Tried to buy a 5er today, no go

[corn18]

I picked up my Andersen Ultimate hitch this morning and called my wife on the way home and said we should head over to Couch's RV because they had the trailer we want in stock. Actually, 2 of them. And our friends were camping close by this weekend and we wanted to join them. So a complete impulse buy.

We headed over and the first issue was the trailer we wanted that had auto levelers was not on the lot. So we had to wait an hour for them to tow it over. Then it didn't have the auto levelers. No problem, we love this one, we're paying cash, we want to use it this weekend. No way. 48 people ahead of you. Soonest would be next weekend. Are you sure? Cash is king, right? Nope. So we lost all interest and left. I talked to Jeff Couch on the way out and he apologized but said they couldn't do it. Offered some extra money for an expedite, and no go.

So the RV gods were not smiling on us today. Oh well.

Corn

[eye95]

Sorry to hear that. And Couch is one of the best for selling RVs.

But, hey, there is no RV crunch.

[Bhrava]

Wait, so you mean they had 48 buyers lined up to do paperwork? It only takes about 30-40 minutes to get all the paperwork done, printed ready to sign for a car. Wonder what their issue is. Maybe because you wanted to pay cash and they have no incentive for cash sales, finance is king.

[corn18]

Originally Posted by Bhrava

Wait, so you mean they had 48 buyers lined up to do paperwork? It only takes about 30-40 minutes to get all the paperwork done, printed ready to sign for a car. Wonder what their issue is. Maybe because you wanted to pay cash and they have no incentive for cash sales, finance is king.

They had 48 trailers that were sold, paperwork signed and waiting on prep for PDI. Cash vs. finance didn't matter to them, it seems. They get the same amount either way.

[Bhrava]

Ah, shoot, forgot about the PDI. I had the same thing with mine, had to schedule a time to have it done.

[eye95]

Originally Posted by corn18

They had 48 trailers that were sold, paperwork signed and waiting on prep for PDI. Cash vs. finance didn't matter to them, it seems. They get the same amount either way.

They probably get some kind of “commission” if they initiate the financing. When I paid cash at Couch, they were disappointed and wanted me to finance.

[corn18]

Originally Posted by eye95

They probably get some kind of “commission” if they initiate the financing. When I paid cash at Couch, they were disappointed and wanted me to finance.

I got financing through them just in case they wouldn't accept wire transfers. My sales guy seemed happy for cash, but not overly so.

[TeachTexas]

I have gone the finance route to get the better deal. Then just pay it off. One dealer gave me an extra $$ off if we would not pay off before 1 year. The extra was more than the interest would be, so no problem.

[REL]

They "buy" money cheaper than they "sell" it. They may get financing from a source for say 4.5% and finance the purchase at 7% or more. Same thing with warranty. They buy them for say $800.00 and sell it to you for $1500.00 or more.

[sfsgm]

Originally Posted by eye95

They probably get some kind of “commission” if they initiate the financing. When I paid cash at Couch, they were disappointed and wanted me to finance.

Yes, same thing with cars. There's advice out there saying not to tell them you have cash until you have the deal consummated and you're closing. Generally, they get a commission on the financing.

And an exception for cars might be such as my wife just got. I've purchased 7 cars at different dealerships but from the same salesman. We get a great deal and this time the cash dropped the price an additional $1k.

[corn18]

Well, I called them today and told them we would take it. Only problem now is finding a storage place. They are all full. Everywhere. Couch's said we could store it there (and use it) until we find another place. Thought that was nice of them.

[Bhrava]

Well, they do have plenty of space until new stock arrives. LOL

[mike.t]

Originally Posted by corn18

I picked up my Andersen Ultimate hitch this morning and called my wife on the way home and said we should head over to Couch's RV because they had the trailer we want in stock. Actually, 2 of them. And our friends were camping close by this weekend and we wanted to join them. So a complete impulse buy.

We headed over and the first issue was the trailer we wanted that had auto levelers was not on the lot. So we had to wait an hour for them to tow it over. Then it didn't have the auto levelers. No problem, we love this one, we're paying cash, we want to use it this weekend. No way. 48 people ahead of you. Soonest would be next weekend. Are you sure? Cash is king, right? Nope. So we lost all interest and left. I talked to Jeff Couch on the way out and he apologized but said they couldn't do it. Offered some extra money for an expedite, and no go.

So the RV gods were not smiling on us today. Oh well.

Corn

They may have well been, things like this happen for a reason

[dmctlc]

I agree that they get an incentive to finance from banks they have agreements with and in most cases can get better finance if you push the dealer and have a credit rating above 800. In fact in most cases you can get better than looking on your own as i found out in May when purchasing my DP. Got 3.99% checked with my banks, credit union, etc best I found was 4.99 then. I also tried to purchase the extended warranty outside the dealer after bargaining down that cost but Cornerstone, AGWS, etc. all saud the same to me that I couldn't buy it directly from them and they'd give me a list of dealers near me that offer them. Almost to guarantee they have a mark up. Sure you can but them from Good Sams, and a few other places but didn't like their reviews and their price which was $3-4000 higher and one or two were not exclusionary type so you know exactly what is not covered. You'll find opinions both ways on not only buying certain ones but also what results they've had in dealing with an issue. In the end you have to go with what makes you comfortable and hope your rig has no issues every....which IMHO is rare.

[HappyCamper1962]

We paid cash for our last two TTs and the process was not much different between a cash sale and financing sale, easy peasy, 30 minutes or so signing paperwork then out the door - without the TT. We always had to come back for the PDI, never had an opportunity to Sign And Drive. Those PDIs are by appointment so unless the dealership had an experienced extra person in the dealership to do a PDI on the spot, the only way to do it without bumping out another customer, I don't see how it could be done.

Also, I would rather wait and have a proper PDI so they have time to fill the water systems and check everything before I get there. By the time they do your PDI, any issues discovered during the prep should already be rectified.

Trying to join friends to camp the same day....could always have used a tent

[oxcamper]

Originally Posted by Bhrava

Wait, so you mean they had 48 buyers lined up to do paperwork? It only takes about 30-40 minutes to get all the paperwork done, printed ready to sign for a car. Wonder what their issue is. Maybe because you wanted to pay cash and they have no incentive for cash sales, finance is king.

We just purchased a new Buick Enclave 2 months ago. No deals for partial cash, full cash, or financing. The dealer finance guy said "we get the same money for the sale regardless." So there is no incentive other
than loosing a customer.
And I haven't had a 40 minute turn-around for car paperwork in decades if you finance. and even if you don't there are so many litigation proof papers to sign, the last 3 cars / trucks I purchased took almost a 1/2 a day each.

[dmctlc]

Originally Posted by HappyCamper1962

We paid cash for our last two TTs and the process was not much different between a cash sale and financing sale, easy peasy, 30 minutes or so signing paperwork then out the door - without the TT. We always had to come back for the PDI, never had an opportunity to Sign And Drive. Those PDIs are by appointment so unless the dealership had an experienced extra person in the dealership to do a PDI on the spot, the only way to do it without bumping out another customer, I don't see how it could be done.

Also, I would rather wait and have a proper PDI so they have time to fill the water systems and check everything before I get there. By the time they do your PDI, any issues discovered during the prep should already be rectified.

Trying to join friends to camp the same day....could always have used a tent

Fortunately the dealer that we bought our DP this year has customer service Rep. Assigned to each new customer. We were provided a day to come in for our
familiarization walk thru and tech to go over the systems. Everything was hooked up and running. They had us slated to start at 9AM to 12PM but may it perfectly clear if we needed longer it was not a problem. I told them plan on it. We ran everything inside out, crawled under and on top once again, had time with a mechanic. Finished around 3pm. They had a list of issues so they rolled it in the shop to fix them, I did agree anything with parts that had to be ordered I'd come back. Everything was written on the sales slip even things they fixed. Received a service slip with the repairs and a few things on ordered parts. Parts came in brought it down repair completed to my satisfaction. Is everything perfect with dealers, no even though they claimed they walked thru a PDI they have for new and used rigs found things on it that weren't checked like tire pressures on all tires including the inside dually. They said if they find it low they fill it and leave it at that. I showed them thats not fixing a safety issue unless they go back to check to see if it still losing air. Anyway be prepared and as others have said, walk away until your happy. Its you money and stress.

[tgold]

First off I love the auto leveling. I recommend highly recommend it. The following you may already know is it’s just a reminder. Second let them put the trailer through make ready then spend four to eight hours having them go through the manufacture customer check list. Have them fill all holding tanks and watch the sensors light up as the tank is filled. Then look for leaks under the trailer. Run hot and cold water through all faucets. Check the tires for recommend air pressure torque on lug nuts and etc etc. once you drive it off the lot you are talking weeks to do any warranty work. Many manufacturers have little or no quality control I don’t care what they tell you. Good luck and safe travels.

[Bhrava]

My first trailer was used, so when they did the walkthrough it was just to show how it all worked. My second was brand new, but considering it wasn't my first trailer, but my first slide trailer I did research on everything. Glad I did because they completely missed 3 bad cables on the slides. With how long it takes to get parts and warranty work, I took the trailer home that day so we could outfit it, and they got the warranty ball rolling so when the parts arrived they could do a quick turn around. In the meantime while doing the outfitting I found a few more items that needed repairs and got that information off to them.

It took 2 months for all the parts to arrive and they had a backlog of repairs and were telling me they couldn't get me in for several weeks. I went back to the salesman and reminded him that I was told they would get it in once all the parts were in so we could use it. He did, they did, and dropped it on a Thursday, did the walkthrough with the service manager so he could document and take pics, and had it back 2 days before we were leaving for a trip.

Only reason I say this is to point out that the PDI walk through has a lot more to it than them showing you how it all works. Inspect EVERYTHING! Had I not known to inspect the slide cables, I never would have known they were bad until one or both broke while out at a campsite. The bad cables were the ones that pull the slides in. Make sure you use Eagle Eyes on every thing. Everything you point out should be documented and if it is a simple fix, they will do it while you are getting the paperwork down, provided you are signing the same day as the PDI, which is what we did.

[dmctlc]

Originally Posted by Bhrava

My first trailer was used, so when they did the walkthrough it was just to show how it all worked. My second was brand new, but considering it wasn't my first trailer, but my first slide trailer I did research on everything. Glad I did because they completely missed 3 bad cables on the slides. With how long it takes to get parts and warranty work, I took the trailer home that day so we could outfit it, and they got the warranty ball rolling so when the parts arrived they could do a quick turn around. In the meantime while doing the outfitting I found a few more items that needed repairs and got that information off to them.

It took 2 months for all the parts to arrive and they had a backlog of repairs and were telling me they couldn't get me in for several weeks. I went back to the salesman and reminded him that I was told they would get it in once all the parts were in so we could use it. He did, they did, and dropped it on a Thursday, did the walkthrough with the service manager so he could document and take pics, and had it back 2 days before we were leaving for a trip.

Only reason I say this is to point out that the PDI walk through has a lot more to it than them showing you how it all works. Inspect EVERYTHING! Had I not known to inspect the slide cables, I never would have known they were bad until one or both broke while out at a campsite. The bad cables were the ones that pull the slides in. Make sure you use Eagle Eyes on every thing. Everything you point out should be documented and if it is a simple fix, they will do it while you are getting the paperwork down, provided you are signing the same day as the PDI, which is what we did.

X2....exactly