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Old 12-10-2015, 01:13 PM   #1
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buying a new RV HELP

Hello. We are considering purchasing a new Surveyor. It is the 295QBLE model. Any hints ! We are trading in our 2008. He has came up with a price that was 2k under what the price was on the camper. How much do you negotiate? Also they have the warranty forever program which I think we are going to stay away from. Does anyone use Good Sam ESP? Any tips would be greatly appreciated,
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Old 12-10-2015, 01:18 PM   #2
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My tip would be to take the PDI seriously. Spend hours, if necessary, checking EVERYTHING, in every mode possible (gas/elec/batt/city water/water pump+fresh). Don't feel bad or feel pressured into hurrying through it. Every nook, every cranny. If parts move (like slides) run them in and out multiple times. Do this before you sign paperwork. They move much faster fixing things when they don't already have your money.

Then take it to a park nearby and camp in it for 3 days (long enough to verify the converter is working to charge the battery). Return directly to dealer with any new issues you notice.

Get the $150.00 extended warranty from Forrest river within 30 days of purchase.
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Old 12-10-2015, 01:20 PM   #3
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30-35% off the "list" price is common. If you are trading yours in don't expect to see anything close to NADA low retail. They may throw a high trade in value out, then charge full retail for the new one to make it look like a deal. The only price you need to worry about is the difference you pay. If you think you need an extended service contract wait until the factory warranty runs out. If you decide you then want one the Good sam product would be about the best choice. If you buy one when it's new it will start to run while the factory warranty is in effect and will just run out that much earlier.
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Old 12-10-2015, 01:24 PM   #4
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Our local Forest River tow behind dealer (which if you live in GA, you may want to talk to - they have really good deals!) offers the warranty forever program. I have taken a look at it and, if you plan on living in the area serviced by that dealer or move to another area and the dealer there honors the warranty forever, it's a pretty sweet deal. You have to take your rig in yearly for a $60-ish "inspection" (what they do is dicor as needed, inspect the caulk and bearings ect and PM as needed). If your survayor has a lot of electronics in it you will want a warranty!

As for a Survayor, that was the TT we owned before moving up to a 5er - lots of fond memories in our 303!

Try to find the MSRP on the camper. Deduct 25%. Start negotiating downward from there. If he wants the sale he might go as low as 30% off MSRP - maybe even a bit more!
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Old 12-10-2015, 03:12 PM   #5
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Here is my question. We live in Georgia. May be hard to get out camping with it for a month or so since holidays are here. Any suggestion. Would that be ok ? Thanks for the info. I appreciate the help.
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Old 12-10-2015, 04:30 PM   #6
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How do know what MSRP is?
Never seen a window sticker on a trailer.
I've seen some printed sheets with numbers on it that my 8 year old could make up.
On a trailer with a MSRP of $19,999 a dealer could print a sheet that says "MSRP $24,999 ON SALE TODAY FOR $18,995!!!!"
Lots of newbies would never suspect a thing.


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Old 12-10-2015, 08:30 PM   #7
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We love our Surveyor (SC321BHTS). "MSRP" was $43k and we paid $27k. MSRPs in the RV business are worthless. We researched the trailer extensively and the pricing before jumping. We ended up well below the wholesalers and that when we knew we had the best deal.
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Old 12-10-2015, 09:36 PM   #8
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The PDI and walkthrough are huge. Let the dealer know that you are not in a rush, and if you get there and it's not ready, you won't be signing anything until it is 100%. This worked for us on our new Vengeance T.E. We drove from Florida to Texas to get it, and they honored the deal - almost 30% off the "Build Sheet" list price and a huge trade in value, almost 18K more than anyone else. Spend at least 2 hours in the unit as if you were living there. One more important note - the Forest River extra year warranty states "within 10 days of purchase", not 30 days. Probably the best deal on an extended warranty in the world.
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Old 12-11-2015, 08:37 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Loraura View Post
My tip would be to take the PDI seriously. Spend hours, if necessary, checking EVERYTHING, in every mode possible (gas/elec/batt/city water/water pump+fresh). Don't feel bad or feel pressured into hurrying through it. Every nook, every cranny. If parts move (like slides) run them in and out multiple times. Do this before you sign paperwork. They move much faster fixing things when they don't already have your money.

Then take it to a park nearby and camp in it for 3 days (long enough to verify the converter is working to charge the battery). Return directly to dealer with any new issues you notice.

Get the $150.00 extended warranty from Forrest river within 30 days of purchase.
I second the above...........


Quote:
Originally Posted by BamaBob View Post
offers the warranty forever program. I have taken a look at it and, if you plan on living in the area serviced by that dealer or move to another area and the dealer there honors the warranty forever, it's a pretty sweet deal. You have to take your rig in yearly for a $60-ish "inspection" (what they do is dicor as needed, inspect the caulk and bearings ect and PM as needed). If your survayor has a lot of electronics in it you will want a warranty!
I disagree with Bob. I feel the "warranty forever" is nothing more than a gimmick to generate income for service departments of dealers who are signed up with it. A local dealer here was offering it as a perk to buy there. I asked what the cost of the yearly required inspection was and was told $329.

The warranty forever does not cover anything when you get down to it. This is whats covered, and its these specific items only.
What's Covered - National Automotive Experts
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Old 12-11-2015, 08:52 AM   #10
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Go on Jeff Couch's RV Nation's website and build and price your RV. They carry the Surveyor line. Pick your options and decor and they will email you a quote. Then bring it to your local dealer. Tell them to come withing 1k of Couch's or you'll walk. (That will cover the additional shipping to GA that Couch's wouldn't have to pay.) Couch's quote will be 36% off MSRP. Our "local" dealer wouldn't come anywhere near Couch's price ($9500 more...)so we took the 800 mile trip and made an adventure out of it. Great experience.
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Old 12-11-2015, 01:22 PM   #11
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Some people who criticize the warranty forever program generally know little about it. It does NOT generate income for the dealer--you can have the service done at ANY place that does RV repairs (I know, I have the warranty and my service is done annually by someone other than the dealer--cause I don't care for the dealer's service dept). The contact states you can have the annual service done by "any professional RV" shop (and note, not just "dealers" or "sellers." My guy does only service and does not sell units.) Additionally, the dealer pays for the warranty (yes, it's probably wrapped into the cost but it isn't an after market add-on). It is a good deal, and again, you can have the service and repairs done at any RV repair facility. And here is the true list of what is covered (from my contract, not from speculation): compenents of suspension, brakes, water system, air conditioning, kitchen, LP, smoke detectors, heater systems, microwaves, and others. This includes ranges, fridges, PC boards, gas regulators, etc. Furthermore, and the best part, there is NO deductible on repairs.
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Old 12-11-2015, 01:58 PM   #12
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ask if your dealership has any spots where you can stay overnight in the new RV before you take it off the lot. Some systems on an RV can't be viewed on the original inspection. (like black water tank) so staying overnight might give you a little more time in it to check more things out.
Go to sites like RVTRADER.com and look at what different dealers are selling the same RV for. Sometimes the biggest dealers can give you the biggest discount because of the volume of inventory they deal with.
We bought from Motorhome Specialists in Alvarado, TX and we were able to stay onsite for 4 days while we checked out everything on our new Motorhome before we took it home.
Good Luck in your search!
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Old 12-11-2015, 02:10 PM   #13
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We were offered $5k for our trade in from local dealer, but we decided to try and sell it on our own. Ended up getting $6k for it almost 2 weeks later. Had it sold within 7 days, was just waiting on the title to arrive. Depends how quickly you are wanting to unload the used camper. Can probably sell it for a little bit more by your self, but may take longer or price it to sell and it may be a week like ours.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Loraura View Post
Get the $150.00 extended warranty from Forrest river within 30 days of purchase.
We just purchased our camper 2 weeks ago. And I called Forest River about getting the 2nd year warranty. They said you have 90 days to get the paperwork into them.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Karl4Cat View Post
Go on Jeff Couch's RV Nation's website and build and price your RV. They carry the Surveyor line. Pick your options and decor and they will email you a quote. Then bring it to your local dealer. Tell them to come withing 1k of Couch's or you'll walk. (That will cover the additional shipping to GA that Couch's wouldn't have to pay.) Couch's quote will be 36% off MSRP. Our "local" dealer wouldn't come anywhere near Couch's price ($9500 more...)so we took the 800 mile trip and made an adventure out of it. Great experience.
This is where we just bought our 16' Salem Hemisphere 27BH. It was a good overall experience. Sent 100 emails back n forth with Brannon. But when it came time to buy it was the day before Thanksgiving and he had to head to FL for family. So the Business manager took care of the whole thing. Great experience. PDI was good and thorough. Found a couple bad fuses during. And before I came up they found a scratch in the front logo so they already had one ordered for me and will pay to have it replaced.

We only had a 2 hour drive, but I made it twice within a week. As long as the After Sale Service is the same as before sale, I will absolutely purchase through them again.
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Old 12-11-2015, 02:27 PM   #14
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As far as figuring out what a good price to pay is, go to RVTrader.com and put in the make/model you are looking for. Do a nationwide search to see what other dealers are selling it for. You could also just do a google search with make/model and see what comes up. Keep in mind that the closer the dealer is to the factory, the less they may charge for freight. We found our model trailer for a few dollars cheaper up north (we live near Atlanta), but it wasn't worth driving up there for shopping/PDI/warranty work etc. Plus, we really love the dealer we purchased the trailer from (ThreeWay Campers in Marietta). A great price from a great dealer is a win/win. We didn't get all that much for the trade in, but we weren't expecting to. We felt the purchase price was more than fair and we appreciated them giving it to us right up front, without having to haggle with the MSRP as a starting point. This was the second RV we bought from ThreeWay, so we knew they were up front about everything. Good luck with your search. Don't know if it would make a big difference, but RV show season is coming....there is one in Atlanta at the end of Jan..."might" be some deals to be made there.
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Old 12-11-2015, 02:43 PM   #15
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I used online wholesalers to get an idea of "bargain basement" pricing and then decided on a price that seemed fair for a local dealer. I contacted 5 or 6 places via email and worked from there. I picked one (not the cheapest, nor the closest) and bought- I'm happy with the price, but their service department S-U-C-K-E-D.

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Old 12-11-2015, 02:54 PM   #16
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Probably one of the first rules in negotiating a price on any high ticket items, is to negotiate with no trade. Having negotiated the best price, introduce the trade. Then you will know how much they are giving on a trade.

But before talking to a dealer, you should have a pretty good idea of what your '08 is worth. Often the book values that dealers use are below, sometimes far below, what the unit is worth. Example, we sold a boat last year. The book values were showing one value, while the market was showing it was worth much more. We had a good product, put it in showroom condition, and priced it high. It sold for nearly $5K more than book. Dealers do the same thing, but they will swear that book is all they can expect.

Gottoys is correct. A 30-35% discount from MSRP is not uncommon. But it makes you think you are getting a bargain. However, if 30-35% off is the going price, MSRP really means nothing.

Time is money. Spend your time doing the research and you will feel comfortable that you made the best deal. Spruce up your '08 to sale condition. Take pictures for the dealer to see if they can't physically see the unit. Even consider selling your '08 outright.
The market is hot right now and selling yourself is not that hard.
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Old 12-11-2015, 03:13 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Havercamp View Post
I second the above...........
I disagree with Bob. I feel the "warranty forever" is nothing more than a gimmick to generate income for service departments of dealers who are signed up with it. A local dealer here was offering it as a perk to buy there. I asked what the cost of the yearly required inspection was and was told $329.

The warranty forever does not cover anything when you get down to it. This is whats covered, and its these specific items only.
What's Covered - National Automotive Experts
OUCH! Hood RV is $79 - but, like I said, they are straight up Honest.

You can also get a "hi-tech" option for the 'warranty forever' that is bumper-to-bumper coverage.

Having said that, however, we are huge fans of Coach-Net. Our plan is bumper to bumper, includes owner-installed high-tech components (like our MediaServer and Apple TV) provides you roadside assistance, tire blowout damage/replacement and Medevac to boot!
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Old 12-11-2015, 03:19 PM   #18
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I would buy the FR extended warranty for the $150. We did. Just remember your warranty kicks in the minute you sign off on the camper. You might consider holding off till closer to warmer weather so that you get better use of warranty should you have issues. We bought our trailer in Feb and actually started camping then. Later RJD
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Old 12-11-2015, 04:16 PM   #19
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Workmanship

Any trailer you look at look for quality materials and workmanship...open cuboard doors,are they flim-z,look at fit and finish,how well it was put together.....don't limit yourself to one brand...go to RV shows and compare brands and use the net it's a valuble tool...and don't rush into anything....and don't be afraid to walk away from the high pressure salespeople....
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Old 12-11-2015, 04:16 PM   #20
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I'm with Mr. Haverkamp too...the Warranty Forever is a slick way for the dealer to differentiate himself from other dealers (and competing on price) while generating revenue for the dealer and requiring the owner to do a lot of things that cost $ at the dealership that many can do themselves.
That said...I investigated all the other warranty programs run by private companies thru dealers for $$ at the end of the sale...and not one covered the structural integrity of the camper.
I was going to buy one...money was not the issue. But when I started comparing plans I couldn't find one that covered my "house"....and the major chassis stuff was already covered by Ford. They sell you on them by telling you an RV is like having your house go through an earthquake and a hurricane when you drive down the road. Then they tell you how expensive it is to replace your fridge or a/C etc. But the big concern in the earthquake...the walls and roof aren't covered.
I made the decision that between the mfr warrantees on the chassis and components like fridges...I could afford to self fund my own warranty...for the kind of money they were asking that didn't cover my "home"..only the stuff in it.
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