How are Dealerships Surviving?

[craig111]

What about after the sale? That is the real question?

[craig111]

Reliable RV in Springfield, Mo was great until I needed service than sat in their lot for 3 prime camping months. The worst service I have ever had on anything I have ever bought.

[Kattwo]

I’m planning on selling my class c. How do I find out how much to ask?
Thank you!
Kasha

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Kattwo

I’m planning on selling my class c. How do I find out how much to ask?
Thank you!
Kasha

NADA and RV Trader

[rsdata]

How do I find out how much to ask?
Thank you!
Kasha

google search your make and model and year and see what dealers might be asking in your area...

[jkoenig24]

" How are Dealerships Surviving?"

Are you kidding? Dealers have never had it better. RVs are basically selling themselves because of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Many dealers don't have to worry about repairs because due to said pandemic, parts are simply not available.

[dblr]

We passed 2 large dealers right off I-95 in Va this past Friday and their lots were full of units for sale, I think most will survive but for the ones right now needing units it might be a good time for them to work on improving their service departments.

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

I would have to disagree. My small dealer would have sold many more units if they had them. Same with used units but they have not had them either. The good news the lot has many older trailers in for service.

Whether they will survive is yet to be determined. I need to go by anyway to see if their one salesman is still there.

This is the case with my local dealer. Their main lot was always full, but there was a constant turnover of new units. They even have an overflow lot because of the volume of sales they were doing. Nothing was ever there for very long, but as soon as one was sold, its space was always filled by another new unit, either taken from their overflow lot or freshly delivered.

This dealer has an exemplary service department, so they don’t really need this down time to improve on that. Maybe they are getting by right now on servicing units.

Bruce

[TheWolfPaq82]

From RVIA:
Surge In RV Shipments Projected Through 2021

RV shipments are expected to surpass 400,000 wholesale units by the end of 2020 and see continued growth in 2021 to more than 500,000 units, according to the Fall 2020 RV RoadSigns prepared by ITR Economics for the RV Industry Association.

The new projection sees total shipments ranging between 414,200 and 434,500 units with the most likely 2020 year-end total being 424,400 units. That total would represent a 4.5 percent gain over the 406,070 units shipped in 2019, overcoming a nearly two-month RV industry shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Initial estimates for 2021 have a range of 494,400 to 519,900 units with a most likely outcome of 507,200 units, a 19.5 percent increase over 2020.

One could only wish that their business was doing as well.

[hobienick]

Originally Posted by craig111

I think most RV dealers suck. They don't care about customer servive. I'm sure there's some are good ones but wish I knew who they were in Missouri.

Try Byerly in Eureka, MO. They treated me very well during and after the sale of our pop up.

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by craig111

I think most RV dealers suck. They don't care about customer servive. I'm sure there's some are good ones but wish I knew who they were in Missouri.

It's really not that hard to sort out the good from the bad. When I first walk in, I notice whether the salesman (or woman) is more interested in selling me, or in trying to find out what I want. Does he start with the great deals he has on the lot? Red flag. Does he have me see the sales manager before I leave, and the sales manager asks what it take to get me to buy today? Red flag. Specials for today only - double red flag. Since I'm a confirmed pop-up (conventional and A-frame) camper, the minute I'm asked by a dealer who sells TTs what my budget is, it's time to leave 'cause he views me as a loss. Do they focus on selling my wife, or focus on selling me instead of addressing us as a couple?

Or does the salesman ask about my camping style - what do we do when we are camping, and where do we camp? What our experience with different types of RVs are? What changes do we want to make going forward?

Then spend 30 minutes to an hour just listening at closing (or opening) in the service dept. Are most of the customers complaining (red flag)? Or are they happy?

Walk away from red flag dealers, because if they have one red flag, there are usually more to follow. A good dealer will give you a fair price without you wheeling and dealing. Reward the good dealers with your business. I've been guilty of wasting my time with a crappy auto dealer, but I now have a list of dealers I will never go back to. With our campers, I quickly found not to bother with a dealer who sells pop-ups as a sideline. Found one (actually 3 over the years) who specializes in pop-ups, and I came away happy.

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

[5er_tom]

We just ordered an SOB Class C from the local dealer. This is our second purchase of a new RV from them. They have been in business since 1951, so they know how to treat customers. Plus, we have had the RV in their service center several times and they always did good work.
If you are nearby, check out Bill Plemmons RV in either Raleigh or Winston Salem, NC. You will not be disappointed.

[MR.M]

Just drove across country a few weeks ago and saw plenty of full lots at all dealers . I'm sure it took awhile to get rid of stock and even with long waits for new units they seem to stay pretty full . So not seeing what is being described . Maybe just certain areas and small dealerships that have this issue

[bubbalowe]

Camping World stock was $3.87 mid March peaked at $39.00 in August and $26.00 now, all result of Covid 19. It's a good sign if you're in the RV business just like bicycles, kayaks and desks. An issue with these large corporations buying up all the Mom and Pop dealerships is they have lost any semblance of customer service and feels the same as walking into Walmart. I've been spending my money at E-Trailer and other online stores, better prices and service even if it is over the phone.

[swe13]

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

I would have to disagree. My small dealer would have sold many more units if they had them. Same with used units but they have not had them either. The good news the lot has many older trailers in for service.

Whether they will survive is yet to be determined. I need to go by anyway to see if their one salesman is still there.

You can disagree all you want, but numbers show otherwise. https://www.barrons.com/articles/rec...ns-51601671189

[BMI]

If he is anything like my own dealer....this has been his best year yet.,,,with strong sales and more on order. The only downside for this will be increased difficulty in finding a spot in a campground.

[Relaxin in the woods]

"I lost a sale because I couldn't get inventory" sounds bad except that it also means "I sold everything I had on the lot and have a long waiting list".

What strikes me as odd is that I haven't seen "pandemic pricing"- coming a bit closer to MSRP isn't exactly price gouging. We contacted our nearest dealer and asked when they expected any of their on order Wolf Pup 16BHS units to arrive. They didn't know, but offered to put our name on one of them if we put something down, and quoted us a final price that was what we would have expected if there weren't shortages and increased demand.

To make room, we sold our 2007 pop up on Craigslist. We asked for the upper edge of what we thought was reasonable and got it from the first person to look at it (and then had to call the next 3 people in line to cancel). So on the really low end of the market, we could have been really greedy and been rewarded. Looking at TTs that sleep 4, the 16BHS is close to the low end of that market- but even though they had them sold before they got to the lot, they were pricing them as if they were competing with a dealer across the street.

Where I think dealers are going to feel pain is the next 2 years, when the market gets flooded with used units. Makes me wish we could have held off a year or two, but we were just done with the pop up. It's win-win for us, though- we're loving the new rig (it came in after a few weeks) and got more for our pop up than we expected.

[shopinful]

I have heard that RV are flying off the shelves with people not wanting to fly or stay in hotels. So maybe it is a good thing for them!

[Greg in East TN]

Originally Posted by eye95

Personally, I am abdicating from the contribution side of the economy (a few years earlier than my originally planned retirement). I have what I need to do well without working (barring total societal collapse). I will be paying zero income tax (federal, State, city, or school), near zero sales taxes, and near zero property taxes.

I (and, I am sure, others who are no longer going to pull, but instead, are climbing into the wagon) wish those of you now stuck pulling the wagon the best of luck.

If nothing else good comes of the economic holocaust that is the panic, at least we have the greatest object lesson in history of “The Law of Unintended Consequences”.

I "abdicated" last Friday myself after 4 years in the army, then working rotating 12-hour shifts starting in 1980. I am going to enjoy life for a while.

What I wonder is: 1) When will the RV supply chain be reestablished? and 2) Will the people that bought RVs to escape the virus this year decide they love it, or will there be a glut of used 2020 RVs for sale in 2021?


I am holding off on buying an RV until I see how these questions pan out. (Besides, the one's I want are not in stock and delivery date is unknown.)


I wish dealers and small businesses good luck in these hard times.


Be well everyone.

[IDguy]

Originally Posted by nomad297

The other day I went to my local dealer where everybody there knows me pretty well, and as I walked through the door, the manager greeted me with “Hey Bruce — I hope you’re here to buy antifreeze, because that’s just about all we have left now.”

They have just about nothing on their lot — maybe a few tired looking used RVs, but that’s just about it, and when you look at their website, everything they have listed has a note beside it saying either “Coming Soon” or “On Order”.

I didn’t want to get into making the manager feel any worse than he apparently already felt, so I didn’t ask him how they plan to survive this shortage of supply.

This is a small, yet reputable dealer who has always had a large stock with a great selection, but their future really seems grim to me, but maybe I’m wrong. Maybe they have a plan.

What is the general consensus of everybody here for how all of these dealerships are going to survive — pending orders? Used RV sales next year? Are we all going to be witness to all of the smaller dealers failing and only having dealers like Camping World to buy from in the near future?

Bruce

Most are making money that they never dreamed of.

The RV dealers around Boise ID have full lots. But then everyone in ID already has an RV so Covid only brought inthe Californicators to our camping spots.