Holiday World, Katy, TX

[Texascamper]

Picked up our new 5th wheel yesterday. Did our walk thru and everything went great. Very professional staff. Only fault is I think there finance dept is a little shady.

[antiqfreq]

Salesman are Salesman.....

And financing will get as much as they can out of you.

Do you have a bank or credit union you can look into to finance it?

Jo

[Outbackmel]

As a "retired" auto finance exec; 38 years + in 6 figure jobs, let me share my thoughts of F&I Departments ...... make money, make money and make more money.

There are some great F&I people out there. Work hard every day (and evening).... BUT, their job is to enhance the profits of the dealership.

Always have your finances lined up before walking into a dealership. If you feel you need "insurance"; ie, credit life; price a short term (term based) policy to cover your purchase amount for the length of your loan, keeping in mind your balance is declining with payments made. You DO NOT , for example, need a $30,000 policy in the last part of your loan...price it accordingly.

Never sign up for "fabric guard" and other "stuff" ... you can buy "Scotchguard" at WalMart or CW..

And, it goes on and on....be aware. One thing F&I Departments have is all information on manufacturer rebates and low interest (or free) options. Or you can say; "no thank you" if you know you have the best deal.

Last year I was "forced" to go through the F&I experience. Ford Credit was offering zero percent financing for "highly qualified" customers. Being retired from Ford Credit, I paid xx% down on a new Escape and took the balance free...it's in my name only. Why not use their money versus our savings. Otherwise have to cash out taxable rate investments... that's my point here. Figure out what works best for you and be "prepared"... isn't that a Boy Scout motto??!!

p.s....Wife will NOT, under any circumstance, walk into any finance office..after 45 years of marriage, I absolutely believe her on that one....never has...

[JRTJH]

HA HA. Outbackmel. sound advice from someone who's been there. I can't really blame the F&I guy for doing his job. And a little "embellishment" here and there can only help his outcome. Most are honest as the day is long and do an admirable job of getting financing for the college kid with NO credit, the recently bankrupt couple with BAD credit as well as the fortunate buyer with GOOD credit. My point is they work with lots of different situations and can most often find a way to get most people into a seat "someway or another" even if that person has been unable to find financing on his own.

But, as you so well said it, they are, for the most part, an extension of the sales department in that their task is to maximize profits. They must remain loyal to the employer or their days are most likely numbered. So, they sell the "perks" and make them sound too good to pass up. Some even have a knack of making them sound too good to be true (did I say "jump on it now before it's not available any longer) ???

Like your DW, mine refuses to even enter that cubicle or office. If her signature is required, I take the paperwork out to the waiting room for her to sign. She thinks I'm being "rude" when I say NO I'M NOT INTERESTED, NEXT TOPIC PLEASE

Thanks for giving an "insider's perspective"

[curlyfungirl]

We had to listen to our finance guy go on and on and on and on about how his daughter suffered from ptsd from watching her friends crash in a helicopter. Totally ruined my wife's excitement for our purchase as her dad was killed in a copter crash. He needs to leave his personal life at home and let the customers enjoy their day!

[smitty082261]

Well we purchased a Alpine 355rl from Holiday World of Houston in Katy Tx and let me tell you it was the abosolute worst experience I have ever had purchasing anything. The only saving grace to the whole deal was the finance person. They did not listen to a word I said during our walk through, waiting on the finance guy and then when we were done signing the papers the rig as still not ready. I might note that they had a week to prepare it for our arrival. Not only has it been the worst buying experience I had to take it back for service which I found out would take 2 weeks to even get to it. I called after two weeks and was told they would get the rig in that day and would call me and give me a status or they would call me withing the next couple of days. A week later I finally called them back, got an answering machine left a message to call me and they still have not called me back. I am going to try and contact the General Manager and the owner today, hopefully they will talk to me. I am really disgusted with this kind of treatment.