Is this fair? Dealer offer on our trade

[WD0FIA]

I bought our 2014 for less than half of MSRP. The build sheet showed it at $25,870 when we first looked at it in 2013. The dealership wanted $21,700 for it. When we came back in April 2014 they were down to $17,900. In late June 2014 we saw it was still on the lot, and they had pulled the oven and double door refrigerator from it (replacement with single door fridge and 3 burner stove w/o oven) with a price of $15,900. I offered $12,000 and they took it. It was still "new" but a previous years model.

This was my fifth new camper over 37 years. I bought all after the new / next year's models came out for over a 40% discount every time.

I never use the dealership for service, I always use a independent shop, and always have been treated right. The independent shops want you to come back. Our AC was damaged by a tree limb in a storm. The dealership wanted to charge $1500 to replace it, our independent shop was less than $900 for a new one installed tax included.

[NC Bill]

To me, technically its fair. Dealer has the right to offer you a bad deal or a good deal, or anything in between. You have the right to refuse the deal and seek another dealer.

My dad used to get terrific trade in value for his cars. That was his focus. He would brag about the trade ins, and he was right, he always got really high trade ins. On the other hand, he got totally, completely screwed on the price of the vehicle he was buying. And he signed up for all the dealer add ons too.

And when you trade in anything, you are transferring the work and headache of selling yourself to the dealer. They don't take on this added responsibility for free. They build it into the deal by either giving you a low trade, or a high price on the item you are buying. For this reason, I rarely/never trade in stuff. But then I have the headache of selling myself.

[Coolrvers]

When we recently dealt with the value of our 2007 40' Class A the dealer started at NADA WHOLESALE" NOT CONSUMER RETAIL. They blamed 95K mileage on the diesel would scare away buyers. They also said buyers would have trouble getting financing on a unit over 10 years old. Your bank or another dealer might look up the wholesale price. Not available to consumers.

[blackseven]

Originally Posted by Scotrv

Not sure why you think the MSRP is a "VooDoo number. We will show our customers the MSRP sheet that came from the manufacturer on any new unit.

I do agree with you on the difference is the only number that matters. Simple fact is the more a dealer discounts the unit they are selling the fewer dollars there are to put on the trade.

The MSRP number is designed so that RV buyers can qualify for 100% financing since most credit unions and banks will only lend 80-95% of the MSRP. It's a great gimmick for manufacturers and dealers to sell trailers.

I think the MSRP on my wolfpack was something like 60k!? and sold for 38... I've never seen one listed for more than 43k, with generator, 2nd AC etc.

[blackseven]

Originally Posted by rmac04401

I just traded my 2015 Cherokee Grey Wolf for a 2019 Puma XLE. I did nationwide search for the trailer, pricing with the options I wanted.

Gave locals chance to earn my business and told them that up front.

Told my wife that the only way the deal would work for me would be I would get what I owed on the 2015, and 30% off MSRP. For MSRP I took the lowest value listed out on the internet for MSRP,and also looked at what dealers were selling my 2015 for.

The dealer in Ohio came in with price at around 33% off the lowest MSRP from my internet research, and I got $1,000.00 more for my trade in than I paid for it.

Financially was a great deal. But I also did not overpay for my last new trailer. I found out after talking to some people that I paid $4,000- 8,000 less on my 2015 than they did on theirs, so that also factors in on the deal as to whether you over paid for the one your trading in.

Just talked to a guy in campground last week that had a 2018 Puma and he said what a great deal he got on his, and told me the price. I did not have the heart to tell him he paid $5,000 more than I did and mine had an up charge for a generator option.

Did those dealers quote you trade-in values site unseen, and stick with it when you brought the trailer in?

[ImTravis]

When we did our trade in a few months ago, I checked NADA used the guide to figure out how much it was valued roughly. Checked online for used of same year and model. I then stated how much I wanted and telling the dealer the good and bad with my trade in (I’m brutally honest). Explained how I came up with my number and why it was reasonable. I only asked for the balance of our existing loan, which was within the NADA pricing for used. One dealer offered me the lowest NADA value, and the dealer we purchased from, gave me what I was asking. The price of the new trailer was the same at both locations, except one was a 2018 windjammer and we purchased a 2019 V-Lite, plus a few extras.

So we ended up pretty happy with our deal, and the dealer was pleasantly surprised by how good our trade in was (good upgrades and basically looked brand new for a four year old trailer).

Lesson learned, do your research and be willing to go to another dealer.

[Seasonal]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

We also never go back to any dealer for warranty work. Use an independent service only shop/mobile. They will get pre-approval, do better work, and take hours/days instead of weeks/months.

I have seen you post this advice a few times and I agree with the thought behind your comment but I've seen a few cases where the dopes that were the local mobile techs were just guys that fell out of the local tavern and owned a van. I think you have to do some work here too to get the good quality team to show up and work on your rig. Recommendation and internet searches. The quality of mobile service could be very local too. Maybe the boys that I've experienced are not typical of most in this field.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by Seasonal

I have seen you post this advice a few times and I agree with the thought behind your comment but I've seen a few cases where the dopes that were the local mobile techs were just guys that fell out of the local tavern and owned a van. I think you have to do some work here too to get the good quality team to show up and work on your rig. Recommendation and internet searches. The quality of mobile service could be very local too. Maybe the boys that I've experienced are not typical of most in this field.

Agreed. We do investigate potential service shops as much as we can via internet, local advice from RV parks/campers, and finally talking to them and asking appropriate questions about their experience and expertise. I will admit we have had excellent experiences so far with service only shops, but that may not be the case with everybody.

[IsleDog]

Originally Posted by blackseven

Did those dealers quote you trade-in values site unseen, and stick with it when you brought the trailer in?

in our case, yes. we started on the interwebs with our dealer, asking for trade values. we gave all the important details. we included any damage and modifications. we bickered back and forth until a price was agreed upon. we were asked for pictures and were told as long as everything is as the pictures and we have stated, we will get our price. we had no issues when completing our sale. being honest got us a fair deal, but we fought on value for a while.

[rmac04401]

Originally Posted by blackseven

Did those dealers quote you trade-in values site unseen, and stick with it when you brought the trailer in?

Yes they stuck with price that they quoted me for the trade in. I sent them a bunch of pictures, and told them what items would be staying with the camper. It was in great shape

[imjustdave]

When you have 2 dealings... new purchase and trade in there are 2 numbers you have to pay attention to and dealers are good at moving money around. They can give you 10K more for your trade if your paying 10K too much on the new item and its still the same deal.

Honestly I always negotiate the new purchase with the assumption of no trade in, don't even bring it up and if asked say you don't have a trailer or you sold it recently or whatever. Once you have the best deal... you bring up your trade They usually get all pissy about it because the first deal is set... usually they want to do it all over but at least you know where your at on the new one and you see any moving of money. Did a bike purchase this way once, turned out pretty good.

Friend of mine works at a dealership "Car" and "truck" and she says a lot of people just want the new shiny thing and don't really care. They give an offer for a trade in and people just roll over and take it. She also said some cars turn into nightmares where they can't get a title be it stuck in limbo with multiple lenders or States losing them taking months to fix. People claim X has it but reality is different and or from multiple states away complicating everything. This all takes time for them to fix before they can even sell.. But then there is the others where the trade is sold to the next person who walks in.... not even cleaned yet. Then there are the trades that they just send to auction.. be it too old or too beat up or too expensive to have on the lot.
She was telling me the other day a customer was about 30K+ upside down on their trade and rolled it into a new truck.... some stupid 1300 a month for 10 years and big down.... sounded crazy but the guy signed and had the money and credit to make it work... she couldn't believe it.
So when you have lots of people doing this it becomes second nature for them to screw people.


The other thing to keep in mind is financing... most if not all dealers get kickbacks from banks basically you qualify for good rates but they sell you on a higher percentage, and they earn the difference. I had a dealer once try and run my loan through them VS just sending a Purchase order to my bank as asked for you guessed it more % than I already had setup. Nothing about that purchase was good, except the car was decent lol.

Best advice I can say it keep your X another year or 2. I tend to keep my autos a long time 06 dodge, just sold my 06 car and prefer NOT to have the endless payment plan. it's amazing how much money you can save when you can keep some of it not paying a loan all the time. But I get it a nice new Dodge would be awesome to see in the driveway. Soon maybe but not today.


Remember there isn't a shortage of "Things" to buy in this world.