MSRP Discount

[gypsydad]

First, do your homework; know which model/size you want. If you can also scan their website to see what they have in stock, and if that can work for you. special order unites are an issue...since they have to wait for order/ $$. When you know what you want, where it is, call the dealers and ask for sales manger..tell them your goal, discuss your pricing goals, and ask for 20% if you !were to give $$ down today, via Credit Card...if they have, and are able to fill your order, you will likely get the deal. If they don't have it in stock for some reason or do not want to deal the discount, move on...Florida dealer around Tampa were pretty aggressive last year...next, call the CA dealers...TX is generally not interested in above 15%...cornered client base...I don't know, but I have got 22-24% on last 2 AS's...some folks get 28% in some states...but, be ready, knowledgeable, and sometimes they may ask you to finance...for a few months.....they get a kick back. Take it all in and understand, but be patient...."grasshopper"! It can happen...many of us have got great deals.

[Neowise]

Originally Posted by wordofbabb

New to the forum and was reading this thread today. We live in the Seattle area and went to the Airstream Adventures Northwest dealer to look at the new International 27FB with a rear hatch they had in the new Coastal Cove Seashell interior layout update.

We started talking about ordering one off their allocations in Coastal Cove Aqua instead with a twin option. We added in the 2nd AC, Solar package, Rear Hatch and Convection Microwave. We also asked if we could upgrade the twin mattresses to the Tuft and Needle.

I got a total of $123,575 after some small fee for them and our 10% Washington sales tax. They wanted to negotiate the pricing and have us put down some money to hold the spot. That was all fine. We plan to pay in cash for the trailer. The sales person goes to the finance person and comes back out telling us we summed up the build sheet wrong. There was a new price and the MSRP discount was 2% under.

I told him to take it back since it looked like the money guy added in the bunk option we didn't want or check off. That was the exact delta of our price vs their price. He comes back out and has the same MSRP discount and I said I plan on paying cash and this is all you can do for me? He asked me what I wanted and I told him at least 10%. He laughed and told me it was a seller's market and I was lucky to get that much off.

This is the second time we have gone to look at an Airstream at this dealer and each time the experience is just terrible. Their sales people know less about the trailers than we do from the research online when asking questions. I have low confidence in any of the discussions we have on service being done and this place is a 5 star rivet dealer and in some massive conglomerate on the west coast with like 5 other dealers.

Anyway, not sure if people are getting any MSRP discounts currently. I wanted to post my experience here and ask if anyone recommends other dealers in the nation. At this point we will travel anywhere for a small road trip and to get a decent price on an Airstream we want to order. If this is how it is during the market right now then I guess we will wait.

Husband and I went to the Portland Airstream Adventures NW last week. Only a few trailers on the lot, last year it was jam packed. We were ready to order, or take something in the lot if there was something that would work that was a great deal.
Was quoted MSRP price to order 2021, asked what is the best you can do, we are ready to order today.
Answer, 2%. Asked if there was something on the lot that would be a better deal, answer, 2%. Was no difference to special order or get one of the pre ordered 2021s. We walked away.
Then called the small long time Oregon dealer in Eugene, asked what they could do, was quoted something better. ( not the proverbial 20% sadly).
Sutton RV, ask for Terry. Drove down Sunday and placed an order with them.

[rmkrum]

Sutton is where my son bought our Airstream years ago. He also got a great deal on our used one time 2007. They are very nice people and helped him customize our battery box to hold two GC-2 golf cart batteries.

[vintageracer]

Originally Posted by jcanavera

An interesting point but if you pay like you said above, the dealer usually doesn't win. What happens normally is the dealer is provided the lump sum commission from the finance charges from the lender once the paper work is signed. However if the loan is paid off early, the financier does a charge back to the dealer and retrieves the "unearned" commission that was advanced to the dealer. It's called unearned interest. As part of the financing deal between the dealer and the lender they charged back a portion of that commission due to the loss of the unearned interest due to early payoff. So there is no windfall for the dealer if you pay off early. So if the dealer gave you a 60 month loan, he only earns 2 months of the proceeds. The finance takes back the other 58 months of the commission that had been advanced to the dealer.

Jack

Jack not necessarily true!

Many of the dealer finance deals today have a 3 month prepayment penalty clause the buyer never sees as its part of the relationship between the financier and dealer where if the buyer pays off the loan 90 days or later after inception of the loan the dealer still will typically retain 80% of the loan commission paid to them by the financier. Rarely does anyone payoff a loan early these days anyway so there is very little risk of that happening to the financier!

Also many times for those with a great credit rating and even those with a crappy credit rating the dealer will tell you "Jack your credit is so great we got you 3% money" on this trailer or something like that if you will finance with us.

In reality they got 2% money for your loan because of your great credit rating and they are "Jacking" the rate they tell you an extra 1% or more and taking that extra 1% rate or more money for themselves payable over the life of the loan.

Your happy as a pig in schidt. You as the buyer think a 3% loan rate is a great deal and you cut a fat hog with this loan. In reality all you did was provide the dealer with a little more "Value Added Profit" and they most certainly appreciate that!

Happens all the time these days on car, truck, boat and trailers loans obtained through the selling dealer.

Remember it's still "All About the Money" and it's the finance department where that "Value Added Profit" is made!

[wordofbabb]

Originally Posted by Neowise

Husband and I went to the Portland Airstream Adventures NW last week. Only a few trailers on the lot, last year it was jam packed. We were ready to order, or take something in the lot if there was something that would work that was a great deal.
Was quoted MSRP price to order 2021, asked what is the best you can do, we are ready to order today.
Answer, 2%. Asked if there was something on the lot that would be a better deal, answer, 2%. Was no difference to special order or get one of the pre ordered 2021s. We walked away.
Then called the small long time Oregon dealer in Eugene, asked what they could do, was quoted something better. ( not the proverbial 20% sadly).
Sutton RV, ask for Terry. Drove down Sunday and placed an order with them.

We decided to shop the nation at well known dealers posted on this forum and just from research off YouTube / Google. Patrick at Colonial took care of us. We were able to get the same exact trailer from them for almost 30% less than what Seattle Adventure NW was costing. The only difference was we will be waiting until Dec/Jan for a pick up.

Patrick was awesome on the phone and just an easy conversation. We had other bids from several west coast and central dealers and they were all better than Seattle Adventure NW. Their folks through email or the phone just had more friendlier interaction.

We did get a good quote from Sutton, but the one from Patrick was better. So we are just going to enjoy having a road trip across the states and then one back.

Thanks for all the extra help and feedback from the community. Definitely welcoming and interested in finding the best result. Looking forward to get more information as well as contributing where we can.

Thanks everyone!

[KK4YZ]

Originally Posted by wordofbabb

We decided to shop the nation at well known dealers posted on this forum and just from research off YouTube / Google. Patrick at Colonial took care of us. We were able to get the same exact trailer from them for almost 30% less than what Seattle Adventure NW was costing. The only difference was we will be waiting until Dec/Jan for a pick up.

Patrick was awesome on the phone and just an easy conversation. We had other bids from several west coast and central dealers and they were all better than Seattle Adventure NW. Their folks through email or the phone just had more friendlier interaction.

We did get a good quote from Sutton, but the one from Patrick was better. So we are just going to enjoy having a road trip across the states and then one back.

Thanks for all the extra help and feedback from the community. Definitely welcoming and interested in finding the best result. Looking forward to get more information as well as contributing where we can.

Thanks everyone!

Colonial and Patrick in particular are very professional and will take care of you. That said, it is indeed a sellers market and you might not see the same discounts that were there a couple of years ago, or even last year. It’s called supply & demand.

Go to Colonial’s web site and see how few of their incoming trailers are not already sold.

[W1nt3rb0y]

I talked to two Canadian dealers today and both mentioned a price increase from today on all Airstream models. Something around 2-3%. Anyone else heard about it?

[gypsydad]

Ok friends...looking for a new Basecamp X model for my son and his new family! I understand the scarcity of tracking a new model, but wondering if anyone has recent experience on finding a great dealer and discount before I start dialing for dollars myself. Heyday only offering $5K for new order on one....anyone have better advise/deal?(understand may need to order one) Thought I would ask for your help.

[DKB_SATX]

So, right off the bat they'll go 13% off MSRP for a new order, while RV sales are somewhat booming (relative to the rest of the economy at least)? That seems fairly normal, considering the 17-20ish-percent discounts that were common in recent years.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

So, right off the bat they'll go 13% off MSRP for a new order, while RV sales are somewhat booming (relative to the rest of the economy at least)? That seems fairly normal, considering the 17-20ish-percent discounts that were common in recent years.

Who's "they"?? I will try the dealers I have dealt with last couple visits...let you know what I find out, unless someone else has recent success...please let me know...appreciate.

[247magic]

We stopped by AS DFW and they had nothing. One trailer was available (Globetrotter 30RB). Everything else was sold. Most trailers inbound are already sold.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by gypsydad

Who's "they"?? I will try the dealers I have dealt with last couple visits...let you know what I find out, unless someone else has recent success...please let me know...appreciate.

Well, you said a dealer was willing to give you $5k off a new order of a Basecamp, which is about 13%. So "they" would be the dealership you were talking to.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

Well, you said a dealer was willing to give you $5k off a new order of a Basecamp, which is about 13%. So "they" would be the dealership you were talking to.

got it! Missed the % part..

[panamerican]

I talked to 2 dealers 2-3 weeks ago and found any order not on the books currently would arrive in late March....with a lot of inbound already spoken for.....and though the trade ins are far higher than last year, the dealers are not moving very far off MSRP. I got a range of 3-6%, which leaves dealers with a roughly 14% profit margin.

My take is that it's a wash. You get a higher value for your trade in, but the price is higher. Old days, price could be negot retail to retail or wholesale to wholesale. 19-20% off list was not uncommon, but you would take the bath on the trade.

For those you want to sell a current unit outright, now is the time where you will get super top dollar, but anything more than 6% in this market is a major gift. Of course you could wait a year, be without a trailer and get the best of both worlds....but you'll be a season without a coach....IF production increases, demand falls off a bit and there are no more stay at home orders killing off production. Lot of variables to manage.

[Ellisfambam]

Any recommendations for a great dealer in the northwest? Patrick is a bit far from Boise, Idaho.

[NoResults]

When Airstream Adventures didn't want to deal I purchased from Toscano RV in Los Banos, Ca. (David Morse) 877 485-0190


Dave

[Neowise]

When Airstream Adventures Northwest didn’t want to deal we ordered from Sutton RV in Eugene.... a friendly old family firm. They only have one on the lot right now, a 2020 30’ Classic. We ordered a 23’ GT twin towards the end of July; expected end Dec./ early Jan. Ask for Terry, I think he said he’s worked there 26 years.

[daleyocum]

Originally Posted by NoResults

When Airstream Adventures didn't want to deal I purchased from Toscano RV in Los Banos, Ca. (David Morse) 877 485-0190


Dave

+1 At least get a quote from them for a unit they order. That’s what I did and then took that quote to Airstream adventures and they matched it. That may not work as well in COVID times though.

[Ellisfambam]

Originally Posted by Neowise

When Airstream Adventures Northwest didn’t want to deal we ordered from Sutton RV in Eugene.... a friendly old family firm. They only have one on the lot right now, a 2020 30’ Classic. We ordered a 23’ GT twin towards the end of July; expected end Dec./ early Jan. Ask for Terry, I think he said he’s worked there 26 years.

Can I ask what percentage off of MSRP they gave you?

[Ellisfambam]

Originally Posted by daleyocum

+1 At least get a quote from them for a unit they order. That’s what I did and then took that quote to Airstream adventures and they matched it. That may not work as well in COVID times though.

So did you actually purchase thru Toscano? We are currently talking with David as well as a local guy with Airstream adventures. David has been so kind and currently has the lowest price. Purchasing out of town makes me a little more nervous, but the best price wins.
Sadly Terry from Sutton RV was quite rude to my husband. He was really irritated that we were wanting prices even though we assured him we are more than happy to make the drive.