I Got Booted from An RV Dealership and It Was a Blessing
They said they were done with me when I called them on their ethics
Maria and I have been looking for a travel trailer to purchase that we can live in while building a cabin on our land. We’ve been renting a home less than a mile from our land for the past 13 months, but we really want to be on our land, enjoying it, working on it, and building on it. So, we’ve looked at private sellers, we’ve looked at used trailers through dealerships, and more recently we’ve looked at new trailers from dealers. Which brings us to the title of this post and why we were booted.
We weren’t literally given the boot. The language they used was “the owners don’t want to go any further with you,” and “you’ll have to look elsewhere.”
When have you ever heard of a dealership refusing to negotiate and telling someone to go somewhere else? In fact, the typical reputation we ascribe to these types of institutions is that they relentlessly driving for the sale.
So why then would they call it quits with us? Were we rude? Did we possess offensive body odor? Did we wave Bernie Sanders banners at them, or upside-down American flags? No to all the above. In fact, we remained calm in the face of some rather unethical negotiation tactics on their part.
It began when their sale sheet for the unit we liked indicated a $5,368 discount for financing through the dealer. I had previously called our bank, who we have a good relationship with, and received a quote for financing, but we thought we’d give them a shot and see what they come back with.
17.99% APR is what the dealer offered us when our bank came in at 6.74%. I told them we have good credit and always pay on time. The GM gave us a song and a dance about certain things on our credit report that was pulling our score down and that it would be hard for him to get us a better rate.
So, I googled a loan amortization schedule and ran the numbers. At 17.99%, our interest over the life of the loan would amount to $48,100 for a trailer they were offering at $35,000. Financing through our bank at 6.74% would run us $15,300 in interest. Still a hefty amount, but $32,800 less than going through the dealer.
That’s a $32,800 cost to have them knock $5,368 from the sale price. I’m thinking they’re receiving a pretty hefty kickback for driving super high interest (secured) loans to their lenders.
They quoted us $680 monthly payment. My loan amortization website indicated a payment of $560 at their usury level interest rate. When I asked the GM why the difference, he said it was likely due to the additional fees that weren’t being included in the sale price. I asked, “What additional fees?” He said there is a $1,400 shipping charge and an $800 prep fee. I continued to go down the rabbit hole with him, as each question resulted in an answer that didn’t make sense, which resulted in more questions.
What is the “shipping charge?” I asked. That was to deliver the trailer to their lot from the manufacture in Illinois or some place. I thought to myself, this is a cost of doing business. Why should we have to pay for this? Then he explained that the “prep fee” was to detail it, fill the propane tanks, and make sure everything is in working order before they turn it over to us.
WOW!
Is he really expecting us to pay for these things when he’s already charging an inflated price for the “new” trailer? And $800 to fill a couple five-gallon propane tanks and wash the trailer!
So . . . with a calm voice I called him out on all of it. Every inconsistent detail, beginning with a biggy: Why does their sale sheet that’s taped to the counter of every trailer on their lot not include the “additional fees.” “This is not being transparent,” I said. “You’re not negotiating in good faith when you don’t indicate all your fees.”
Backpedaling he did.
Then I quoted him the math from my loan amortization calculator, and he acknowledged that the difference was significant. Then he said the 17.99% rate was just an initial estimate, that they hadn’t yet spoken with their lenders. But he had already run a credit check on us.
I said, “But you aren’t even close to what my bank is offering.”
More backpedaling.
I told him there would be no way we would finance the trailer through him. And then I brought up the sale price. I told him we had done a lot of research into the value of the trailers and that we feel their price is too high. He asked me what kind of research we did, but I didn’t feel obligated to share my sources. Then he said, “Unless I can see a quote sheet from another dealer I can’t do anything with that.” I said, “Are you questioning whether we’ve done the research?” “No,” he said, “I’m not saying that.”
More backpedaling.
So, then he asks, “What do I have to do to make this work for you.” I gave him a number that he obviously didn’t like. Then he said he would put together a written quote and email it to me. I said, that’s great I look forward to it.
So, what’s the point of this story? Aside from the obvious fact, that dealerships (whether they be for cars, trucks, or RVs) tend to be woefully lacking in integrity, it’s that we’ve collectively accepted this reality without demanding something different.
Well, Tesla is different, but that’s another story. But seriously, $800 to prep a trailer! Something they ought to be expected to do regardless. When we sell a house, don’t we endeavor to turn it over the new owners clean? Or when selling a car, we clean it first.
So, then the GM suggested that I refrain from telling anyone that we’re planning on living in the trailer, otherwise the manufacturer will void the warranty. I didn’t believe him at first, but then Googled and found some articles about the various ways RV manufacturers can void warranties (there are many) with living in them being one of them.
Imagine that. Even if you travel in it a lot, but not full time, they can still void the warranty because you’re using it too much.
The workaround? Purchase an extended warranty for . . . get this . . . $3,500.
So, we should accept that car, truck and RV manufactures won’t stand by their products, and then spend significant dollars purchasing extended warranties. Recently, I’ve noticed that whenever I purchase an electronic from Amazon, a pop up asks me if I want to purchase an extended warranty. I would call that normalization.
We’ve normalized the business practice of manufactures not standing by their products. Just as we’ve normalized media that spread hate and falsehood. Restaurants that do not pay their workers a fair wage, i.e., our need to tip heavily so they can receive a living wage.
We’ve normalized manipulative junk mail and spam and telemarketers calling our cell phones. We’ve accepted the fact that billionaires paying zero in taxes means they’re smart, but poor people accepting public assistance are living off the public dole.
We’ve accepted the common trope that private healthcare is more efficient, even though we pay significantly more for health care in the U.S. than any other developed nation. While nearly all the other developed nations possess single payer healthcare, aka “socialized medicine.” A month’s supply of insulin in the U.S. is on average $98.70. Chile is a distant number two at $21.48. It’s only $7.52 in the UK.
We continue to argue over global warming while mega storms, deadly heat waves, widespread droughts, and massive forest fires abound.
We never even got to first base with Camping World, another RV dealer we explored. When the receptionist asked to see our ID before we could look at their trailers we turned and walked out. And we refuse to do business with people who exhibit poor ethics or resort to significant embellishment or exaggeration. And you should too. We all ought to redirect our purchasing to those organizations who stand for something meaningful and important. We don’t need to accept and normalize bad behavior and tactics. Afterall, we’re in charge. We’re in charge with our decisions, with our dollars, with our votes, and most importantly with our consciousness.
The email I received with the offer from the GM? He removed the “delivery” and “prep” fees, and he included the $5,368 discount for financing through his dealership even though he knew we wouldn’t use his source. Two concessions, but not low enough for our liking. And knowing that they inflate their prices to have wiggle room I countered with a lower price. The next morning, I received a voice mail from the sale rep with the words, “The owners don’t want to go any further with you.”
Imagine that. A dealership not willing to negotiate. But that wasn’t it really. I believe we rubbed the GM the wrong way by calling him on his tactics.
We can purchase used cars and RVs for significantly less, and after the point at which a manufactures warranty is relevant. We can stop engaging with manipulative media. We can refuse to purchase from companies with known ethical problems, or who lobby for favorable treatment over the highest good for the greatest number of people. We can refuse to vote for politicians who receive money from the fossil fuel industry or Monsanto or pharmaceutical companies. We can divest from these types of companies. We can be more conscious with our purchasing and who we support.
And, as we do the work (the often hard work) of raising our consciousness we will quietly affect those around us, we will hasten the great change, and it will come with greater ease.
If you’ve enjoyed this post please like, share, and subscribe. The way the DEEPER side of things reaches a wider audience is through word of mouth. Thank you for your support.
Outstanding post! An eyeopener. Thanks for the details—they're all too familiar. This is an excellent example of taking responsibility for yourself and the whole system all at once. Unethical practices are not so easy to spot, especially when they're contextualized as "policy." As Ami commented, this was really helpful.
I really value and learned from your thorough questioning. Thank you for writing about this. It is fairly difficulty to follow the details and fully understand what one agrees to in large purchases. This is important documentation of the lack of transparency and the irresponsible, unethical price gouging, indeed. I hope you will send it to the consumer protection agency and Better Business Bureau. Consumers need better protections. Most buyers don't have your courage and willingness to engage thoroughly, and the math skills to run the numbers on the amortization apps. This is truly helpful.