# Walk Through Dealer Fees



## DBRJ5445

My wife and I fell in love with the outback 23RS at the camper show in Wixom Mi.. We went to General Trailer this last weekend in Wixom and put down a deposit. Looking over the dealer paperwork they are trying to charge us shipping costs and then a $400.00 charge for a pre-warranty walk through. According to the salesperson they do a check of the trailer for warranty certification, and after sale clean up of the TT. To me it sounded like they were feeding me a line. The salespeson said this is a common charge..The extra charges are adding about $800.00 to the already agreed upon price..can anyone tell me if they have heard of a charge for "pre-warranty check" Thanks


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## Y-Guy

Hi DBRJ welcome to the Outbackers. I have bought 4 campers over the years and never once paid additional shipping or PDI charges. Personally I would walk away. However, if the price you are getting is really cheap then they maybe just adding on to cover their costs. Without a doubt there is a cost to a good PDI and walk through, but usually its just part of the fee. Lakeshore RV in MI has it listed for $15,999, considering they are pretty close to IN the shipping is small. How does that price compare? If it is much lower, then it maybe reasonable. I just don't like the idea of any add on fees. Give me the best price out the door so I can negotiate and I'm fine. Let us know where you are from and others may have a dealer they can recomend.


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## DBRJ5445

Y-Guy said:


> Hi DBRJ welcome to the Outbackers. I have bought 4 campers over the years and never once paid additional shipping or PDI charges. Personally I would walk away. However, if the price you are getting is really cheap then they maybe just adding on to cover their costs. Without a doubt there is a cost to a good PDI and walk through, but usually its just part of the fee. Lakeshore RV in MI has it listed for $15,999, considering they are pretty close to IN the shipping is small. How does that price compare? If it is much lower, then it maybe reasonable. I just don't like the idea of any add on fees. Give me the best price out the door so I can negotiate and I'm fine. Let us know where you are from and others may have a dealer they can recomend.
> [snapback]25529[/snapback]​


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## Ghosty

Yeah it sounds like your dealer is trying to do what the car dealers have done for years when they try to add undercoating and scotchgurding for $600 to unsuspecting newbies.

I simply would tell the dealer that while you are still interested in the trailer that you are going to check to see if other dealers can match their price on the trailer while NOT charging you to do warranty walk throughs....

I think if he thinks he is about to lose a sale allot of the BS will suddenly stop...

And lets face it -- is this really the type of dealer you want to deal with -- ???

But if you do buy the trailer from him I would go over every inch of it during the PDI with a fine tooth comb ... he is now going to be just wanting to get rid of the trailer to you with miminal effort...

Just kind of curious why you would have put a deposit down before reviewing the paperwork with the final price fully stated though ??


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## DBRJ5445

Ghosty said:


> Yeah it sounds like your dealer is trying to do what the car dealers have done for years when they try to add undercoating and scotchgurding for $600 to unsuspecting newbies.
> 
> I simply would tell the dealer that while you are still interested in the trailer that you are going to check to see if other dealers can match their price on the trailer while NOT charging you to do warranty walk throughs....
> 
> I think if he thinks he is about to lose a sale allot of the BS will suddenly stop...
> 
> And lets face it -- is this really the type of dealer you want to deal with -- ???
> 
> But if you do buy the trailer from him I would go over every inch of it during the PDI with a fine tooth comb ... he is now going to be just wanting to get rid of the trailer to you with miminal effort...
> 
> Just kind of curious why you would have put a deposit down before reviewing the paperwork with the final price fully stated though ??
> [snapback]25537[/snapback]​
> We put a $100.00 down to hold the "show" price..I have heard a lot a good things about general trailer from other posting..your site has been very helpful in making the decission to get the outback..Thanks for your help


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## our2girls

"And lets face it -- is this really the type of dealer you want to deal with -- ???

But if you do buy the trailer from him I would go over every inch of it during the PDI with a fine tooth comb ... he is now going to be just wanting to get rid of the trailer to you with miminal effort..."

General RV is the NUMBER 1 DEALER IN MICHIGAN.

I have bought 2 trailers from General RV in the past year...the PDI I received for both was extremely thorough and professional. The trailer was clean as a whistle, and the guys go through it with a fine tooth comb, that's what you are paying for.

Also, General RV stands behind everything! The son of the founder of General RV is a shareholder in Keystone, he has a vested interest in making sure customer satisfaction is #1

General is A-1 in my book!

Mike


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## Y-Guy

Mike your experience speaks volumes.









As for the fees, well that's what prices shopping is all about. If after the fees the camper is still within reason or lower than others then it really doesn't matter how they come up with the end price.


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## PDX_Doug

You Have Got To Be Kidding!!!









Maybe you could counter charge the dealer for the amount of time you have spent shopping thier dealership. Add in negotiation and PDI time on your part. Multiply it all out by a factor of... oh, say... $50.00/Hour (No need to get greedy!







). Oh yeah, and if your significant other participated in the 'task', be sure to factor thier time in as well.

I'm guessing you could be looking at about a $2,000.00 (or more) charge back to the dealer!









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## mjs518

Hi DBRJ








Those add on fees are very suspect indeed








I would definitely resist them and if they stand firm I would go elsewhere.
We bought our 23RS at the General RV in Mt. Clemens and where treated pretty fairly. General has 5 locations in MI ,go to another location and start over with a different salesman if you have to. But, because of the knowledgable members here I now Know I could have negotiated a few hundred bucks more than I did. We did our deal last fall and got the 23RS with all options, brake controller,weight distrib. hitch w/sway control install labor, battery, two full lp gas tanks and a nice box of goodies-septic hose, toilet paper, chemicals, 30 amp adaptor, levels. Our out the door price of 19K included everthing!!! state tax @6% registration, tags. They never mentioned walk thru and delivery charges ever!
I know how you are treated varies from person to person. Our salesman and the tech who did our pre-delivery walk thru where both very good. But the tech who later was to show us the workings of the hitch assembly seemed to think his 10 second verbal run down was enough for us even as we made it clear we had never towed anything before and had no clue how to hitch up to our vehicle. Needless to say after my wife got a little upset he gave us the time needed to make sure we left with the knowledge to be safe!!!
Well good luck







and welcome to the forum its one of the best parts of owning an Outback








JOE


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## campntn

Walk away. I am closing on our new 21RS this Wednesday. I have had the dealer give me a amount to write the check for. Botttom line. I have gotten phone references and even stopped people in the parking lot to ask how the svc there was. You need to trust the dealer. It sounds as if there is none. Someone else will honor your time/money and business with the same camper and no lies.


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## Parker Outbacker

Just my 2 cents, but I would say the dealer will try to recoup some of the shipping costs, and my delaer had a $299 dealer handleing fee (just as you would see if you bought a car) I think the differnce here is the 'Negotiated' price is generally all encompassing and should have included those fees if they had them. On our sticker it shows the shipping fee (about $1 per mile), and then you get the true MSRP after that and all the options are included. Your negotiations should have been based on all that.









Gets pretty frustrating when you're this close to your purchase and signing papers. If you have the price quote in writing, I'd just push back and say this is what you're going to pay.

Best of luck, hope it works out in your favor!!


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## Ghosty

Im sure you buying from the NO# 1 store in Michigan is OK but here in Texas we have the Number 1 store in the country (www.funtimeRv.com) and you can come down here and get the 23RS for 16750 (plus they throw in 1000 dollars in Campground coupons (thats about 30 days of free staying)).

That price included shipping, PDI, warranty initiation, etc etc -- all we had to do was pay the TTL on top of that ....

Paying someone 400 dollars to do what the manufacturer has already paid them to do (PDI and warranty walk through) is just plain wrong --

In Texas we would be getting a rope -- haha


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## z-family




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## Thor

No additional fees when we bought our TT. I would not pay them. A set price is a set price... and both parties agreed too it.

Thor


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## wapiti13

We also bought from General and was reasonably pleased with experience. After we recieved initial price and gave them a deposit I discovered Lakeshore's awesome pricing. When I asked General about it, they said there is no way we can match that so I said OK I will buy from Lakeshore. Within two hours I recieved a call back that they would match Lakeshore's price ($4,000 less). We paid none of the fees they are hitting you with. I know a couple of others that this tactic did not work with so they purchased from Lakeshore and are extremely happy with their decision.


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## mswalt

I wouldn't pay extra for a walk-through! That's part of the dealer's responsibility if he, in fact, wants your business. It doesn't cost them anything. Those guys are "on the clock" anyway whether they're showing you your trailer or sitting around smoking cigarettes.

Get the best deal you can from wherever you can.

Happy Camping!

Mark


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## missouricamper

sounds to me like a bait and switch sort of thing where they put an extremely low price on the camper for the sake of the show and then try to get some of it back. However, I agree that if the net price is still the best one available, what difference does it make if they are charging you for air in the tires. I would take that show price and contact dealers as far as you would be willing to go and see what they say. 
When we bought ours, I called 5 dealers within 3 hours of home and said "this is what XXX dealer wants, but you are closer. If you can meet their price, I'll buy it from you" Four wanted a few hundred more and one said, "come get it". I wrote them a check for that amount - and they even threw in $100 worth of stuff from the store.


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## Castle Rock Outbackers

Yep, Parker Outbacker and I purchased our trailers at the same dealer in the Denver area. The $299 dealer handling fee was not negotiable. I think I even saw signs in each salesperson's cubicle regarding the fee. They claim that is to recover costs for cleaning, prepping, and checking, and getting the unit ready for delivery.

Randy


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## BigBadBrain

This is a strange situation. It sounds like there are a number of folks quite satisfied with General RV. However, it also sounds like there are some unconventional charges showing up. I'm guessing, from these two things, that the local sales manager or the salesman himself is where these additional costs are originating.

It was suggested to go to another General dealership to ask about the policy - that sounds like a good first step if you want to still buy from them. It may also come about that the chain of General RV outlets might not appreciate one of their stores acting this way - that might be a downstream thing and doesn't affect you but could affect how well you are treated.

Second step might be to call Lakeshore to see how the prices compare and use that to at least avoid the extra costs.

This whole situation is complicated by the deposit, however, it seems you have a legitimate reason for asking for the deposit back if the price you agreed upon did not include the additional charges. The original deal has been modified an hence, it is no longer a good-faith agreement.

However you approach this it will involve a confrontation of some sort. They may back down with the right 'additional information' applied from one of the other General dealerships or from Lakeshore or equivalent. In any case, to get your deposit or your original price (which shouldn't change after the deal regardless of where the additional costs originate) you will have to argue for it.

I hope this works out smoothly and you won't have to drive all the way to Texas to get your 23RS.









Keep us posted.

BBB


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## hatcityhosehauler

I would definately hold them to the show price that you deposited. Unless you were told of these "fees" up front, I can't see how the dealership has acted in "good faith". I canceled the original deal on a trailer I was buying last year, and got a better deal from another dealer. The original dealer wasn't going to give me back my deposit, but when I reminded him that he promised me he could be anyone's price in the Northeast, and he refused to come to even within $1500 of the other dealer, I told him no. After some debating, I reminded him that I had sign nothing except for a financeing application, and he returned the deposit.

The kicker is, I am very happy with the dealer I bought from, and would not hesistate buying from them again. Their service department is top notch too!

Tim


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## DBRJ5445

I wanted to give you all an update on the trailer deal. We originally put the deposit down at the show to hold the show price. We checked with Lakeshore and got a better price. When we told the salesman at General what Lakeshore was willing to go with, General came down to a couple hundred over Lakeshore. We agreed to go with it because General was so much closer to our house. When my wife called to get a copy of the invoice to get the financing started, the invoice came thru with the extra charges. I spoke with the sales manager today and told him the situation. Told him I didn't appreciate his salesman being less than upfront. Told him if he dropped those additional charges we would go ahead with the deal, otherwise it's off to Lakeshore. Still waiting to hear.

Thanks for all your posts, you've been a huge help. This forum is a great source of information. We're glad we found it and the Outback!

Dave


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## California Jim

Go get em Dave! Good Luck


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## Coachlight RV Sales

I would like to add some of my two cents from a dealers side. We at my dealership DO NOT and Will Not add extra fees to any of our units. The extra fees started several years ago with the car dealerships to gain extra money. Keystone doesn't not pay us to PDI a unit. This is up to the dealerships to do at our own expense. Some dealers sell a unit at a cheeper price then add there add on fee's and some sell the units a a little higher price with No add on fee's. So when pricing a unit make sure to ask about extra fee's that you will have. If a dealer ever charges a extra handling fee then they must do this from then on. If a one person is charged this and another is not the one that is charged can sue the dealership. When we price a unit we take the cost plus profit and that is the price for the unit with options as it sits on the lot
Ken Lown
Coachlight RV Sales


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## Y-Guy

Dave good luck working through things. They key is you have the prices and the knowledge to deal from. I hope things work out well for you.

Ken thanks for chiming in. I've always worked with dealers like yours, the costs for walk-throughs and like are built into the profit margin, not tacked on later.


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## California Jim

Thanks Ken for this info. It's nice to have a legitimate and trustworthy dealer here to clear these things up.


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## 54telluride

In my book General RV (Grand Rapids) is the best. The gave the a great price, upgraded both my hitch and brake without cost, and the PDI was awesome and took about 2 hours to complete.

Something smells fishy about your dealer.

Bruce


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## johnp

Tim 
I have the TT fever brewing for a 27rsds where did you get your TT I tring to get a list of dealers to haggle with besides Arlington if not its a possible road trip to Lakeshore.

John


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## z-family




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## hatcityhosehauler

Johnp2000, we bought at Garick RV, in Oak Ridge, NJ. camping479 and one or two others here have purchased there also. There is another dealer in CT now, that has started selling Outbacks since I bought mine. One of the guys at work just ordered a 23RS from them.

Tim


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## NDJollyMon

No Fees here either.

They made enough money off me to MORE than make up for fees!


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## dougdogs

hatcityhosehauler said:


> Johnp2000, we bought at Garick RV, in Oak Ridge, NJ.Â camping479 and one or two others here have purchased there also.Â There is another dealer in CT now, that has started selling Outbacks since I bought mine.Â One of the guys at work just ordered a 23RS from them.
> 
> Tim
> [snapback]25851[/snapback]​


 action our unit is stored at Garick also


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## Allsixofus

Interesting thread... I must tell you that I just got off the phone with General RV... I was told they would add a "freight charge" and a "Safety Inspection/Prep charge"... I told them that the other two prices quoted included that stuff... waiting to hear back...will let you know what happens!


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