Dealer Inventory

[iowawanderer]

Seems the economy is changing what dealers are stocking and targeting the consumers. Here in eastcentral Iowa Ketelsen Rv,a very large and very reputable dealer has highlighted the Montana since 1998. Over the years when I have purchased a rv from them (5)rvs,They were quick to point out the negatives of a competitors product, Jayco-when I bought a Coleman, Heartland-when I bought my Montana. Today they sell Jayco AND Heartland. And they stock more of these brands than Montana. The lower mid range fivers Eagle,Sundance and keeping their high end with Montana\Big Sky. With stricter Loan requirements and tighter purse strings, the 20-30k price range is a better target. You may not see the Montana floorplan instock as in years past. Have you seen this at your dealers in your locale? or at the Rv shows? Tom.

[bsmeaton]

I'm thinking the general Dealer inventory can't roll over fast enough to be an indicator of the economy, because most of whats on the lots was probably ordered 6-months ago. The ones left would be the hard sells to me.

[Montana Sky]

Many dealers I have talked with over the past few months are now focusing their customers on placing "factory orders" instead of flooring a huge inventory. This way the unit ordered is already sold and they are not paying to floorplan inventory that may or may not sell for months.

[iowaone]

Yesterday I took my Montana into Thompson in Davenport to get the countertop repaired. They were having their Annual RV show on site with over 61 RV's in the warm inside on a 5 degree day. They had it last weekend too and said they sold 15 last weekend. They had lots of traffic yesterday too. They seemed very happy with the turnout and sales.

[Steve and Brenda]

Dunno, our local Keystone dealership in Abilene is now stocking Montanas so now our closest dealer is only 15 miles away instead of 200!

[Driftwoodgal]

Not sure how Holiday World is doing on their sales in Houston, but they have several Montanas on their lot.

Colleen

[sfretts]

When we dropped off our unit at the dealer last weekend for minor warrenty service, I asked the service manager about all the units in the service lane. I asked if sales and service were coming back? He told me they (Tacoma RV) participated in a RV sale the weekend before, they sold 32 units. They were very pleased and surprised. He also told me service work is coming back also and they feel much better about the future.

When we bought ours last June, we purchased sometime around the 20th of the month. Was told by owner we were the only sale so far that month of a new unit and they were very worried. Sold a few more at end of month and when we talked to our salesman a couple months ago, he said the Keystone line was still selling well enough to cover costs. He said it had been very lean for a few months.

Steve

[MAMalody]

I talked to my dealer about a week ago about how things were going. He told me that he made '07 sales by October and then the world caved in with the economy. He just completed a complete remodel of his facilities. The service manager told me that service was still going pretty good.