Negotiating with a wholesaler...

[bamacampin]

Can it be done? Or are the prices given at say, Couch's RV Nation the rock bottom?

[BandJCarm]

Couch's doesn't negotiate. Price is the price. They don't have time, selling too many units. Profit is obviously low on any unit.

If you want to try, go ahead. I predict they won't budge.

[Mr Havercamp]

Wholesale is just a term, it implies they have some special deal or arrangement with the manufacturers which they do not.............None of those guys are wholesale, they're just dealers the same as any other. You can get the same pricing or better at many dealers in the local market around them. Don't limit yourself to a couple because they use "wholesale" in their name or ads. I have successfully beaten their pricing in western PA and MD before, and it was easy.

If you're going to travel for savings also look at dealers in IN and MI as well as OH. One of the things they use to their advantage is the transport from factory cost savings, which is a big chunk of the lower prices they can offer.

Wholesale Here in PA they could not use the word "wholesale" by law.

[bamacampin]

Thanks for the tips!

[Mr Havercamp]

Originally Posted by bamacampin

Thanks for the tios!

What specific brand are you looking at?

[bamacampin]

Originally Posted by Mr Havercamp

What specific brand are you looking at?

We are looking at the Silverback 37bh. Want something with a bunkhouse, 1 1/2 baths and an outdoor kitchen. We really like this one because of the big sofa and no dining table.

[bamacampin]

Another factor is that we have a 2007 Rockwood 2701ss that we'd want to trade. REALLY do not want the hassle of selling privately.

[youroo]

Originally Posted by bamacampin

Another factor is that we have a 2007 Rockwood 2701ss that we'd want to trade. REALLY do not want the hassle of selling privately.

This opens up a Whole Different Door! Youroo!!

[Mr Havercamp]

Originally Posted by bamacampin

Another factor is that we have a 2007 Rockwood 2701ss that we'd want to trade. REALLY do not want the hassle of selling privately.

The only thing else I will offer is you may want to reconsider trading it in. Any RV dealer is going to offer you about $2000 to $3000 in real numbers for that 2007, and if its in any type of decent shape you can get more out of it easily. The trade always muddies up the water.

[Restcure]

Originally Posted by Mr Havercamp

The only thing else I will offer is you may want to reconsider trading it in. Any RV dealer is going to offer you about $2000 to $3000 in real numbers for that 2007, and if its in any type of decent shape you can get more out of it easily. The trade always muddies up the water.

Agreed!

When we bought our 2012 2701SS this year we explored the idea of trading in our 2008 Starcraft ST 2700BH. With no slide the dealer REALLY didn't want the trade and offered us $5k. I checked the market, priced it to sell at $10400 and sold it four days later for $9500.

We considered the risk of a delayed sale and the costs were minimal... $70/month at the storage lot and less than that to insure it if it took more time. If necessary I would have lowered the price by $500/wk until it eventually sold.

Yes, it was uncomfortable to have two trailers on our hands at the same time. But it sure as hell wasn't $4500 worth of uncomfortable.

[bamacampin]

For us, it's all about our ability to sell our own. Hubby travels for work and I'm not comfortable showing it on my own. But just in case we change our minds (or are forced into it) how do people go about selling their own?

[JLud]

You could likely easily save thousands by not trading. I had RVDirect offer me 18.5k for a 2016 keystone carbon 33 Toyhauler....laughed at them said I could sell for 30k in a week.....it took me 2 weeks.

Then they discounted the unit I wanted to purchase, a motorhome, by 15,000 from their original sale price which I had actually thought was pretty good.

If they would have started out giving me that 15,000 toward my trade I would have bought and thought I got a great deal.

[northstar1960]

Originally Posted by Mr Havercamp

Wholesale is just a term, it implies they have some special deal or arrangement with the manufacturers which they do not.............None of those guys are wholesale, they're just dealers the same as any other. You can get the same pricing or better at many dealers in the local market around them. Don't limit yourself to a couple because they use "wholesale" in their name or ads. I have successfully beaten their pricing in western PA and MD before, and it was easy.

If you're going to travel for savings also look at dealers in IN and MI as well as OH. One of the things they use to their advantage is the transport from factory cost savings, which is a big chunk of the lower prices they can offer.

Wholesale Here in PA they could not use the word "wholesale" by law.

\

The key is the local market around them . most other places around the country can not come close to their prices . having searched for months i can say the deal you get at couches or even rv wholesalers to some extent is better then you will get at almost any other dealer around the country . there i reason i drove from Co to Oh to pick up unit same as thousands of others . the closest i could get to couches was over 5g more . in Sturgis last yr they had hyperlites set up in town and the dealer there couldn't come any closer then 10g more then what i paid for the exact same unit as couches

[ependydad]

For the original question, I don't know about Couches but I do know that RV Wholesalers negotiated with friends of ours. My friend claims RVW came down by $1,000 from what they originally quoted. I don't know how much of that is true vs. how much is a fish tale- but I tend to believe there is truth in most of his stories.

[97flhtcui]

The wholesale dealerships sell up to 40% discount on new special order units. What needs to be negotiated is your trade in. If you don't have a trade in then the price you are getting it for is well worth the trip. The best wholesalers I can think of is Rv direct, Rv wholesalers and jeff couch. Your local dealer will tell you that if you don't buy from them they won't service it. Don't believe them. A lot of dealers will sell for msrp or 10 grand below. We bought ours from funtown Waco in Texas and the msrp was 82,450 but they sold it to us for 52,850. They gave us $18,000 for our trade in that was 4 grand above what anyone else would pay. Our only problem is they have a very bad service department so we are going to Goshen Ind to get the rest of the warranty work done.

[bamacampin]

Thanks for all the info and advice. We have decided to go ahead and list our current tt on rvtrader.com. We camped in it all week, cleaned it up, took pictures, listed it and are hoping for the best!

Now we have to sell our SUV and get ready to buy a big ole truck to tow a big ole fifth wheel. This is a lot of work...but it's fun!

[bamacampin]

UPDATE:

We took our quote from Couch's to our local dealer and, after several days of negotiating, their sales manager agreed to meet Couch's quote on a brand new order! We haven't actually placed the order yet because we are thinking through a couple of options but I wanted to update my thread for the benefit of anyone who may read it later. We also decided to sell our current TT so hopefully that won't be as painful a process as we've anticipated. Now on to the next thing...finding the right truck.

[updhaul]

You seem to be doing well on your own. Comparative pricing with locals vs. wholesalers is nearly always a best approach to shopping. Service if needed at local dealers is much more obtainable if you purchased from them. Factory or Goshen service is great but if you have to drive long distances while under warranty or out, your savings will be less quickly. I'm not endorsing any dealer but I've almost always found them to be easier to deal with if given the chance to compete even when they don't. Make sure everyone gives you the same vehicle or rv to compare. Now for the truck shopping fun,..