Purchase Process Recommendations for First-Time RV Owners

I don't understand how some of these Owners / Managers think acting this way and doing business this way will lead to long term success.

The sales guy even texted me and apologized for how things went down. He probably won't be happy he lost a deal because of it.

The owner even kept trolling me on email.... trying to tell me he knew what kind of person I was and how I couldn't possibly be a serious buyer and they didn't need customers like me.

All I kept doing after each of his emails is explained how the next time the customer has the audacity to ask for a better price, all he had to do is alter his response a bit and he might actually not lose the customer. I also told him I was in sales for over 20 years and the one thing you never do is bash your competitors. All it does is make you look desperate.

In the end I am glad it worked out the way it did. On the surface they appeared to be a good dealer but once you peeled back the onion, the smell was strong enough to make us run for the hills before it was too late.

So in the end..... it saved me a 48-hour round trip drive to purchase there..... and my local dealer ended up giving me a better discount than the crazy owner would to earn my business.

The other plus..... and the reason I was willing to shop out of state..... I took my Dynamax Isata 3 in for warranty work a couple months ago to have the Inverter replaced at a local dealer. They treated me excellent and not like was an outcast because I didn't buy the coach there. They even turned the coach around in two weeks.... and that was even with them shutting down for a hurricane.

After that experience I knew I could buy out of state and still get good service. I told the sales rep that because of the service and treatment I received, I wanted to purchase from them.... but only for the right deal. At first they wanted to play low-ball but once they learned I was a serious buyer and willing go elsewhere, they did what they needed to do to get my business. They offered 22%... which seems to be the ballpark of the highest discount I could find of 23% for the Renegade model I plan to buy.

So tomorrow I'll head to the dealer to see if everything on paper lines up with what they told me and if it does, we'll place the order.

It shouldn't have to be this hard.

I came across this very interesting read from a couple years ago. This guy Brett Davis is the CEO for National Indoor RV Centers. NIRVC sells Newmar, Tiffin and Entegra Super C's as well as other coaches.

Reading what this industry insider has to say about RV markups...... cost of ownership..... and even purchasing used RV's should be a must for anyone thinking about buying an RV. If I had decided on a brand / model NIRVC sells, I think I would have definitely tried to get a deal there.


https://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/ne...sell-2023-s-at-msrp-598195-3.html#post6352195



This is also interesting data that NIRVC posts on their website. I wish this data was easily available for every RV manufacturer by RV class.

https://www.nirvc.com/Manufacturers/DefectsPerUnit


I find it very comical that the crazy owner called Newmar junk after looking at the data for their Super C's. Although it is surprising Newmar is in the middle of the pack for Class A's




Happy Holidays to all of you!
Congratulations
Great read.
Keep us 📫
 
Even with the ridiculous MSRP markup today, I would not settle for less than 30% off MSRP. Pre-covid we did better than that on our 2020 class C. It's a buyer's market now more than ever, and that's likely going to become very obvious in the coming year.
 
Even with the ridiculous MSRP markup today, I would not settle for less than 30% off MSRP. Pre-covid we did better than that on our 2020 class C. It's a buyer's market now more than ever, and that's likely going to become very obvious in the coming year.


I can pretty much tell you a couple people I spoke with has gotten anything near 30% for a Renegade Super C in the past 1 -2 years and beyond. All the research I have done also supports that data.... including several surveys on various forums.

Renegade primarily makes high-end Super C's (they make a small Class C on a Sprinter but that's not their bread and butter). They make a limited production run for each model they sell and have a limited number of dealers. Even some of the dealers listed don't have much, if any inventory at times.

They only make about 40 per year of the model that I ordered. Between limited production and limited dealers, it keeps the prices higher.

I called three other dealers over the weekend and the best discount I could get was the one I have with the dealer in my backyard. That was telling them I was ready to order today if the price was right, One dealer in Louisiana would match what I got here but they were 12-hours away and wouldn't go any higher to get me to make the drive.

I'm fairly certain I got about the best deal I could get..... especially given we are two weeks from the end of the year and you would think at least one out of 8 dealers I was talking with could use a decent size order before the end of the year or offering a better discount for one they had on their lot.

Comparing the Renegade to Dynamax, Jayco and Entegra Super C's, you can clearly see ..... and actually feel the difference. We actually didn't like the interior decor very much in the Newmar Super C's we saw.

One thing is certain..... Renegade owners don't seem to jump ship. Many owners have purchased multiple rigs over the course of many years. I'm actually shocked at how many people buy a pretty expensive Renegade Super C and then in a short time trade it in for an even more expensive Renegade Super C model.

So getting 30% off on a current model year Renegade would be the proverbial unicorn.

If you are willing to take a left-over 2024.... and I did see a couple scattered around the country.... you might get close to 30%.

But they redesigned some things in the 2025's.... including a 2" wider entry door plus some other things... along with an updated chassis. So if we were going to spend the money, we wanted to get the things that changed in 2025 even if it cost a little more.
 
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So I got a call from a friend who owns the same Dynamax coach I currently have. He is also considering a Super C and full-timing for a while since they sold their house and trying to figure where they want to live.

He knows someone with extensive Renegade experience and contacts. Like me he thought surely a discount closer to 30% would be possible. He contacted him to talk about the deal I got for ordering. His friend said the 22% off was very good and at the high-end of the curve for the Renegade model I ordered.

He also said that Sport Truck RV in Chandler, AZ is probably the best Renegade dealer in the country in terms of sales, service and support. I had heard that as well and looked at their website.... but 35-hours away was starting to push how far I wanted to go.

In any case all of my research and trying to push dealers for the best discount paid off and while I didn't get the typical 30%+ off, I got the highest discount I was likely to see for the model I ordered.

The moral of the story as I said before..... don't be afraid to push hard across multiple dealers to learn which ones really want your business and also will be there after the sale. I'm fortunate because I used this dealer before for service and I was impressed how they treated me when I didn't purchase from them. I was also impressed how fast they got me and got the work completed. But even though there service was very good, I wasn't going to overpay.

As I get older I'm doing less of my own repairs so a good dealer is more important for me today than it was 7 or 8 years ago. I'm also fortunate because there are also some good independent shops around once the warranty expires if I want / need to go that route.
 
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So I got a call from a friend who owns the same Dynamax coach I currently have. He is also considering a Super C and full-timing for a while since they sold their house and trying to figure where they want to live.

He knows someone with extensive Renegade experience and contacts. Like me he thought surely a discount closer to 30% would be possible. He contacted him to talk about the deal I got for ordering. His friend said the 22% off was very good and at the high-end of the curve for the Renegade model I ordered.

He also said that Sport Truck RV in Chandler, AZ is probably the best Renegade dealer in the country in terms of sales, service and support. I had heard that as well and looked at their website.... but 35-hours away was starting to push how far I wanted to go.

In any case all of my research and trying to push dealers for the best discount paid off and while I didn't get the typical 30%+ off, I got the highest discount I was likely to see for the model I ordered.

The moral of the story as I said before..... don't be afraid to push hard across multiple dealers to learn which ones really want your business and also will be there after the sale. I'm fortunate because I used this dealer before for service and I was impressed how they treated me when I didn't purchase from them. I was also impressed how fast they got me and got the work completed. But even though there service was very good, I wasn't going to overpay.

As I get older I'm doing less of my own repairs so a good dealer is more important for me today than it was 7 or 8 years ago. I'm also fortunate because there are also some good independent shops around once the warranty expires if I want / need to go that route.


Great info. Congratulations on the purchase.
My 4 children attended school in business friendly Chandler, AZ. Wonderful town..
 

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