Show Deals
Did anyone get a good deal on a new caravan at the recent NEC show?
We are interested in a new Swift and wonder is it worth while waiting until the Manchester show or do we order now. Ordering even now we are looking at delivery March/Easter which is ridiculous.
We are the worlds worst at negotiation but we have 2 dealers locally so we may have to play them off against each other. Any tips please.
Comments
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The show is useful for seeing the dealers and getting their best offers. Armed with this information you will be able to negotiate at least the same deal with your local dealer. Having a dealer near to you who you trust is worth a lot more than saving a few quid on the purchase price.
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Three of the caravans we owned were from the same dealer. We are rather short of Caravan dealers where we live and this one was half an hour away and had excellent sales and after sales service so we actually only bought the models that they stocked. At one time we were tempted by a Coachman but there were no local dealers so we decided on something different.
So many times you hear on this forum comments like ...”I don’t want to have to take it back to the dealer again, it’s 150 miles” ... etc. Our last van was a damp Bailey which had to go back to the factory twice. So glad that our dealer was fairly close.
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You may get lucky if you speak to your dealer. The dealership that I use is an hours drive away (15 mins longer in traffic). I use them because I did not fancy the more local one. I placed an order for a new caravan with them having checked it out at the NEC. Delivery mid November as they had one on pre-order.
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Advice, be hardfaced.
Make a really low ball offer.
Take your time, walk away, they will come back to you.
You now have the whip hand, you know they want to sell the van.
Exaggerate the facts of the wonderful deal from the other trader.
Dont be take in by free addition gear that you dont need.
Dont let them become your 'friend', they are not, remain formal.
Later in the year they will sell that van with free movers, free awnings, etc. factor that in and take the cost off now.
Never feel you are obliged to pay anything near list price, if they cant match your offer they will decline, they wont be offended or hate you.
They are businesses that operate to minimum margins for sales, your mission is to find out what that figure is, it varies depending on many factors. They will take more if you want to give it to them.
If time is a factor then get the deal to the point of shaking hands then go cold. Tell them its on only if the delivery date is when you want it. see what happens.
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It is good to be a tough negotiator but I also believe that the dealer should make a fair profit. So negotiate hard but reach a deal that is satisfactory to both. If you build a good relationship with your dealer he will know that you are sharp but fair and will treat you accordingly.
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Indeed, about to buy van number 6, always negotiated a fair deal and never had a problem with after sales service.
Listened to lots of clever people who thought they had screwed the dealer on the deal, only to get screwed on the after sales. You can't have it both ways.
Margins are important in every form of selling.
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In the last 25 years we’ve had 4 vans and always from the same dealer about 25 minutes away. We did try a different dealer a few years ago but the deal we were offered was rubbish so back we went to our original salesman and, because we had that rapport and had been customers in the past, we got a far better deal.
When we bought our current van three years ago we got a fantastic deal from another dealer that ours was finishing it extremely difficult to match. After some give and take on both sides, he came within a couple of hundred pounds and that was worth the hour or so travelling.
Just check the threads on here about buying from a show. Although you get an expected delivery date it’s very common for these to slip, sometimes by many weeks and, in some cases, only just before the next model year comes out. Personally I wouldn’t buy from a show because of that. We bought late into the year just before the new models came out and got a big discount on exactly the model we wanted.
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Sorry but really have to disagree.
The dealer will make a fair profit or they wont sell the van, you are not obliged to donate cash to them. They will decide on their profit level but will try to squeeze more from you.
You do not need a 'relationship' with your dealer, they provide a service, you pay for it. If they want your business then they provide good price and good service.
You do not need them to like you to give you good service, this is implied. If they dont then go elsewhere.
How do you get screwed on after-sales? Research the company before you buy. Any franchised dealer providing poor after-sales should not survive. They do so because people have some strange sense of loyalty to companies that have given them poor services but their now friend (the salesman) work there.
People on this forum endlessly bemoan the poor after-sales and service of dealers but still buy their next van from the same one they gave them poor service.
'You cant have it both ways', why should we not expect a good price and excellent service. Should this not be the norm?
There are some excellent dealers out there and some appalling ones. If more people replied to offers from their dealers explaining that they had decided to go to the next dealer 20 miles away because they were given poor service last time then maybe the caravan industry service standards would not be 20 years behind the automotive and white goods industries.
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I tend to agree with Jobsworth if you start to be unreasonable in the negotiation you will probably find a none to helpful attitude when you have a problem (and lets face it you are lucky if you don`t). We changed our van at the NEC and quite happy with the deal which included a mover (I won`t use the word free no such thing).
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Some years ago I was buying a Samsonite carry bag. Fellow in front of me was complaining bitterly that he was about to buy several bags and hadn’t been offered a discount. Shop assistant said “sorry sir, the manager is not here and I cannot give you a discount”. He paid full price.
I was next up and very politely said that it was a bit more than I really wanted to pay and could she do anything about the price? “Certainly Sir, you can have 10% off”. True story. Good to negotiate hard but always stay polite and reasonable.
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Tigi, you got what you wanted at the price you are happy with, that is what matters. Getting a mover thrown in would be one of my first requests. This is a win win, you get the mover (essential to those of us who are reversingly challenged) the dealer claws a bit back because you value the mover at retail price, he fits it a trade price.
I cant agree with your point that if you squeeze a tight deal you will get inferior service. There is no such thing as an unreasonable deal, if they cant make their margin they wont do the deal!
The sales and service are totally unrelated. If you return with issue they will not pull out the file and analyze the margin they made on the sale and decide what level of service you get. Once the van is sold you just become a customer number, return issues are in no way referenced to you or the purchase price.
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Hi all, we went to the Nec to look at getting new caravan went straight past swift stand really bad workmanship on our sterling continental 480. We found our local dealer who we bought the sterling off and after a chat and a look around we went back to their stand and bought a Lunar delta tr, it pays to build relationships with your local dealer it paid off for us we get our new caravan in March.
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I really don't understand this.
You bought something from a trader that you were disappointed with. You had the choice of just about every trader (and caravan) in the UK to make a deal with and you went back to the same one.
You say it paid off for you to build a relationship with them. Why, they benefit from your repeat donations and you get not much in return.
It is the most fundamental sales technique, let you feel you you have a relationship with them, this is a very strong psychological trigger for us. This why there are loyalty cards, special invite events, select customer offers etc. It makes you feel obliged to buy from them.
Now, if you tell me that you researched your new van and it was exactly what you wanted, and you got a price from every other trader at the show, and then went to your dealer and offered him the sale at the best deal you were offered from the other 6 dealers who made an offer, and that he beat that price then good for you.
Never had a Lunar, Delta looks on hell of a van.
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Lunar delta is one hell of a van and I did some research into three different caravans, had a chat with three differaent dealers other two didn't even come close to what we got for our sterling and what we had to pay for the Lunar, so hearts and minds works for us. I would recommend Grantham caravans sales team, have a great weekend.
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What an interesting thread with what appear to be two quite polarised views!
We are some where in the middle as, unlike K for example, we have no local dealer........unless 50+ miles is local.
Our latest van was bought after visiting the NEC to look at the options and was ordered over the phone later after making the decision to purchase...........and was a better deal than on offer at the show.
We buy from where we can get the best deal-that may be just price but is often the best package including extras that we want-and we use a 'local' independent service centre for all warranty and servicing work. Well we did till recently when our 6 month old Lunar had a major leak whilst on a rally.
The supplying dealer some 180 miles away collected the van after the local service centre declined to carry out the work, it involved water ingress to both the wall and floor, due to issues with receiving payment for such major work.
We have had problems that required a dealer visit in all our new vans apart from a Hobby bought in Germany-thank goodness-but this is our first 'major issue' and we will continue to seek out the best deals for us.
So far as dealer 'loyalty' is concerned good service should be a given and that is the reason that we have used the service centre for over 20 years.
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