Camping World pricing

[instymp]

Does anyone know how much profit they mark used 5th wheels up?
Thank you!

[sourdough]

I don't think there is a "set" mark up on used 5th wheels per se. It will all depend on what they got it for, how good shape it's in, the regional market etc. I would expect to pay at least 5% over what they paid for it, but.....how do you know that? What they tell you??

Use outside resources to determine what it might be worth and then determine what it's worth to you.

[CaptnJohn]

Look up the value on NADA. Added mods and upgrades generally are worth nothing on trade and should be looked at the same when purchasing. There are 2 items that can effect price. Slide toppers if in good condition can increase the price and decrease if there is evidence of removal. Auto-level ~~ as long as it works there will be a premium. Other than those it all comes down to age and condition. No matter what the ask, negotiate. ALL dealers are in business to make money, negotiate so they make a little less. My surprise was all the $$$ my friend spent for paint over decals on his Montana meant nothing to 3 different dealers.

[Fishhawk]

You can expect a retail outlet to want to offer wholesale at best for your camper
Minus any problems your camper might have

Do your research to determine approx market pricing (NADA, Ebay, Craigslist etc)

And then the negotiations start

Good luck

[rbev2308]

Pricing RV's has always been very tricky. Unlike all the auto websites out there that show you actual dealer invoice and values, the RV industry has no where near the regulations in place that govern this. For example, the exact same camper built to the exact specs can have two different MSRP's as the dealership can set that MSRP relative to other things in their lot. The dealer can also pay a different price from the RV MFR based on how many things they order at that time. I have several close friends in the RV industry from leading sales person to an actual owner and I can tell you that if you are looking at used, best guide is looking at NADA and putting the model in with no options...The option tabs is misleading cause most of them were mandatory options you had to get. Take the Average retail price and you will see on many of the used, it will be very much in the ball park of the pricing you see. The low retail is the bare minimum of what you can expect they will let go for and they typically will buy from you 10-15% below that figure. Each deal is unique cause if a trade was involved, you may get less depending on the deal you are getting on the new one. Pay higher, you may get more. My parents got ripped off from a CW paying nearly 90% of the MSRP on a TT and then having to stroke a check for 16K to the bank for selling their TT private party as the dealer offered even less. Once I educated them, they bought again from CW a used 5er that was 4 yrs old listed for 44K and got for 32K and it was a high end mid 80's MSRP new. I really equate buying used as not much difference than new just cause you really do not know what they have into it..A site you can get some good data from new is seedealercost.com it does give some pretty accurate pricing but you can get even lower negotiating. Typically 20-30% off is a solid deal, not uncommon to get 30-40% and even more depending on the situation. Just to show you how grossly overinflated these things are...I purchased mine at 49% off MSRP for a unit that was sitting for 18 months new in the lot now after having 18 months, the dealer retail used is less than what I owe so I would get taken to the woodshed trying to get rid of this thing..

[instymp]

Thanks all!

[Dave W]

If you have other dealers nearby, you can try to do a comparison check on similar units. CW always has higher overhead which MAYinfluence higher pricing vs a smaller, independent dealer who will need to keep his stock, especially used, moving. NADA will only give you a starting point for negotiations. A dealer will always attempt to buy/trade for as little as possible and try to sell for a reasonable profit.

A note about Camping World - do good research on them, especially reviews of the local store. There are some great ones and then there are the rest (many, IMO, if not most of them)....

[bsmith0404]

I don't think there is a "set" mark up on used 5th wheels per se. It will all depend on what they got it for, how good shape it's in, the regional market etc. I would expect to pay at least 5% over what they paid for it, but.....how do you know that? What they tell you??

Use outside resources to determine what it might be worth and then determine what it's worth to you.

RV sales are much different than car sales. Paying 3-5% on a car is considered a good deal for a car dealership that sells several hundred cars per month. The dealership I worked at sold 350-400 cars per month plus the parts and maintenance areas. An RV dealership does not have the volume so they need to make more per sale to survive. The RVs I've traded in and ones that friends and family have traded in were priced more in the neighborhood of 25%. I guarantee you they have more than $1,000 mark up on a $20,000 RV, probably more in the $5-7,000 range.

[Canonman]

If you have other dealers nearby, you can try to do a comparison check on similar units. CW always has higher overhead which MAYinfluence higher pricing vs a smaller, independent dealer who will need to keep his stock, especially used, moving. NADA will only give you a starting point for negotiations. A dealer will always attempt to buy/trade for as little as possible and try to sell for a reasonable profit.

A note about Camping World - do good research on them, especially reviews of the local store. There are some great ones and then there are the rest (many, IMO, if not most of them)....

X2 on this comment. We have 2 CW stores w/in 30 mi. We received a much better price at one over the other. They are very much like a franchise, almost separate operations except for the signage. New over used, we found several similarly equipped 2 year old units used from private sellers that were going for right close to what we paid for our new 2017 Cougar.

[capri180]

We purchased a travel trailer from CW last summer and had a great experience, other than them selling and installing what we later determined to be an inferior hitch. So this year when we decided to switch into a 5er, we went back to the same CW and could not get them to deal whatsoever. No budge on the price of the 5ers we were interested in, new or used. I had quotes with me from other dealerships and simply wanted them to match the price (CW was almost $5k over!). Whether it was the sales manager or business manager, not sure, but he came out started into the whole overhead speech, have to pay to keep the lights on, etc. He then flat out stated that they need to make, at minimum, $2500 on each and every camper sale or they will not make a deal with the customer and if I had a better price elsewhere, go buy it elsewhere. Needless to say CW not only lost my wife and I as customers, but also my in-laws who were interested in upgrading to a more luxurious 5er as well.

We ended up buying from a local, family run dealership that went out of their way to make our buying experience memorable. After the deal was done, paperwork signed, etc. they discovered that the brakes on the 5er were severally worn (we bought used). They replaced everything...shoes, drums, bearings, etc. They also found a few of the LEDs on the awning were not working so they replaced the LED strip. The fresh water pump was functional but not putting out much volume, so they replaced that as well. Before taking delivery they provided a 90 minute walk thru of the trailer, showing us every button, every switch, every feature, how everything worked, how to winterize, etc. I was impressed and decided to purchase and have installed my 5er hitch from them, even though I could have saved a little money having it done elsewhere.

[Tbos]

We purchased a travel trailer from CW last summer and had a great experience, other than them selling and installing what we later determined to be an inferior hitch. So this year when we decided to switch into a 5er, we went back to the same CW and could not get them to deal whatsoever. No budge on the price of the 5ers we were interested in, new or used. I had quotes with me from other dealerships and simply wanted them to match the price (CW was almost $5k over!). Whether it was the sales manager or business manager, not sure, but he came out started into the whole overhead speech, have to pay to keep the lights on, etc. He then flat out stated that they need to make, at minimum, $2500 on each and every camper sale or they will not make a deal with the customer and if I had a better price elsewhere, go buy it elsewhere. Needless to say CW not only lost my wife and I as customers, but also my in-laws who were interested in upgrading to a more luxurious 5er as well.



We ended up buying from a local, family run dealership that went out of their way to make our buying experience memorable. After the deal was done, paperwork signed, etc. they discovered that the brakes on the 5er were severally worn (we bought used). They replaced everything...shoes, drums, bearings, etc. They also found a few of the LEDs on the awning were not working so they replaced the LED strip. The fresh water pump was functional but not putting out much volume, so they replaced that as well. Before taking delivery they provided a 90 minute walk thru of the trailer, showing us every button, every switch, every feature, how everything worked, how to winterize, etc. I was impressed and decided to purchase and have installed my 5er hitch from them, even though I could have saved a little money having it done elsewhere.



Sounds like that family owned dealer is a gem. You may want to provide the name in hope that others can have similar good experiences there.

[sourdough]

RV sales are much different than car sales. Paying 3-5% on a car is considered a good deal for a car dealership that sells several hundred cars per month. The dealership I worked at sold 350-400 cars per month plus the parts and maintenance areas. An RV dealership does not have the volume so they need to make more per sale to survive. The RVs I've traded in and ones that friends and family have traded in were priced more in the neighborhood of 25%. I guarantee you they have more than $1,000 mark up on a $20,000 RV, probably more in the $5-7,000 range.

I suppose I worded my response incorrectly. Yes, the dealers will definitely have the units marked up much more than 5%. What I was trying to say was that no matter what the markup was I would pay 5% over their cost; if you were able to determine that. If not, you would have to use other methods; some of which have been described.

[capri180]

Sounds like that family owned dealer is a gem. You may want to provide the name in hope that others can have similar good experiences there.

The name of the dealership we purchased our used 5er from is Cooper's RV Center. They have 2 locations in the area, we purchased from the Apollo location. Entire facility was just constructed and opened this Spring, top notch all around.

[Campy]

I just purchased a used small toy hauler from Camping World Indy and when I found the toy hauler advertised the ad blew me away! They had the 2005 Forest River "Work and Play" listed for $22995.00! I knew that had to be a mis-print since new it sold for $14800.00 but when I called them it was right and they told me they could go down to $17995.00 and I was speechless?? I showed up on Saturday to look at it and got a different person than on the phone and quizzed them about the price and he said it was wrong and I got it for $5000.00 cash out the door.