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Old 01-13-2014, 12:45 PM   #1
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Pre-show discount??

While shopping we came across a dealer that said he could give us a better price if we purchased BEFORE an upcoming show this weekend. Is that common or even possible?
My fears are simple. He wants to prevent me from seeing something else by another dealer and is trying to entice me with pre show pricing. My two thoughts are 1) it's the same price at the show and he's fishing, or 2) it's more money than at the show but I've already bought. I'd hate to think its option 2 since that would pretty much make them get a restraining offer against me. Any opinions?
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Old 01-13-2014, 12:47 PM   #2
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I would wait at the show and go from there......usually at shows you get good prices.
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Old 01-13-2014, 12:51 PM   #3
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I would forget what the salesman said and go to the show and look.
You will still get a good price if you do go back, right now sales are on, make the best of them.
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Old 01-13-2014, 12:52 PM   #4
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Is it a good price that you'd be satisfied with? When I bought, I price shopped online "wholesalers" and then approached local dealers with a price that I felt was fair for them and me. It had nothing to do with shows or specials or anything like that.

But, my 2 cents- he's just giving you a line of bull. He can give you a good price now, at the show, immediately after the show or even way after the show. He has his cost for the unit and has to make some profit- but how much and what deal you get is up to you.
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Old 01-13-2014, 12:53 PM   #5
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You are probably right that he wants to close the sale before you have other options at the show. Whether the pre-show price is really a better price or not is anybody's guess.

My thought is they have a bottom line they won't go below - pre-show, show, middle of the summer... I think if you play your cards right, you can get a good deal just about any time.

I do know from experience, that if you seem serious at the show, but don't buy they will follow up like crazy right after, and in our case offered a lower price than the show price. The down side to after the show deals is the unit you want may be sold and they may or may not want to make you the same deal on one they have to order.

Why not try to counter the pre-show price with a reasonable number and see if they budge?

To me, once you find that perfect unit and do as much as you can to get the best deal, go for it and enjoy it. You can drive yourself nuts worrying about whether the next guy managed to get the same thing for $200 less.
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Old 01-13-2014, 12:56 PM   #6
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Right now, he's at 33% under MSRP. I can see offering slightly more savings since they'd be saving money by not having to ship it to the show.
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Old 01-13-2014, 01:05 PM   #7
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Right now, he's at 33% under MSRP. I can see offering slightly more savings since they'd be saving money by not having to ship it to the show.
I thought about that aspect of it- they aren't saving any money. They'll just send a different unit in its place. It's not like they'll have a hole in their display at the show where that camper should have been.
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Old 01-13-2014, 04:15 PM   #8
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I am not so sure about good prices at RV shows. We had been looking and were ready to buy a 2012 V-Cross 275 for $29,999, it has 50 AMP and two ACs and a few extras. I told the better half that after the Houston RV show we would go buy the V-Cross. Went to RV show in February 2012 and the dealer whom we had been dealing with had 20 RVs at the show and the were all marked up exactly $4,000 each. The one that we wanted was not at the show. When I pointed the price increase to the salesman he told me that it cost the dealership $20,000 to have those 20 RVs at the show for the four and one half days. He then introduced me to a Forest River Rep and when I told him about the price increase he asked what I was going to pay for the V-Cross, I had the paperwork in hand and I stated that I was going to pay $29,999. He stated that if I gave them a $500 deposit today he would sell that one that I wanted for $29,000. We gave him the check and picked it up the next Friday. The MSRP was $43,125 so that is a 33% discount from MSRP. We remain happy with our purchase. Good Luck
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Old 01-13-2014, 05:41 PM   #9
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Right now, he's at 33% under MSRP. I can see offering slightly more savings since they'd be saving money by not having to ship it to the show.
Hi
I'd totally forget about the MSRP and any % comparisons. Look at street prices and compare. Just yesterday we were at the Hartford , CT show. My friend may be in the market for a new 5er. We were looking at some and hit on something he was interested in. He's an experienced buyer and RV'er. Dealer quoted a show price of $58k on it and was dead serious. On my phone I go and see the same model with options at 3 other dealers with a listed street price of $49k and change. Ok, he may have been going to play the high price/high trade value BS that they do but at no point did he ask did my friend have a trade nor did my friend let him know either way. If you have a trade and the only number that really matters is the difference between what they offer you and what you are paying for the new unit then the 2 numbers on the units are irrelevant if the difference is fair. I've seen several dealers at shows play that one. Huge trade price but huge sticker price on new unit.
What I'm saying is just do the homework. Go in knowing what the unit is really worth out the door. We all see the MSRP listed and the 'you save' % under it. I don't know why they bother. Any serious buyer knows the MSRP is an inflated number made to make the real price look good. Nobody is giving these away as we know and nobody is seriously cutting 10 or 20k out of the 'real price' for the good of anyone. It's a fantasy number. Look at a dozen dealers with the same unit and options and you'll get a good idea of a bottom line price fairly quickly. When we were shopping for our first 5th wheel I called several dealer within several hundred miles and was very honest and told them I was seriously in the market and was shopping around. They were more than happy to cut the initial back and forth and give me what I'm sure was close to their best price. Either they did and were in the picture or I said thank you and moved on. If they know you are serious they will usually play ball. Sometimes the price difference purely came down to freight cost. A dealer 600 miles closer to the factory was really only the difference of transport in final price.
Anyway. Best of luck with it and keep us posted.
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Old 01-14-2014, 08:39 PM   #10
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So here we are, decision time.
Spoke to the dealer and he seems pretty firm on 26k. The sticker is actually 40 and change, and I'm wondering if I'm being greedy. Last we spoke, he told me to just meet him at the show so he could "show me all the things that make it worth 26k". That's after I told him I wanted to be at 25k AFTER taxes (7%).
Honestly, this is the perfect unit for the family and I haven't been able to find anything comparable in price and quality.
If he's that firm on 26, I think I'm going to counter at 25.5 and a hitch.
What say you?
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Old 01-14-2014, 08:49 PM   #11
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Give it a shot and see. Why not. He can only say no and you go from there. Good luck!
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Old 01-14-2014, 09:51 PM   #12
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If that is the unit you really want, then take it otherwise you might regret it. You can only negotiate so much....so do what it feels right for you.
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Old 01-15-2014, 10:49 AM   #13
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I would try and get a couple more quotes and compare. I did that and had someone price at 10% lower than the dealer I was working with. took him the written offer and he matched it, saved another three grand
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Old 01-15-2014, 01:33 PM   #14
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So here we are, decision time.
Spoke to the dealer and he seems pretty firm on 26k. The sticker is actually 40 and change, and I'm wondering if I'm being greedy. Last we spoke, he told me to just meet him at the show so he could "show me all the things that make it worth 26k". That's after I told him I wanted to be at 25k AFTER taxes (7%).
Honestly, this is the perfect unit for the family and I haven't been able to find anything comparable in price and quality.
If he's that firm on 26, I think I'm going to counter at 25.5 and a hitch.
What say you?
I think your thought process is pretty logical. You are at or approaching the lowest he wants to go because he did not accpet or even counter your $25K target. If you say 25.5 w/ the hitch and I'll sign right now, they probably take it or offer to split it - say 25.5 w/o the hitch.

Or plan B is you say "I really like this one and I'm ready to buy, but its above the $25K I'm willing to pay." And you walk. They have your phone #, and I've seen plenty of people pull that off successfully. They call you next week and say OK, you got a deal. But they may also let you walk, and if they take it to a show and sell it, they may or may not come back to you to make that deal on another one.

Based on your statement that its the perfect unit and you haven't found anything comparable - if it was me, I'd try the 25.5 offer and take whatever they come back with. We did it twice - the satisfaction of getting exactly what we wanted (loacally w/o any hastles) outweighed the time and grief involved in trying to arm-twist that additional 1-2% off the price.

And last thought - asking for the hitch and/or something like store credit on something else you want is probably more agreeable to them than the same amount off the RV since the options or stuff in the store costs them far less than the retail price.

Good luck.
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Old 01-15-2014, 07:39 PM   #15
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If that is the unit you really want, then take it otherwise you might regret it. You can only negotiate so much....so do what it feels right for you.

Dropped the deposit today. Settled with 26k, a 1000$ campground discount book a 1yr roadside assistance program (I'm sure all dealers are doing this) and free install on a Discounted Reese hitch.
They were not going to budge. I called the only other dealer for Prime Time within 500 miles and he had a '13 he'd let go for 24.9k. I tried playing that on the other dealer and he told me that he's listing the trailer for 28k at the show and 26 was it.
Thanks a ton for the suggestions and for being the voices of reason. Now, keep an eye out for some more questions.
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Old 01-15-2014, 07:56 PM   #16
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25.5 and a hitch is a good way to go. My last two RV's I negotiated the hitch at the last minute. Worked both times. If you have similar quotes from other dealers, and you're happy with the deal, go for it. Make sure the dealer has a good reputation and will take care of you after the sale. You WILL have problems and a good dealer will make all the difference. In my case I spent another $1K to buy from a dealer that I've had spectacular service from in the past. Good Luck!!!!!
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Old 01-15-2014, 10:12 PM   #17
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Dropped the deposit today.
Sounds like you didn't leave anything on the table...

So what model did you get??
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Old 01-15-2014, 10:23 PM   #18
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Right now, he's at 33% under MSRP. I can see offering slightly more savings since they'd be saving money by not having to ship it to the show.
I agree that he is trying to get you signed before you have a chance to go and possibly see somebody else's unit. 33% off of MSRP is not a bad deal, but you can bet he'll give you at least the same price AT the show.
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Old 01-15-2014, 10:28 PM   #19
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Oops...didn't notice that you had already made the deal. Congratulations. Now go enjoy it!
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Old 01-15-2014, 10:37 PM   #20
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Congrats on the deal!! RV salesmen are worse than used car salesmen....
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