When you actually purchased your RV ....

NW Cat Owner · 02-11-2015, 02:40 PM

Did you find it better to purchase at an RV show? Or just going down to the dealer whenever you were ready to purchase? At the recent Seattle RV show, the rig I'm interested in (Greyhawk 31DS) was appx $25k less at their "show" price than their listed (MSRP) price.

Yeah, I know you can talk 'em down and all that. I'm just wondering if it's far better (and easier) to purchase at a show than another time of year.

Mine would probably have to be ordered from the factory as I'm not interested in any TV set ups as they're too high for my preference and we can easily (I hope!) install one ourselves much lower. Unless the dealer will take it out for us and reduce the price accordingly.

Or the bed, since I want to get a Select Comfort bed instead of what they come with.

We're not ready to purchase right now, but I'm trying to get this all figured out ahead of time as this would be our first one.

Thanks!

Oh, also, does anyone know if places like AAA, Consumer Reports or whomever issue prices for RVs and their options that you can purchase from them? We've done that for all of our vehicles and it was well worth it when it came time to buy.

Flyrotor · 02-11-2015, 02:53 PM

I have bought one trailer at the RV show, twice before that I purchased at the dealer's place of business.

Neither option seemed to be better or worse than the other, the trailer I purchased at the RV show was then taken back to the dealer for clean up and prep, the PDI was performed at their shop. I took my trade-in to the PDI and brought the new trailer home.

Grumpy · 02-11-2015, 03:00 PM

We always go right to the dealer and always get good disc off of the msrp. RV pricing is not like autos. The high volume dealers get better pricing so they can cut you a better deal.

spoon059 · 02-11-2015, 06:23 PM

I don't think the prices at shows are better... I think the dealers use enthusiasm to their advantage and can get people to commit at higher prices.

Now... if you know exactly what you want and a price you want to pay, there is no reason you can't haggle at a show. I would encourage you to get a price from RVdirect.com. They are likely to provide you the lowest quote with the least trouble. Dealers claim that manufacturers offer show incentives. If you know what price you are willing to pay, subtract the "incentive" and offer them that money.

etex211 · 02-11-2015, 06:31 PM

I got a deal on mine in September when it was a year model old.

Howard1 · 03-01-2015, 11:45 AM

Purchased my 2013 Greyhawk at Hershey RV show 2 years ago. Just purchased my 2015 Seneca at dealership. Got good deals both times.

rryman · 03-01-2015, 12:24 PM

We went to the RV show at Dulles this year, dealer there gave us a price for a trade in. We came home and went to our local dealer (25 miles away vs 200 for the show dealer) and we got the same or maybe better deal.

Paintinfool3 · 03-01-2015, 01:25 PM

We bought ours at show with a 20.00 to hold the show price down payment .. Went in to finalize the order the following week and like you the show price was 20000 off msrp with options and they gave us more than we could have got for our old camper on trade so I feel like we did ok ... And we didn't take the show unit we ordered ours the way we wanted it

TCNashville · 03-01-2015, 05:40 PM

We bought our Eagle at the Indy Rv Show 3 years ago. I threw a ridiculous price at the salesman and 5 minutes later he said they could do that. [High volume Camping World]. Also got 'em to throw in slide covers, Maxxair vent toppers and a cover. One salesman told me that manufacturers give the dealers special incentives at shows and such. Not sure if I believe that or not, but we got a great deal. Show model was sold so we ordered right at the show.

Grumpy · 03-01-2015, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TCNASHVILLE

salesman told me that manufacturers give the dealers special incentives at shows and such. Not sure if I believe that or not, but we got a great deal. Show model was sold so we ordered right at the show.

He told you the truth.

qwed94 · 03-01-2015, 08:42 PM

The dealer where I work does not even take units to our local city RV show. We did have a "RV SHOW" on "our" lot the very weekend of the city RV show. (In which we advertised through popular media sources very heavily). We ended up selling 12 units that Saturday. I am friends with a guy that works at another dealer, one that has the biggest display at the city RV show. He said they only sold 8 during the 5 days at the big city RV show.

It is true that the "banks" especially, do offer special incentives for shows. However they generally extend those deals for a couple weeks or so. But seriously, you can talk them to a good deal anytime of year. As like cars, if you like the "oldest unit in stock", you can get that one cheapest. "Usually".

clubhouse · 03-01-2015, 09:37 PM

The best deal typically comes from an inventory unit. If you are ordering, I don't see it mattering if it's at the show or at the dealership days/weeks/months later. Ordering you are basically shooting for ~30% off MSRP. If it's an inventory unit you may be able to do slightly better, but not significantly better.

At shows you have banks offering deals too, if financing that might factor in, but I can't give you first hand experiencing.

Stevefaync · 03-01-2015, 11:03 PM

We have bought our last two RV's through RVDirect. We live in North Carolina and took delivery in Florida, once in Orlando and once in Tampa. Goto www.rvdirect.com and have a look. They are very easy to deal with and give very good price. I tried to get my local dealer to come close to the price I was getting at RVDirect, but they wouldn't do it.

Over all, we have bought 7 RV's. The first 5 were all from a dealer locally.

I would be very surprised if you could get a new Jayco without the TV or mattress. They are assembly line type producers, and not really very good at custom built.

Good Luck

Steve

**FPM III** · 03-02-2015, 12:01 AM

One big advantage of going to a show is that you can "see 'em all" without having to drive all over creation to each dealer. It's usually not like buying a car where the one dealer can be a few blocks from the other. RV dealers can be miles, if not light-years apart.

Our Jayco was purchased at a show and considering the prices competitors were were quoting me for similar units, I think I got a good deal, plus the fact that the dealer was one of the closest RV dealers to my home.

Even with all the units on display at the show, the one we purchased was back on the dealer's lot. We had to go through a number of TTs at the show to piece together in our minds what ours would look like.

BTW- I've been a subscriber to Consumer Reports for over 35 years and I've never seen any ratings for RVs.

Bikester · 03-02-2015, 07:26 AM

I went to the dealer when I was ready to buy. There happened to be a show going on the day I was there and there was only one rep at the dealer because everyone else was at the show. They told me they would give me the show pricing, which they did, and then I negotiated even further from there. I think I got a great buy.

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