Forest River Dynamax Additional Surcharges

[hwobs]

This is for Brian Clemens. My wife and I ordered a 2021 Dynamax Isata 5 30FW last September with an estimated delivery of April 2021. It's finally arrived at the dealership as of late last week. Today I received a call from the manager at the dealership who informed me we now need to pay an additional $3K above the agreed to and contracted sale price of the vehicle. My wife and I have read and re-read the rather simple contract several times. Although there is leeway for delivery date slips (understandable) there is nothing we can find in the contract that shows the dealer has leniency to add surcharges we didn't sign any acknowledgement of. Additionally, the dealer is informing us that these $3000 worth of surcharges are being added by Forest River. According to our contract we have a non-refundable $10K that we paid as an initial deposit. There is no recourse for us to blackout without losing this money. Consequently this 'feels like' a squeeze to us. I would like some input from Mr. Clemens if possible so we can understand what these surcharges are, why we should pay them when the contract doesn't state such allowance, etc.

[Virginian]

I'm not Mr. Clemens of course, but this may help answer your question while you await a response, if you haven't already read it.
Good luck.
https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...ge-227419.html

[JC70]

Originally Posted by hwobs

This is for Brian Clemens. My wife and I ordered a 2021 Dynamax Isata 5 30FW last September with an estimated delivery of April 2021. It's finally arrived at the dealership as of late last week. Today I received a call from the manager at the dealership who informed me we now need to pay an additional $3K above the agreed to and contracted sale price of the vehicle. My wife and I have read and re-read the rather simple contract several times. Although there is leeway for delivery date slips (understandable) there is nothing we can find in the contract that shows the dealer has leniency to add surcharges we didn't sign any acknowledgement of. Additionally, the dealer is informing us that these $3000 worth of surcharges are being added by Forest River. According to our contract we have a non-refundable $10K that we paid as an initial deposit. There is no recourse for us to blackout without losing this money. Consequently this 'feels like' a squeeze to us. I would like some input from Mr. Clemens if possible so we can understand what these surcharges are, why we should pay them when the contract doesn't state such allowance, etc.

Same thing for us. We too ordered an XL last Sept. Got a note from our dealer about 2 months ago letting us know that due to unexpected and significant increases in supply costs Dynamax was passing along price increases to their dealers. We were given a choice, pay the increase or we would be released from our contract and down payment refunded. We paid the money. COVID has done a job on supply inventories world-wide. Forest River has had to pay those increased costs or lose the parts.

Check around and see how much the prices of 2022’s have increased. We did and it took the sting out of more money out of pocket. Good luck.

[hwobs]

So in your mind you were willing to pay it even though you had a contract that didn’t include a disclaimer that the dealer could adjust the sales price?

[Jetguy]

Our rig fell under the time frame of the price increase but our dealer didn’t add anything or say anything about it to us and we paid the 2020 price we signed a contract for. Our unit we ordered sept 2020 and received a few months ago.

Covid has increased the price of everything that’s for sure.

Hope it works out, at the end of the day, with all the delays, we would have paid the price increase as the amount of fun we have had so far out weighs the added cost.

[Eddie and Catherine]

I thought the whole purpose of having a contract was to bind both parties to the purchase and price. The non-refundable down payment was also to keep you from being careless in your decision to enter into said contract. Unless their was a clause in the contract which allowed the surcharges, I would go with the contract terms of the sale. The cost increase and subsequent sale of the unit from the manufacturer is the cost the dealer has to pay to be able to provide the unit to the buyer.

This will reduce the dealers profit. The dealer is being hit with surcharges should be no reflection on the terms of the sales contract unless set forth in the sales contract.

[JC70]

Originally Posted by hwobs

So in your mind you were willing to pay it even though you had a contract that didn’t include a disclaimer that the dealer could adjust the sales price?

Circumstances for each buyer are unique to that buyer. We were given a choice to receive our down payment in full or pay the increase. We chose to pay. What was our alternative? Contact a lawyer and try to force the dealer to comply to an unspecified document? That would have cost money too and we may have not prevailed in the end.

We are retired, my wife having just retired. We bought our Force from this dealer and then sold it for almost what we paid for it as COVID was beginning to rage in the country. This dealer treated us well. They delivered our Force in perfect working condition after an extensive PDI.

We've worked hard, raised three good boys to men and over the years really took very little time off as two of our sons were all-state athletes playing intensive sports year-round. We want to travel and see this country.

We hope to have our XL delivered in the next few weeks. It is now sitting on the lot at Dynamax waiting for slide toppers, one awning, and polished steel on the bays. We can't wait to hit the road again.

We believe we been treated fairly. And the very same 2022 XL, with some but not many changes, is now selling for $60,000 more than we will pay for our 2021. So price increases are flowing through the entire supply chain.

Did paying more money feel good? Nope. Certainly not. But on balance, after weighing all the alternatives, we decided to continue the purchase.
As I said, each of our circumstances is different. We will pick up the rig, see the country, and the price increase will be in our rear view mirror (if we had one).

So good luck with your decision. Hope it works out for you.

[WinkDinkerson]

Ordered our Isata 3 in January and should get it by September as a 2022 model year. The same price increase was sent to me. I contacted the dealer that we ordered from and they said that they would "eat the difference". I understand what has happened from the manufacturer to the dealer and place no blame anywhere. What am I going to do with the price increase? PAY IT! One reason is that we got a great price to begin with, and would like to have a good working relationship with the dealer for repairs.

[bclemens]

Not sure I have much to add here.

I do know many dealers have let customers out of the deposit. Why? because as others have said, I only passed on what we needed to make sure I actually got supply, not what we wanted, the remainder to make things "whole" was added to the 2022 price sheets. Dealers know, if you back out, they can sell it for more tomorrow and you'll pay even more than that for a 2022.

It was the first time I had to do that in 20 years and I will be using the knowledge to plan and figure out if there is a way we can avoid something like this in the future....but then again, the term "unprecedented" has been used an unprecedented amount of times in the last year or so.

On the bright side...used values have gone up as fast if not faster.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by bclemens

Dealers know, if you back out, they can sell it for more tomorrow and you'll pay even more than that for a 2022.

Not a FR but same story with other brands, too:

I was talking to a dealer who said they had a buyer back out one day and the rig had been sold the next morning for $45k more. The original buyer came back the next afternoon with a mea culpa and wanted the rig again. They had to put a new order in, wait again, and paid the additional $45k.

Price increases suck, but careful to not cut off your nose to spite your face.

[nayther]

It's in all industries. My HVAC industry has been hit extremely hard. I just had a unit expected in today that is delayed TWO MONTHS! That's after waiting 8 weeks.

[Eddie and Catherine]

So the contract means nothing as the dealer can hold you over barrel, so to speak, and you either pay it or hire a lawyer to defend a written contract. In other words, the dealer isn’t going to cut any of their profit to stand behind their written contract. The contract isn’t worth the paper it is written on.

[Magnatudes]

$45K-$60K price increase overnight!!!! After a surprising growth in sales! Something smells really bad here. Let's have the consumers eat it all on everything across the board, not just the pieces and parts that have truly increased in cost. Another temporary windfall/ripoff with a convenient COVID excuse? Gotta keep corporate happy and bonuses intact!
Contracts?... we don't need any stinking contracts!

So what is the MSRP on a low-end Europa going to be this week?
Temporarily reduce margins, amortize cost increases over entire line & larger timeframe. The supply chain will gradually recover.
C'mon Man! Really?

[bclemens]

Originally Posted by Virginian

I'm not Mr. Clemens of course[/URL]

and celebrate you should!

[Bill Davis]

Originally Posted by Magnatudes

$45K-$60K price increase overnight!!!! After a surprising growth in sales! Something smells really bad here. Let's have the consumers eat it all on everything across the board, not just the pieces and parts that have truly increased in cost. Another temporary windfall/ripoff with a convenient COVID excuse? Gotta keep corporate happy and bonuses intact!
Contracts?... we don't need any stinking contracts!

So what is the MSRP on a low-end Europa going to be this week?
Temporarily reduce margins, amortize cost increases over entire line & larger timeframe. The supply chain will gradually recover.
C'mon Man! Really?

The haters back, time to close the thread.

[FOURWHL]

Originally Posted by Bill Davis

The haters back, time to close the thread.

How dare they build coaches at a loss while barely keeping up with demand

Gotta say Magnatudes, you're slipping. Usually your rants are somewhat creative. The whole corporate greed thing is a little played out don't you think?

[Magnatudes]

Bill Davis, you must be the central scrutinizer here now that you upgraded to a used Dynaquest.

Yeah, I slipped and banged my head when I read that dealers are imposing an increase in the selling price of an already ordered coach breeching a contract trickling down the burden of temporary cost increases by a corporation as large as Forest River. God forbid they take a slight hit in profits. Have any of you youngsters looked into Forest River profit/loss statements? Sorry, but this "ranting hater" is on the side of the consumer.

Does any member on this forum have any corporate executive experience or are you all winging it?

[vlamgat]

Time to shut down this thread.

[JC70]

Originally Posted by vlamgat

Time to shut down this thread.

^^x2^^

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Eddie and Catherine

So the contract means nothing as the dealer can hold you over barrel, so to speak, and you either pay it or hire a lawyer to defend a written contract. In other words, the dealer isn’t going to cut any of their profit to stand behind their written contract. The contract isn’t worth the paper it is written on.

If the dealer has a Force Majeure clause in their contract they probably are within their rights. The dealer may also have a "cancel at will" clause because contracts are initially written to protect the people that wrote the contract. That's why careful scrutiny and negotiation are required.

If FR had not yet implemented the price increases when the OP signed and if his contract lacks the proper clauses, he probably can get the price increase backed out but it may will cost more than $3,000 if the dealer decides to go Full Idiot. The OP's contract is with the dealer, not FR.

If nothing else, I would let the dealer politely know I will not accept any markup at all from what FR charged, require that they show me, nor will I accept the additional increase in sales tax and see what they say.

Ray