Price haggling tips

[Christina1pac]

Hi all,
I am considering buying a used motorhome from Lazydays in Florida. It seems to be a good idea to get their lowest price before letting them know that I have a motorhome to trade. Is this a good idea or is it better to work the trade into the deal from the start?
Any other tips for getting the best price from a dealer? This is definitely not a must-have purchase so I am prepared to walk if I don’t get exactly what I want which is probably the best bargaining chip.

Thanks!
Christina

[TurnerFam]

It could work both ways, even against you if they don't know you have a trade before hand.

Say you work out a great 'deal', and then tell them you have a trade. Now they already KNOW you want the new RV, so they have no reason to give you any great 'deal' on your trade.
If you tell them ahead of time, and let them also know you already have several 'good' trade options at other places, they may give you both a good deal on the new, and a good deal on the 'old'.

Yes, 'walking' is actually the best advice for ANY new buyer - if you have that, you have ALL the leverage for any sale - you are in control, you are the boss.

[Bob Denman]

Have you thought about taking a revolver and a bottle of moonshine to the negotiations?
Seriously: Good luck!

[ducksface]

When doing any purchase:

There's a key.
The big key
The key that determines the future.
The key that changes your outlook :

Do not haggle so far that you hate the deal, the dealer, the rv, the rides in the rv.

I've been involved with people that once a consideration was given them, a discount of an amount that represented the dealers respect for the buyer, the buyer jumped up and down, hugged, laughed till they cried and enjoyed every minute of the rest of their rv life.

I've been involved with people who haggle for hours, beat the dealer for $10 add-ons that needed 10 hours of labor to install, squeezed that last nickel, disrespected the finance guy and the process, bitched and moaned the entire rest of their rv experience FOR YEARS. We read their posts, daily.

Here's that key:
When you're happy, STOP. Stand up, shake their hand, be happy.

Go. HAPPILY buy your dream.

[Bob Denman]

I agree: unless you actually like going through life miserable... and making others feel the same way.
In the end: you'll remember the good times in the RV for a lot longer time: than you'll remember "beating that stinking S.O.B. out of the last ten bucks"!

[Pete'sMH]

Originally Posted by ducksface

When doing any purchase:

There's a key.
The big key
The key that determines the future.
The key that changes your outlook :

Do not haggle so far that you hate the deal, the dealer, the rv, the rides in the rv.

I've been involved with people that once a consideration was given them, a discount of an amount that represented the dealers respect for the buyer, the buyer jumped up and down, hugged, laughed till they cried and enjoyed every minute of the rest of their rv life.

I've been involved with people who haggle for hours, beat the dealer for $10 add-ons that needed 10 hours of labor to install, squeezed that last nickel, disrespected the finance guy and the process, bitched and moaned the entire rest of their rv experience FOR YEARS. We read their posts, daily.

Here's that key:
When you're happy, STOP. Stand up, shake their hand, be happy.

Go. HAPPILY buy your dream.

Best advice EVER! It’s supposed to be a recreational activity not a blood sport. By all means press for a good deal but fun things most often cost money and purchasing at a price that leaves everyone happy and saves hours (or days, if you walk) of high tension, nose to nose haggling is worth it in my book. Life’s too short to be all pi$$ed off all the time!

[Bob Denman]

Amen...

[Mr Sunshine]

No argument with any of the comments so far. Would add, have you checked their competition? There must be thousands of used RVs in Florida. www.rvt and www.rvtrader are two good sources.

You might find it pays to drive a ways to pick up a deal. (We saved a lot of $$$ with a purchase about a thousand miles away!)

[The Gritz Carlton]

In direct answer to your question...any deal is a "wholesale for wholesale" or "retail for retail" deal...or meeting somewhere in the middle. If you beat the crap out of their price, then lay down on your trade. Pay retail...then get retail for your trade. Trading is more of a convenience for you. You have to have a pretty good idea what these numbers are for both units. Do your research ahead of time on the websites (RV Trader). If you can buy the new one without having to sell the used one...you can win on both ends. Dealers take trades to sell new units. If they must take it in, they want to sell it for a profit...part of their risk of "buying it from you". You notice...one of the first questions they address..."is this your first RV?"...they are seasoned snakes...and the "closet trade" is something they look for out front.

[The Gritz Carlton]

..."You might find it pays to drive a ways to pick up a deal. (We saved a lot of $$$ with a purchase about a thousand miles away!"...


Same here...once I realized there's very little value in buying locally (RV dealers in general), I hit the road...800 miles away.

[ducksface]

It was just over 5000 miles round trip for us to purchase our 24.1.
Then another 3000 miles to get it outfitted.

If distance is a problem, how you Goin ta go plazez?

[Bob Denman]

Gritz,
You forget to give him your bestest advice:
When you first walk in the door of the place: proclaim in a LOUD voice that you want to speak with the "Head Sales-Goober"!

It definitely helps to set the tone...

[Christina1pac]

Thanks everyone, all great advice! I will double check on RVTrader and am driving 600 miles to look at the one I have found so far at a good price.

[The_Breeze]

Originally Posted by Mr Sunshine

No argument with any of the comments so far. Would add, have you checked their competition? There must be thousands of used RVs in Florida. www.rvt and www.rvtrader are two good sources.

You might find it pays to drive a ways to pick up a deal. (We saved a lot of $$$ with a purchase about a thousand miles away!)

Ditto. I used both of these and compared the available options with my list. I referenced them everyday and as long as you stick with the sort order (e.g. price) you 'll either get ones that have dropped in price and now fit in your budget and, most of all, the new posts.

I didn't have to go to his extreme as I was in Ocala and the RV popped up down the road about 2 hrs in Sanford. The rig had 'everything' and I mean everything I wanted and it was used (9kmi). Thing was 1yr old and brand new.

This is one stinky piece of advice but sit on the toilet before you buy. It's the only thing I can't stand about my RV and it's because I forgot to do that. I stood in the shower to make sure I'd fit (6'4") but totally forgot about the toilet.

Best of luck and happy hunting.

[Bob Denman]

Originally Posted by Christina1pac

Thanks everyone, all great advice! I will double check on RVTrader and am driving 600 miles to look at the one I have found so far at a good price.

Good luck, and Happy Hunting!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsL6U0eAVc4

[BASSMAN]

Wait for the middle of winter, not many people are shopping for RVs at that time of the year and the dealers need to keep moving rigs to stay in business and will be willing to work a deal, shop on line with dealers in you area and try to compare and apple with an apple see what others are selling the same rig for, also check the Trader Publications to see what the same rig you are looking to buy is going for, I shopped in the middle of the winter for my new 25.4 AXIS and got the dealer to throw in the best extended warranty and a spare tire and wheel at a price lower then the had advertised, I had a dealer a 170 miles north of me gave a me a quote on line and told me they would fly me up to make the purchase, I went the the local dealer and they said they would match the price and deliver the coach, their is a big mark up on RVs and paying full price is foolish, after I made my deal I was informed that Thor was giving $1,000.00 rebates if the coach was bought in the month of February when I made the purchase, I had looked on line on used coaches and some were listed by private sellers for more than a new one, just pays to shop around

[Spc19498]

I did all my negotiating via email. I shopped online at multiple dealers across the country, found the best deal I could and then used it to negotiate locally. I never stepped foot on the lot until the deal was agreed upon, including trade. Like others said, pay retail get retail, pay wholesale get wholesale. Determine what you think is a realistic price that makes you happy and be willing to walk away. You could also just sell your current Rv private party and remove it from the deal, that way you pay wholesale at the dealer and “hope” someone doesn’t pay wholesale for your Rv. Idk what state you live in, but in Idaho, the amount you receive for your trade in is deducted from the taxable amount on the new purchase. So if you receive $50k for your trade from the dealer you save 6% = $3k on sales tax. Which is a big deal. (To me)
Good luck, and stay happy.

[Bob Denman]

Originally Posted by Spc19498

Idk what state you live in, but in Idaho, the amount you receive for your trade in is deducted from the taxable amount on the new purchase. So if you receive $50k for your trade from the dealer you save 6% = $3k on sales tax. Which is a big deal. (To me)
Good luck, and stay happy.

It's the same way here in New York.
But our tax rate is 8%...

[The Gritz Carlton]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

It's the same way here in New York.
But our tax rate is 8%...

Jump on "The Trump Train" and join us in Florida.

[Mitch S]

I know that I'll never buy another RV in Florida, paid tx in Florida, and since W. Va. doesn't have an agreement with Fla. on taxes, had to pay taxes again to get tags.