captsteve
Well-known member
The MSRP of a new RV generally has somewhere around a 35-40% profit margin built into it. This may sound extreme but there is a very real and necessary reason for this.
Let's say "Fred" walks into a dealership and want the shiny new MegaSuper Coach. The dealer has it listed for $250,000. Now "Fred" decides that for the right price he will buy it.
Fred has a trade in and he owes $50,000. The dealer checks it out and finds that it has a real wholesale value of $30,000. This could be a real problem but alas, The Dealer offers Fred $60,000 for his trade and Fred suddenly thinks he is getting something over on the dealer and is happy.
Now on to the new coach, MSRP $250,000 less trade credit of $10,000 is $240,000 Still a ton of money right? Well Fred argues and haggles and the dealer drops down $10,000 on the price. Fred is happy. Fred gets his Dream rig for $230,000 ( $10,000 over payoff and $10,000 discount. All is well, Right?
Let's look at this from the dealers side. New RV cost $180,000. sold for $180,000 net ( $230,000 - $50,000 payoff) Hmmm, this can't be right, the dealer is not making anything, Right? Wrong!!! He now has a used coach to sell with a zero cost factor. (this is know in dealerships as stealing a trade) "Fred" could possibly have haggled down another 10-$20,000 and the dealer would still make a decent profit in the end.
Now, on to the used coach. "John" comes in and just loves this coach, it fits his needs and budget. The Dealer priced this unit at just above NADA at lets say $55,000. John has done his research and the list price is fair but he feels he can haggle the price down. John offers $48,000 for it. Now the Sales manager starts his whining and woe is me and I have kids to feed act and then agrees. John feels he got a good deal.
So, in the end the Dealership made a gross profit of $48,000 on the SuperMega Coach.
In looking at the above keep in mind when looking at a new RV with no trade, you should be able to easily get around 30% off of the MSRP sometimes more, especially if looking at last years models.
When looking at Used RV's, not all dealerships piggyback deals like the above but most do. A hint to this is look at the stock number. If the stock number is followed by a letter, it is usually showing it is piggybacked on another deal. Regardless of how they do their accounting, most profits are made on used units. They know what the market will bare as far as price but rest assured they are in it for much less than you think. They love to whine and cry about the price, do not fall for it, again, 30% off asking price is a good target to shoot for.
Let's say "Fred" walks into a dealership and want the shiny new MegaSuper Coach. The dealer has it listed for $250,000. Now "Fred" decides that for the right price he will buy it.
Fred has a trade in and he owes $50,000. The dealer checks it out and finds that it has a real wholesale value of $30,000. This could be a real problem but alas, The Dealer offers Fred $60,000 for his trade and Fred suddenly thinks he is getting something over on the dealer and is happy.
Now on to the new coach, MSRP $250,000 less trade credit of $10,000 is $240,000 Still a ton of money right? Well Fred argues and haggles and the dealer drops down $10,000 on the price. Fred is happy. Fred gets his Dream rig for $230,000 ( $10,000 over payoff and $10,000 discount. All is well, Right?
Let's look at this from the dealers side. New RV cost $180,000. sold for $180,000 net ( $230,000 - $50,000 payoff) Hmmm, this can't be right, the dealer is not making anything, Right? Wrong!!! He now has a used coach to sell with a zero cost factor. (this is know in dealerships as stealing a trade) "Fred" could possibly have haggled down another 10-$20,000 and the dealer would still make a decent profit in the end.
Now, on to the used coach. "John" comes in and just loves this coach, it fits his needs and budget. The Dealer priced this unit at just above NADA at lets say $55,000. John has done his research and the list price is fair but he feels he can haggle the price down. John offers $48,000 for it. Now the Sales manager starts his whining and woe is me and I have kids to feed act and then agrees. John feels he got a good deal.
So, in the end the Dealership made a gross profit of $48,000 on the SuperMega Coach.
In looking at the above keep in mind when looking at a new RV with no trade, you should be able to easily get around 30% off of the MSRP sometimes more, especially if looking at last years models.
When looking at Used RV's, not all dealerships piggyback deals like the above but most do. A hint to this is look at the stock number. If the stock number is followed by a letter, it is usually showing it is piggybacked on another deal. Regardless of how they do their accounting, most profits are made on used units. They know what the market will bare as far as price but rest assured they are in it for much less than you think. They love to whine and cry about the price, do not fall for it, again, 30% off asking price is a good target to shoot for.
