Fair price for a new Bambi 16'?

[Bambino1]

The list price of a new 2014 Bambi 16 Sport is about 43k. Dealer says he can come in at just under 40k. What is the best price people are getting for this model? Thanks!

[delwilli]

I purchased a 2013 22 Sport for around $39,000 last March from a dealer in California

[tallen5]

I got a 2013 22' sport with rock guards added on, delivered to me (it was in a neighboring state) in July for $41K. $40K sounds a bit high to me for a 16', but the new model years cost more. You might still be able to find a new 2013 somewhere, which could save you thousands.

[JackDog]

We purchased our 2013 16' Sport new last fall and the dealer took $5k off the MSRP and gave us a great deal on the install of a second battery and the porch light off the Safari.

It was the first 2013 that came in and they even swapped out the Sharkskin interior that it came with from the factory with the Mocha Blue interior out of another unit.

SouthWest Coaches in Corona, CA made our AS purchase fun and easy and we love the new location for the bathroom door.

Glad we made the plunge seeing that this unit typically jumps in price each year by about $2,000.

Jack Dog
in So Cal

[ridensmile]

Greetings all. Price seems like a pretty hot topic. My wife and I recently bought a new 2014 Bambi 16 and wanted to give advice - you can take it or leave it. First, plan and budget for the purchase. If you're paying cash - assume you will be paying MSRP, tax and registration. If you can come in a little bit under - hooray! If you're the kind of person who would never dream of paying a dime to a state in tax - the used market is your domain. If you finance - keep your borrowing amount reasonable and plan for the repayment - not just the first trip in your new coach.
We ended up paying cash and so the decision came on how much or little to haggle down the dealership. We ended up deciding that we'd try to get "a little bit off" the MSRP without scaring the relationship we were establishing with the RV dealer/salesman/etc. Bottom line is that I bet we could have inched it down another grand. It wasn't worth it. If you pay MSRP - your supporting the RV industry. If you pay over MSRP - your supporting the RV industry. If you get a little under MSRP - your supporting the industry less. If you try to set a new world record of getting your Airstream for the lowest markup in the history of the world...your just a jerk.
Kudos to all those out there who support local RV dealers.....they're not trying to make a million dollars - they're just trying to stay in business!
And the used market/restoration shops are cool too - hard to find a Globetrotter new these days. - Dr. Jon

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, ridensmile; I'm happy for you and your 16' Bambi and whatever deal you were happy with. I got a great deal, that was agreed to, by both the dealer and me. They made the offer and threw in a few extras too. I didn't finance, nor pay MSRP. I also, due to a temporary law at the time, did not pay any sales tax.

I don't consider myself as a jerk either!

[AWCHIEF]

A salesmanship job is to make the most profit he can. A consumers job is to pay the lowest price possible. Doing so certainly does not make either a "jerk". To assume such is just plain rude in my opinion.

[renderit]

I guess I'm a jerk. Well under MSRP. Cash. We liked several other brands and would have been happy with them so we decided what we were willing to pay over the competition for the privilege of owning an AS and told them if they could meet it we were good. If not, no hard feelings. They seemed happy to make the deal.

[SteveSueMac]

To the OP: I would assume margins are different for different size trailers as is the case for small cars vs. trucks. I negotiated more than 20% off the sticker of my 27' Flying Cloud (and assume sticker was probably more than 100% above cost). I doubt they leave that much "meat on the bone" for a 16'. The worst that can happen is a "no", so try your best. Offer them 20%off sticker if you're paying cash and see what they say. If they balk, ask for their absolute bottom line number and see if you like it. Just be ready to walk if you don't like it, and ready to buy if you do. There are lots of dealers and you have lots of options. I wish I had thought about driving further to buy my trailer - you never know - good luck!

As for the jerk factor, I can't agree with that, ridensmile (and welcome, by the way :-) ). You're certainly entitled to your opinion - which is no ruder than awcheif's opinion that your opinion is rude (though that too could be considered a rude opinion - as could mine ). You know what they say about opinions... :-)

I think awcheif's job descriptions of seller and buyer are spot on. Maybe your view is that failing to support the RV industry by deep discounting is short sighted. That's a possibility. It's also possible there's a healthy profit margin built in even at deep discounts. Who knows? They don't have to give them away and we don't have to buy them. Let the friendly negotiations begin!

[AWCHIEF]

SSM, I thought I was showing great restraint and being very polite by not saying what I really thought of his post.

[polarlyse]

Time to break out the gloves. Let's play nice now. Bye the way, we bought used. So I don't have a dog in this fight. But then again I would work to get the best deal I could if looking for new. I sure wish NJ had a law to by-pass sales tax. I like that one.