learning to RV, mishaps and adventures
fordsooperdooty wrote: I just read an article about the screwing a person with a trade in gets when a car dealer does his level best to come out ahead during the proceedure.
And on both cars and at the time of the trade and again at the time of both sales! But then isn't that what its all about? They have to make money somewhere.
I would prefer to sell my motorhome and then buy new without a trade. The last time I ended up buying the new to me motorhome before I sold my old one, cause I really got a good deal on the new one. But sold the old one about 2 weeks later. Have only brought a motorhome from a dealer once. Buying from a owner is much better in my opinion. Doubt I will ever buy from a motorhome dealer again!!! Last one left a very bad taste in my mouth!
If you bought from a wholesaler (some wholesalers) I am sure you got a good deal and I am happy for you because you did…
Against very popular belief here, leveraging the wholesaler against the local dealer will seldom be the way to get the best price from the dealer…
First of all he knows what the wholesaler is paying for the trailer and what they would sell it for before you ever try to leverage him…
If the difference is extremely large chances are you were already written off by the dealer, before ever geting close to his best price…
He’s not doing that to hurt his business, he’s doing it to protect it…
One thing I know for sure is neither the wholesaler nor the dealer are going to give them away, and in my case the wholesaler wasn’t that much better… and I never leveraged or held the wholesaler price up to his face threatening to run to them if he didn’t match their price… as a matter of fact I never even mention the wholesaler or any other price I have…
that is certainly one tactic, however I was dealing with a dealer that works on practically pure volume sales.
the more they buy, the less they get them for.....
His lowest price before I mentioned any other price, taking financing off the table as we paid cash, was twelve grand more than the wholesaler's price. He only came down when we started comparing apples to apples. (adding transport costs into the mix, etc.) Even considering retail transport rates, we were still a long way apart when I headed towards the wholesaler to pick up my trailer.
Ironically, the day I got back to town with my toyhauler, the dealer called me and had a return from an elderly couple who got it trailer home and decided it was "too big"... he was willing to sell me that one for a couple of thousand over what I paid for mine new.
Or if you are on the road and have a problem, you are going to want a local dealer to help get you back on the road.
Sorry, that doesn't make sense. I'm on the road all the time, my local dealer is usually 1000+ miles away.
I've always called the factory and asked for a mobile tech or dealer that will do the warranty repair then have them call the dealer to make an appointment. Always works for my rig.
John
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