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Old 06-25-2014, 08:13 AM   #21
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Originally Posted by anaro View Post
What is that fair price? It is the one both you and the dealership feels is acceptable and allows you room in your budget to camp and the dealership a chance to make a profit.
The very concept of "fair" is ludicrous when one of the parties is "flying blind" on what "fair" looks like.

Is it "fair" when a mugger empties your wallet; then throws a 20 on the pavement so you have cab fare home?
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Old 06-25-2014, 02:54 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by bclemens View Post
I'll take a shot at this one...(mainly opinion with a few facts thrown in)

Let's just look at the raw numbers for 2013
--15.6 million passenger vehicles sold
--312,000 RV's (motorhomes, trailers, 5th wheels, etc) shipped

Volume forgives a lot of sins. As a car dealer, you make a few mistakes on valuations, etc no big deal. An RV dealer has fewer chances to screw up and take a loss, there is more risk involved. Risk means more cost.

Margins: again, volume. The more you sell, the more precise your margin can be. The fewer you sell you need to cover overhead, pay your people you can't afford mistakes. On the wholesale side I can assure you that no dealer of mine is making a 50% margin. This is not the jewelry business.

MSRP: this is not a made up number by the dealer. We the mfg, set the MSRP, we ship an MSRP with every unit. You should feel free to call any mfg and request an MSRP price sheet. Now I can't police what they do with the MSRP once they get it...but you can always get MSRP pricing. (Look at what auto dealers do with their black magic marker on high demand units)

Invoice: Auto mfg's have hold backs (RV's do not). So they have a built in profit margin. Even at invoice...yes, they get that money + trade (that has a HUGE pool of data to determine value). RV's don't have the same pool of data to work with (being smaller numbers) so used values can vary drastically percentage wise over what autos will.

("Opinion only" from here on out)
I do not argue with your negotiating theory, but remember the same thing when valuing your trade. The next customer will try and buy it at book value which means the dealer is fighting from that line to make any money. It may be a floor plan that only 500 were made...how do you establish a true value on that?

What I see from many customers is they want to get the new unit at what they think is invoice and they want full retail value on their trade.

Do I think dealers start high with their pricing?...some do, but they're simply preparing for the customer to want a high price on their trade.

I agree that something like Edmunds would be nice for RV's and maybe we'll get to that...but in the end we're dealing with a much smaller pool of numbers. An auto dealer will take a a nothing deal knowing they can get another one tomorrow. If an RV dealer (I can only speak for motorized) sells a unit they may be 12 weeks to get another one. Season is gone.

Obviously the auto industry is the easiest comparison...but I don't think it is the most fair comparison. I think you should compare the RV industry with the boat/auto/housing/modular housing industry because in the end...it really is a mixture of them all.
Thanks for the inside info...great insight!



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Old 06-25-2014, 03:15 PM   #23
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I don't care to battle with sales people but I do want a fair deal. I used to love seeking hidden treasures and getting the best deal possible. However, my priorities have changed and now I value my free time more than I used to.
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Old 06-25-2014, 03:27 PM   #24
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"fair" is in YOUR own mind. Watch pawn stars on TV. People say "I won't let it go for less than $1000" and promptly sell it for $300. Was it fair? If not then why did they sell it so cheap? What you'll hear them say is "I got what I wanted"... I sold houses for a number of years and I'd hear that over and over and over..."joe down the street got $200k for his and mine's nicer!"..No, Joe ASKED $200 and took $165. He told YOU he 'got what he wanted" and you ASSUMED that to be $200k.

If two parties agree to to the deal then it was fair - I've met many 'high pressure' sales people but have yet to meet one that puts a gun to the customers head.

think like THEY think. It's a "Unit" and nothing more. they come off an assembly line every day. More will come next week, month, etc. DO NOT get 'attached' to a specific unit.

telling them to 'stuff it' and walking away often gets them to come running. Great sales tactic on the buyers part. Got my current car at 1.2% interest that way (capitol one..not some manufacturer special). I said I'd use my credit union, the'll do 2.2 w/ auto pay. they insisted on trying to beat that.

Coulda maybe got our TT 1k less if I had been more willing to walk away. Next time I'll do better. A couple I know followed a unit from show to show and eventually got the $199,000 msrp rig for $120,000. that was their figure - could they have gotten it for less? Who knows.

Most of us have a figure in mind when buying (or selling). Gimme THAT figure and the deal is done. And if it's done it was FAIR!

If you have regrets later, buyers remorse, second thoughts, keep looking to see if you coulda mebbe got it for less - well, that's on you. Doesn't mean it wasn't a fair deal.
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