Negotiations 29.5 BHDS

[Cdash]

We are negotiating with a local dealer on a 29.5 BHDS, which will be ordered since we cannot find one in a lot around here. I got the first number from him. I think it's reasonable, but seems like there is some room for him to come down still. I've read the article here about how to get the best price already.

This is the first time I have dealt with an RV and doing a trade in with it. I'm thinking the trade in number I have been given is pretty fair. The thing that concerns me is that they value the trade sight unseen with a disclaimer about an inspection. I didn't lie or withhold anything condition wise, but committing to a purchase with this variable hanging out there concerns me. Our rig is a 2006, so is no spring chicken, it's not perfect, but it isn't falling apart either. What if there are more issues than I'm aware of, or should I be concerned that they may try to low ball me on delivery? This part seems odd to me.

Also, from a strategy side, what's the best way to approach negotiating? I suck at it. With cars, I get the benefit of employee pricing, so I really haven't had to negotiate before.

Should I go in asking for a low number and come up as he goes down, or just tell him what I'll pay walk out and leave the rest to him?

Any advice would be appreciated!

[norty1]

I did the same thing at my dealer with the last rig. They quoted me a trade price sight unseen.
Make it clear in writing that if they reject yout trade, they reject the deal.

My deal worked out well and I hope yours does also.

[RedHorse1]

A strategy quoted on JOF frequently is to get a quote from one of the on-line dealers and use that as a starting point for negotiations. They're about 30% of list. I've seen several posts where the buyer got real close (even matching) offers. I got pretty close (like you I'm not the best negotiator) and was happy with my deal.

[Sledgehammer]

i done basically the same. Told them the condition, they gave me a price. Before anything was ordered, I took my trade to them to be sure they were good at their price. They were so I left my trailer on their lot until our 29.5 was ready. Everything worked out perfect and my trade was worth more than i ever imagined id get.

As for price. I got almost 30% off msrp, less my trade. I was happy, that was their first offer so Im sure they were happy as well. I probably woulda been happy at 15% off less my trade just to get out of what I was in lolol.

[hboy]

Sounds like your on the right track. In general, the pricing game is: if you are getting retail for your trade in, your probably paying retail for the new rig. If you are getting a wholesale price on your trade, then you should be looking at a wholesale price on the new rig (30% off MSRP'ish). I think dealerships are not supposed offer a sale price under the MSRP. Some dealers follow this, that is why you may see the MSRP price listed, but then a tag that says "call for price quote", etc. I have seen after studying the MSRP, that the stated MSRP from the dealership may not be realistic. It may be inflated. Jayco's web site is a good site to built out your rig, and see how they calculate the MSRP. If your familiar with that, then you won't be fooled by a bogus MSRP from a dealership. rvdirect.com is a good resource as well to price out a rig, they will email you a quote. I've done this. There was never any follow up sales calls, etc. If you get a quote from these guys, take it to you dealership, their price should get pretty competitive. The only real difference is your delivery may cost more depending on where you live.

Your probably not going to get a zero deal on the new rig, and a big trade value. The ol' 30% off MSRP is usually a good starting point. If you spend a little time on RV trader, or other deaters web sites around the country, make a spread sheet of the trailers like yours that are available. Compare the MSRP to the sale price. If you call the competing dealer and explain your situation, they may give you a bottom dollar price over the phone. Track your results. If 30% off MSRP is available out there, that is where you want to be with your dealership.

The research on the new rig and trade in will pay off and will kind of take care of the negotiation. You show how you have valued your trade in. You show what you can buy the same rig for at other dealerships. After that, be ready to agree on a price.

I think if they jack around on the sight unseen quote for the trade in, its well accepted that the deal is off. And be ready to pay retail if you want a retail trade value.

Quick side note; I was negotiating on a deal for a new rig recently. The sales person had forgotten we had talked pricing previously and I told him where I was at with pricing at a competing dealer. He forgot about this so when he came back from the sales office with the "deal" for me, the purchase price for the new rig was about $10K higher than what I was already offered by a competing dealer, and my trade in price was only about $3K lower than what I paid for the trailer.

After I reminded the sales person about our previous conversation and the price they needed to be at to beat the deal, they came back with a bottom dollar price for the new rig, and my trade in. My trade dropped from $17,000, to $13,000.

It's the numbers game so just keep in mind, if you pay bottom dollar, your trade will be bottom dollar too. Good luck.

[jtw]

There goal is to hit you as hard as they can.
Sell your camper out right you will get more money, and do better on the new purchase. I sold my old one last winter in between snow storms and got 40% more then what dealer offered. I got quotes from the internet dealers, Rv Direct, Rv Express do a search for the model you want, get there price and offer that to your dealer. They will cry and whine that they can't do that be they can. Stick to your guns and be firm. They sell campers to put money in there pocket, and they all have a quota to meet.

[dalebra]

Originally Posted by jtw

There goal is to hit you as hard as they can.
Sell your camper out right you will get more money, and do better on the new purchase. I sold my old one last winter in between snow storms and got 40% more then what dealer offered. I got quotes from the internet dealers, Rv Direct, Rv Express do a search for the model you want, get there price and offer that to your dealer. They will cry and whine that they can't do that be they can. Stick to your guns and be firm. They sell campers to put money in there pocket, and they all have a quota to meet.

X2

I ordered my new rig a couple of weeks ago and took the time to get quotes from 2 online Jayco wholesale dealers and another dealer in the state along with the Jayco dealer that is closest to me. I was able to use these quotes to get over 30% off MSRP at the dealer closest to me. They gave me a low number for my trade in site unseen. In the meantime I had the option to sell my current rig to a private party before I took delivery of my new rig. I posted it on Craigslist with a fair price based on NADA prices. I had 5 people that inquired and one that I dealt with by email and phone for a week. Providing more detailed pictures and answers to their questions. I ended up selling it to this person that drove 200 miles to pick it up for less then I had it posted for but $2,000 more then the dealer was going to give. I never thought I would have much of a chance selling in the winter but quickly realized people are looking even if it's not camping weather in the midwest. IMO you should be able to negotiate at least 30% off MSRP.

Use your research to work with a dealer close to home. You most likely will need warranty work done so you don't want to drive further than you have to, to get it done. Any dealer will do the warranty work, it's just that you will get faster service from the dealer you purchased from.

Good luck!

[tularockstar]

You may want to do some research on this site (Recreational Vehicles | See Dealer Cost) to see, in a ballpark, what dealers paid for your rig. Of course this is only a guide, but it'll give you a good base to start negotiating from. The deal that we received on our 29.5BHDS was very close to the price we saw on this website.

[dalebra]

Originally Posted by tularockstar

You may want to do some research on this site (Recreational Vehicles | See Dealer Cost) to see, in a ballpark, what dealers paid for your rig. Of course this is only a guide, but it'll give you a good base to start negotiating from. The deal that we received on our 29.5BHDS was very close to the price we saw on this website.

Sorry.... I don't believe this dealer invoice website for a minute. In my case my dealer would have taken a $10,000 loss. All of the jayco invoice prices are 25% off what they have as MSRP which does not match the Jayco web site. You can get close to 30% off rather then 25% off MSRP.

[tularockstar]

Well, I did say it was a "guide" and never said it would work for everyone. But, in our case it worked out. Our dealer even showed us the invoice for our rig. We've also tried working on numbers with other dealers as far as California and Las Vegas. At the end, the dealer we bought from had the lowest price with all the options we wanted. Again, everyone will have different opinion and strategy on how to achieve his/her best deal. Fortunately, this worked for us.

Originally Posted by dalebra

Sorry.... I don't believe this dealer invoice website for a minute. In my case my dealer would have taken a $10,000 loss. All of the jayco invoice prices are 25% off what they have as MSRP which does not match the Jayco web site. You can get close to 30% off rather then 25% off MSRP.

[Cdash]

It's done! A new 29.5BHDS IS on order with a deposit placed.

In the end, I'm happy with my trade in value and happy with the price I got. I'm not going to share it publicly because I don't want anyone "peeing on my Wheaties", I'm happy where I ended up and that is all that matters. However, if someone does want to know, I will share by PM if you promise not to tell me anything.

Now the waiting begins. They are telling me 6 to 8 weeks. I guess we'll see...

Thanks for the advice and words of wisdom, it sure helped!

[Crabman]

Congrats on sealing the deal!

[Kevin O.]

Congratulations! Best of luck with it! Just out of curiosity what do you have for a tow vehicle? Also what hitch will you be using or what hitch did the dealer recommend??

[Cdash]

Originally Posted by Kevin O.

Congratulations! Best of luck with it! Just out of curiosity what do you have for a tow vehicle? Also what hitch will you be using or what hitch did the dealer recommend??

2015 F-350 crew cab with short box and 6.7L diesel.

Hitch is Pullrite Superglide, which we have been using on our soon to be previous camper.

[tularockstar]

Congrats from here in AZ as well. Just so you know, our trailer came from the factory with the axles already flipped (to make it taller.) Still, our nose is about 5" high. We'll be having a sub frame added in a few months, which should level our 29.5 nicely.

[jtw]

Good for you, everybody is a Monday morning quarter back. As long as your happy thats all that maters. Happy camping!!

[dalebra]

Originally Posted by Cdash

2015 F-350 crew cab with short box and 6.7L diesel.

Hitch is Pullrite Superglide, which we have been using on our soon to be previous camper.

Congrats on making the deal. Being happy about your deal is what matters!

I'm wondering which model of the Pullrite Superglide you have?

[Aero_Dave]

Congrats. We ordered ours on 11/18 and the waiting is hard for sure. But even if it was built and ready now, we won't be picking ours up until maybe March sometime.

Dave...

[jloco]

Originally Posted by Cdash

We are negotiating with a local dealer on a 29.5 BHDS, which will be ordered since we cannot find one in a lot around here. I got the first number from him. I think it's reasonable, but seems like there is some room for him to come down still. I've read the article here about how to get the best price already.



This is the first time I have dealt with an RV and doing a trade in with it. I'm thinking the trade in number I have been given is pretty fair. The thing that concerns me is that they value the trade sight unseen with a disclaimer about an inspection. I didn't lie or withhold anything condition wise, but committing to a purchase with this variable hanging out there concerns me. Our rig is a 2006, so is no spring chicken, it's not perfect, but it isn't falling apart either. What if there are more issues than I'm aware of, or should I be concerned that they may try to low ball me on delivery? This part seems odd to me.



Also, from a strategy side, what's the best way to approach negotiating? I suck at it. With cars, I get the benefit of employee pricing, so I really haven't had to negotiate before.



Should I go in asking for a low number and come up as he goes down, or just tell him what I'll pay walk out and leave the rest to him?



Any advice would be appreciated!

I'm in the same spot right now.. New trailer ordered November 1st and is scheduled to be built/delivered in the next 3 weeks or so. They still haven't inspected my 2005 trade. Like you, I was upfront and honest about all aspects of my trade. I'm hoping the 'trade value ' doesn't change upon the swap.

[Cdash]

Originally Posted by jloco

I'm in the same spot right now.. New trailer ordered November 1st and is scheduled to be built/delivered in the next 3 weeks or so. They still haven't inspected my 2005 trade. Like you, I was upfront and honest about all aspects of my trade. I'm hoping the 'trade value ' doesn't change upon the swap.

I got them to the point in negotiations that they asked if I'd bring in the trailer to look at it. I did, and prefer it, so I don't have to worry about the disclaimer staying if the camper is different than described. They looked over it and said they were ok. They got real close to where I wanted to be, so I signed.

I told them we'd get it emptied out this weekend and it will be all theirs. I'd rather it be gone now instead of sitting home where something unexpected could happen.