Prep Fee Charge

[Knucklehead]

Am looking at a fuzion310 from campingworld in knoxville. the dealer wants to charge 695.00 for a battery full propane tank and a new owner walk thru. if i understand what i have read on here keystone pays the dealer for this and to correct any problems (like how can you find any thing wrong without a walk thru) can any one provide infomation on this and proof that keystone pays for this thanks for reading and your answers enjoy the forum have learned awole lot thanks again Burt

[Bob Landry]

Good luck getting any information about this or anything else from Keystone. I would look at the "out the door" price and if it is agreeable to you do a deal. How the dealer handles his in-house accounting is of no consequence to a buyer. I would certainly shop around and go in armed with some numbers before I just blindly wrote a check based on good faith, especially with Camping World. They don't have the best reputation for either sales or service.

[Essness]

It always drives me a little nuts when dealers, (cars, furniture, rv's, etc.) Add charges like this to your deal. All thatmeans to me is that they need more money out of the deal.
I had a car dealer that shook my hand and said we have a deal and then added a 800.00 additional line for delivery to the deal:eek: that just aint gonna happen.
I asked him how this came about, he said, "lets face it, if we didnt get the car here you wouldnt be here trying to buy it." I said, "exactly!"

He didnt get the irony, I didnt buy the car.

[billb800si]

Am looking at a fuzion310 from campingworld in knoxville. the dealer wants to charge 695.00 for a battery full propane tank and a new owner walk thru. if i understand what i have read on here keystone pays the dealer for this and to correct any problems (like how can you find any thing wrong without a walk thru) can any one provide infomation on this and proof that keystone pays for this thanks for reading and your answers enjoy the forum have learned awole lot thanks again Burt
========================

You need to do the research. Get on the Internet and contact other dealers who sell the trailer you want. Request a quote that includes everything (taxes- delivery- plates- prep etc...) . Now you have a final price. Compare the final prices and determine which dealer you want to buy from. Buying local is best if the price is decent. Remember travel time expenses can be troublesome if you need warranty work done after the sale.
Do allow your preferred dealer a last chance to outbid your best quote. We just bought a 2014 Cougar High Country 321RES trailer and saved $$$$ thousands by doing this. Granted it took a lot of my time but it was worth it.
ALWAYS be polite and courteous.
Happy trails,

[therink]

X2 what others said. Dealers do receive a pdi/prep allowance from manufacturers. It is the bottom line $ that counts. Do your research and you will get a fair price.
And have fun doing it. Happy trails.
Steve

[Knucklehead]

thanks for the info people this seems to be a hard model to find my local fuzion dealer acording to keystone does not even stock a single fuzion ! i live in northwest tn this is the cloest dealer tous that has one and has made a lowest offer what if i take my battery and tanks put his tanks in tradein
thanks again for your replies Burt

[JRTJH]

I totally agree, the bottom line is the final deciding factor as far as price goes. There are other considerations such as dealer reputation, service department availability, etc, but the dollars paid should be a very important deciding factor.

We are currently in the process of buying a new fifth wheel. The Camping World location where we bought our Springdale also wants to add a $695 PDI to the bottom line, in addition to $695 for shipping (in addition to the factory shipping which has already been added) plus a reduced trade in for our current RV.

The fifth wheel is located at CW in Akron OH and is currently listed for $24,995. By the time the local CW gets done, the RV (with my trade) bottom line is $33,759. There is a local dealer (privately owned family business) about 35 miles away in the opposite direction who quoted me an OTD price that's about $6,000 less than CW's bottom line. Their service department seems to be as good or better than CW (I have no complaints about the Houghton Lake CW service department) but the bottom line does the "talking" for me this time.

I have no clue how the dealer is going to write up the contract at closing, none of the quotes or acceptance and special order documents have an itemized cost breakdown. It's not important to me if he sells the trailer to me for $1.00 and charges me $28,999 in PDI charges or if he sells me the RV for $29,000 and throws in the PDI for free.... Either way, it's the bottom line that matters. I do know that I'm not signing any final sales documents until AFTER the PDI and I'm satisfied that the RV meets my expectations.

[JRTJH]

thanks for the info people this seems to be a hard model to find my local fuzion dealer acording to keystone does not even stock a single fuzion ! i live in northwest tn this is the cloest dealer tous that has one and has made a lowest offer what if i take my battery and tanks put his tanks in tradein
thanks again for your replies Burt

Using your current tanks and battery won't save much (if any at all) Remember, propane tanks require NDI inspection and using your old tanks will cut some time off that inspection date, plus your battery is older than the new one he'll install (but yours may be a better or more durable). Typically wholesale price on a group 27 battery is below $50 and propane costs about $2 a gallon at wholesale so you're talking less than $65 in dealer cost to use your battery and propane tanks. That's really not even enough savings to pay for packing them IMHO......

[theeyres]

I, too, agree with the Out The Door price. I don't care how the dealer writes it up but I'm always clear that the price I'm quoted will include everything except license and registration. Quoting a price, then adding on PDI, document fees, etc. is just a way to jack the price up.

[Devildogmom]

:banghead:

Some dealers charge for it and some don't. There is a dealer in Wayland, MI who charges $1000.00. Needless to say, we drove a little farther to Muskegon and found a dealer who didn't charge anything. When I asked the Muskegon dealer about it, they said they never charge the customer for PDI fees.

[Essness]

:banghead:

Some dealers charge for it and some don't. There is a dealer in Wayland, MI who charges $1000.00. Needless to say, we drove a little farther to Muskegon and found a dealer who didn't charge anything. When I asked the Muskegon dealer about it, they said they never charge the customer for PDI fees.

That's cause they're smart about it. You paid for it but not as a seperate line item that appears to be engineered just to pi** off potential customers.
I know I've paid it, but never as a line item on the deal.

[JRTJH]

That's cause they're smart about it. You paid for it but not as a seperate line item that appears to be engineered just to pi** off potential customers.
I know I've paid it, but never as a line item on the deal.

That is correct LOL Paying $30,000 for an RV seems "OK" but paying $29,000 for an RV and seeing the dealer add $1000 for a PDI suddenly makes the deal a "ripoff" Hmmmmm

Like you, I don't much care how the dealer itemizes the top lines, it's the bottom line that really matters. If you're happy with that, who cares if he charges nothing for the PDI, or charges $2500 for the PDI?????

[Knucklehead]

thanks for all yalls replys as an update have all but signed the dodded line for a 297se any pros or cons from the many people on here thanks Burt

[Pmedic4]

========================

You need to do the research. Get on the Internet and contact other dealers who sell the trailer you want. Request a quote that includes everything (taxes- delivery- plates- prep etc...) . Now you have a final price. Compare the final prices and determine which dealer you want to buy from. Buying local is best if the price is decent. Remember travel time expenses can be troublesome if you need warranty work done after the sale.
Do allow your preferred dealer a last chance to outbid your best quote. We just bought a 2014 Cougar High Country 321RES trailer and saved $$$$ thousands by doing this. Granted it took a lot of my time but it was worth it.
ALWAYS be polite and courteous.
Happy trails,
When looking at our current RV, we found we liked the layout of the 291RLS at one dealer. Of course they quoted us a price, and we checked around for prices from other dealers, and discussed our trade-in, a THOR - Sunset Trails TT. A second dealer quoted us a price for the 291RLS, and and the amount of our trade-in. The price was about the same, but the amount of our trade-in was quite a bit lower. When we asked, his comment was, Sunset Trails are made by THOR, and THOR RVs don't hold their value. :confused:
We could only wonder if he realized that Keystone RV's are also owned by THOR Industries? Between the two models, amenities are the same, appliances/AC/Heater are the same, and we really don't see any difference in quality of manufacturing, and really both could improve some.

So, check around, and think of service!

[Essness]

That is correct LOL Paying $30,000 for an RV seems "OK" but paying $29,000 for an RV and seeing the dealer add $1000 for a PDI suddenly makes the deal a "ripoff" Hmmmmm

Like you, I don't much care how the dealer itemizes the top lines, it's the bottom line that really matters. If you're happy with that, who cares if he charges nothing for the PDI, or charges $2500 for the PDI?????

This is oddly true:o most of my expiriences with any sort of charge for pdi, or prep, freight, etc. Have generally been a add on to the already negotiated price.
Which of course leads me back to the conclusion that they didnt have enough built into the deal or they're just trying to get more out of it.

[JRTJH]

This is oddly true:o most of my expiriences with any sort of charge for pdi, or prep, freight, etc. Have generally been a add on to the already negotiated price.
Which of course leads me back to the conclusion that they didnt have enough built into the deal or they're just trying to get more out of it.

I saw that years ago in negotiations for almost anything from cars to boats to RV's. Back in the early '80's, I started negotiating from the bottom line. Now when I go into a salesman's office, I tell him "up front" that all our discussions will be from the "bottom line figure". I explain to him that I want the "out the door price with everything included, no add-ons after he gives me a price. Some balk at that, I just tell them that's my rule, it's my wallet, my rules. They usually laugh and say OK. A couple have said their sales manager doesn't allow that kind of negotiations. Those dealerships, I've found, are most often the ones that add on itemized lists of upcharges after the negotiations are finished. They add PDI charges, Prep charges, Inspection fees, Handling fees, Documentation fees, Warranty Registration fees..... The list goes on and on. Like you, I think those kind of "tactics" are a money grab and for the most part, "engineered to P*** off the buyer.

If the dealer doesn't or won't give me the bottom line, out the door price, I find a dealer that will. There's no reason to be shafted by a dealer with "secret add-ons" any more than there's a reason to buy the "elixir" from a "snake oil salesman" :)

[robo]

Call d and rv auto n west alexandria ohio good folks no deal prep fees will drive back to the for next rv also

[GmaPaTime]

@JRTJH... Do you mind me asking why you are getting rid of your X-Lite?

[JRTJH]

@JRTJH... Do you mind me asking why you are getting rid of your X-Lite?

I'm not getting rid of my X Lite???? What gave you that idea?

[GmaPaTime]

OK.... :) Adding one to the list are ya...

[{tpc}]

If the dealer doesn't or won't give me the bottom line, out the door price, I find a dealer that will. There's no reason to be shafted by a dealer with "secret add-ons" any more than there's a reason to buy the "elixir" from a "snake oil salesman" :)

I agree with this 100%.

I'll also add that I prefer to deal with salespeople for cars/rvs/etc via email, at least at first, until I can meet the person in person, or for some reason I need to talk on the phone.

So much stuff is on the 'net as they say, nowadays, that it only makes sense to able to do this. I did it with my keystone, and my most recent truck purchase. Those that "had" to talk to me on the phone did not see any business from me, nor did they get their wish.

As for the reason, its two fold. First, I try to do a lot of the stuff while sitting at my desk working (ie multitasking). Where I sit, if you have a phone conversation, everyone around you can hear every word and prefer not to air my business to everyone. Second, its much easier and quicker for me to articulate my thoughts and questions while typing them out, and much harder for a salesperson to "dance" around when reading them. What takes me 2 minutes to type and hit send would take me 10 minutes on the phone, and I would have to be away from my desk not multitasking anymore.

It's hard to get the sales people to come around to this way of thinking. I used to be in sales so I know how much easier it is to "sell" someone while on the phone or in person. Thing is I don't need to be sold. If I am emailing you, I'm already sold on it, I just have a few questions to clarify maybe, before we really get down to business.

[Hoojs12840]

So......in a past life I was a car salesman. I made a great living working phone deals (before email was widely used) Everyone else would blow these people off, including my own dealerships people. I guarantee I closed the majority of those because I was the only one willing to do it. Sure some where nothing more than a $100.00 and a addition to my monthly count, but they took very little time and didn't have to babysit a family of 4 all afternoon. Want to see what your patients level is? Take your spouse and 2 elementary age kids car shopping and try and negotiate.




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[kellydog98]

The only barganing chip you have is the ability to walk. I've always made sure that each deal I'm working on, the dealer understands that while I have the money I'm the boss. I don't think $600 will hurt this dealer but they are always looking for the people who will just 'give' money up. Good Luck.

[Marcusjolaine]

Our process for buying an RV is to shop for the floor plan first. Once we have settled on what we like, I have the dealers email me quotes on the model and accessories that I request. Once they do that I put it in a spreadsheet, resend it out and see who gives me the best deal.
On our last purchase the local dealer made the deal but when I sat down to do the paper work not all the items I asked for were the models I requested. I then went to the next lowest dealer.
This method takes the emotion out of the deal which helps with buy remorse.

Here is the spreadsheet I uesed last time.

[dankent]

I could have saved a few grand up front buying my trailer at a couple other dealers that were not local .. even saved a couple more grand if i went to the states. However knowing that the service would need to be done and warranty items honored in a timely fashion would be an issue (it always is) if i didn't buy from my local keystone dealer. So i went it armed with the prices of others and I may not have got the best price possible ... but the few times i have needed service or warranty work its been a breeze getting my local dealer to accomplish it in a quick order (days). The dealer is 10 minutes from my house and there have been no interruptions to my camping season.

Now with this said the warranty is up .. but I save 20 percent on service and parts with this local dealer because i bought from them. I will do my own maintenance and service going forward if possible but its nice to know i have someone close by to help if i need it. Even over the phone the few times i have called for direction/ideas the Service Dept Manager has personally taken my calls and given quick and accurate direction to either fix or temporarily work around problems that came up while on the road. Mostly this can be attributed to the good relationship i have with my dealer, but i wouldn't give it up just to save a few grand and potential headaches dealing with someone else an hour+ away.