Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluto
Ok, the senario is basic in form to just to get a feel of what kind of discount one can expect on (older) new units that have been sitting on the dealer lots for a while that are untitled. I've been looking for a new Classic for some time now and am torn between the high price of a 2010 vs a 2008 or 2009. I have located all three years of a Classic 27' but not all at one dealer...
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ok better info bluto, and that is much more realistic.
buying and pricing is a contact sport so it pays to come prepared.
here's a thread that may be useful, i do not wanna type this list again so see post #11...
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f349...-se-20214.html
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VALUE and PRICING aren't the same thing, but i do understand your goal here...
purchasing the most trailer for the least money and without stepping in a big pile of doo...
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here's another example to drive home a point...
3 trailers, all EXACTLY the same (year, model, accessories, color, specs) on 3 DIFFERENT dealer lots...
1. is within 100 miles of home
2. is 1000 miles from home
3. is 2000 miles from home
miles are just a loose condition but 3 identical on 3 dealer lots is very common in real life.
msrp is the SAME for each unit,
but when contacted by the customer these 3 units VARY in 'but it now' price by over 10,000$.
which one do YOU buy and why?
or which dealer do you haggle with?
and WHO will be your service/warranty provider?
think about it.
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while online shopping and websites, our ever shrinking world and ONE currency in the usa...
suggests ALL 3
should be available for the same $...
they often are not.
and depending on model, dealer, time of year and demand, these clones WILL bring 1000s of $$ more/less for each dealer.
and some dealers will 'deal' while others don't budge on their best price offers.
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you really need to consider the list of issues in post #11 in the link above.
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now back to YOUR scenario.
production DATE for each unit matters...
a "late 08" may actually be identical to an "early 09"...
while 2 units EXACTLY the same year may b very different EARLY vs LATE in the year in terms of FEATURES or SPECS.
and a 'early 08' is a LOT older trailer than a 'late 09', you do understand that, right?
the issues of financing and insuring are real and important.
it's easy to get upsideDOWN on a loan even with brand NEW unit, IF the down payment is too low (5 % for example)
otoh if a LARGE down payment is included (30% for example) a bank is much more likely to loan at a FAVORABLE rate,
even on an older UNtitled unit.
on the insurance side, progressive sells FULL REPLACEMENT policies (not the same as full value) on new units to the FIRST buyer...
typically this coverage is for the first 4-5 years of life, costs a bit more and may NOT apply to 3 year old 'new' unit on the lot...
so do your homework, because the combination of a SMALL down payment and minimal insurance coverage is risky risky.
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the a/s factory warranty should be 2 years on ANY of the 3 UNtitled units, and the appliances will be covered by a/s,
but try using a dometic or atwood vendor that isn't an a/s dealer for a 3 year old gizmo that is 'new' ???
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your example/3 units on different lots have a HUGE variable unrelated to age, and that is DEALER PREP.
some do a great job and FIX stuff even to better than factory specs, others just wash'em and sell'em.
a/s corp REALLY does rely on the dealer for final fit/finish/fix/shakedown issues/leaks/loose bits, and so on.
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then there is the issue of negotiating SIGHT UNSEEN for these units.
real example, a member here negotiated with a very reliable/honest dealer for an 07? right after the 08s appeared.
after driving 1000 miles to pic it up, the buyer saw some minor things (like corrosion) on the unit and did NOT want it.
luckily the dealer had a similar/newer unit WITHOUT these issues and was
willing to deal on THAT trailer...
so the customer was happy but left with a DIFFERENT unit than they originally expected to buy.
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my needs and use would make the 08/09s MORE valuable because of the disc brakes...
i really really like them, have had zero issues in 5 years and 70k miles towing and minimal maintenance cost.
so the '10 withOUT discs would be discounted in my negotiations,
and i would be factoring IN the cost of a trip to ADD discs for a new unit.
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one last issue to consider is HOW LONG U WILL KEEP this TRAILER?
5-10 years from now the resale/trade price difference will be less of an issue than IF u end up trading next year.
i ordered factory NEW near the END of the production year in 05...
the trailer had features that were part of the 06s (a good thing), avoided a NEW YEAR price increase of 8,000$ (also a good thing)...
but within 3 months of ownership the 06s were out and my unit was OLD already.
but the year old titled issue means NOTHING, if this trailer is kept as long as the last one (24+ years)...
hope some of this is helpful and best of luck!
cheers
2air'