Advice Please - Special Order or Off the Lot?

[Mr_Toad]

Hi, All,

I am a newbie, so may I ask for folks' advice on purchasing a new Redwood 36FB?

SCENARIO: I am preparing to sell my house to open up monthly cash flow to pay for my mom to live in a nursing home,so I will be able tobuy the 36FB for cash. I've read that folks are able to purchasenew Redwood 36FBs for about $75k, but I think they arebuying from stock right off the lot.

QUESTION: Couldsomeone tell methe approximatecost difference incurred by"Special Ordering" a trailer, versusbuying a trailer right offthe dealership lot?

Obviously, more features mean a higher price. But, what is theadditionalcostpenalty reflected just inordering a trailer than buying it off the lot?

No doubtthis is an "it depends" answer, but any advice is appreciated. (Example dollar figures would be really great, too.)



Robt.

[sinder]

You really have to ask yourself what features are important to you. Most dealers will purchase a standard configuration which reflects in features such as: size of bed, color of interior, size fridge, propane tanks, tire rating, number of AC units, number of awnings, etc.. Most dealers will not have a fully painted unit, washer and dryer, generator and dishwasher configured units sitting on their lots. Ordering a unit from the factory will allow you to semi customize many features on your 5er. I've been very impressed by how much factory customization Redwood has been willing to perform. Price will vary not only based on the features, but also dealerships and by state of course. Either way look for a good reputable dealer when making a RW purchase. This forum provides some good information on good and not so good dealers. $75k is a good ball park number to wrap your mind around. It could be a little less depending on the features, the model, the dealer, state and your negotiation skills. Your price can also go North of $100k due to the same variables. Lastly you may find you have a little more negotiating power taking a unit off the lot, especially if the dealer has been sitting on inventory. Not necessarily just RD inventory.

[Mr_Toad]

Thanks, Dean & Pam!

Well....so, if I were to order this long list of Options, from the Redwood Brochure PDF, the price would increase by 25k? I guess I really need to find a sales person interested in discussing this stuff with me. ..sigh.

Central Vacuum
Heat Pump on A/C
30,000 BTU A/C
Fantastic Fan (Bathroom, Bedroom Kitchen)
King Mattress
Washer & Dryer
Slide Awnings
Ceiling Fan in LR
40 lb. LP Bottles
Gen Prep
Onan 5.5
LP Marquis Gold
12 cu. ft. 4 Door Refrigerator
Convection Microwave
Full Body Paint
Dual Pane Windows
Trail-Air Pin Box
Goodyear "G" Rated Tires
2nd Awning
Dishwasher

[Tobys Home]

Sinder is right. When start making your RW your new home you have a different mind set. We just were called about our RL being preped for this weekend inspection. The amenities we orderd suited our life style, and you will too. But the price does go up rather rapidly. We have a washer dryer in our present vehicle and I hate the way it makes eveything shake. No gen on our new vehicle but prepped just is case. We opted for two awnings, heat pumps, dishwasher, full body paint, G tires just to mention a few things. UP $ Up $ UP goes the price. You have to decide what YOU really need and then live with decision. Good luck!

[5th_Time]

Start out by contacting Andy Wesdorp (awesdorp@redwood-rv.com) or your regional sales manager at Redwood to express interest andask them to email you the MSRP price sheet which lists all the options and pricing. It's actually an interactive .pdf file you can work on and see different combinations and associated pricing. Just glancing at your list above, it looks like around $125K MSRP.
After you save this, email your Sales Manager at Redwood again and ask for 3 or 4 dealers/contacts in your area that they haveenjoyed working with.Contact these people and email them your "spec" sheet.Tell them you are comparing prices and want a quote for the unit delivered and prep'd -ready for pickup. Be sureand tell themyou're paying "cash" (no trade) so they realize that you'll be comparing apples-to-apples. I think you will find dealers are ready to price down to 36% off in this scenario.
Edited by: 5th_Time

[Mr_Toad]

Thank you very much, Mr. 5th!

This is excellent info! (...also, your signature reminds me that I want disk brakes.)

I'm wanting to know how to work from some negotiating position, versus being at the mercy of sales folks.

Thanks!

Robt.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by 5th_Time

Start out by contacting Andy Wesdorp (awesdorp@redwood-rv.com) or your regional sales manager at Redwood to express interest andask them to email you the MSRP price sheet which lists all the options and pricing. It's actually an interactive .pdf file you can work on and see different combinations and associated pricing. Just glancing at your list above, it looks like around $125K MSRP.
After you save this, email your Sales Manager at Redwood again and ask for 3 or 4 dealers/contacts in your area that they haveenjoyed working with.Contact these people and email them your "spec" sheet.Tell them you are comparing prices and want a quote for the unit delivered and prep'd -ready for pickup. Be sureand tell themyou're paying "cash" (no trade) so they realize that you'll be comparing apples-to-apples. I think you will find dealers are ready to price down to 36% off in this scenario.

X2 The only reason to buy something off the lot is if you find exactly the way you want it. The only advantage to buying off a lot is being able to go through the unit easier and the savings of time.

[mhs4771]

With your option list the chances of finding a unit with everything is probably next to Zero, Dealers will order the Gen Prep, but not the Genny, same for some of your other options. Plus remember the Full Body Paint is a 10G option, but you can get it down to approx 6500 if you push.

[Enroute]

I special ordered my new 2013 Redwood 36RL. It is being built exactly the way I wanted it with the options that I wanted. It is of my opinion, but I always order my Rv's as that way I know exactly what I am getting and I am not sacrificing anything. My order went in back in mid April and production date off the line is scheduled for 6.21.12 I feel it will be worth the wait to have a coach of this price point to be built specifically for me. all in all, i can only suggest that you dont settle and buy right off the lot if it is exactly what you want. You will regret it every day of ownership down the road. Happy shopping.

[Campers]

Got our FL off the lot, in fact it was the show model. Saved some money and it has what we wanted in the unit. Also got a very good trade in for the Outback. I guess some time you just get lucky. If this one was not there at the show, I think we would have waited for another year to move up. Our old unit was only 3 year old. Best of luck on your purchase

[Tobys Home]

You're right! Right place, right time. A gamble no matter how you look at it. We hope you have great success with your coach. (Get what you want.) We hope to have the same success. BIG WEEKEND! Let you all know on Monday or Tuesday!

[mhs4771]

Maybe if everyone reports the posts as SPAM maybe they'll wake up, if not everyone will be moving over to the Redwood Section of the Thor Forum.

[Lawr&Moe]

I would order what you want (we did). Big investment & by the sounds of the forum most order units fairly loaded as opposed to what I have seen available as spec units. I think the real cost is in the wait time & I personally would rather get all the goodies I want than to wish I waited to get what I really wanted.

We shopped both on line & locally to get a feel for prices (use the option sheet so you are consistent). Then we negotiated hard & cranked out the best deal we could - to put $ as you requested: MSRP of about $116k with purchase price o just over $70k for the unit we wanted. Time factor - about 10 week wait here in Canada.

Hope that helps.

Lawrence

[Campers]

Originally Posted by Lawr&Moe

I would order what you want (we did). Big investment & by the sounds of the forum most order units fairly loaded as opposed to what I have seen available as spec units. I think the real cost is in the wait time & I personally would rather get all the goodies I want than to wish I waited to get what I really wanted.

We shopped both on line & locally to get a feel for prices (use the option sheet so you are consistent). Then we negotiated hard & cranked out the best deal we could - to put $ as you requested: MSRP of about $116k with purchase price o just over $70k for the unit we wanted. Time factor - about 10 week wait here in Canada.

Hope that helps.
Where in Canada are you? We purchased ours at Camping In Style. Brooklyn Ontario. Great Dealer. Fantastic Staff
Lawrence

[Lawr&Moe]

We are from just outside Edmonton (St. Albert) & purchased our RV from Cold Lake. Great dealer, limited on service staff though so I have been fixing all the bugs myself. Still love the rig though.

[Campers]

Congrats on your new unit. Another Canadian RW Owner. We up here sure do know quality. All the best. Hope to see you in the East of the country

[maggie]

congrats on your order and hope you now have your unit! We just left on our maiden voyage with our 36RL. We are moving from home to RV and plan to be gone for atleast one year, so unit is loaded to the hilt and still comfortable. Like you we ordered and still had more work done when we took ownership. I elected to have Toscano RV reinforce all drawers in the kitchen, install screen guard & handle, led lights, tricoate, generator, just to name a few things. I found they had done some steps themselves before we saw the unit, such has remounting tv so it was slanted for laying in bed (thought this was done be Redwood).

Let us know how you like it! Again, congrats on your choice.

Chris

[Tall-Pines]

I had some pre-purchase contact with Mike Cotter of ExploreUSA in
Mesquite, Texas. Price quotes and such. He was quite helpful however I
purchased from a local Canadian dealer.



Other folks on the forum have purchased and recommend a Mike Santos also
of ExploreUSA in Denton, Texas. So you might want to contact that
dealer also.



Ian

[Ann4Now]

O.k., my DH wants me to ask: Why on some of the RL modelsis the bedroom door on the wrong side? The "wrong side" is they are attached to the closet where the side-by-side washer/dyer goes, so you have to be on one side of the door for one machine and the bedroom side of the door for the other machine.

[5th_Time]

That's so true. Also on the RE.But the door has to have a flat surface to lay against when open and the latch side is a short rounded wall - so the front edge of the door would be against the bed. Even if it opened in the other direction, it would be blocking the bathroom door. When you think about it, it's well designed for the space available.
Edited by: 5th_Time