Freebies when Negotiating Price?

[Sabina]

We went and looked at a 2,010 EX-Port 17 Z today and liked it. When we were negotiating on the price the dealer said she would throw in the brake control & wiring, the load & sway bar package and the transmission cooler along with the discount she was giving us on the trailer. I asked the brand of the load and sway bar and she said they only use Reese products. I asked what type of brakes they would put on the trailer and she said she did not know but not to worry. She claimed the dealer would never put anything on that was not safe and among the best products. My question is do we believe that or do we just negotiate price and pay for anything like the load and sway bar, brakes and tranny cooler ourselves? Sorry to ask so many questions but we never had a trailer before.

[RedWingsFan]

Not sure what they mean by freebies, my guess is they are just back loading it to the cost of the trailer. I'm not sure where you live or how prices vary by region on RV's but my 2011 17Z was $12,700.00 plus sales tax. I think the list for these are about $16,000.00. I shopped all over and at some of the online RV places (RV Wholesalers etc) and the price was close to or lower. I bought the Equal-i-zer hitch online from RV Wholesalers shipped free for $500.00 (inlcuded some extra pins etc). I bought a Prodigy wireless brake control online from Hitches to Go for $265.00. I have not gone for a trans cooler yet since I have not yet settled on my tow vehicle (that's why I went with the wireless brake control), but I got quotes from some online sources of $40-$90 for the cooler itself, then you have to install it or, in my case, I have a mechanic friend who will do it at a reasonable rate. I intalled the Equal-i-zer hitch myself on the camper (not difficult if you are decent with hand tools, there was no drilling involved). I looked at the Reese dual cam hitches but they seemed to be in the $700 range which was more than I was willing to spend. I would request an itemized cost breakdown. I would be afraid that the freebies are padding the sale. I felt pretty comfortable that I could handle all of the things that I would need so I did not buy extras from the dealer. I will say however that as much as they seem to be concerned about your safety, my dealer let me leave the lot with my new camper and no brake controller installed. Also, don't let them confuse you, the 17Z has brakes on it, you just need to install the controller that activates them in response to your tow vehicle braking.

[Sabina]

Originally Posted by RedWingsFan

Not sure what they mean by freebies, my guess is they are just back loading it to the cost of the trailer. I'm not sure where you live or how prices vary by region on RV's but my 2011 17Z was $12,700.00 plus sales tax. I think the list for these are about $16,000.00. I shopped all over and at some of the online RV places (RV Wholesalers etc) and the price was close to or lower. I bought the Equal-i-zer hitch online from RV Wholesalers shipped free for $500.00 (inlcuded some extra pins etc). I bought a Prodigy wireless brake control online from Hitches to Go for $265.00. I have not gone for a trans cooler yet since I have not yet settled on my tow vehicle (that's why I went with the wireless brake control), but I got quotes from some online sources of $40-$90 for the cooler itself, then you have to install it or, in my case, I have a mechanic friend who will do it at a reasonable rate. I intalled the Equal-i-zer hitch myself on the camper (not difficult if you are decent with hand tools, there was no drilling involved). I looked at the Reese dual cam hitches but they seemed to be in the $700 range which was more than I was willing to spend. I would request an itemized cost breakdown. I would be afraid that the freebies are padding the sale. I felt pretty comfortable that I could handle all of the things that I would need so I did not buy extras from the dealer. I will say however that as much as they seem to be concerned about your safety, my dealer let me leave the lot with my new camper and no brake controller installed. Also, don't let them confuse you, the 17Z has brakes on it, you just need to install the controller that activates them in response to your tow vehicle braking.

Wow, thanks for the quick informative reply. My dealer is in Kingston, New York, I live upstate NY about an hour from the dealership. She wants $14,500 for a 2,010 and that is not counting taxes. I wonder how much difference it makes where one lives when it comes to the price of these trailers? My husband and I know nothing and did not even know about the brakes being on the trailer. When you say you paid $12,700 did this include options like air-conditioning?

This site rocks! The info and all the help and information I get from you wonderful people makes my day.

Sabina

[RedWingsFan]

No problem Sabina, I found this site a week before we picked up our 17Z and there was lots of good advice and helpful people. I'm just trying to do my part especially since you are looking at the exact camper we just bought in July. When I was looking for online vendors I found rvdirect.com. THey are in Albany NY. They had a really good price on the 17Z as well (under $13,000.00 I think), they'll give you a quote online as well. The problem was I had to pick it up in Albany or near the factory in Indiana. Either way it was a long drive from Detroit, it was just about the same price to get it locally. I would certainly give them a look if Albany is near you. Our 2011 has most of the options (I think they call it the customer value package), including air conditioning, roll-out awning and nice fabrics. Really the only options we did not have were the aluminum rims, satelite kit, oven, and an outdoor grill. It came with the micro, radio/CD player, TV hookups and antennae, nice stove, sink etc. It is definately worth shopping around. I did not buy my weight distributing hitch from my dealer because they only offered one manufacturer and I was really interested in the reese dual cam or equal-i-zer, plus I knew I could save $ doing it myself. Let me know if I can help with any other questions.