Close But No Sale

[KFX450RXC]

Almost bought a Vengeance Touring Edition yesterday. But we stuck to our guns and I feel much better about it today.

We were heading out of town yesterday for a prior commitment so I figured it was a great opportunity to swing by a dealership near there that carries Vengeance toy haulers. Nobody really close to us carries them so this seemed like a great chance to see their quality first hand. This dealer had just started to carry these toy haulers and they're just getting some in.

We saw a 38L12 and a 39R12. Although not the color I wanted, I was looking forward to seeing a 39R12. Both were really nice but we didn't get that "feeling". The salesman said they had just gotten in a 40D12 that was in the back. It hadn't even been set up for showing out on the lot but we all went back there anyway. I was anxious because the side patio option is growing more and more on me. When we walked around the corner of the building, I was excited. It was my favorite color scheme: white with blue, silver, and black accents. Just a beautiful camper and I could envision it behind my silver truck.

After looking it over pretty good, we were willing to talk numbers but I felt I had the advantage. I have been extensively shopping Fuzions and XLRs for a month now and I know the options I want and how much those units cost.

Of course, they brought us out a price that was just silly (in my opinion). I told him again what we had been looking at and how much those units were priced at. I kindly reminded them of the quality of those units and I felt the XLRs were still one notch above the Vengeance line although the Touring Editions were pretty close. He went back to the manager and finally brought us their final offer. He was still about $5,000 more than a comparable XLR 420.

I kindly shook his hand and said I appreciated their time but we would have to decline. If he had been about $8-$9K less, we'd have done the deal. But that's a long distance apart in price. I don't blame them at all. If they can sell them at that price, great for them. I just know I can buy more camper for less money somewhere else.

The search goes on.....

[asquared]

Sometimes they will call you back with a better offer.

[KFX450RXC]

Originally Posted by asquared

Sometimes they will call you back with a better offer.

True. But this dealer is going to be at the Charlotte RV show this weekend. I imagine they'll have this camper and the others at the show. That's just another reason for me not to buy it.

[ykdave]

sucks you couldnt make a deal, but on the other hand i dont blame you if the deal wasnt right.

They probably figured they will be able to get some good money out of it at the show, so they werent willing to work too much on the price for you. bet you if they dont sell it at the show they will be calling you the next day trying to make a deal!

[PenJoe]

I recall my in-laws planning to retire and asked me to help negotiate the price of a motor home. The dealer had the unit they wanted and there were no other similar coaches in the area. We were back to the dealer multiple times talking numbers. They came down a little and we held firm. It came to be that my Mother-in-law was embarrassed to go back in there. We finally got the deal, but it took persistence. Both buyer and seller were okay with the deal. The dealer just didn't make as much.

[BamaBob]

I know of a dealer here in North AL that will deal with you fairly. He has the 40D12 in stock and has no problems ordering one for you from the factory just like you want it

[the.wilsons]

You could go to the RV show and see what kind of deal they will make there. A lot of time they will have great show special pricing because there will be a factory rep there giving them an extra bonus for selling more units or give you a good price on the show unit.

[emm-dee]

The internet is your friend these days. I looked at numerous toy haulers and had a set of "must have" items that were not negotiable. There was one at a local dealer that had exactly what I wanted, but compared to internet searched prices it was $8,000 higher than I expected. I had emailed offers from Roth RV in Minnesota and Keystone in Pennsylvania. Both offers were for units exactly the same as the one in stock locally but had $1,200 and $1,600 delivery charges.I showed the offers to the local dealer and said the next call I made with my iPhone would be to my bank with money transfer instructions. If they wanted the money to go to them I would split the deliver charge ($800) and if not I would send the $$ to Minnesota. I said we were finished negotiating and the deal was their choice to accept or not.

I really didn't expect them to accept the terms but, wow, they did. I sent them the money and picked the trailer up the next morning.

BTW...I was not bluffing. If they had turned me down I definitely would have sent the money to the Minnesota dealer because I could get faster delivery than from the Pennsylvania dealer.

[PenJoe]

On our latest TV, we found what we were looking for about 35 miles away. They offered us a pretty fair trade and deal, but we decided to sit on the deal. We decided to try the local dealer, whom had nearly all of the brand franchises. We acted dumb through the trade in and the deal they cam up with. The local dealer offered us a very low trade in and included a $1,500 factory incentive. Advertised factory rebates of $9,500 that the farther dealer had include, plus additional discounts, were reasons to totally walk away. By the way, our trade in was immaculate and low mileage. As we walked away, the local sales person offered that they would beat any other offers. Our question was, why, we are here and won't be coming back. We proceeded to the farther dealer, got a few more concessions and made the deal.

The only reason I can see that the local dealer got so big, was that people were not willing to shop the competition.We could have gone local and maybe got a few more dollars, but we are opposed to rewarding bad behavior.

[KFX450RXC]

I think I'm done with that dealer. Not that they were a problem. But they're over 3 hours away and the toy hauler wasn't a 10. For $75,000, I'd like something more like a "10" and much closer for service.

As PenJoe said, I will probably be "comparing". For now, the camper we like most is carried by two dealers near me. One is 100 miles from home. The other is a Camping World four miles from the house. The dealer 100 miles away always has great prices. If CW will beat that dealer, I will buy from them. But if not, I have bought two RVs from the further dealer and don't mind making the drive once again.