New to negotiating an rv

[SCarolinaJoe]

NEW TO NEGOTIATING AN RV: Thank You for reading my thread. My wife and I are looking to purchase our first travel trailer, a 2021 Apex Nano 208BHS. How do you negotiate the purchase of a new RV? Do you take a percentage off to establish negotiation objectives and go from there, for example (25% off the discounted price is your High Target price, 30% off is your Mid Target and 40% is your Low Target)? We want the Off-Grid Package and Outfitter Package; no murphy bed, so it will be a special order from the factory (8-10 week lead time). Do we lose negotiation power by it being a special order from the factory? I am trying to understand the process so we don't pay too much. I've been very successful negotiating new vehicles online, do you recommend online or in person? What was successful with your last negotiation and what were your lessons learned? Thanks again in advance for taking the time to read my thread and for your time in responding.

[bikendan]

IMHO, you do lose some negotiation power when you order a new rig from the factory. That's why we always buy a new previous year model off the lot. We got 45% off the MSRP of our current TT.
With RVs still selling like hotcakes, I think that 33% off, would be doing good for a custom order.

[SeabrooksFam]

Look at some videos on Youtube. There is a guy that is an old RV salesman and he talks about how to buy an RV. One thing I remember is that he said, don't fall for the MSRP trap with the "discounts". Go with what you know you want to spend on it and then get some freebies. We got them to install the weight distribution for FREE. I bought one from E-Trailer and Travel Camp installed it. E-Trailer is a great resource to find parts, but buy from someone else. Their return policy is HORRIBLE. But they are very nice to work with. So,m for your OG question, do the research online and don't settle for any BS answer like, oh, that's the price. We just bought our first TT and couldn't be happier.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by bikendan

IMHO, you do lose some negotiation power when you order a new rig from the factory.
With RVs still selling like hotcakes, I think that 33% off, would be doing good for a custom order.

^^^^ I agree.
We've always bought off the lot so we've no experience with custom ordering.

[Gottaluvlife]

First know the exact model, colors, and options you want. Get breakdown of each option price separately. Then start calling multiple dealers to get some quotes..try to negotiate over phone. If you get good price ask for email. Then use the best price you get & take it to your dealer. Be ready to walk away and/or drive out of town to get best price!

[flyflotrtim]

Originally Posted by Gottaluvlife

First know the exact model, colors, and options you want. Get breakdown of each option price separately. Then start calling multiple dealers to get some quotes..try to negotiate over phone. If you get good price ask for email. Then use the best price you get & take it to your dealer. Be ready to walk away and/or drive out of town to get best price!

Exactly correct. Know exactly what you want. Get emailed prices from multiple dealers, then go to the dealer you hope to purchase from. Get a price from them; if it is not the lowest price you are fully prepared to negotiate. If they won't meet the lowest price, decide on how important it is to purchase locally.

[rsdata]

so it will be a special order from the factory (8-10 week lead time).

With Covid delays thrown in I would double this lead time... this is the standard lead time, double it in these times.

Also, find an in- stock trailer that you can live with for the best price...

[NorSnrub]

I was told cost to dealer is 40 percent off of MSRP.
Also we went to a dealer near the factory so we saved 5 k in delivery charge. WANA RV. Is where we went and had it built on internet and phone calls.

[txredfish]

The only problem about buying out of town, might be if problems, getting them fixed locally from someone who did not sell it to you. Not like a car, some dealers will not fix under warranty unless you buy from them.

[smgelsie]

We got the best price from an online retailer based in Ohio. We picked it up, rather than pay $900 for delivery to NC. We have had zero issues getting warranty work done locally. (Forest River Rockwood Windjammer 2018 3008)

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by txredfish

The only problem about buying out of town, might be if problems, getting them fixed locally from someone who did not sell it to you. Not like a car, some dealers will not fix under warranty unless you buy from them.

We bought our first new trailer from a Chicago dealer 2000 miles away. Went there to get it and brought it back to California. FR found us numerous local dealers that were willing to do the warranty work. We just had to be at the back of the line. That was no problem since I dropped it off in November and picked it up in March. Free winter storage.

[pgandw]

How much of the maintenance and warranty repairs are you going to do yourself? Do you expect to see your dealer again for warranty work?

In your post, you emphasized price above all else. This works great - if you are a DIY guy. But if you want service and support, especially during the warranty period, take a very close look at the service department of the dealer you are buying from.

For our most recent purchase, Roberts RV in Denver both sells and rents pop-ups and A-frames. To turn around the rental pop-ups, the service dept has to have a good supply of parts and expertise to fix the units. And Roberts has one non-negotiable price to all customers - a good discount, although I could find slightly lower prices (by about $1K) in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. But buying out of state would mean several days vacation time, and having to go through titling, DMV and state and local sales tax on my own.

It turned out the A-frame we wanted had been dinged up during construction and transport from the factory. We did a pre-PDI on the unit as delivered from the factory. Roberts put a lot of effort into fixing all the issues before and during the PDI, and revised the price downward for the dings in the interior paneling and missing caulking (that I couldn't find after Roberts got done touching up). They thoroughly vacuumed every space in the camper, getting rid of all the construction sawdust, excess screws, and debris.

They even helped me with parts for a few mods I wanted to make on my own in return for photos - rerouting air conditioning/heat pump duct, dual battery install, converter replacement, etc.

Again, decide on how much dealer support you want before you buy, and make sure the dealer you choose is capable of that support. Selecting a dealer that sold A-frames and pop-ups as their primary business has paid a dividends on all 3 of my pop-up and A-frame purchases.

Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time
next trip: Black Hills

[CGK]

I used RV Trader as a reference when determining a fair price to pay for our current TT. You can specify distance ranges, or choose a nationwide search. You can also specify new or used....you get the idea. It does take some time to research similar rigs, since you have to review all the features to ensure you are comparing apples to apples. Even if you do that well, there will be regional differences that could surprise you. I could have gotten the exact model we bought for a couple of thousand dollars less - but would have had to go approximately 1000 miles each way to get that deal.....and then there is the challenge of getting prompt service if you buy the TT elsewhere. I have not regretted the deal we got, primarily because the local service has been stellar. I do a lot of my own work, so I am not there for every little thing - but the dealership is less than 45 minutes from our house so getting the TT there is not an issue. Look at the search as part of the fun - and then enjoy the results of your labor. Good luck!

[flyflotrtim]

[QUOTE=rsdata;2335266]With Covid delays thrown in I would double this lead time... this is the standard lead time, double it in these times.

Our RV got caught in the Covid shut down and there was a 7 week lag in build time so Rockwood is probably behind 7ish weeks in orders. Also RV sales are reported to be very strong this spring. Although we read that the Rockwood factory lot was basically empty several weeks ago, there seems to be a lag in getting the RV to California. Perhaps some Covid related difficulties with delivery.

[Dirt Sifter]

As you have done, we decided what we wanted in the TT first, and convinced ourselves we did not have to buy. Then we looked on line and in our area, but included OR, WA, and ID for pricing and availability. Found the units we were interested in (there were only two available at the time,) and traveled unannounced to the dealerships. We looked at the units and judged the dealerships by the sales people we interacted with as much as the price offers. Found the TT at the second dealership with a salesman who did not misrepresent anything, a service manager who was up front with what they could do, a finance person who was no nonsense, and bought at a price close to what we expected, 400 miles from home. Continue to do your homework, ask questions of the folks you're dealing with and follow your gut. Happy camping!

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by txredfish

The only problem about buying out of town, might be if problems, getting them fixed locally from someone who did not sell it to you. Not like a car, some dealers will not fix under warranty unless you buy from them.

Even warranty repairs Do Not need to be repaired at a dealer. An authorized repair shop can be used, you just need to get authorization from FR first.

In fact you most often get better and faster service from an independent repair shop.

[Cowracer]

Read this:

https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...ighlight=guide

It a closed thread, but still good info

Tim

[NorSnrub]

If you travel you must go to 1 not in your area. We found some that didn't eat to service, but we would call Forest River and they then did the repair. One time our dealer improperly installed our weigh distribution hitch. We were charged and brought bill back to dealer to pay. Wife got dealer to pay, but he said "don't come back".