Do people on the west coast pay more than the rest of the country?

pcaman · 03-13-2012, 02:05 AM

I am currently looking at a rockwood 2702ss and the dealers out here in california are telling me that they are higher priced due to frieght charges and I could save 3-5 thousand if I picked it up in indiana. Is ther any truth to this? I would not think that it cost 3-5K to have a trailer shipped out here.

rkswyo · 03-13-2012, 07:54 AM

I would bet they are paying freight charges. With the rising price of fuel I am sure the cost of freight is going up as well. 3-5K seems pretty steep though.

dimurrrw · 03-13-2012, 09:14 AM

A quick check on the internet indicates that FR has plants all over the place. Here are two links to dealers that contain interesting information on the subject.

Toured Forest River Oregon Plant

Read the "more information" on the first trailer listed, the one that has been sold. New and Used RVs Including Travel Trailers, Fifth Wheels, Truck Campers, Pop-ups, Motorhomes and Touring Coaches in Eugene, Oregon at George M Sutton RV

For all I know the 2702 in built in Indiana and shipped to CA. On the other hand --- check out the FR (and other)) offerings for trailers made closer to you.

**bikendan** · 03-13-2012, 09:34 AM

here's what my experience has been.

YES, West Coast customers pay more. the only exception are the few RVs that are built on the West Coast.
probably 90% of RVs are built in the Midwest. West Coast dealers know that most of us wouldn't drive that far to save money.
so, not only do they make a profit on the selling price, they also try to make a profit on the shipping costs.
i found that my Roo 23SS cost between $4500-$6000 more out here, than many Midwest dealers. on a $22k MSRP trailer!

the 3 Roo NorCal dealers told me that if i wanted those kind of prices, i should go there to buy it. so i did.

the problem is the dealers know they have most West Coast buyers over a barrel, so they can charge as much as they want.

TURBS · 03-13-2012, 12:02 PM

I wonder what these hot shot haulers are getting per mile ?
5 to 6 dollars a mile doesnt seem to low considering they have fuel,wear and tear,lodging,food etc etc
thats about 1100.00 dollars from In. to Ca. @5 dollars a mile

Nigels · 03-13-2012, 01:20 PM

Pcaman, the internet is a wonderful tool, ask for as many quotes as you can get in the west then compare these to RVW and RVdirect, then play RVW against RVdirect, then give your local guys a chance to get as close as they can, calculate your costs of going to and from Indiana or Ohio then make a choice.

For us we saved $8000+ on the same rig in BC and we are retired so the trip there and back was an awsome experience for us.

dimurrrw · 03-13-2012, 02:03 PM

Gee!
Buy in Indiana, tour the county for a year ending in California. Sell the used rig for close to what you paid for it. Sounds like a deal to me.

Dave_Monica · 03-13-2012, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by f1100turbo

I wonder what these hot shot haulers are getting per mile ?
5 to 6 dollars a mile doesnt seem to low considering they have fuel,wear and tear,lodging,food etc etc
thats about 1100.00 dollars from In. to Ca. @5 dollars a mile

Some bad math I'm afraid. I know it's more than 220 miles from IN to CA. Using my Garmin software, it's 2115 miles from Elkhart to Los Angeles. So even at $2.00/mile for shipping that's $4230.

Dave

jamtracy · 03-14-2012, 12:56 AM

The rockwood I want is $31,263 form one local dealer and $30,500 from another here in Northern California.
RVDirect for the identical trailer delivered to my door is $28,315. If I pick it up in Iowa $25,298. And another $500 off if I finance through them. What would you do?
I know dealers pay freight but I know it can't be no where near $4K from what I've seen on invoices.

Nigels · 03-14-2012, 04:38 AM

Can you do better from RVW and RVdirect, you should be able to get at least 40% off MSRP and some goodies thrown in as well?

Do you have a TV that is up to the job and reliable?
Do you have at least 10 days free to make this an enjoyable unrushed trip?

Bear in mind that if you do this your local guys could be difficult when it comes servicing or scheduling repairs. This never bothered me because I am a hands on kind of person and can do servicing and repairs myself, saves an awful lot of time, fuel and at least I know the jobs will be done well.

These are some considerations to help you decide.

This is copied and pasted from RVDirects website:
Forest River Rockwood Ultra Light Travel Trailer 2702SSBase Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price: $25,490.00You won't pay anywhere near this price with RVDirectSM. Expect 20% - 40% OFF.

Obviously you want a whole bunch of extras added to the $25490 base price but you can still get 40% off the total. They will aim to give you only 20% making all sorts of excuses, not available on Rockwoods, etc etc, but this is BS offer to buy with 40% off or walk, do the same with RVW. You gotta be tough!

TURBS · 03-14-2012, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave_Monica

Some bad math I'm afraid. I know it's more than 220 miles from IN to CA. Using my Garmin software, it's 2115 miles from Elkhart to Los Angeles. So even at $2.00/mile for shipping that's $4230.

Dave

Thanks Dave your right loll I used 220 miles and should have used 2200.
Not bad math just fat fingers lol and didn't double check my work.
Ty for the correction

**bikendan** · 03-14-2012, 09:30 AM

i'm one of those who refused being taken advantage of, by West Coast dealers, and made the 4000 mile round trip.

and Forest River found other FR dealers that were more than happy to do warranty work. in fact, there was a FR popup dealer in town that did the first year of warranty work. they were way closer than the 3 Roo dealers that said they would refuse to do the warranty work, if i didn't buy from them.

Nigels · 03-14-2012, 10:34 AM

I must correct what I previously stated about getting 40% if you do then you did better than me, I only got 38.12%

I just checked back to my email negotiations with RVW, I was offered 33.33% off MRSP, that was not too difficult, then I managed to get them to 38.12% off MRSP + gas bottles filled and a starter kit thrown in.

MRSP was $39597 and in the end I paid $24500, the best price I got in BC was $32560

I hope this is helpful.

jamtracy · 03-14-2012, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikendan

i'm one of those who refused being taken advantage of, by West Coast dealers, and made the 4000 mile round trip.

and Forest River found other FR dealers that were more than happy to do warranty work. in fact, there was a FR popup dealer in town that did the first year of warranty work. they were way closer than the 3 Roo dealers that said they would refuse to do the warranty work, if i didn't buy from them.

This is how I was thinking. Did you take the first offer from RVW? It seems that RV Direct is a little cheaper for the same model. I will give my local guys a chance to come close to the quoted price but I'm sure they wont and they will dangle the warranty work in my face.
Thanks for your input!!!

mrores · 03-14-2012, 11:49 AM

Recently purchased a Windjammer from a Michigan dealer, shipping to Ca., was 3680.00, still saved about about 3k, over the best price offered by a local dealer. The local dealers kept telling me they could match the price, but when it came down to the true figures, they told me to go ahead and buy from Mich., because they wouldn't or couldn't match the price.

rkswyo · 03-14-2012, 01:05 PM

Shipping cost are high with the price of fuel, but to keep the dealer honest, require them to provide you with the bill of lading for the actual shipping cost. This way it is harder for them to inflate the shipping cost like they do with extended warranties, etc. You are paying for the shipping and you have evry right to it.

**bikendan** · 03-14-2012, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamtracy

This is how I was thinking. Did you take the first offer from RVW? It seems that RV Direct is a little cheaper for the same model. I will give my local guys a chance to come close to the quoted price but I'm sure they wont and they will dangle the warranty work in my face.
Thanks for your input!!!

i got prices from 3 dealers outside of Calif., RVW, RVDirect and House of Camping.
HOC had the best price of the three and the interior decor that the DW wanted.

i took that price to the other 3 NorCal dealers and they basically laughed at me.
told me they wouldn't budge on the price. dared me to go get it, if i wanted that price so bad.

the lowest price i got, from any of them, was $19,500.
i bought mine new, from House of Camping, for $14,500.

Witch Doctor · 03-14-2012, 05:14 PM

Try a car transport service. They will give you a good price if they are tiring to fill up space for a full load. I had to wait one time when I had a car from SF to Miami shipped but they did it for half price. I also had a 40' sail boat shipped from SC to SF, that was about 3000.00 if I remember right. and that came on a load by itself(before the high gas price, which will change eveything)

jamtracy · 03-14-2012, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikendan

i got prices from 3 dealers outside of Calif., RVW, RVDirect and House of Camping.
HOC had the best price of the three and the interior decor that the DW wanted.

i took that price to the other 3 NorCal dealers and they basically laughed at me.
told me they wouldn't budge on the price. dared me to go get it, if i wanted that price so bad.

the lowest price i got, from any of them, was $19,500.
i bought mine new, from House of Camping, for $14,500.

House of camping was 1k more than rvdirect. I already tried one local dealer and he wouldn't lower the price at all. Business must be good. Haven't tried the other. I will be ordering soon.

pcaman · 03-14-2012, 10:47 PM

thank you for all of the replies. Unfortunatley, picking up a trailer back east isn't going to be an option for me due to job, family, etc. and the quote I got from RVwholesale was 3K less than local dealers, but shipping costs added in over 3500. This is my first TT purchase and I asumed that I would be able to find out the dealer invoice like when I bought my truck. I know that even though you know the invoice that is not the true cost, because of hold backs, rebates, incentives from the manufactureres etc and I am sure it is that way for RV dealers. I just can't seem to find the invoice anywhere. I don't mind paying a fair price, but I don't want to be the guy that the dealer makes a huge bonus off of. I though for sure that with the www it would be a lot simpiliar to find out relative dealer costs on a trailer.

pcaman

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