Is this a common dealership tactic ?

[JCZhome]

A coworker bought a Grand Design (one of a few, actually). We have multiple GD dealers in my state (CO), but he went all the way to Florida for a much better deal and camped all the way back. He made a trip out of the deal. For an $8k discount, I'd do exactly that, which was why he did. I say go with the other dealer! I wouldn't feel okay with that tactic either.

I have a semi-related question, because I've seen this come up quite a bit. The GD dealers in my state don't have good service reviews at all. What exactly is needed in order for GD to approve a mobile tech? Or, will they always approve it? This, by far, sounds like the best way to go, so I'm very curious. Thanks!



Ok....I've researched many different travel trailers over the last couple years and I had no idea this website existed. I feel like an idiot. Either way, thanks for posting this! Great resource.

GD has to pre-authorize for you to use a mobile tech. I've seen (or heard) of them pre-authorizing for a mobile tech. or independent RV repair shop for various reasons....to far from the closest deaelrship, bad relationship with their local dealership, can't move the rig until after the repair, etc. etc. They will tell you "you can take it where you want to.....any place except Camping World!" If you're a full timer or traveling then you take it to the dealership where you're located and if there isn't one close then you get pre-autorization to take it to an independent shop or call a mobile tech.

[Squeaky]

Well, in our case, we contacted GD to tell them that the dealer was unable to fix our rig in a timely manner. They told us to take it to any repair facility, have them take pictures of what needed to be fixed, forward those pictures to GD, and then have the service place fix it. Once fixed, and paid for (by us) we were to submit the bill to GD for a refund.

And that's exactly how it worked.

Good to know. Thank you! I'm totally fine (once I get a rig) paying for all repairs in advance if that means a quicker repair and more personalized experience.

Yes, they try real hard to hide this from the general public. I didn't know about this either, until I went to Texas for the RV Maint. Tech. training and the training to become a Level 2 certified RV Inspector. I'm not in business, I took all of that training for personal knowledge. But I use that training trying to help others....

Thank you again!

[Squeaky]

GD has to pre-authorize for you to use a mobile tech. I've seen (or heard) of them pre-authorizing for a mobile tech. or independent RV repair shop for various reasons....to far from the closest deaelrship, bad relationship with their local dealership, can't move the rig until after the repair, etc. etc. They will tell you "you can take it where you want to.....any place except Camping World!" If you're a full timer or traveling then you take it to the dealership where you're located and if there isn't one close then you get pre-autorization to take it to an independent shop or call a mobile tech.

Great info. Thank you for this, too!

[boyscout]

This is what they do at car dealerships sometimes as well. It is their way of making sure if they take your offer you can't back out. It shows that you are serious. Have done this on car purchases when negotiating. Negotiated the 297RSTS over the phone so couldn't do it then. Rob

It is their way of making sure that if they don't accept your offer you will remain bound to negotiating further with them.

Another dealer (15hrs away) quoted me almost $8000 less than what these guys want, and included battery, hoses and other small perks. Just concerned with warranty work, being that far away.

The chances of your nearby dealer's warranty service being worth $8,000 more are likely slim - dealer service is not a GD strong suit these days. Their deposit ploy would make me wary of dealing with them.

[Denisf]

Thank you all for your advice and opinions. It gave me some options to look at and will start the “hunting “ process again.

[Luv2Ski]

Good advice above. Here's my $0.02:

I also suggest negotiating on out-the-door price less government taxes and fees. Tell them that this includes so-called document fees and transportation charges, etc. No surprises.
As previously mentioned, seedealercost.com is a great starting point. The dealers ultimately pay less than invoice once program and incentive money is taken into account. Note that the costs shown are USD. The invoice costs may be higher in CAD if there are duties or VAT. I don't know much about Canadian taxes. Dealers also are more willing to deal near the end of the month and the end of the quarter when they're trying to meet their numbers. You'll need the resources in place to close by their deadline or it doesn't motivate them.

We preferred to do a factory order on our Momentum so we got exactly what we wanted (double pane windows, GY 614 tires, 3rd A/C, etc.) and didn't pay for what the dealer thought typical buyers would want (e.g. outdoor TV, deck stairs, patio recliners). When you visit a dealership, the sales person wants to sell you something on their lot so they get paid fast. They don't want to do orders since they don't get their commission until you close 6 to 8 weeks later. Heck, they may be gone by then. Be aware that some of GD's "options packages" are actually mandatory - even on special orders. Mandatory options must be the ultimate oxymoron, I know. Apparently that's a common marketing technique across RV manufacturers. For some reason they don't just make them standard and jack the price accordingly.

Remember that on special orders the dealer has little to no financed carrying costs like they do with the units sitting on their lot all winter. Remind them of that fact when negotiating. Expect to put down a deposit - especially if your option combination is unusual as ours was. They'll want the deposit as insurance in case something happens and you back out. Your customized unit may be harder for them to sell and they'll have to discount it more. Your sales person should keep you informed of progress: when a build date is scheduled, when a VIN is assigned, when the unit is built and when it is on its way to the dealership.

I also agree that you shouldn't fear buying out-of-province/state if the deal saves you enough to be worthwhile. Personally $8K would be worthwhile enough for me to drive to Alaska to pick it up. Like Squeaky, we live in Colorado. We bought ours from Good Life RV in Iowa. Saved plenty over the local rip-off GD merchants here. Good Life let us camp in it on their lot before we did the paperwork the next day. We developed a punch list of minor things which they knocked out. After the paperwork was finished, we camped at a local park down the road for two nights in case there were any other issues (there weren't).

[Calbar]

It is their way of making sure that if they don't accept your offer you will remain bound to negotiating further with them.

Agreed. Had a car dealer that seems good to deal with at first. Agreed on a good price, out the door even based on our discussion and then the price was $2000 higher on the paperwork. Had a heck of a time with them and all the extras they wanted to charge when the deal was clear that price was out the door.

Ended up walking but some dealers do anything to make the sale.

Rob

[Steven@147]

I detest all the shenanigans they try to pull on people through the sales process. The problem I see with long distance buying, everything seems to be agreed to, then once you make that long drive you find out the deal isn't what they initially agreed to. They figure after taking that long drive you're not likely to go home empty handed.

Sale scare tactics. When we bought our new RV they tried real hard to get us to include an extended warranty, we didn't bite. Feed us all kinds of scare repair tactics.
Then in the end to help their service dept, they gave us this "Priority RV Network" "Priority Service Customer" key chain card supposedly as a reward for buying our new RV from them. Said showing it would get us priority in line for any service for our unit. Well, their service dept is so bad I wouldn't use them anyway unless I was desperate. Haven't had any problems with our new unit that requires warranty work, knock on wood.

[Richter]

Good advice above. Here's my $0.02:

I also suggest negotiating on out-the-door price less government taxes and fees. Tell them that this includes so-called document fees and transportation charges, etc. No surprises.
As previously mentioned, seedealercost.com is a great starting point. The dealers ultimately pay less than invoice once program and incentive money is taken into account. Note that the costs shown are USD. The invoice costs may be higher in CAD if there are duties or VAT. I don't know much about Canadian taxes. Dealers also are more willing to deal near the end of the month and the end of the quarter when they're trying to meet their numbers. You'll need the resources in place to close by their deadline or it doesn't motivate them.

We preferred to do a factory order on our Momentum so we got exactly what we wanted (double pane windows, GY 614 tires, 3rd A/C, etc.) and didn't pay for what the dealer thought typical buyers would want (e.g. outdoor TV, deck stairs, patio recliners). When you visit a dealership, the sales person wants to sell you something on their lot so they get paid fast. They don't want to do orders since they don't get their commission until you close 6 to 8 weeks later. Heck, they may be gone by then. Be aware that some of GD's "options packages" are actually mandatory - even on special orders. Mandatory options must be the ultimate oxymoron, I know. Apparently that's a common marketing technique across RV manufacturers. For some reason they don't just make them standard and jack the price accordingly.

Remember that on special orders the dealer has little to no financed carrying costs like they do with the units sitting on their lot all winter. Remind them of that fact when negotiating. Expect to put down a deposit - especially if your option combination is unusual as ours was. They'll want the deposit as insurance in case something happens and you back out. Your customized unit may be harder for them to sell and they'll have to discount it more. Your sales person should keep you informed of progress: when a build date is scheduled, when a VIN is assigned, when the unit is built and when it is on its way to the dealership.

I also agree that you shouldn't fear buying out-of-province/state if the deal saves you enough to be worthwhile. Personally $8K would be worthwhile enough for me to drive to Alaska to pick it up. Like Squeaky, we live in Colorado. We bought ours from Good Life RV in Iowa. Saved plenty over the local rip-off GD merchants here. Good Life let us camp in it on their lot before we did the paperwork the next day. We developed a punch list of minor things which they knocked out. After the paperwork was finished, we camped at a local park down the road for two nights in case there were any other issues (there weren't).

Agree with almost everything. My only difference was that “Out-the-door” was inclusive of everything. That is the price that I will be paying, so I wanted to see everything, including taxes, license fees, everything. Did this for both the truck and the trailer. When I got to the signing point for the trailer, the price was $500 more than what had been agreed to. I don’t remember where the discrepancy was, but I stuck to my guns, and they re-wrote it so that it was the agreed to “Out-the-door” price. When you negotiate with that price, they can’t add anything else at the end.

[livinthelife]

Agree with almost everything. My only difference was that “Out-the-door” was inclusive of everything. That is the price that I will be paying, so I wanted to see everything, including taxes, license fees, everything. Did this for both the truck and the trailer. When I got to the signing point for the trailer, the price was $500 more than what had been agreed to. I don’t remember where the discrepancy was, but I stuck to my guns, and they re-wrote it so that it was the agreed to “Out-the-door” price. When you negotiate with that price, they can’t add anything else at the end.

That's how we bought both our truck and 5th wheel (actually how we've bought our last 3 cars, also).

"This is the price I want to pay, TOTAL" And, every time, we've gotten it.