Pricing- Factory order vs. stock? Out of state, vs. local?

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Different tactics will work with different dealers. My observation is that some really don't show you their "best price" until you are ready to buy. They simply don't participate in never ending auctions on new product.

Bob

[Rgentum]

Mollysdad wrote: I went to a dealer who had the model I wanted. However, I wanted to trade my current RV in. They were very willing to do that against the retail price of the AS. If I had no trade in, they would discount the same unit by $20,000. So essentially, they gave me almost nothing on my trade. Beyond that, they didn't budge a penny, which I found strange. The AS I didn't buy is still sitting on their lot, four months later.
Since then, I've sold my RV to a nice couple for a fair price, and so I'm starting again. However, I've decided that I don't want the 2017 that been sitting in the sun for a year, with GYM, although it has everything I want. (and is the only one in the state). I may just wait for a 2018.
I'm willing to deal with them again with no trade, but I've already heard all the BS.

I learned that you won't "beat the dealer", he's heard all the customer schemes, the owner has much more money to wait you out, and he is prepared with his own strategy. Plus the sales manager doesn't want to be fired for losing money.
Their lives are devoted to sales, not making deals.

I'm asking myself, "How far would I drive to buy now rather than order the same unit and wait two months?" That's hard to answer, I like having the money in the bank, and I can't see driving a thousand miles for the same price, knowing I'll get service at home."
____________________________

I got quotes from my local dealer, AS Adventures NW, thought they were unrealistic, and began shopping elsewhere. Toscano RV, in CA, quoted me $9,000 less for the identical AS & offered me $2,000 more for my 5th wheel trade-in. With a savings of $11,000, guess where I did business!!!

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by Rgentum

Mollysdad wrote: I went to a dealer who had the model I wanted. However, I wanted to trade my current RV in. They were very willing to do that against the retail price of the AS. If I had no trade in, they would discount the same unit by $20,000. So essentially, they gave me almost nothing on my trade. Beyond that, they didn't budge a penny, which I found strange. The AS I didn't buy is still sitting on their lot, four months later.
Since then, I've sold my RV to a nice couple for a fair price, and so I'm starting again. However, I've decided that I don't want the 2017 that been sitting in the sun for a year, with GYM, although it has everything I want. (and is the only one in the state). I may just wait for a 2018.
I'm willing to deal with them again with no trade, but I've already heard all the BS.

I learned that you won't "beat the dealer", he's heard all the customer schemes, the owner has much more money to wait you out, and he is prepared with his own strategy. Plus the sales manager doesn't want to be fired for losing money.
Their lives are devoted to sales, not making deals.

I'm asking myself, "How far would I drive to buy now rather than order the same unit and wait two months?" That's hard to answer, I like having the money in the bank, and I can't see driving a thousand miles for the same price, knowing I'll get service at home."
____________________________

I got quotes from my local dealer, AS Adventures NW, thought they were unrealistic, and began shopping elsewhere. Toscano RV, in CA, quoted me $9,000 less for the identical AS & offered me $2,000 more for my 5th wheel trade-in. With a savings of $11,000, guess where I did business!!!

Not sure any of these dealers would sell an AS and loose money! I got my 14' model from AS Adventures in Fairfield, and was told by the VP I had gotten the best deal he had ever seen and they had lost money on the deal with 20% discount, only because the "AS Area Manager" had happened to be there that day and they were trying to become the largest sales dealer. (trying to make me feel good??) Anyway, I did end up purchasing my new 17 model recently from same dealership in CA, even though the unit was located at their NW facility. I had tried to purchase direct from sales guy in NW dealership, but he told me they could not match 20% discount anymore since they were so big and had lots of overhead! Shows it pays to spend some time and call around...
Toscano guys are great to deal with also, and very helpful. I would likely have gotten my 28' from them had it been in stock at the time. Sales manager is very straight forward and will do what it takes to get a deal. No nonsense.

[Vickitn]

Originally Posted by camperguy58

Has anyone had issues with their local dealer providing warranty work when you purchased the trailer from a distant dealer?

Thanks

Yes. Less than a year ago we were negotiating price with our local dealer and another dealer for a 2017 Classic. Our local dealer told us in so many words not to bring it in for service there if we didn't buy it there. We reported this to Airstream. BTW my profile doesn't have the correct state and I can't figure out how to correct it.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Vickitn

Yes. Less than a year ago we were negotiating price with our local dealer and another dealer for a 2017 Classic. Our local dealer told us in so many words not to bring it in for service there if we didn't buy it there. We reported this to Airstream. BTW my profile doesn't have the correct state and I can't figure out how to correct it.

Hi

Word is that Airstream has been cracking down on dealers doing this kind of thing. The gotcha is that it's a bit hard to *prove* your trailer stayed on the lot an extra day. It's also counterproductive for the dealer. They often make more on service than on new vehicle sales.

Bob

[Vickitn]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi



Word is that Airstream has been cracking down on dealers doing this kind of thing. The gotcha is that it's a bit hard to *prove* your trailer stayed on the lot an extra day. It's also counterproductive for the dealer. They often make more on service than on new vehicle sales.



Bob

I've heard this. It will be interesting to see how this 5 rivet program plays out. I've wished I had a recording of the jaw dropping conversation I had with this dealer. Their threats did nothing but convince me I wouldn't buy from them in the future.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Vickitn

I've heard this. It will be interesting to see how this 5 rivet program plays out. I've wished I had a recording of the jaw dropping conversation I had with this dealer. Their threats did nothing but convince me I wouldn't buy from them in the future.

Hi

That's the other end of this. You get turned off by the dealer. You tell your friends to stay away from them. Word of mouth referrals are important for any business. When you are selling something as expensive as an AS, they can be *very* important.

Bob

[Bearii]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Fact of life, dealers are in business to make money, same as everyone else. It is up to you as a buyer to convince the dealer that he should sell for less if he wants to sell at all.

One technique that I used successfully to buy my Airstream was this:
1 - pick out the exact make, model, and floor plan you want by visiting your local dealer.
2 - select every dealer within the range you're willing to travel, minus those whose reputations you don't trust.
3 - Ask them all to quote you a price (by email only so it's in writing) on the make/model/plan you want, no substitutions. But you can give them the option of in-stock or factory-order if they can also give you a delivery date for the factory-order. But be sure to disclose that you're asking the same thing of other dealers. Don't have to tell them which other dealers, just that there is competition.
4 - When you've received all the quotes you're going to get, discarding those who try to quote on a different make/model/plan (it happens) and those who declined to quote, then contact all the ones that are still in the competition, and tell them what the low price to date is, and ask if they can beat that.
5 - Repeat until no one offers a lower price. Then if the local dealer isn't lowest, ask them if they can match the low price to date. Between two dealers with the same price, closer dealer wins because there are fewer "sunk" costs (out-of-pocket expenses) associated with traveling to the dealer.
6 - Thank all of the unsuccessful dealers for their time and assistance. A bit of goodwill never hurts.

By following this procedure, you should be able to get an acceptable discount, secure in the knowledge that no one else within range will give you a better one.

Great plan Protagonist. This is the practice I've used VERY successfully with other vehicle purchases, even with other purchases such as tires, etc. When I share with other BMW motorcycle owners what I've paid for my bikes they have always been shocked, this practice works.

I'm glad Rgentum below chimed in too. I think that in purchasing our AS I'm going to do a combo of these two approaches. Have to figure that out soon, we plan to buy before year end, letting the bidding begin!

Originally Posted by Rgentum

I prefer negotiating a little differently, ie, on my terms, not on a dealer's terms. Namely:
1. Do your homework and figure out for yourself at what price you would be comfortable acquiring the product, being reasonable and knowing that the dealer must benefit from the sale.
2. Start calling one dealer after another; offer them your price cash for delivery FOB their dealership within a week.
3. Sooner or later, somebody will accept or counteroffer so close that it makes negligible difference.
4. Now, you've gotten your product at your price and on your terms and have avoided all the dealership games.
The foregoing process got me a new 27FB (and over time many other products and results) at a price that I've had no problems living with.

[Bearii]

Originally Posted by gypsydad

Not sure any of these dealers would sell an AS and loose money! I got my 14' model from AS Adventures in Fairfield, and was told by the VP I had gotten the best deal he had ever seen and they had lost money...

I've heard this line several times too. I don't believe it for a minute, always nice to hear but I'm fairly confident it's just the salespersons way of solidifying the relationship for future deals (hopefully where you won't negotiate so stiffly!). I consider myself an excellent negotiator having done very large corporate deals. But no one loses money who plans to stay in business, nor do I want them too if I want to work with them in the future.

[Bearii]

Originally Posted by davidrrand

Here's a suggestion. If there is a large RV show in your area during off season (winter), go to the show knowing what you want. There should be a local Airstream dealer and the AS factory sales manager for your area attending the show. Visit the local dealer before the show and find out what the best price you can negotiate on either a unit on their lot (if they have something close). After they give you a quote, ask them if they can do better and get the dealer sales manager involved. This gives you a good starting point. At the show, there should be a discounted "show price". Hopefully this will be as good or better than what you have already been quoted. Tell the dealer at the show you really would rather order a unit from the factory, especially if you can't get exactly what you want. Keep pushing for a better deal and be prepared to walk away. Tell them you want the hitch thrown in, or if you want something special from the factory included or options like upgraded wheel/tires also at a discounted price. We wanted different flooring. The AS sales manager agreed to this added at no charge. If you are satisfied with the deal, tell them you will pay a refundable deposit after a couple of days to think it over. Use this time to call other dealers that you will be willing to travel to and tell them what you have been quoted and see if they can do any better. If they cannot, get the dealer to proceed with the order.

This is what we did at the Tampa RV Super Show in January 2016 and got a little better than 22% including upgraded options (tires/wheels, convection microwave, awning package). We have been pleased and got exactly what we thought we wanted.

Wish we had been aware of the crappy converter and would of negotiated that upgrade, too!

Good luck with you search!

Nice approach - we're off to the Hershey RV show next week, who knows what will happen there! How did you find out about all the options available? I have asked several dealers and can't seem to get a consistent answer. This is definitely different than going down to the local truck dealer and having a solid list of options to pick from.

[VTSafari]

Wonder what kind of deal you could have gotten this week in Florida? Offer to drive it off the lot today 30% off???? Guess it would depend how good they think their insurance is.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by VTSafari

Wonder what kind of deal you could have gotten this week in Florida? Offer to drive it off the lot today 30% off???? Guess it would depend how good they think their insurance is.

Hi

*IF* there had been good track forecasting that told them where the big impact was going to be and *IF* the insurance company was smart enough to be in on the deal ..... 30% (10% above normal) would have been a modest discount. If I was the insurance guy looking at a 100% loss on a lot full of $100,000 trailers .... let's make a deal ....Maybe someday they will get that smart. They could save a lot in terms of losses. I doubt that day will come in my lifetime.

All that said, there is a price at which another dealer would send in a fleet of trucks and empty the lot in a hurry. You probably aren't going to see 50% even in the "let's make a deal" phase. 10 or 15% off normal dealer cost probably does the trick, even on short notice. That sort of deal is a lot more likely than individual sales since it takes the insurance company liability on the inventory to zero with only one deal.

Bob