I traded in my little truck for my new 5.7 hemi, now to get my camper. I'm looking to get a BRAND NEW ultra light travel trailer and I had a few questions. Apex, Clipper, Viking? are they good? What is the difference between them? They're all coachman. Any recommendations? How much will a dealer negotiate? Example: I found a 2013 Viking 15RB on the internet, MSRP $13,745 Sale price $11,161. Can I expect to talk them down from that? Can I negotiate adding an air conditioner? What is the price of adding an air conditioner? I have excellent credit, what kind of interest rates do they charge on campers? I'm going to the RV show in Cleveland, Ohio this weekend and was hoping to have the answer to some of these questions BEFORE I speak to a dealer. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.
New and I have questions.
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COMer
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Congrats! We are just about 70 miles east of you and thoroughly enjoying the same lousy weather you are. Snow, ice and mud when it warms a little. Is spring "just around the corner?"
The Cleveland show is a pretty good one and you will see loads of options. It's handy to be able to go back and forth between ones you might like to more easily compare them There is a fairly general rule that dealers will normally discount up to about 30%. That changes when the market is overloaded and is usually less on cheaper units. But you can certainly use the show to determine what you think you might like and then come home and check them out at the larger Internet discount dealers.
Keep in mind that the most important thing to look at is how the layout will work for how you plan to use it. Picture where things would be that you need to bring and how you would do basic everyday chores. Where would you store the things you need to bring? As far as quality, most rigs in the same price range are going to be pretty similar and they use parts manufactured by the same sources. Trailer companies assemble rigs using parts supplied to them. Those parts are usually identical in same-priced RVs.
Enjoy the show and don't believe much of what the salesmen tell you. You seem to have plenty of truck for what you are considering so that is taken care of. You'll have many more questions when you get back. This is a good place to ask them.
The Cleveland show is a pretty good one and you will see loads of options. It's handy to be able to go back and forth between ones you might like to more easily compare them There is a fairly general rule that dealers will normally discount up to about 30%. That changes when the market is overloaded and is usually less on cheaper units. But you can certainly use the show to determine what you think you might like and then come home and check them out at the larger Internet discount dealers.
Keep in mind that the most important thing to look at is how the layout will work for how you plan to use it. Picture where things would be that you need to bring and how you would do basic everyday chores. Where would you store the things you need to bring? As far as quality, most rigs in the same price range are going to be pretty similar and they use parts manufactured by the same sources. Trailer companies assemble rigs using parts supplied to them. Those parts are usually identical in same-priced RVs.
Enjoy the show and don't believe much of what the salesmen tell you. You seem to have plenty of truck for what you are considering so that is taken care of. You'll have many more questions when you get back. This is a good place to ask them.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
If that $13,745 is truly the MSRP and not some dealer fiction, then the $11,161 is a good discount for that price range. If the dealer is advertising it that low, you can bet he has room to negotiate some too. My guess is, however, that the "MSRP" has been padded to give him extra room, so don't be afraid to negotiate for any and everything, including the finance rate. Check around online to see what others are offering that model for, even if you have no intention of buying elsewhere.
On lower priced units like this, a dealer typically makes his sale offer at 10-12% off the real MSRP+delivery costs. He may go as low as 20% if he wants to deal badly enough, but he has fixed overhead so he can't go real deep on lower priced units. I doubt if you could get 30% discount at this price level, but it never hurts to try. However, at much higher price levels you can sometimes get 25-30%.
Negotiating: Don't take the deal personally -- the dealer isn't. The rv you love is just a "unit" for the dealer, no different than any other. If he gets what he needs on the rv, he'll sell it to you. If he doesn't he won't -- no matter how much you beg, cry or scream. The salesman is not your friend, no matter how nice they are to you. He will try to get every penny he can for the rv -- that's how the game is played. So don't assume their first "rock bottom" offer is the best they can do -- it almost always never is. And don't worry about ticking them off or insulting them with a low offer. They will sell you the rv -- if you can agree on a price -- no matter how ridiculous your first offer is. The only thing you might lose with a really low first offer is some credibility that you are really interested in the rv or can afford it.
On lower priced units like this, a dealer typically makes his sale offer at 10-12% off the real MSRP+delivery costs. He may go as low as 20% if he wants to deal badly enough, but he has fixed overhead so he can't go real deep on lower priced units. I doubt if you could get 30% discount at this price level, but it never hurts to try. However, at much higher price levels you can sometimes get 25-30%.
Negotiating: Don't take the deal personally -- the dealer isn't. The rv you love is just a "unit" for the dealer, no different than any other. If he gets what he needs on the rv, he'll sell it to you. If he doesn't he won't -- no matter how much you beg, cry or scream. The salesman is not your friend, no matter how nice they are to you. He will try to get every penny he can for the rv -- that's how the game is played. So don't assume their first "rock bottom" offer is the best they can do -- it almost always never is. And don't worry about ticking them off or insulting them with a low offer. They will sell you the rv -- if you can agree on a price -- no matter how ridiculous your first offer is. The only thing you might lose with a really low first offer is some credibility that you are really interested in the rv or can afford it.
