Archive - Aluminium Camper Forum

I know many on here purchased "custom" LL products and some of us bought off the lot.  Did you haggle with the dealer?  Seems a little hard  to haggle because of the lack of dealerships and on lot products.    Having never bought  a trailer I wasn't  sure of protocol.    I'm a horse trader and love to haggle.  Car dealers hate me I  love the game.   However, with this purchase I scouted (Internet) looking for price used and new for 21RBS and the dealer in Buford GA had everyone beat by at least $1K. I refuse to pay MSRP but also know the dealer has to profit or he wont be around long.  Even though I horse trade I didnt even think I needed to haggle and paid the lot price.  I hated paying 7% sales tax but what can you do? Oh and we in GA still have to pay an Ad-Valorem (yearly)  tax on trailers about $300 @ year   :-(  Another reason I am changing my state of residence to SD.

[quote source="/post/8064/thread" timestamp="1426703212" author="@shovelhead"]I know many on here purchased "custom" LL products and some of us bought off the lot.  Did you haggle with the dealer?  Seems a little hard  to haggle because of the lack of dealerships and on lot products.    Having never bought  a trailer I wasn't  sure of protocol.    I'm a horse trader and love to haggle.  Car dealers hate me I  love the game.   However, with this purchase I scouted (Internet) looking for price used and new for 21RBS and the dealer in Buford GA had everyone beat by at least $1K. I refuse to pay MSRP but also know the dealer has to profit or he wont be around long.  Even though I horse trade I didnt even think I needed to haggle and paid the lot price.  I hated paying 7% sales tax but what can you do? Oh and we in GA still have to pay an Ad-Valorem (yearly)  tax on trailers about $300 @ year   :-(  Another reason I am changing my state of residence to SD.
[/quote]
I didn't negociated, but I negociated a bit the price of the trade-in, and I paid 13% sale tax

Haggle?  Of course!  But for lack of a category that accurately describes our experience, I just pressed option #1.  A better description for us would be, "Haggled, got a better price, but still paid too much?"  Dealer did negotiate with us, but still think they're overpriced, IMHO.  On the plus side, we paid less for our unit than any 'slashed' prices we've seen advertised nationwide..some satisfaction in that.  :) 

I didnt think of trade in possibilities  That will be next when/if I get another trailer.  It felt a little odd not to negotiate.  Not the norm for me.  My dealer did give a gift certificate that I used to purchase a brake controller with installation.  

I don't have the exact numbers, but after seeing a 21BHS for about $34k at Rockwood RV, west of Knoxville, seeing a very similar one at Sunny Island in Rockwood, IL for about $27,595 seemed like enough of a deal we did not haggle.

They honored their online advertised price without any add-ons, and the price for the hitch and installation seemed very fair.

Also, we did not appreciate the high pressure sales we encountered at Rockwood. 

I bought my 2012 QS 6.0 on a dealer's lot.  It was less than a year old and had only been used a couple of times.  I had already done my homework and knew that the QS 6.0 was the model that I wanted and I made a cash offer and saved about 10% off the asking price.  Paid $4100.  From what I can tell I could probably get that much if I sold it now- not planning on doing that though.

It does seem the LL used trailers retain value better.  Just for giggles I priced an Airstream..... Talk about sticker shock.

[quote source="/post/8066/thread" timestamp="1426704457" author="@gwbushhog"]Haggle?  Of course!  But for lack of a category that accurately describes our experience, I just pressed option #1.  A better description for us would be, "Haggled, got a better price, but still paid too much?"  Dealer did negotiate with us, but still think they're overpriced, IMHO.  On the plus side, we paid less for our unit than any 'slashed' prices we've seen advertised nationwide..some satisfaction in that.  :) [/quote]X2...   This is exactly what happened to us!    

[p]We caught an ad with a 2013 leftover in 2015. It was already slashed tremendously. The dealer isn't carrying LL or CL anymore. We STILL haggled them down another thousand dollars. Then 3 days later they called to see how we were getting on with it and to tell us they forgot to give us 50 raffle entries for a chance to win another thousand off. This because they were having an open house that weekend. We had no clue 'till we got there.

They mailed them out that week. End of the month and we could win again![/p][p]
[/p][p]I don't really want to give the price but we paid less than 16K, new, for the 16DB. It's insured for 23K[/p][p]
[/p][p]Big props to TC's RV's in Vermont. A very good dealer transcending far beyond my perception of price/value. I would make the 300 mile trek to them again in a heartbeat.[/p]

[quote source="/post/8080/thread" timestamp="1426714882" author="@whoofit"][p]I don't really want to give the price but we paid less than 16K, new, for the 16DB. It's insured for 23K[/p]
[/quote]That was a good deal.

Our BC7X20 was a leftover 2014 model, and was advertised online for way under MSRP. We tried to negotiate a bit from there, but it was already too deeply discounted, so we bought it at the advertised price. I feel like we got a good deal...

[quote source="/post/8082/thread" author="@michael" timestamp="1426716161"][quote source="/post/8080/thread" author="@whoofit" timestamp="1426714882"][p]I don't really want to give the price but we paid less than 16K, new, for the 16DB. It's insured for 23K[/p]
[/quote]That was a good deal.
[/quote]It's a family shop. Everyone there is immediate family. The Dad told me we bought for less than cost, the son and daughter did too. They said the markups on the LL line are the smallest in the industry...I dunno. They said they are a tough sell to make money on.



But without the price we could not have afforded it without financing it. Some one was looking down from above that day.

[quote timestamp="1426716161" source="/post/8082/thread" author="@michael"]

Quote from: @whoofit" source="/post/8080/thread" timestamp="1426714882[p]I don't really want to give the price but we paid less than 16K, new, for the 16DB. It's insured for 23K[/p]

That was a good deal.
[/quote]That was a good price.

Ours is a basic CampLite 11 TT and traded in a Chalet A-frame. The new sale price was around $9900 before giving us a good trade-in value for our Chalet.

[quote source="/post/8083/thread" timestamp="1426716828" author="@billmoore"]Our BC7X20 was a leftover 2014 model, and was advertised online for 15K under MSRP. We tried to negotiate a bit from there, but it was already too deeply discounted, so we bought it at the advertised price. I feel like we got a good deal, especially for the PNW where everything seems to always be a bit more expensive than everywhere else...[/quote][p]WOW! You got it for 16K? That's like 7K under invoice!![/p][p]
[/p][p]Schmokin' deal right there![/p][p]
[/p][p]Based on this website anyways.  http://www.seedealercost.com/products/model-options/index/id/13140/productCategorySlug/arall
[/p]

[quote timestamp="1426718048" author="@whoofit" source="/post/8088/thread"][p]WOW! You got it for 16K? That's like 7K under invoice!![/p][p]
[/p][p]Schmokin' deal right there![/p][p]
[/p][p]Based on this website anyways.  http://www.seedealercost.com/products/model-options/index/id/13140/productCategorySlug/arall
[/p][/quote]


No that was a brain fart, LOL.

Still a great deal though no matter. An awesome looking rig if I may say so too.

I think we all kind of forget about how much we paid eventually given enough time and enjoyment in whatever we choose to buy. The one thing I'll remember paying with this purchase is the stinkin' sale tax of nearly a grand. I'll remember that till my dying day.

and every year after that too...lol

Whoofit we have/had a nice tax they called Advelorum. Yearly paid at a mill rate like property tax.  They did away with advelorum.  However, older purchases werent grandfathered in.    So the RAM I pay about $275 a year and the Jeep was bought after the tax law was changed my registration is just $25 since the tax was paid upfront. They take the NADA price and access about 7%.  This was to grab up private sales because we didnt pay a tax if bought from a private person.  Dealers love the new law.  Finally trailers RV  are not included so yes you pay a yearly Advelorum.
The 21RBS was slightly over $300 last year. Every year laying out $600 in tax to register my vehicles is one reason I'm changing my legal residence to SD.

We have an excise tax here. Also a yearly tax that is supposed to go to road maintenance. The new car we got was a $600 bill 2 months after we bought it in addition to the sales tax on the purchase. That goes down like yours does based on book value every year. So they raised the sales tax last year from 5 to 6.25 citing road conditions....where the heck did the excise tax money go then?

Public troughs...gotta love 'em.

Quote from: @michael" timestamp="1426716161" source="/post/8082/thread

Quote from: @whoofit" timestamp="1426714882" source="/post/8080/thread[p]I don't really want to give the price but we paid less than 16K, new, for the 16DB. It's insured for 23K[/p]

That was a good deal.

[p]Honestly, this is a ridiculous statement. [/p][p]
[/p][p]It was NOT a good deal.[/p][p]
[/p][p]It was a SCREAMING deal.
[/p]

We ordered a custom Camplite 21-BHS with a lot of extras. We placed our order at the end of July and took delivery at the end of October. We originally were told 5-6 weeks was the wait. Not happy about that.

The total price was presented to us. The factory did not itemize the extras. I asked for an itemized list, because the MSRP took my breath away. No luck with that. We went with the complete list of changes we wanted.

Now came the haggling. We negotiated to a point. The finance manager was not there - he went camping - who'd a thought? The salesman talked to him on the phone. I asked to talk to him. I was told he had to run.

The final price was $6,000 below MSRP. I think I could have received a better deal if the finance guy had been there.

Then it came time to discuss the mods I wanted the dealer to do. Some things were added to that list at no extra charge, so that was good. On delivery day, I overheard one of the techs congratulating the salesman on the commission that he earned on our camper. Hmmm...

Our dealer is Sunny Island RV In Illinois.

[p]LL pricing,[/p][p]
[/p][p][attachment id="649"][/p]

Quote from: @james" source="/post/8111/thread" timestamp="1426742253[p]LL pricing,[/p][p]
[/p][p][attachment id="649"][/p]

James, I checked off the items on the list that I wanted, so I knew where I was there. Then I had another list of things that I wanted that weren't on the list. The salesman had me write what I wanted in the margins. Those items were not itemized in the final MSRP that was presented to me.

[font size="3"]We bought our 21RBS used, but like new, at CW for under $23,000.  We got them to drop $1,000 off their asking price.  But we don't have that nice warranty that the rest of you got buying new.[/font]

I got an excellent price on the 28BHS I wanted by getting various dealers to compete for my business.  That required me to be willing to drive a fair distance to the winning dealer if needed.  I was equally successful on the Trailmanor I ended up actually getting so in my experience, the rules for getting the best price are the same in any purchase where pricing is negotiable.  Having said that, there is a difference in the RV industry as compared to the auto industry that we all need to remember.  There are laws that protect auto purchasers in that any dealer that sells the brand you purchased has to provide you service.  That is not the case, I have been told, in the RV industry.  In fact, I was told, and had confirmed by LL, that the non selling dealer can charge the difference to a non customer on a warranty repair between what the factory paid and their normal charge.   Not that it is often done, but there are no laws prohibiting that.

There really aren't many dealers who sell LL products, so that makes it more difficult for us who are buying. I went shopping for a dealer who would provide good service, rather than look for the lowest price. The closest LL dealer is a used car dealer who could not show me their service area. Fortunately, Sunny Island RV prices are competitive, and they will negotiate.

I thought that LL would be expanding their list of dealers with the sale to Thor. That doesn't seem to be happening.

Quote from: @funpilot" source="/post/8117/thread" timestamp="1426770119I got an excellent price on the 28BHS I wanted by getting various dealers to compete for my business.  That required me to be willing to drive a fair distance to the winning dealer if needed.  I was equally successful on the Trailmanor I ended up actually getting so in my experience, the rules for getting the best price are the same in any purchase where pricing is negotiable.  Having said that, there is a difference in the RV industry as compared to the auto industry that we all need to remember.  There are laws that protect auto purchasers in that any dealer that sells the brand you purchased has to provide you service.  That is not the case, I have been told, in the RV industry.  In fact, I was told, and had confirmed by LL, that the non selling dealer can charge the difference to a non customer on a warranty repair between what the factory paid and their normal charge.   Not that it is often done, but there are no laws prohibiting that.

Funpilot, it is good to see you here again. Maybe you could join us at one of our meetups. I would love to see your Trailmanor and the mods you are making. I am very interested to hear how things are developing with the hot water heater. It is impossible to have too much hot water!

Yes it was easy work getting the Rpod dealers working for me. Had a deal semi struck with a guy in OH on one. Very difficult to even see a LL or CL here in New England. We put a deposit on ours without ever seeing it or any other CL/LL in the flesh. Never having laid eyes on the brand before.

That dealer network seems to be shrinking in the Northeast.

Yep, haggled a little. But D&H price was already below MSRP..

I had to drive about 11 hours to get to a livinlite dealer there is none in New Brunswick. When I registred my unit to get a plate they had to call to get Livin Lite added in their system it wasn't there! So I might be one of the few in my province to have a livin lite! I saw a QuickSilver once in a campground in my province but it was plated from Quebec, this is where I bought my unit so maybe it was sold in the same dealer I went to.

Quote from: @whoofit" source="/post/8088/thread" timestamp="1426718048[quote source="/post/8083/thread" author="@billmoore" timestamp="1426716828"]

[p]
[/p][p]Based on this website anyways.  http://www.seedealercost.com/products/model-options/index/id/13140/productCategorySlug/arall
[/p][/quote]I appreciate that link.   Although they only list 2014 prices I assume 2013 prices were in the same ballpark, so I think I paid invoice for my 2013 leftover in July 2014, so I don't feel I got too badly hosed on my deal at all now.    

[quote source="/post/8170/thread" timestamp="1426810733" author="@tlbones"][quote source="/post/8088/thread" timestamp="1426718048" author="@whoofit"][p]
[/p][p]Based on this website anyways.  http://www.seedealercost.com/products/model-options/index/id/13140/productCategorySlug/arall
[/p][/quote]I appreciate that link.   Although they only list 2014 prices I assume 2013 prices were in the same ballpark, so I think I paid invoice for my 2013 leftover in July 2014, so I don't feel I got too badly hosed on my deal at all now.    [/quote][p]Glad you found it useful. There are some other sites out there too. Not any one them really complete with all models though.[/p][p]
[/p][p]I think, in my humble opinion, it's important to not get hosed and maximize purchasing power. But also feel if I'm happy and enjoy the product I buy the cost fades when the fun begins. In the end it's the reason.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Sounds like you did both very well!
[/p]

We kinda sorta haggled. We had two dealers about 200 miles apart both wanted to sell us the same trailer off their lots. I told each about the other, and asked for their best price, then gave each the opportunity to beat the other.

In the end, I went with the closer, local dealer (10 miles away). They didn't beat the other price, but were within $200, and I really preferred to make the purchase local.

Still spendy, and the dealer has been good to work with on repairs and service (albeit a little slow as they are just swamped with business, but they recognized that, acquired some additional land and setup a new, larger service center and hired more people. So they are doing the right thing for their customers and their business, as I see it.

I bought my 13QBB used, so some different variables in play, but as far as price....unit was advertised for $14k, I offered $10k, dealer countered at $11k which I accepted.  Not much used values to compare but seemed like a fair deal.  

Graham

I didn't haggle bought my 2011 10.0  w/ac two years ago this summer for $5500. Was in great shape and had to drive from San Antonio to Omaha to get it. They had never seen one at the dealer I bought it from.

[quote source="/post/8088/thread" author="@whoofit" timestamp="1426718048"][quote timestamp="1426716828" author="@billmoore" source="/post/8083/thread"]Our BC7X20 was a leftover 2014 model, and was advertised online for 15K under MSRP. We tried to negotiate a bit from there, but it was already too deeply discounted, so we bought it at the advertised price. I feel like we got a good deal, especially for the PNW where everything seems to always be a bit more expensive than everywhere else...[span style="font-size:10pt;"]![/span][/quote][p]
[/p][p]Based on this website anyways.  http://www.seedealercost.com/products/model-options/index/id/13140/productCategorySlug/arall
[/p][/quote]If this website's info is legitimate, it looks like I got my 16DBS for right around dealer invoice. So, even though it was a ton of money, at least I feel like the haggling was worth something. My last TT was a Chalet. Back then, I was presented with a "fixed" price and didn't really know where to go from there. I paid WAY too much and always felt bad about that, especially when I sold it and couldn't recoup much. Live and learn. This time, I was prepared to walk out and buy something else. I think it helped my frame of mind. 

I had been looking at Trail Manors and Airstreams. The Airstreams really were way too expensive but seemed to want to deal, but the Trail Manor guy seemed he couldn't care less whether I bought or not and clearly wasn't interested in talking deals. Also, they had a 6-month wait on delivery for a standard setup, not acceptable to me. 

I sure wish there was a better way to go about this process. I like walking into a store (like Home Depot) and knowing what something costs, and deciding whether I can afford to buy that thing. Why do we have to have this ridiculous posturing thing just to buy a car or RV?  You'd never know I was a union negotiator back in the day, for how much I hate haggling. 

A got a tad of a better deal but being the LL dealers here are not close or the Dealers that are in the nearby States don't budge on there prices, I felt I did fine with the 15BC16 I ended up getting 1450 miles away.
I ended up at $5700 off MSRP and at 3% NM sales tax and low license fees, I am very happy.

Ordered our custom 21BHS that listed for over 38K MSRP after all our customization and upgrades. We paid $27,900. Think we got a great deal even thought we will have to drive 2000 miles to pick it up. Tied the pick-up in with camping on way home and 8 days in Yellowstone so the trip does not hurt too bad.

[quote source="/post/11298/thread" timestamp="1432419411" author="@ammobob"]Ordered our custom 21BHS that listed for over 38K MSRP after all our customization and upgrades. We paid $27,900. Think we got a great deal even thought we will have to drive 2000 miles to pick it up. Tied the pick-up in with camping on way home and 8 days in Yellowstone so the trip does not hurt too bad.[/quote]Sounds like a great deal to me! 8 days in Yellowstone will be great too!

I bought our 2014 16 dbs here in canada.  The sticker said 37 and change and I got it for 25 plus 5 percent tax. I think I did ok.