How To Eliminate Dealer Pressure When Buying A Motorhome
All too often the buying process is made much more unpleasant than it should be
By Jim Johnson
All too often the buying process is made much more unpleasant than it should be by the RV dealer themselves. Many of their tactics mimic those used at car dealerships and almost everyone knows that they have to be careful when buying from car dealers. The same is true when you find a motorhome or RV that interests you on a dealer lot. If you aren't careful you may wind up buying a much more expensive unit than you planned on, and owe too much on it when you do. So here are a couple of ways to eliminate dealer pressure when buying a motorhome.
1. Have your needs clearly in mind before you even set a foot onto the dealer's lot. The salespeople are often trained rigorously to be able to up sell you into more expensive models when they have you on the lot. That's why dealers often use the "price leader" tactic to get prospective customers to visit them because once on the lot they work hard to up sell the customer from there, and it often works. This is possible because consumers often don't have a very specific picture of what they really want in mind beforehand, and so they can be swayed into making a different purchase that is of greater benefit to the dealer.
The best way to combat this tactic is simply to be extremely well prepared and know exactly what you want to look at when you start shopping at their dealership. And be sure not to let the salesperson or any manager try to direct your attention away to a more expensive model instead. Often consumers wind up buying something that they had no intention to purchase beforehand and don't even realize how it happened after they leave. So stick to your guns and stay in control of the shopping process.
2. When it comes time to finance your motorhome, it's usually best to have the paperwork already done because you have already made those arrangements on your own. By doing this in advance without having any emotion attached to a particular motorhome, you can get a much clearer picture of what price range you can really afford and you can make sure that the loan does not contain excessive interest rates or clauses that may be unfavorable for you.
You may find some pressure is still applied even after following these suggestions, but you are in the driver's seat at this point and you can just say no without fear of losing anything.
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