Cannibalization of new units on the dealer's lot

[dieselguy]

I have been on 2 FR dealer lots in KCMO area as well as the Tulsa, OK area this spring. I've walked into fivers with cabinet doors, fascia wood trim around the slidout, entire furnaces, LED lights, shower faucets, microwaves, or entire bed base frames stripped from brand new units to make other units sellable or repair late model sold units. Both dealerships say it recently has been taking too long to get parts from FR to make the fix, so they strip a unit to be put back together when parts do come in. Anyone else experience this? Why would a dealership leave these units unlocked sitting on the lot for customer viewing?

[spock123]

I have seen that before


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[Mars]

Whatever it takes to close the sale..........

[Mr. Dan]

Our dealership pulled a messed up dining chair out of our trailer and replaced it with a matching one from the same model out on the lot.


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[SuicideSaints]

Pretty standard across industries. I work in the aviation industry, we do it all the time and call it "controlled exchange". When an item comes up for sale and we need to get it out the door we "borrow parts from other units" and install them in the unit that's getting sold, we back order the parts and when we they come in we back fill the parts we stripped out. I've seen this in the auto, as well as hot tub/pool industry too.

[Kenny kustom]

YUP ! When i saw my sabre, the fridge panels were missing, the stereo was gone, toilet gone.. It was a tad comical.. Although, i did it myself when working at car dealers..

[doc73]

When I bought my truck they stripped off the tow mirrors from a 65,000 lifted truck just to make my sale on the 50,000 truck.. It was funny seeing the other truck out front with no mirrors. What ever it takes.

[dieselguy]

My thought is, they should lock up the ones with major parts stripped out. If I were to walk into one with the grill in front of the furnace laying on the floor and the furnace gone ... my interest level no matter my desire to own that particular model would pretty much drop away.

[Kenny kustom]

Originally Posted by dieselguy

My thought is, they should lock up the ones with major parts stripped out. If I were to walk into one with the grill in front of the furnace laying on the floor and the furnace gone ... my interest level no matter my desire to own that particular model would pretty much drop away.

With part deliveries sometimes taking months, i wouldnt let it bother you.
They will make it right before you purchase.
Just like they did for the guy who they gave the parts to !

[CNYCamper]

Cannibalizing was supposedly forbidden at the RV dealership I sold for, but was done anyways due to back ordering and trying to please the customers. The issue was, now that the immediate problem was solved, they would go onto the next problem of the day and forget to make sure a replacement part was ordered for the cannibalized unit.
We had over 150 RVs sitting on the lots with most out of view from the building so they were normally kept locked. Nice weather on a Saturday we'd unlock everything (except for torn apart units) for people to browse and folks, you wouldn't believe the damage some people can inflict.

[Rvdixie]

Don't walk away from these dealerships RUN!

[Kenny kustom]

Originally Posted by Rvdixie

Don't walk away from these dealerships RUN!

Ok, so heres a question for you...

You bring your brand new truck back to the dealer because it wont start..
Turns out, it needs the Wireless Control Module.
Only problem is, its on a national back order.

Option A: they pull the WCM out of another truck on the lot, and you are on your way in a half hour.

Option B: you have to leave your truck there ( because it wont run ) for an unknown time. Could be a couple months..

Which do you choose ?

[Rvdixie]

As a former dealer I can tell you that the first rule of business is thou shalt not cannibalize. Any dealer that does not stock the fundamental parts necessary for the operation of an RV should not be a dealer. When it comes to trim work like cabinet doors etc. surely there is no need so great as to take $30,000 worth of inventory and making it virtually unsaleable. All manufacturers will work with a dealer in case of emergencies if pursued by a responsible dealer. I would not say I have never done it, but it would be a once in a lifetime exception or something of that nature. Can you imagine having dozens of units in inventory with missing parts while your sales guys are trying to sell them? You can get a pretty good idea on how a dealership is operated by the condition of their inventory. If this is the best they can do when trying to sell you something can you just imagine how great the service will be after the sale.

[gectisme]

Originally Posted by Kenny kustom

Ok, so heres a question for you...

You bring your brand new truck back to the dealer because it wont start..
Turns out, it needs the Wireless Control Module.
Only problem is, its on a national back order.

Option A: they pull the WCM out of another truck on the lot, and you are on your way in a half hour.

Option B: you have to leave your truck there ( because it wont run ) for an unknown time. Could be a couple months..

Which do you choose ?

I would choose Option A but I would not knowingly purchase the truck they pulled the WCM out of...

[DreiHunde]

Years ago (2007) I saw that happen at a car dealership under the direction of the factory. And it was fuel delivery components not "trim" items! So yea it happens in a lot of places!

And don't even want to know how much was done to keep helicopters flying in the Marines....

[rthomaslyons]

Parts take forever to come in and then they aren't always the correct one when they arrive. Quality construction control and parts still seems to be in the industry. Robbing from one trailer to get you going sounds like a dealer who cares about your business.

[Rvdixie]

I truly see your point of view but from a dealership standpoint it's a poor way to do business and this dealer will soon find himself out of business. I would never buy from a dealer who did this. There is no telling what little part will be missing on the unit you buy after you get it home. If the part was hard for him to get when it was in inventory just imagine what it will be like and what the sense of urgency will be to get it for you after the sale. You know what they say about stealing from Peter to pay Paul. You always end up with a sore P-------.

[B47]

Originally Posted by SuicideSaints

Pretty standard across industries. I work in the aviation industry, we do it all the time and call it "controlled exchange". When an item comes up for sale and we need to get it out the door we "borrow parts from other units" and install them in the unit that's getting sold, we back order the parts and when we they come in we back fill the parts we stripped out. I've seen this in the auto, as well as hot tub/pool industry too.

Yep - done in aviation,both military and commercial, with certain controls and procedures being followed.

[aceinspp]

Well around here dealers will not strip a unit for parts weather car or camper. Been there and it is not going to happen. I see a lot of post here saying ya they do it , But look at all the other threads where folks are waiting on parts. Later RJD

[nomad297]

My truck dealer is a friend of mine and he won't cannibalize trucks for me when I buy them. Also, the last two RV dealers I purchased from would not cannibalize parts.

Bruce