Thumper
05-15-2021, 09:56 AM
If you're not in the market right now, you'll swear I'm FOS, but when it comes to motorhomes right now, it's a SELLER'S market. NOT a good place to be when you're a buyer. Anyway, I've been wanting a motorhome for about a year or more, but didn't get real serious about it until about 6-months ago. There are pro's and con's for EVERYTHING and deciding what sort of "camper" you want is a daunting task. Thank God for the Internet and it's endless supply of blogs, etc. for research. A newbie could be screwed big time without research. I went from wanting a bumper pull, to a 5th wheel to a motorhome. Even once you decide which one you want, it's STILL a tough, tough, TOUGH road to decided how to go. B-class, B-plus, C-class, C-Plus, Class-A, Class-A diesel pusher (THAT was a VERY easy "no), but the option is there. Then you get into length, an endless choice of floor plans and a truck load of options. Not to mention, gas or diesel for your power unit?
If you haven't priced motorhomes lately, you'd be floored! One reason is they're pricey mf'ers to begin with, but Covid has turned the tide to a seller's market. People are cooped up at home and hitting the road to "get out of the house". They're buying these things like it's the end of the world, literally. At first, I thought it was sales hype and I'm too "smart" to fall for that b/s. We'd find what we wanted and try to negotiate a discount. We'd just get laughed out of the dealership and by time we walked to the car (waiting for them to chase me down and beg me to come back in), somebody would buy the unit we were interested in. This happened THREE times in our earlier shopping days. Frustrating, but I learned the hard way, it really IS a seller's market and some popular units are actually bringing OVER MSRP!
We were in Ft. Myers a couple weeks ago and spotted a unit at a dealer. We called and found it had just been traded (almost new, but owner decided he wanted something bigger). We told the dealer we'd be in in around 30-mins. Got there ... it was sold! BUT ... they had another trade that came in, same deal, used, but only 4500 miles ... we weren't sure we wanted to go that route and told them we'd think about it. On the way back to the hotel, we decided to pull the trigger and called our salesman to let him know we were turning around to talk seriously about the unit. As we were talking, another salesman stuck his head in the door and told our guy he'd just sold the unit!
THAT ... boys and girls, is just how hot the market is right now. Up to the present. Yesterday we arrived in Orlando for the weekend and while we were waiting for our lunch to be served, Lynn was on the I-net and found the exact unit we've been wanting. It was at a dealer about 30-mins. north of where we'd stopped for lunch. We called a salesperson and said we'd be right over, wolfed down our lunch and hit the road. It was EXACTLY what we wanted, but used (2020 model w/3000 miles). It had just been traded in and the sales person asked us how we knew the unit was there. We said it was on the internet! Turns out that was a mistake as it hadn't even been serviced yet and was listed prematurely. In fact, they immediately pulled the ad. BUT, before that was done, another couple from Miami had called to inform them they were on the way to buy it (a 250-mi. trip). We took a quick look-over and snapped it up just before the Miami couple showed up. They'd hit a traffic jam on the way and it held them up. They were PISSED to find out it had already been sold! Oh, on another note, if you're in the market, the dealers won't even take a deposit any more. If you want it, you'd better be ready to pull the trigger immediately or it'll be gone. Why take a deposit so somebody can "think about it", when there are 10 people in line behind you with cash in their hands?
Oh, the insane prices I mentioned? This model STARTS with a $172,000 BASE price (MSRP) and ours has $40,000 of options. Crap man, that's more than I paid for my frigging HOUSE! Ok dufes, we're heading out for the dealer to sign the final paperwork right now. We'll be back next week to pick it up. 'Course, it'll have to sit in the driveway 'cause I can't afford the fuel to move it now. :crybaby
If you haven't priced motorhomes lately, you'd be floored! One reason is they're pricey mf'ers to begin with, but Covid has turned the tide to a seller's market. People are cooped up at home and hitting the road to "get out of the house". They're buying these things like it's the end of the world, literally. At first, I thought it was sales hype and I'm too "smart" to fall for that b/s. We'd find what we wanted and try to negotiate a discount. We'd just get laughed out of the dealership and by time we walked to the car (waiting for them to chase me down and beg me to come back in), somebody would buy the unit we were interested in. This happened THREE times in our earlier shopping days. Frustrating, but I learned the hard way, it really IS a seller's market and some popular units are actually bringing OVER MSRP!
We were in Ft. Myers a couple weeks ago and spotted a unit at a dealer. We called and found it had just been traded (almost new, but owner decided he wanted something bigger). We told the dealer we'd be in in around 30-mins. Got there ... it was sold! BUT ... they had another trade that came in, same deal, used, but only 4500 miles ... we weren't sure we wanted to go that route and told them we'd think about it. On the way back to the hotel, we decided to pull the trigger and called our salesman to let him know we were turning around to talk seriously about the unit. As we were talking, another salesman stuck his head in the door and told our guy he'd just sold the unit!
THAT ... boys and girls, is just how hot the market is right now. Up to the present. Yesterday we arrived in Orlando for the weekend and while we were waiting for our lunch to be served, Lynn was on the I-net and found the exact unit we've been wanting. It was at a dealer about 30-mins. north of where we'd stopped for lunch. We called a salesperson and said we'd be right over, wolfed down our lunch and hit the road. It was EXACTLY what we wanted, but used (2020 model w/3000 miles). It had just been traded in and the sales person asked us how we knew the unit was there. We said it was on the internet! Turns out that was a mistake as it hadn't even been serviced yet and was listed prematurely. In fact, they immediately pulled the ad. BUT, before that was done, another couple from Miami had called to inform them they were on the way to buy it (a 250-mi. trip). We took a quick look-over and snapped it up just before the Miami couple showed up. They'd hit a traffic jam on the way and it held them up. They were PISSED to find out it had already been sold! Oh, on another note, if you're in the market, the dealers won't even take a deposit any more. If you want it, you'd better be ready to pull the trigger immediately or it'll be gone. Why take a deposit so somebody can "think about it", when there are 10 people in line behind you with cash in their hands?
Oh, the insane prices I mentioned? This model STARTS with a $172,000 BASE price (MSRP) and ours has $40,000 of options. Crap man, that's more than I paid for my frigging HOUSE! Ok dufes, we're heading out for the dealer to sign the final paperwork right now. We'll be back next week to pick it up. 'Course, it'll have to sit in the driveway 'cause I can't afford the fuel to move it now. :crybaby