Jayco has highest resale value!

[Mary Saltzman]

At least that is what the Jayco Journal advertises in their article: ALL ABOUT RESALE VALUE which Jayco Sales e mailed to me this past week. And, I agree with the facts in the article, mainly because their main topics cite Warranty, Frames, Roof, Ride and Handling, Walls, Insulation and Manufacturing as features in which Jayco excels. Its why we intended our 26' Jayco Jay Flight to be right for our last RV before we gave up camping due to age and/or health. But, we have hit a bump in the road and we can only thank JAYCO for it: Read my reply to JAYCO and see what you think:

Our Advice to Jayco buyers 
From
Mary Saltzman rdtrek96@aol.com
To
sales sales@jayco.com


Yes, Jayco builds a good travel trailer. Yes, it has a record of keeping its resale value. BUT, when Jayco and or its dealers decide to dump a large number of trailers on the market at almost $5,000 less than the MSRP it puts a big hurt on the owners of that model. I am such a victim.

In late 2014 myniece and I bought a new 2015 Jayco Jay Flight SLX 264 from aJayco dealership in Gulf Breeze Florida for $!8,865 including sales tax. We were not new to the RV world. Starting in 1997, between us we have had a new Roadtrek, a new Jayco travel trailer, a Class C Telstar by Thor, a Coachman Class A, a new Holiday Rambler Class A, etc. After some retirement and relocation planning and being without an RV for several years, we decided that we wanted to get back into camping in a smaller way and bought the new Jayco Jay Flight. *

Just after coming home with it we ran into some health problems and over the next 18 months of so were not able to take even one trip in the new Jayco. *We finally came to realize that future camping was not going to be possible for us and decided to put the "better than new" Jayco up for sale. We had added a lot of extra things to make camping easier for us and at that point had over $19,500 in the unit, including sales tax. Knowing that we could not recoup our investment even though the unit had never been cooked in, slept in, or used in any way we started our price at what price indicated should be below FOSBO retail, or $16,400.

Much to our dismay, we encountered a bunch of new 2016 Jayco Jay Flight 264's being offered by dealers for less than $14,000 and they had so many of them they were flooding the market with them. This is for a unit that Jayco is pricing at $17,923 MSRP on its own web pages. Somehow this completely goes against everything Jayco has represented itself to be throughout the years. Jayco is still touting its "great resale value" on your web pages, but your actions speak against everything you are saying. I believe the term should be "dumping".

So thanks for urging us for years to believe in Jayco, only to have Jayco dump on us when we really don't need any more problems than we have with unexpected medical problems and age hitting us at the same time. You may be building a good trailer, but your we can only hope your business practices will catch up with you by word of mouth and social media.

Sincerely,


Mary Saltzman

[DocBrown]

You might want to contact Jayco directly as this is an owners forum and not monitored by Jayco employees.

As far as selling it, the same thing happens with all big ticket items. A lot depends on the time of year and local sales climate. If you had been able to wait 6 months you might have had a different result.

Unfortunately when all is said and when done buying an RV, car, or boat you will always lose money.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by Mary Saltzman

Much to our dismay, we encountered a bunch of new 2016 Jayco Jay Flight 264's being offered by dealers for less than $14,000 and they had so many of them they were flooding the market with them.


Mary Saltzman

Mary, if your still following this thread JAYCO only builds "ordered" units, they don't build units and then ship them out in hopes the dealers will sell them. Everything that leaves their lot is paid for in full by the dealer getting it.

As to price, in most cases you can figure to buy a unit for 30% or more off of MSRP. If you paid more you went to the wrong dealer.

Sorry you had to give up camping, but JAYCO didn't do anything to harm your resale value.

[Mary Saltzman]

Thanks, Chuck. I agree and understand about losses on boats and RV's. I'm 78 and have made quite a few trades, including collector cars and bikes. I still object to any manufacturer dumping products. Just getting it off my mind. Loved to camp in Wisconsin and wish we were going to be able be there this fall...happy camping, Mary

[Crabman]

The MSRP on many RV`s can be greatly inflated so it is not at all unusual for that figure to be discounted by 20-30% or more. This will vary greatly by dealer. Some will barely budge off MSRP while others will offer the large discounts. I agree with Grumpy this is normal practice and Jayco did not flood the market with cheaper priced units.

[Buffalonian]

Originally Posted by Crabman

The MSRP on many RV`s can be greatly inflated so it is not at all unusual for that figure to be discounted by 20-30% or more. This will vary greatly by dealer. Some will barely budge off MSRP while others will offer the large discounts. I agree with Grumpy this is normal practice and Jayco did not flood the market with cheaper priced units.

Yes, Crabman and Grumpy are correct. I was fortunate enough to read enough on the forums and the web in general to know what to expect for a good price (see Crabman's post). My local dealer fell into the category of "some will barely budge" (that is, until you find a better offer and then they're willing to come down, but I prefer not to reward that kind of behavior and so I went out of state to purchase my RV after I got a price that was in line with what I was expecting, rather than using that price to get a better deal locally).

BTW, I know it doesn't make a lot of sense to go out of state if you can match the price locally, but I'm stubborn and didn't want to reward my local dealer and at the same time penalize the out of state dealer for giving me a good price :-)

Based on all this, I don't think Jayco did anything wrong (although I really don't like how much they inflate the MSRP, because some some individuals don't realize that 5-10% off MSRP, for example, is not a good deal and can end up paying way more than they should, which I think is what may have happened to you, sorry ).

[SmokerBill]

I don't see the high MSRP being a problem. It gives dealers a potentially large profit margin if that's what they need to keep their business running. The choice of price paid is up to the consumer, not the dealers or Jayco.

[Plowtoy]

I haven't read the article, but it makes me wonder what age group trailer they are talking about? My folks just bought a lightly used 2015 (still looks and smells new) jayflight 29rks and saved about 10K usd off a new unit. We bought our '97 Eagle 314BHS for $5500 2 years ago and thought we got a screaming deal. Looking back, I feel that our camper has held its value being amost 20 years old at the time of purchase. Last time I did a NADA price check, it was still worth around the $5k mark, and NADA seems to be a little low in my market for a bunk house camper. As stated before, its the same thing with any big ticket item with wheels or an engine. If im not mistaken, dave ramsey says if it rolls down the road, or has an engine, the price will drop by 40% the moment you drive it off the dealer lot. He also says the worst accidents happen on the show room floor. We no longer buy any titled vehicle new as I can get a better deal and the same reliability on a good used model.