A Strange Dealer Price Story (...at least I thought so.)

[CoachPotato]

(Ok... I sat on this recent experience for a few days, not so sure others would find it funny, but I still thinks it's a head shaker and a bit of a chuckle, so I offer it here to other coach owners. I hope y'all find it a bit entertaining, too.)

I've written here about our accident in Kansas in October of '17, and of the new-to-us Bounder we now have. I've also mentioned how I miss some of the great features of our totaled '04 Journey 32T diesel that I greatly miss - especially the fuel mileage. I doubt that I'd make the change back due to the many costs of buying and selling again, but I'm always checking the 'net for another Journey.
I just found one of those rare 32T Journeys at a dealer in a Northwestern state. I won't mention which dealer as they are a legitimate business and I don't mean to disparage them. But their completely unrealistic original price of $79,995 compared to the price they proposed in their very first response to me was something memorable – and perhaps you’ll find it entertaining.
Here is my initial contact and their first reply, followed by my note that their unit wouldn't work for me:
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"I'm looking to replace a 2004 Winnebago 32T that was totaled. The insurance companies have settled and I'd like to get another.
These coaches came with a diesel or a LP generator. Which does it have?
It appears to have the manual awning but it's hard to tell in your photo. Is it manual or electric?
The stainless wheel liners tell me it has the 5 speed transmission, not the six speed that came as a package with aluminum wheels. Is this the five speed?
Our 32T that was totaled had the whole body paint which this one does not have. It had the four door fridge which this one does not have. It had the 6 speed w/aluminum wheels; this one appears to be the 5 speed. Ours had the diesel generator which was the expensive option. It had about the same miles as yours. I paid $62,000 for it here in hi-dollar California - and that was back in 2015.
I watch for these coaches all over the country and I've never seen one priced anywhere near the price you folks are asking. If you will present me with a realistic price, I could be very interested. I would be a cash buyer.
Thank you."
Dale
CA
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Their reply:
"Hi Dale;
My name is .... and I work at ..... store. Thank you for your inquiry. I appreciate the opportunity.
I had a chance to go out and inspect the Journey and most of your assumptions are correct. It has an Allison 5 speed, propane generator, a manual awning, and its not a full body paint. The decals are a little faded but the exterior is straight and the interior is very clean. Seems to have been well cared for.
I also had a chance to meet with our sales manager and he indicated that, given the fact that you have no trade, he can get to about $59,900 out the door. We sell a lot of units out of state from the internet so we know that it's best just to cut to the chase and not waste your time haggling over the price. You have better things to do. So thats why we can discount it so aggressively. Please let me know if there is anything I can do or any other questions you have.
And again, thank you for your inquiry."
=======
My reply:

Thank you for your prompt response - your willingness to drop your price so drastically was a complete surprise, but you certainly are at a more appropriate price.
Even so, the lack of a diesel generator is a complete deal killer. I would not have one as they draw from about a 30 gallon tank whereas the diesel draws from a 90 gallon tank - and the diesel draws less fuel as well. I always dry camp, and that draw on the propane tank would not be acceptable.
Still, if you get one with similar options to ours as I described in my first email, please let me know.
- Dale
=======
Now, to me this is pretty funny and just a bit unbelievable and I wanted to let other RV folks know the strange story. What were they thinking to price it so high in the first place?!
It's true... I don't have enough to do - and I'm not complaining!

[discovery4us]

If you know how much you want to spend and how long you are willing to pay than you should know what monthly payment you can afford. I have no problem negotiating using monthly payment as this monthly payment ultimately is based on purchase price and how much interest I am willing to pay.

Doesn't hurt a bit to convert purchase price to payment so you can negotiate using the sales mans preferred method.

[Skid_Row_Joe]

Never had a dealer fail to give me the final price on a car, or RV. Then I can either take it or leave it. Why would anyone want to know how I planNed to pay for it, if I don't know how much it costs? Weird dealer there.

[JALLEN4]

dad4papa2 wrote:
I took my son to a dealership a few years back. He was ready to buy his first ever pickup. We found the pickup he was wanting and went to visit with a salesman. We had only seen the sticker price of this new pickup so we visited about the features it had and got all the info we needed. Of coarse at this point during our conversation he had asked my son what kind of payment he wanted to make. I had told my son after the salesman's first time of asking that to not talk yet about payments. So we asked him what could the pickup be bought for. We were interested in the cost of the truck. This guy would not give us a price on the truck. He continued to ask what kind of $ amount of payment he wanted to pay. I finally stepped into the conversation and told the salesman that my son was ready to by a pickup and it was none of his business how much he could afford to pay on the payment. I asked one more time if he wanted to give us a price and he said he really wanted to finance it for us.
I simply told my son to come on let's go. We walked out the door and left. The salesman never once answered our questions on price.
A couple weeks later he seen my son up town and got all over him for buying a truck somewhere else. My son did the greatest thing and turned and walked away from him.
I, nor he has walked back in their door in about 19 years.
Dad

While I would 100% agree that you should never negotiate based solely on payments, payments are in fact normally the most important part of the purchase. Even when paying cash, it still involves one payment. Any good salesperson would be remiss in not asking either what kind of payment you want to make or how much do you want to spend.

One would be amazed how many folks walk into dealerships of all kinds without any idea of the relationship between the purchasing price and the payment needed to support that price. People often have a budget of $400 monthly while looking at a vehicle that requires a $600 payment with their available down payment. The salesperson can spend hours extolling the virtues of the potential vehicle and taking demo rides only to find they are no where near affordability. Generally this leaves the customer walking out because they are either upset with reality or embarrassed... which means a lot of wasted time.

Discussing payments with the salesperson is not necessarily a bad thing but you can always remember the ultimate sales price determines the final payment.

[dad4papa2]

I took my son to a dealership a few years back. He was ready to buy his first ever pickup. We found the pickup he was wanting and went to visit with a salesman. We had only seen the sticker price of this new pickup so we visited about the features it had and got all the info we needed. Of coarse at this point during our conversation he had asked my son what kind of payment he wanted to make. I had told my son after the salesman's first time of asking that to not talk yet about payments. So we asked him what could the pickup be bought for. We were interested in the cost of the truck. This guy would not give us a price on the truck. He continued to ask what kind of $ amount of payment he wanted to pay. I finally stepped into the conversation and told the salesman that my son was ready to by a pickup and it was none of his business how much he could afford to pay on the payment. I asked one more time if he wanted to give us a price and he said he really wanted to finance it for us.
I simply told my son to come on let's go. We walked out the door and left. The salesman never once answered our questions on price.
A couple weeks later he seen my son up town and got all over him for buying a truck somewhere else. My son did the greatest thing and turned and walked away from him.
I, nor he has walked back in their door in about 19 years.
Dad

[10forty2]

Never, ever go to a car or RV lot and NOT be prepared to leave without a purchase. Make it a buyer's market and not a seller's market and the deals will get better!

[FloridaRosebud]

Big Katuna wrote:
They inflate the price so they can appear to give a higher trade in amount.

Lots of people fall for it.

I asked a La Mesa salesman how much a unit was and he told me I didn’t need to know that right now, how much monthly payment can you afford?

At that point I would have told him to have a nice day and then left....

Al

[ArchHoagland]

T18skyguy wrote:
There are people who cannot haggle, who walk in and pay the price. The rigs are priced high for those people.

A friend of mine owned a used car lot. I was at the lot one day and he had a car sitting there priced at double what it was worth.

I asked him why he set the price so ridiculously high.

He said you'd be amazed at how many people would walk in and pay that price. He also did financing and said that helped too.

I ask him if he had many people default on their payments and he told me that was rare.

[T18skyguy]

There are people who cannot haggle, who walk in and pay the price. The rigs are priced high for those people.

[jfkmk]

That’s classic, jorbill2or, they’re doing everyone a favor by pricing them high!

[jorbill2or]

One Oregon dealer i know advertises outrageous high prices. The salesman ( I had no trade ) quoted a immediate lower price as I had no trade. He said they price them all High to "accommodate" those with a upside down trade. "Accommodate" was a word I hadn't thought about. "Unfortunately" They were still Way to high. They are a high volume Dealer and sell a bunch so there must be a lot of people who buy overpriced unknowingly.
I talked with one one woman who's husband had passed just a year after they bought a new Motorhome who was asking 10% below new Sticker... The amount she and he husband had paid! I didn't have the heart to explain she was going to take a bath .. but maybe not ...Guess PT was correct 🙂

[BB_TX]

It is all a game. Shopping for a 5th wheel we found a floorplan we really liked at a nearby dealer. But the undercarriage was rusted bad even though it was new. He offered to sand blast and repaint the undercarriage and sell it for $43,000. Concerned about the rust I declined even though the floorplan was perfect for us.

Visited another dealer quite a bit farther away and he had the identical model and floorplan and options. And no rust. He said the price was $45,000. I said sorry I have already found the same model at a different dealer for $43,000. He said ok, in that case my price is $39,500. After some additional negotiations we bought it.

Can’t believe a word they say. Just haggle until you are satisfied with the price, or walk away.

[gbopp]

CoachPotato wrote:
What were they thinking to price it so high in the first place?!

You knew it was overpriced but, contacted them for additional information. They gave you a drastic price reduction
Someone less informed about this rig may think they're getting a fantastic deal because they lowered the price so much and jump on it.
It's just another sales pitch.

[Big_Katuna]

They inflate the price so they can appear to give a higher trade in amount.

Lots of people fall for it.

I asked a La Mesa salesman how much a unit was and he told me I didn’t need to know that right now, how much monthly payment can you afford?