Good deal? Should I do it? (Opinions wanted)

[FT4NOW]

We are at the Hershey show and got a price for a 2023 398M-R (custom order) for $120k out the door. We put a deposit down yesterday, but havent filled out any of the paperwork, so we can still cancel. My wife is on the fence about canceling it thinking we might get a better deal if we wait.

Things to consider:
-She doesnt want a used unit, we are only considering new

-Right now they said build time should only be about 2 months while they are letting dealers clear out 2022s

-I retire from the Navy in about 18 months at which time we plan to go fulltime

-The build and price on the GD website for the options we chose came out to about $157k, so we are looking at 24% off MSRP

-For perspective, they had an available 398M-R, "show special" for $123k (not out the door price) that had at least $10k less in options than the custom order we priced out

-Looking at RV Trader, there arent any 2023s that come close in price, and the closest was a 2022 that didnt have all the options we picked and was listed at $115k and located in AZ. We are in VA and would be traveling to PA to pick this up once built.

With all that being said, I am looking for non-emotionally involved parties to see what the opinions are on this deal.

And of course, on a side note, we need to find a truck...

No trade is involved, we sold our SRW F350 and Reflection....and dont get me started on we should have kept the DRW F350 from when we had a 399....I know

Thanks in advance

[MoonShadow_1911]

We are at the Hershey show and got a price for a 2023 398M-R (custom order) for $120k out the door. We put a deposit down yesterday, but havent filled out any of the paperwork, so we can still cancel. My wife is on the fence about canceling it thinking we might get a better deal if we wait.

Things to consider:
-She doesnt want a used unit, we are only considering new

-Right now they said build time should only be about 2 months while they are letting dealers clear out 2022s

-I retire from the Navy in about 18 months at which time we plan to go fulltime

-The build and price on the GD website for the options we chose came out to about $157k, so we are looking at 24% off MSRP

-For perspective, they had an available 398M-R, "show special" for $123k (not out the door price) that had at least $10k less in options than the custom order we priced out

With all that being said, I am looking for non-emotionally involved parties to see what the opinions are on this deal.

And of course, on a side note, we need to find a truck...

No trade is involved, we sold our SRW F350 and Reflection....and dont get me started on we should have kept the DRW F350 from when we had a 399....I know

Thanks in advance

It'll be like a house, or any other big purchase.

1. Do y'all like the floor plan?
2. Are you getting EXACTLY what you want?
3. Waiting is always a game. You might be able to find a dealer that will special order the exact same coach (Northgate RV in Ringglod, GA) and give you a better price on it. On the other hand, you might not.
4. Are you paying cash? A dealer might give you an even better deal, if so.
5. This is subjective, sleep on it a few days. If it still "feels" right, and you trust your gut, go for it!

[Second Chance]

It'll be like a house, or any other big purchase.

1. Do y'all like the floor plan?
2. Are you getting EXACTLY what you want?
3. Waiting is always a game. You might be able to find a dealer that will special order the exact same coach (Northgate RV in Ringglod, GA) and give you a better price on it. On the other hand, you might not.
4. Are you paying cash? A dealer might give you an even better deal, if so.
5. This is subjective, sleep on it a few days. If it still "feels" right, and you trust your gut, go for it!

I don't think I could have expressed my thoughts any better. Since you've put a deposit down on it, you have some time to consider Mark's questions. My gut is, if the shoe fits, buy it.

Rob

[geotex1]

@FT4NOW - too bad I missed you at the show!

The above states my thoughts very well, but here's a very real reality in that dealers will provide show pricing almost any time! The question is whether the factory is giving them breaks at the show to take it another level. I have to believe you are dealing with Meyer's as that's GD highest volume dealer in the NE, biggest presence at the show, and gets those breaks... However, I didn't take note if they were representing the Momentum line or not. If you are dealing with them, shoot me a PM and I'll give you our experience so you know what to expect and can navigate with less headaches!

[Steven@147]

We are at the Hershey show and got a price for a 2023 398M-R (custom order) for $120k out the door. We put a deposit down yesterday, but havent filled out any of the paperwork, so we can still cancel. My wife is on the fence about canceling it thinking we might get a better deal if we wait.

Things to consider:
-She doesnt want a used unit, we are only considering new

-Right now they said build time should only be about 2 months while they are letting dealers clear out 2022s

-I retire from the Navy in about 18 months at which time we plan to go fulltime

-The build and price on the GD website for the options we chose came out to about $157k, so we are looking at 24% off MSRP

-For perspective, they had an available 398M-R, "show special" for $123k (not out the door price) that had at least $10k less in options than the custom order we priced out

-Looking at RV Trader, there arent any 2023s that come close in price, and the closest was a 2022 that didnt have all the options we picked and was listed at $115k and located in AZ. We are in VA and would be traveling to PA to pick this up once built.

With all that being said, I am looking for non-emotionally involved parties to see what the opinions are on this deal.

And of course, on a side note, we need to find a truck...

No trade is involved, we sold our SRW F350 and Reflection....and dont get me started on we should have kept the DRW F350 from when we had a 399....I know

Thanks in advance

Congrats on your upcoming retirement! Tami and I are in our 2nd year fulltiming and loving every minute of our freedom. If we had it to do again, we would buy new also, we don't want to inherit someone else's problems and if needs be you have the full warranty from day one because you know somethings will have to be repaired/fixed. In any event you probably wont be able to find a year old unit that has all the options you want without compromising. The 2023's maybe a better choice since they may have paid a little more attention to detail in manufacturing, rather than in 2022 when they slammed them together to fill inventory.

Of course you know, no matter what you decide, the both of you need to be on the same page to make it work, enough said on that part of it. If you have to have a loan, new may get you a little better terms than buying used and right now loan rates are going up. You may have to wait a long time before loan rates come back down, if that is a need. Better terms from truck manufacturer's, you might find a deal 0% or lower interest loan from Ford, GM or Ram on a new truck/TV to tow that monster, don't know how they will deal on a 3500 dually with large payload. Getting a new TV maybe more problematic than getting the RV. Cart before the horse syndrome?

That 398M is a monster! .. Too big for us and how we travel, but 24% off is nothing to sneeze at, it may take a little longer for the RV industry get back to the 30% off days. Still a big investment, plus a TV. Options - we wouldn't compromise, we bought off lot, but wish we had dual pane windows.

Fill out your plus and minus, do's and don't sheet, and it will settle out. Good Luck!
My rambling's sound like someone without his mind fully awake, sorry.

[WhittleBurner]

We are at the Hershey show and got a price for a 2023 398M-R (custom order) for $120k out the door. We put a deposit down yesterday, but havent filled out any of the paperwork, so we can still cancel. My wife is on the fence about canceling it thinking we might get a better deal if we wait.

Things to consider:
-She doesnt want a used unit, we are only considering new

-Right now they said build time should only be about 2 months while they are letting dealers clear out 2022s

-I retire from the Navy in about 18 months at which time we plan to go fulltime

-The build and price on the GD website for the options we chose came out to about $157k, so we are looking at 24% off MSRP

-For perspective, they had an available 398M-R, "show special" for $123k (not out the door price) that had at least $10k less in options than the custom order we priced out

-Looking at RV Trader, there arent any 2023s that come close in price, and the closest was a 2022 that didnt have all the options we picked and was listed at $115k and located in AZ. We are in VA and would be traveling to PA to pick this up once built.

With all that being said, I am looking for non-emotionally involved parties to see what the opinions are on this deal.

And of course, on a side note, we need to find a truck...

No trade is involved, we sold our SRW F350 and Reflection....and dont get me started on we should have kept the DRW F350 from when we had a 399....I know

Thanks in advance

If you are financing you should get better rates for buying new. Also if financing even if you were to get say 5K more off and not get exactly what you want how big of a difference will that make in your payments. Also when looking at trucks take a F450 out for a test drive and pay attention to the tuning radius. you may even look at the difference in construction. The F450 Has bigger brakes, stronger frame even more robust front end parts. As everyone else has said it does have to be a joint decision so there is never any doubts. But both of you take a good look at all the options open to you and go with what feels right. You do that you will be happy.

[FT4NOW]

Thanks for the replies so far.

It is the floor plan we want, and since a custom order, the way we want it. I was thinking along the same lines about waiting, you never know what will happen. I doubt prices will go up, but there's no guarantee they will come down or how dealers will negotiate. I do believe GD was helping with pricing, at least that's what the dealer (Meyers) had told me...

Also with a short build time right now, seems like a good time compared to the wait times of the last few years.

The Hershey show is one of the manufacturer shows, so its possible GD is helping.

I was thinking 24% off is good in the current market and know we wont find one on a lot with those exact options. I have an email to a dealer for pricing (where I purchased my 399) to see what they can offer.

I'm not concerned with after sale service since we will be on the road and I do all the work myself on our RVs.

We had planned to order an F450 in October when order banks open unless i find a good deal on a used truck before its delivered. Part of the unknown is how long the truck could take for delivery. The RV dealer said it wasnt a problem to leave the RV there until I can pick it up (havent asked when the warranty clock starts, but i imagine it's when i sign for delivery). Probably good to do that sooner in case RV loan rates go up anymore.

My wife is on board with us moving forward, she just wants to make sure, as good as possible, that we are getting the best deal for our money. My goal, happy wife, happy life.

She is just worried if the RV market bottoms out, that we didnt miss out on a good money saving opportunity.

[wudwork]

Without a TV, I would likely wait till next year. The manuf have steadily increased the base price of everything so xx% off is needed just to get you back to some sense of normal pricing. I believe the 2022 models, very overpriced, will take a bit to clear out then next year the models will be priced lower.

With all that said, if you do choose to proceed, I would ask dealer if they can deliver trailer to you. Leaving it at dealership might make it available for them to show it to others. My last trailer, the dealer parked it next to building and I had a full day to do a very thorough PDI. @FT4NOW

[Bamaman]

It'll be like a house, or any other big purchase.

1. Do y'all like the floor plan?
2. Are you getting EXACTLY what you want?
3. Waiting is always a game. You might be able to find a dealer that will special order the exact same coach (Northgate RV in Ringglod, GA) and give you a better price on it. On the other hand, you might not.
4. Are you paying cash? A dealer might give you an even better deal, if so.
5. This is subjective, sleep on it a few days. If it still "feels" right, and you trust your gut, go for it!

If there's a 2 month turnaround on your desired model, do you intend to do any camping over the winter? Seems that you have time to shop around for the best deal--especially on such an elaborate toy hauler.

And you'll want to get the tow vehicle that's properly equipped to handle such a large trailer. Right now, dually trucks are very difficult to find at reasonable prices unless they're stripped utilitarian trucks like the power company would use. And who knows how many months out they are on special ordered vehicles.

I bought my Reflection for a very fair price at Tenn. RV's in Knoxville--which has been bought by Lazy Days. I've heard nothing but great things about the Ringold, GA dealer--a few miles south of Chattanooga. I was going to suggest you shop there. Times are not normal in the RV, truck or automobile markets right now so shopping around for an exemplary dealer is so important.

[FT4NOW]

I did contact a few other dealers, but they never got back to me. We ended up going through with the purchase at the show and we are both happy with how it went. We plan to order a truck when Superduty banks open next month. In the meantime I'll keep an eye out for any good alternatives and see what the options are. If the RV is delivered before we have a truck, we decided we will see if we can either borrow a truck, rent a truck or just pay a hauler to bring it to our house. If we go with the hauler option, we will goto the dealer to do the PDI, then sign papers and setup delivery. That will prevent it from sitting at the dealer all winter and allow me to get started on the long list of mods I have planned. Winter isnt that bad in Southeast Virginia so I think I can get some work done while we arent camping.