About to "pull the trigger" on a 5th wheel

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

mtns4mama

New member
Joined
Oct 15, 2020
Posts
3
Well, it looks like we've decided on a GD Reflection 150series 260RD to tow with our F250 4x4 (standard bed, gas) so we're down to who's gonna give us the best price.  We know we'll need a slide topper and may want to include a hitch in our deal since we don't have one.  How much off MSRP (percentage wise) should we go for and should we ask to include the topper and hitch? We aren't planning to finance (unless they will give us a better deal and we can payoff without penalty).  I have read in some blogs of asking for as much as 50% off MSRP but I think that's on the big ticket motorhomes.  And I realize the market is a bit tighter these days.  What can we legitimately get away with offering?
 
MSRP is often inflated to allow for bigger discounts. If you can find similarly equipped units in your area compare prices and average them out then start at 30% and see who salutes. Don't forget to allow for pdi, delivery charges etc etc which are money makers for the dealer. Be prepared to haggle but also be reasonable. I was in sales and had to make a living too, I have been known to leave a cheapskate standing there ;D
Price is also not the only consideration. Does the dealer have a good reputation? Is the lot well maintained and organized along with the parts and service areas? John Ruskin wrote the bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten, it is just as true today as when he penned it 160 years ago.
 
You can always low ball with cash offer, depends if it is a slippery outfit like Camping World.  (They like to finance, charge you more for cash).  You can always raise your price, but if you ask for 20% off and they say sure, you'll think, I should have asked for 30%.  Have numbers, it always help to walk away.  If they know you have cash and fear you walking, the cards work better for you.  Good luck.
 
First question is whether you are starting from the actual factory MSRP of some dealer "list price". The factory MSRP is supposed to cover dealer prep as a necessary part of the sale so only delivery (transportation) charges are added to that. Some dealers add additional services (like exterior wax and interior "protection" or charge for delivery or prep, on top of whatever they claim is the list price. It's a jungle, so be cautious.

Buyers are claiming typical discounts in the 22-38% range, but are vague about how that is calculated. It's easy to get a steep discount if the dealer then adds back fees for services or if the price was inflated to begin with.  It's more important to get a bottom line (aka "out the door" price that includes all the delivery/prep stuff and leaves the dealer enough margin to do a quality job of it, plus time to show you everything in the RV and how to use it.

You can ask for things to be "thrown in", but at the end of the day the cost of that has to come out of the discount.  Sometimes a dealer can throw in something that costs him less than you would pay if you bought at retail, but with online discounting that is not often not the case.  If you can buy & install something yourself, that is often a better deal. But if you are going to ask the dealer to install anyway, you could negotiate the price of that service as part of the deal.

Dealers love to sell add-ons like extended service plans, tire insurance, surface protection (wax), interior protection (Scotch-guard),, etc., usually at high mark-ups. Most are either not needed or much cheaper elsewhere.

The Grand Design doesn't come with slide toppers? Seems odd for an upscale brand, but it is what it is.
 
What I have done on my last two new trailers is a lot of home work prior. The first thing my wife and I did was come up with the highest price that we would pay . We pay cash for every thing we buy, so if we have our price  and  it is written in stone and we don't buy it if we don't get our price.
When we told the salesman we wanted to buy, before even dickering he drooped the asking price. Then I  told him a real low ball price and we went back and forth. When he wouldn't budge any more, I told him that I couldn't go any higher and said to my wife lets go. As we were walking to the car, I saw him run into the owners office and said to my wife he'll be running back out which he did and they had agree to my last offer which was two thousand lower than our maximum.
We made the deal and my wife figured it was 30% off the second price he gave us

We bought our second trailer from the same dealer and got even a better deal because we had sent a lot of business his way.

Jack L
 
I wouldn't call a dealer "slippery" just because they can do a better deal on a financed unit as opposed to a cash sale.  (CampingWorld may be slippery, but that isn't the point here).
The truth is that dealer markup in an internet-connected world where customers can shop prices nationwide and then ask for the best price they saw online, there isn't really as much markup in most sales as people believe there is.  The finance companies provide kickbacks to dealers for every deal that comes their way, which is a percentage of the dealers net on the deal.  This is why they "deal" more on a financed sale vs. a cash sale. 
Sometimes, just accepting a financed deal at the best rate you can get, and then paying it off after a month or two gets you the best deal all around, and leaves you with a good dealer relationship.  This is how I usually buy big-ticket items.
 
We have a 150 series 295 RL that we bought new last Feb. In the last 9 mos I?ve seen prices for these units go for as low as 38 to selling for more than MSRP since Covid hit. In short, these 150 series campers are in high demand and short supply. If you want it by spring, and the dealer doesn?t have one, I think you want to get in the game soon.
Lastly, if you Facebook, there are several Grand Design Reflection pages available. You may get more specific and timely info there to answer your question.
 
RAMer-Jammer said:
I wouldn't call a dealer "slippery" just because they can do a better deal on a financed unit as opposed to a cash sale.  . . . The finance companies provide kickbacks to dealers for every deal that comes their way, which is a percentage of the dealers net on the deal.  This is why they "deal" more on a financed sale vs. a cash sale. 
Sometimes, just accepting a financed deal at the best rate you can get, and then paying it off after a month or two gets you the best deal all around, and leaves you with a good dealer relationship.  This is how I usually buy big-ticket items.

Just today I saw someone had to go with financing on a Chevy to get their price and when I bought my Chevy that's the way the GMC dealer wanted to go (I didn't buy there).

Note the deal may require you pay for X months before paying off the loan.  I think the GM deals are typically three months.  You'd still come out ahead, but it is an unnecessary PITA.
 
We just bought a 2018 Reflection 337rls from a person who advertised it on RVTrader. Over the past year there were always 15-25 units for sale. Not all were good deals.

Put in your search and you may find what you are looking for at much less than a new one
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
It's "necessary" for the dealer because the loan commission is likely most or even all of his profit on the deal.  In essence, the financing is what pays for a deeper discount.

But that leaves you with having to make a few payments, then determining a payoff, then dealing with getting the title back.  I'd rather they just level with you on what they are getting and then pay them that amount.
 
Back
Top Bottom