If you’re shopping for a new RV, a good time to negotiate a great price is at the turn of the

model year. Dealers and manufacturers want those “old” RVs off the lots.

First of all, never pay Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP). This is top dollar, a

number pulled out of a hat by a manufacturer. If you pay it, you’ll be the RV dealership’s

sucker-of-the-month.

Not necessarily. He/she will try to sell you the RV and as many add-ons as possible — an

extended warranty, insurance, roadside assistance, tire protection, etc., which are high-profit

items. Some salespersons are perfectly honest, but others will say just about anything to make

the sale and then ramp up the price with additional products, often priced far higher than

elsewhere. It’s hard to tell the good ones from the bad ones.

You’ll likely find that service issues are more easily dealt with if you buy from the dealer closer to

home. While both dealers are theoretically set up to handle warranty work for the manufacturer,

RVers report that when they bought an RV elsewhere, they often found themselves waiting in a

longer line to get service work done at the local dealer, or even denied service at all.

Sometimes, but not always. You will almost certainly and RVs marked down at RV shows, and

sometimes significantly, often as much as 30 to 35 percent off MSRP. But in most cases, you

can get the same price a week or two later at the same RV dealership.