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Making an Offer

Started by Azusateach, Mar 04, 2006, 11:44 PM

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Azusateach

Quote from: griffsmomGeez, it's hard enough trying to keep up with the Deeses, DK&threeses and the Vikingses, but now we've got to keep up with the Azusateacheses too! :eyecrazy:

 
Good.  Maybe it'll get us moving toward a hybrid that much more quickly.  I've called the Starcraft dealer that is 5 miles from our house and asked them to call me when they get a new '06 model in so we can "just look" at it.  I also want to visit West Coast RVs in Pomona to "just look" at the Roos again--without having to drive all the way out to Beaumont!  The last time I told Dave that we were going to an RV dealer to "just look," I had a PU camper in front of my house in under a month.  So...what dealer are you going to Laura?  :J

I went to West Coast RV, too.  DON'T talk with Ernie.  I talked with a guy named Jeff C---?  He's the finance guy.  Real nice.  They had Roos on the lot, but can't remember which one you were looking at, so don't know if it was there.

To those who said $14,800 was high -- it might be.  I'd call the manufacturer before buying anything.  But the trailer is loaded -- really loaded.  I could live in it.  (Cats wouldn't be too happy ...)

I'm not going to do anything this season.  I'll look again at the Pomona RV show, and maybe think about selling my PUP next year.  Maybe by then my confidence in traveling by myself will be higher & I'll want to venture out of the state alone.  Then I'd want something I could lock myself in at night if I'm out in the booneys (with Brandy as watchdog).  I think that ultimately that's my dream.  Might not happen until I retire, but one can hope!

All in all, this has been a good learning experience.  The buying & selling of RVs is very, very different than cars (which I consider myself quite good at!).  

Lori, if you guys come this way (Pomona), let me know.  Maybe we could grab lunch or something!

griffsdad

Guys, the most important thing is to have your financing done ahead of time. Figure out what you want to pay, i.e. that's all I have and if it doesn't close the
deal I'm walking. AMAZING THINGS THEN HAPPEN. If your offer is somwhat reasonable they're not going to let you walk. MAKE SURE YOU KEEP TO YOUR BOTTOM LINE. You may be at the dealership for a while, but they are not going to let you leave. Trust me. Oh yeah, it's winter time. They want to get rid of campers. TRUST ME :). Also don't trade in your Pop up. Sell it privately. Much more $$$$$.
 
That's my 2 cents.

griffsmom

Quote from: griffsdadGuys, the most important thing is to have your financing done ahead of time. Figure out what you want to pay, i.e. that's all I have and if it doesn't close the
deal I'm walking. AMAZING THINGS THEN HAPPEN. If your offer is somwhat reasonable they're not going to let you walk. MAKE SURE YOU KEEP TO YOUR BOTTOM LINE. You may be at the dealership for a while, but they are not going to let you leave. Trust me. Oh yeah, it's winter time. They want to get rid of campers. TRUST ME :). Also don't trade in your Pop up. Sell it privately. Much more $$$$$.
 
That's my 2 cents.
so....whaddya saying, Dave? ;)

SpeakEasy

So, what do you do when you get down to the point where you are, let's say, $500 apart on price? They hit you with their line, "You want this (camper/car/whatever); you don't want to let the deal go down over such a small amount do you?" I'm afraid I always cave in at that point. Lately I've been thinking about using that line myself - on them - before they get to it. Think it would work?

brainpause

Quote from: SpeakEasySo, what do you do when you get down to the point where you are, let's say, $500 apart on price? They hit you with their line, "You want this (camper/car/whatever); you don't want to let the deal go down over such a small amount do you?" I'm afraid I always cave in at that point. Lately I've been thinking about using that line myself - on them - before they get to it. Think it would work?

I hate that line...and it's hard to deal with it. Anyone have a good comeback?

Larry

TheViking

Quote from: brainpauseI hate that line...and it's hard to deal with it. Anyone have a good comeback?
 
Larry

Yeah, Bite Me, then walk.  
 
We could not see eye to eye with the Jayco dealer by our house, so we drove about 100 miles away and ended up saving a couple of thousand dollars, and got a better interest rate.  To me that was worth the drive.  My 2 theories are this:
#1- Don't be opposed to driving a greater distance to get a better deal, I believe these dealers use the fact that a customer may not want to go farther away, as a tool for them to not drop the price as low as they could.
 
#2- If you make a deal you like, for a camper you like, just pull the trigger.   Why wait? Pull the trigger.

griffsmom

Quote from: brainpauseI hate that line...and it's hard to deal with it. Anyone have a good comeback?
 
Larry
I would reply that they, as the dealer, can absorb that $500.00 better than my little family of four can and probably make up twice that much, if not more, on the next buyer that comes through the door. I would also point out to them that as my dealer, I would be returning to them for years to come for service and accessories, the mark-up on which would soon cover that $500.00 and then some.
 
But, the flip side of that situation is that you may not want to tick off the dealer that you would have to work with for warranty items and repairs. If they really get their nose bent out of shape over the $500.00 and hold a grudge about it, it could find its way into an attitude of not really wanting to bend over backwards or go that little extra for you on service.
 
Then again, you could just take Brian's approach, making friends everywhere you go. ;) :D

TheViking

Quote from: griffsmomThen again, you could just take Brian's approach, making friends everywhere you go. ;) :D

 
I have never met a salesman I was doing business with and considered him a friend.  His job is to make you assume the position.  Sometimes that is the best approach, funny thing is they will call you in a week and see if you are still interested!!!!!  LOL

wavery

Quote from: griffsmomI would reply that they, as the dealer, can absorb that $500.00 better than my little family of four can and probably make up twice that much, if not more, on the next buyer that comes through the door. I would also point out to them that as my dealer, I would be returning to them for years to come for service and accessories, the mark-up on which would soon cover that $500.00 and then some.
 
But, the flip side of that situation is that you may not want to tick off the dealer that you would have to work with for warranty items and repairs. If they really get their nose bent out of shape over the $500.00 and hold a grudge about it, it could find its way into an attitude of not really wanting to bend over backwards or go that little extra for you on service.
 
Then again, you could just take Brian's approach, making friends everywhere you go. ;) :D

I wouldn't be toooooo concerned about the dealer's "After sales attitude". These guys are going to drive the hardest bargain that they can. The bottom line is though, they're not going to give away the farm.

After sales service has zippo to do with sales negotiations. I'm an x-car dealer service manager and I know how this stuff works. I realize that RV dealers are a little different but not that much. Besides, chances are, the salesman that sells you the trailer will be driving taxis or flipping burgers the week after you take delivery.

As long as negotiations are kept business like, you will have NO problems with the after sales service. If things get nasty, they're not going to want you as a customer and you aren't going to want to buy from them. That's the real bottom line.

Lighten up and have some fun with it. BTW, don't ever let a salesman make you his "friend". Make it perfectly clear that negotiations are courteous and business like.

griffsmom

I wasn't saying to literally make the sales person your friend. I was just being a spongemom smartypants. :cool:
 
I actually try to make the service dept manager my "friend." ;)

Kelly

Quote from: TheVikingI have never met a salesman I was doing business with and considered him a friend.  His job is to make you assume the position.  Sometimes that is the best approach, funny thing is they will call you in a week and see if you are still interested!!!!!  LOL


Exactly what happened to me when I bought my van.  First dealer wouldn't negotiate and I wouldn't pay the price, so I walked.  Found another dealer.  Not only did I get a better price, I got a better van!

About a week after I bought it the first dealer called wanting to negotiate.  HA!  Nope.  No Way.   :p

Kelly (who is sneaking into the hybrid forum even tho she has no intention of buying one.  Ever.  :D )

GeneF

"Kelly (who is sneaking into the hybrid forum even tho she has no intention of buying one. Ever.  )"

You are welcome to sneak in but EVER say EVER.

Kelly

Quote from: GeneF"Kelly (who is sneaking into the hybrid forum even tho she has no intention of buying one. Ever.  )"

You are welcome to sneak in but EVER say EVER.

LOL Gene.  I thought that when I typed it.  Knew I was gonna get busted.  Typed it anyway.   :p

Azusateach

Gotta tell the story of buying my last Explorer.

Went in to "check out" a deal I heard on the radio -- 4-door Explorer XLS for around $18,500.  Sounded too good to be true, but heck, why not look.  Told the kid of a salesman that if I gave him my 1 year-old Explorer Sport (TOTALLY loaded) as trade, they would add 6-CD changer, running boards & Lo-Jack and my payments wouldn't change they'd have a deal.  They laughed, I started to walk, and they chased me down and wanted to keep talking.  Ended up getting the deal I wanted.

However ...

2 days later I had to go back to pick up a couple of things I left in the old car.  Was met by the a sales guy (whom I'd never dealt with before) who told me that they couldn't get the financing they thought, so they had to re-write the contract & either increase my payments or my interest.  (There's a name for this, and I forget it -- sound familiar, Wavery?)  I said, "No thanks, give me my old car back."  He wouldn't do it.  I staged a 5-hour sit-in in the sales office.  Wouldn't budge.  Had to call a friend feed Brandy.  Finally, they got in touch with the general sales manager, who told them leave the deal alone.  I went home.

2 days after that I got another call from the finance manager, who said they were still having trouble getting the deal financed, so they needed to re-write the contract, showing a steeper discount on the new car.  By this time I'd called Ford, the newspaper, Channel 4 -- anyone I thought might be interested in how dealers try to rip off people by trying to change the deal after it's been made.

I went in to re-do the contract, and ended up with a smaller payment (by about $50/mo) and less interest than I originally had.  Dealer got screwed.  Ended up selling me a brand-new car for almost $2,000 under sticker.  

Turns out that my old car had been sold the very first day I was there, and they couldn't get it back.  They HAD to make something work, even if it meant that they made no money or even took a loss on the deal.

I like shopping for cars ...  :Z   Just have to figure out the RV thing.

wavery

Quote from: AzusateachGotta tell the story of buying my last Explorer.

Went in to "check out" a deal I heard on the radio -- 4-door Explorer XLS for around $18,500.  Sounded too good to be true, but heck, why not look.  Told the kid of a salesman that if I gave him my 1 year-old Explorer Sport (TOTALLY loaded) as trade, they would add 6-CD changer, running boards & Lo-Jack and my payments wouldn't change they'd have a deal.  They laughed, I started to walk, and they chased me down and wanted to keep talking.  Ended up getting the deal I wanted.

However ...

2 days later I had to go back to pick up a couple of things I left in the old car.  Was met by the a sales guy (whom I'd never dealt with before) who told me that they couldn't get the financing they thought, so they had to re-write the contract & either increase my payments or my interest.  (There's a name for this, and I forget it -- sound familiar, Wavery?)  I said, "No thanks, give me my old car back."  He wouldn't do it.  I staged a 5-hour sit-in in the sales office.  Wouldn't budge.  Had to call a friend feed Brandy.  Finally, they got in touch with the general sales manager, who told them leave the deal alone.  I went home.

2 days after that I got another call from the finance manager, who said they were still having trouble getting the deal financed, so they needed to re-write the contract, showing a steeper discount on the new car.  By this time I'd called Ford, the newspaper, Channel 4 -- anyone I thought might be interested in how dealers try to rip off people by trying to change the deal after it's been made.

I went in to re-do the contract, and ended up with a smaller payment (by about $50/mo) and less interest than I originally had.  Dealer got screwed.  Ended up selling me a brand-new car for almost $2,000 under sticker.  

Turns out that my old car had been sold the very first day I was there, and they couldn't get it back.  They HAD to make something work, even if it meant that they made no money or even took a loss on the deal.

I like shopping for cars ...  :Z   Just have to figure out the RV thing.
It's called "Bait 'n Switch" oldest, most dishonest trick in the book. Lots of dealers have done time for letting it go on in their dealership.

The fact is, once you get a copy of a signed contract, it is iron clad. The only way they can change it is with your agreement. Only stupid people would agree to change the contract and end up paying more.

My guess is, that sales-manager is now working in the parts dept, driving truck.