Best time to buy?

[crunchman12001]

Hi All,
Question for those of you that have bought a new unit.
In your opinion and experience.
When is the best time to buy and get the best deal on a new (looking at Salem Villa or Wildwood Lodge) destination trailer?
1) The 2016's have clearance prices right now but the season is almost over so it sits all winter burning a chunk of warranty.
2) Wait for the RV show this January (2017's) when they want to sell you.
3) Order a 2017 in February for spring delivery?
4) Avoid 1, 2, and 3 and just buy wholesale..2016 or 2017?

Thanks for your opinions, this will be my 3rd trailer but my first new one.

[Bluepill]

Thoughts:

I expect that a northern dealer (Like Albany RV in NY) would be more willing to deal in the winter when sales are slow there. Florida dealers are very busy in the winter, and possibly less eager to deal.

Finalizing a deal at the end of the month or the end of the year can sometimes get you a better price, since most dealers are pushing hard to make their numbers for the period.

On a one year warranty, you will be sitting through an off season no matter when you buy.

[crunchman12001]

Hi,
Thank you for the reply. We are in Ohio, would be the Cleveland RV show.
Jeff Couch RVNation and RVW are both in Ohio. (Wholesale option)
You are right about the warranty period, did not look that far ahead. Lol
I will buy the FR 2nd year.

[bikendan]

Since you are talking about a destination trailer, I not sure there is a better time like regular RVs.
Regular RVs are mostly used during summer months and then sit unused during school months and cold weather. So dealers often lower prices to get them off their lots before the next model year units start showing up.
Destination trailer are different and have more in common with mobile homes. So there isn't as much of an off season as regular RVs.

[old hunter]

Alot of times it is if your happy with the unit and what you paid.We looked at smaller used and new trailers in mid summer.We ended up buying a 2' longer 2016 trailer from another dealer for what the 14's were price wise because their 2017's coming.We were happy with that. Good Luck

[timfromma]

You can find good deals at an RV show.

[Ian Walker]

Hi crunchman12001,
You mentioned buying the FR 2nd year extended warranty.
BEWARE you only have something like 10 days to apply for this
& don't expect your dealer to tell you about it.

[flagstaffman]

This week in Hershey PA is the Largest RV show in the USA.All the Mfg. are there with over 1,000 units of all sizes and types. Bought mine 2013 Flagstaff V lite there 4 years ago and got a terrific deal.

[RSchleder]

Originally Posted by Ian Walker

Hi crunchman12001,
You mentioned buying the FR 2nd year extended warranty.
BEWARE you only have something like 10 days to apply for this
& don't expect your dealer to tell you about it.

I'm of the opinion that the 10 day time limit went away a year or so ago. At least it was no longer applied when I bought my 2016 MAXX in May, 2015! So unless it's been reinstated, you have a bit more latitude on when you apply for the 2nd year warranty.
Really no reason to dilly/dally though, get it done!

[cawffeeguy]

Ultimately it's when you are comfortable to spend the money. You may be able to save a few dollars at a RV show but you will be spending money during it's lifetime for things such as repairs and mods. One thing about RV ownership is you WILL spend money, sometimes when you have to and sometimes when you want to.

[Ida Ratherbe Camping]

IMO, you can't go wrong with Couch Rv. Bought ours in Feb and picked up in may. Prices never changed

[Flybob]

The best time to buy anything is when you can take the emotion out of it. A good salesperson never sells you anything, he convinces you to sell yourself.

[SimchaSabre]

In my Opinion:

1.) If you plan to not use the unit over the winter than that portion of warranty will always be under utilized so when the 1 year starts to me doesn't matter. It would be nice to have some warranty left when you do the spring start up.

2.) I'm not a big fan of buying at RV shows. If you find exactly want you've been looking for and if it happens to be a unit they want to move quickly you may get a good deal. Otherwise.. I don't think you'll find too many "steals" at a show. They are great places to see many different models with reduce sales pressure,

3.) We ordered our last 3 unit in Jan or Feb so they arrived near the start of camping season. We tend to focus more on getting exactly what (we think) we want instead of getting the rock bottom price. btw if you order in Jan or Feb, you'll most likely be getting a 2018.

4.) I know many go the wholesale route. We're pretty lucky in that we have 3 family owned Mom/Pop dealers in our area and have always been satisfied with our deals. They have always beat the large dealers like CW, General and Lazy Days.

Ultimately, you need to buy what you really want and comfortable with your decision. A year after your purchase, you'll likely not be thinking about the good deal you got if you are disappointed in features or floorplan compromises.

[CraigBean7672]

I agree with taking the emotion out of it. I tend to shop around to find the unit(s) I want. Then I try to get the best price on it.

Buying onsale is great so long as it is the unit you want, important that you don't settle on buying a unit that is onsale but it doesn't fully satisfy your 'wants & needs'.

Make the deal and don't look back.

[RollingDownTheHighway]

you can buy anytime you don't really want to. Like others have said, take the emotion out of the buying. We bought both of ours just looking without really going in looking to buy.

[youroo]

Crunchman,you should check in advance about the 2nd year Warr! Not all units offer it! Villas are a ? unit! Youroo!!

[timfromma]

We went to the Boston RV expo last January not planning to buy anything. We happened to find a camper that filled all of our requirements at a price we were willing to pay and a weight my truck could tow. Took delivery 4 months later.

[aceinspp]

Originally Posted by youroo

Crunchman,you should check in advance about the 2nd year Warr! Not all units offer it! Villas are a ? unit! Youroo!!

X 2 Later RJD

[crunchman12001]

Thank you everyone for the great advice. We are going for the trailer that will fit our needs, wants and must haves. It seems the best price is to be had by Couch's, they are killing everyone else on price. (Thousands) .
Wife and I are still looking at the top 5 and narrowed it down to a few.
We hope to look at a couple this weekend. I will keep the board posted.
Thanks again,
crunchman

[Briorick]

Originally Posted by Ian Walker

Hi crunchman12001,
You mentioned buying the FR 2nd year extended warranty.
BEWARE you only have something like 10 days to apply for this
& don't expect your dealer to tell you about it.

Correction on the time frame. According to the FR Warranty you have 90 days from the time of purchase to obtain the 2nd year warranty.

And, yes, Ian is correct regarding the dealers NOT informing you of this, they would rather you buy their very expensive Warranty.

Here is a copy of the Warranty showing the qualified Models / Costs.