Montana Dealers - Montana Owners Club

JohnEM38 · 08-13-2012, 01:45 AM

I am wondering why some dealers can offer what I think are extremely good deals say close to 40% off the list price. When I take the price to a local dealer he states I need to be careful because they have to be losing money and there is no way he could sell me a unit that cheap.

Can someone explain this to me and just getting my toe in the water, what should I watch for?

1retired06 · 08-13-2012, 02:35 AM

Different dealerships can offer different pricing because of different overhead costs (keep them low), sales volume (keep them high), and overall profitablity of the business at a given point in time, and business savy of the management team. We have had trailers since 1971, and I have never gotten less than 25% off the list price.

WeBeFulltime · 08-13-2012, 02:42 AM

How much is local dealer discounting?

**DQDick** · 08-13-2012, 03:10 AM

X2 on what Mike said. You can also add these reasons. They are in bad financial shape and need cash. They have new units coming and the bank has told them they have to reduce their floor plan. They have a unit that's been on the lot too long and need to move it to get a model that they feel will move quicker. This is what happened to us. Our 2010 was still on the lot when the 2012's were on the way. Our dealers lot was jammed with 2011's and ours wouldn't move. The reason it wouldn't move was it had bench seats in the dining area which we happened to want. Did they get it cheap because it was an older model from Keystone? Who knows. But they sold it to us for $15,000 less than the best deal we could make on our truck. Is it the closest dealer to us? No, but it is the one we found our deal at. If you travel extensively or if you full time, as we do, you'll probably not be having your dealer service the rig much, if at all. Ours has never been back to the dealer that sold it. That's one of the advantages of Keystone. They have a lot of dealers and at least in our case when we needed warranty work where there wasn't a dealer they authorized a private repair company to do the work.

nosticks · 08-13-2012, 03:15 AM

It's not about the discount percent, it is about the stated list price. I delt at two different dealers for the identical unit right down to each and every option including the interior colors. The stated list price was close to $8000 difference. Dealer number #1 with the higher list price offered a better discount than dealer #2. These dealers were about 100 miles from me in different directions so distance was no factor. Bottom line, dealer #2 with the lower list price, sold me the unit for $6000 net less than dealer #1 with the higher list price.

List prices are phony.

steelpony5555 · 08-13-2012, 04:37 AM

Let's not leave out GREED.... Some have to pay for their Mercedes, child support and alimony, that big mansion on the hill. Not that I begrudge anyone the finer things in life but some take it over board.

kdeiss · 08-13-2012, 04:56 AM

I just think just maybe a larger dealer gets a better discount or rebate based on volumn

jimcol · 08-13-2012, 05:43 AM

They only take it as far over board as the consumer allows. Jim

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by steelpony5555

Let's not leave out GREED.... Some have to pay for their Mercedes, child support and alimony, that big mansion on the hill. Not that I begrudge anyone the finer things in life but some take it over board.

HOOK · 08-13-2012, 07:30 AM

There are wholesalers now that will sell at very low prices. They order the product , park it on the lot , sell it low , no pdi, no warranty , what you see is what you get. Then there are professional dealers who will do business with you at reasonable prices. I see the figures every day as I sell for CW. I am also a Montana owner. Most of my customers are very well prepared to do business. Most of them become my friends. Some, I would prefer never to see again (chiselers that don't want the dealer or salesman to make a dime). I assume that as fast as Mom and Pop dealers are closing, that large conglomerates will rule the game just as they have in the auto business. Seek a dealer and professional salesman that will work for you and treat you fairly, build a relationship because you may need his help. IMHO it is not all about price. There is no such thing as MSRP . The dealer sets it and its arbitrary. Costs from the factory hange daily. We sometimes have two identical units with very different cost prices. Lot weary units sell for less and more popular , newer units sell for more. It is like any retail business. Larry

dieselguy · 08-13-2012, 09:23 AM

High volume dealers get a "better deal" from the factory as in rebates, discounts, winter specials, or whatever they deem to call it. The small home town dealer just flat doesn't have enough "pull" to get the factory incentives high volume dealers do. I had to pass on my local "Steeler" as he flat said he couldn't get the unit from the factory at the same price a dealer down in Tulsa could. For $9000 difference, I figured I could drive to Tulsa several times to get anything major repaired and visit a Oklahoma lake at the same time.

HOOK · 08-13-2012, 09:31 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by dieselguy

High volume dealers get a "better deal" from the factory as in rebates, discounts, winter specials, or whatever they deem to call it. The small home town dealer just flat doesn't have enough "pull" to get the factory incentives high volume dealers do. I had to pass on my local "Steeler" as he flat said he couldn't get the unit from the factory at the same price a dealer down in Tulsa could. For $9000 difference, I figured I could drive to Tulsa several times to get anything major repaired and visit a Oklahoma lake at the same time.

There is no more high volume dealer than CW and as of today , I know of no special pricing because of volume. Larry

seahunter · 08-13-2012, 02:39 PM

I think the ability to shop nationally via the internet, and people willing to travel for a better price have both helped the consumer reailze more realistic prices.

I got prices from the several places including Indiana, California, Arizona, Oregon, and Washington, etc. Once I figured the real price I could buy for, I took this to my local dealers and just said, here's what I can get it for and I don't care about distance. Both of my local dealers were more than willing to match the high-discount dealers so I feel it was a win-win situation and I got about 38% off if I recall - almost 40%.

Also, be careful on "deals" like purchasing through Costco. Both our truck and the trailer I was able to get SEVERAL thousand dollars less on each below the double-secret "special" price from Costco.

JohnEM38 · 08-13-2012, 03:01 PM

Thanks to all who responded. The difference in the two dealers units was one model year. So all the responses make sense now. One quoted 25% off the other 40%. I had no idea one model year could be marked off that dramatically. WOW!

dieselguy · 08-13-2012, 06:31 PM

Larry ... I was looking to buy my current model from an out of town high volume dealer ... there was a winter incentive program from Keystone going on at the time ... I was at the tail end of it. Our local low volume dealer was not able to obtain the winter incentive due to his low volume. This was right from the regional reps mouth while I was at the dealership. In a nutshell ... he couldn't get anywhere close to the Tulsa dealer's offer. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

richfaa · 08-14-2012, 02:30 AM

There is no window sticker law as there is with autos and trucks.We saw quoted prices as high as the 90's this very same 13 big sky. Use the internet for pricing. The best deals and highest discounts are on a cash deal, no trade.
This might help http://www.seedealercost.com/

bigred715 · 08-14-2012, 03:33 AM

The distance from the manufacturer also makes a difference I believe. I live on the west coast, so delivery is more expensive and adds more to the cost. I think they had over $2000 for delivery of my Montana to Eugene Oregon.

seahunter · 08-14-2012, 06:30 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by bigred715

The distance from the manufacturer also makes a difference I believe. I live on the west coast, so delivery is more expensive and adds more to the cost. I think they had over $2000 for delivery of my Montana to Eugene Oregon.

I think this is where they get a lot of help from the manufacturer. I am in Washington and know they try to get 3,000 to 3,500 for delivery when you see a "MSRP" sheet. The subject of delivery cost did not even come up with our negotiations. I gave them prices from Indiana (negligible delivery cost) and they met those prices - they didn't say okay that price plus delivery. I know bottom line they did not eat the actual delivery cost, so there is still that much profit on the unit that the topic never came up with the price we were working on of.

kab449 · 08-14-2012, 03:45 PM

I bought my last 4 RV's at the PRVA show in September in Harrisburg or Hershey PA after looking and pricing for the whole spring and summer. There is something about the ability to walk a few feet to a competing dealer and manufacturer that motivates them to do what is neccessary to get the sale. My current Montana was purchased from CW at a price no local or Internet dealer could touch. The CW salesman was hired specifically to do this show. His regular job: owned a trailer window replacement company in Indiana.
If you can wait until a large show is in your area. I think you'll be surprised.

HOOK · 08-15-2012, 12:05 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by kab449

I bought my last 4 RV's at the PRVA show in September in Harrisburg or Hershey PA after looking and pricing for the whole spring and summer. There is something about the ability to walk a few feet to a competing dealer and manufacturer that motivates them to do what is neccessary to get the sale. My current Montana was purchased from CW at a price no local or Internet dealer could touch. The CW salesman was hired specifically to do this show. His regular job: owned a trailer window replacement company in Indiana.
If you can wait until a large show is in your area. I think you'll be surprised.

We have 2 sales people going to the show. Young guys as I can't take the long 16 hr days. If CW is taking 2 of ours from our little town , how many total will there be and they really must expect to move some units. Larry

kab449 · 08-15-2012, 02:11 AM

Larry:
It appeared as CW had the largest square footage at the show last year. They had salespeople all over the place who gave their cellphone number to be able to contact them anytime as you moved throughout the show. I would estimate that there was about 20 salesreps there. CW corporate management people present also as I received calls from them also and the sales people needed approval from them whenever I would say I needed more of a discount.

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