discounts from dealers

i ordered a new warwick duo from motor plus in derby at a price i was told was un repeatable.....imagine how i felt when i saw an ad in MMM magazine offering 10% off to anybody !
This meant that i had overpaid by approx £700.
When i asked the dealer for the better price he absolutely refused....despite me reminding him that he had offered me an unbeatable price !
I would cancel the deal but my wife is so upset at the thought of losing the van after a long wait.
I think that motorhome dealers are worse than car dealers in the old days.....wish i had never bothered.....lost trust in the dealer and the whole deal is soured...now i dont give a fig wether we get the van or not.
moral of the story from my perspective.....dont trust any dealer and dont pay a deposit... and get agreement to offer the lowest price prevailng at time of purchase.
i would like to be more explicit but good manners prevent

When we bought ours, the price at the showroom was the price.
Went to a show, same dealer offering 'show deals'
Asked dealer for price.............quoted same as showroom price!
When we pointed this out......ie where's the show deal?.........dealer threw in tow bar, rear step, roof fan and awning!!!!!

PB

Understand your frustration Geoff... unless you arm yourself with current prices then it's difficult to know if you are getting "that bargain buy" when the purchase stage comes... some people (not in the know) are under the impression they almost give motorhomes away at these shows, which couldn't be further from the truth! I'm yet to see these unbelievable shows prices referred to... same as the trade stands that sell items, to be honest I find them no cheaper than I can get gear online but it's still interesting to have a look around and buy items on impulse.

Think I would tell the dealer of your dissatisfaction, a reputable dealer should care enough to want you as a customer to be happy with their service... the internet and forums are powerful things these days and bad experiences can quickly spread, we prefer to read pleasant and happier experiences from our members.... I hope when you get your Warwick Duo you will feel happier about things, it's such a shame that the joy of buying your new Auto-Sleeper has not got off to a sound start, good luck and I hope everything goes well for you!

Contact senior management at motor plus in writing telling them of your disappointment

CC

Hi there,

For future reference for others who may be buying and look at this Thread, there is only one word to remember and that is "Haggle!". However, there is a skill in haggling!

We watched one friend of ours, an Aberdeenshire farmer, haggle a motorhome down in Toulouse from a forecourt price of €49,000 with no "extras" to €35,000 with enough "extras" (including a TV and aerial) to go touring almost immediately.

A second friend, a very formidable French lady, bought a caravan on our behalf in May 1996. Danielle managed to knock about €1,500 off the price by haggling for the "special-offer" price listed the previous October and also managed to get a wide variety of "extras" (new tow-ball for the towing vehicle, tow-hitch lock, water barrel, gas cylinder, step, toilet chemicals etc etc) thrown in as well!

Watching these two people operate was an absolute "Master-Class" but, apart from doing their homework on what they wanted, the two critical elements of their technique were:
1) Making sure that they were talking to someone who could actually give them a discount.
2) Convincing the sales person that:
o They could, and would, go somewhere else if they didn't get a satisfactory deal. and
o They were not absolutely sure that "this" was the particular model that they wanted - but at the right price ......... !

If I had only 10% of the nous that these two friends displayed then I would be much richer by far!

Hope this helps future buyers.

Best regards,

I would agree with Geoff as to the attitude of the UK dealers having bought 4 motorhomes from various dealers. None good. One who I will not name extremely poor. As for writing to the managers of these dealers. I have done that but it seems that any letters of complaint are intercepted by reception or company secretaries and distroyed. Pretty poor carry on all round really. Best bet do your homework on the van you want. Haggle hard and be prepared to walk away. Leave the smallest deposit you can.

Moan over. Whisky.

Maybe we were just lucky or perhaps the dealer we bought our Symphony from having a 'slow day' (or week?) but it did not take much leverage to get £2K knocked off the price, plus service, MOT, new gas cylinder and regulator.
Not much I know but at least an incentive to go back to them in future.
Sorry you had a rough deal. !
Mike D

I've heard of all this knocking off of thousands nonsense many times... what people have to understand is most dealers have over inflated forecourt prices to start with.. it's a game they play, they knock a bit off or throw in a few accessories and you think you're getting the deal of the century.. it's all allowed for in their prices both on what they allow on trade in and what they then sell for!

Good luck to anyone who does well out of negotiating but given the example of Dutto's friend (not having a go Dutto) "who haggled with the dealer on the forecourt price of €49,000 with no "extras" to €35,000 with enough "extras" (including a TV and aerial) to go touring almost immediately" Personally speaking I'd have ran a mile as they were obviously dealing with an extremely dishonest person to start with

Admittedly our Harmony was 'pre-loved' and thanks to a chatty mechanic who took me out on a test drive I found out it had been on the forecourt for a couple months. I managed to get a hat-full of extras added and a reduction on the screen price as well as a 12 month inside & out warranty (repeated elsewhere today).
We did our purchase in the Autumn towards the end of the month which worked out well.

When we had some issues with the then fledgling Marquis (1999) Charles Trevalyn (AS) came to our aid and got things moving, sadly there's no-one like him around anymore.

I've had one bad experience a few years ago with a 'flashy' dealer (not a million miles from the dealer under the spotlight at the beginning of this thread) at the NEC when one of their 'spivs' told me you could fit a beeny box under a Trigano Tribute- I knew from the outset it was impossible so we ran for the hills !!

No such problems with SMC at Taplow and P&P at Gosport, or the original Berkshire Motorcaravans before it became Marquis for that matter.

CruizingComet wrote:................. they were obviously dealing with an extremely dishonest person to start with

There is are two major centres in Toulouse for motorhomes. The one at St Oren has five or six main dealers of "new" and "used" motorhomes almost side-by-side.

The MH my mate haggled over was brand new. The leverage came mainly because it was mid-October and in two months time the MH would be "last years model". Also, the salesman had seen four of us traipse around two other dealerships and through about thirty caravans on his own site so he knew someone was seriously looking.

Add on to that the fact that my mate paid cash and had no trade-in and, in a nutshell, he was in a prime position to negotiate and both the salesman and my mate knew it!

The other side of the "negotiation" coin was demonstrated by our son who turned up at the Norfolk Line ferry terminal in Dunkirk and asked for a ticket. He had paid about £45 Dover > Dunkirk on the Internet to get over to France and was therefore amazed to discover that it cost him £148 Dunkirk > Dover "on the day"!

He demonstrated what happens when you don't have a negotiating position - the plonker!

Best regards,

In my experience (now on 7th van) the only way to get a decent discount off the listed price is if you want to buy something the dealer wants to shift quickly. So last seasons 'demonstrator' or last seasons model that's in the way of new stock are worth a look if you want a 'new' van. Technically these are not new but will have little mileage on them and when you sell may still fetch the same trade as an actual 'new' van bought in the same registration period. What you don't get is the chance to choose some options like upholstery colours and factory fitted options but if the van you're looking at has fitted options you may be able to get these 'thrown in'. You may also find you need to get some things fixed on a demonstrator that's had people clambering in and out of it and 'trying' all the cupboards and things. Remember the dealer will have a selling price that the manufacture doesn't want him to drop below as it undermines their 'list pricing' strategy. The dealer is more likely to 'soften' the deal by offering a higher trade in price for your existing van and 'free' extras than lowering the asking price. So put pressure on the whole deal not the selling price.

Geoff , I know how you feel having bought 2 vans from large chain type dealers. The ones with matching car coats with corporate logo swaggering about bragging about  selling  volume 'units' rather than the small intimate family firm where customer service comes first.
       From experience buying our present van , the last 3 years have experienced increasing bravado from dealers talking up sales. Twice we were ready to buy an A/s second hand with cash  and could not even get £1000 off however pleasant and hard we tried. Both vans are still on the dealers forecourts unsold to this day , one sitting for over 2 and a half years now and covered in dents where prospective purchasers have opened rear doors wide ramming the bike rack into bodywork corners.They deserve all they get . It is YOUR hard earned cash if not happy with the deal,  walk away if possible. You will never trust or be happy with the dealer after that. And trusting a dealer is paramount if work needed in future.  Unlike buying a used van where you are unable to replicate the exact deal, you are in the happy position of  buying new . There are plenty of other dealers out there who will supply the same van and  as Roger above says might not drop the asking price but will sweeten the deal to your advantage with extras or trade in price marked up to get business especially if targets are not met. I once bought a large outboard motor at less than trade price and  dealer was happy as it meant he met his sales quota for the year to keep franchise. Dont let your heart rule your head! It is  a major purchase not a Mars bar!