# 250Rs - What Did You Pay?



## bnqcsac (Sep 19, 2011)

I'm really learning toward a 250RS, but as luck would have it, the two closest dealers that sell the 250rs are just sold out and won't be getting any back in for awhile (the closest is 6 weeks out and the dealer 2 hrs away is a week out).

There is a unit about three hours away in the same town as my sister-in-law, so I could justify going up there for the weekend to make a deal.

Since I wouldn't want to was mine or the dealers time, I'd like to get an idea of what some of you (hopefully 2012)250rs owners have paid. Thanks!


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Call Lakeshore (Michigan) to get the lowest price possible, then use that with local dealers.


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## bnqcsac (Sep 19, 2011)

Oregon_Camper said:


> Call Lakeshore (Michigan) to get the lowest price possible, then use that with local dealers.


Thanks for the reply! I'm in Oregon too.

So the dealers I'm talking about are Curtis (out for 6 wks) and Tacoma RV. Was thinking about dealing with Burlington RV.

Are numbers from a dealer 2,000 miles away going to sway someone here?


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## Red Beard (Feb 13, 2010)

Get a purchase order from Lakshore &#8230;now you have a real number to work with. 
Figure how much it will cost to have it shipped to you or how much it will cost for you to go get it. (Possibly a vacation) 
Here is where things get a little out of the normal knowledge of the average buyer. Since the trailer is not on the dealer's lot use this knowledge to your advantage. (and to a degree the dealers advantage). 
The dealers typically don't pay cash for the trailers they pay flooring cost essentially they pay a fee plus interest for a given period of time to use the banks money to pay for the trailer. Typically they have grace period of 30 days before they pay flooring. Follow this so far&#8230;so if you take delivery within that window where they don't have to pay fees and interest they more money they make&#8230;and they have more room to work with the price. 
Now ask the dealer what their best price is and tell them you will pick it up within 2 weeks of them getting it in. 
Now I am sure that their number won't be as low as Lakeshore&#8230;.so now you negotiate. 
When we bought our 250RS I simply asked the dealer to get close&#8230;I was able to get the local dealer to within $600 of the wholesale price. 
Don't let them BS you with the sales pitch that they won't honor that price&#8230;a PO is a legal document they have to honor that price. 
Now here is the other way the dealer makes a buck&#8230;financing. If you finance with them they likely have banks that they work with and broker the deal with. The bank will give them a rate of say 5% and the dealer will offer you 5.25%. The dealer will get a kick from the bank for the deal and then another kick for the added .25%. 
Make the best deal for you. 
Good Luck


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## hautevue (Mar 8, 2009)

I recommend you also get a price from Holman in Cincinnati. We bought our 2009 (new) from them and they were easily $3000 under anyone in the Baltimore/Washington/Virginia area.

Rather than have it delivered, we drove to Cincinnati, learned as much as possible at the Pre-Delivery Inspection and then towed the TT back here to Baltimore. That was our "shakedown" cruise!

While it's a lot farther to Oregon, of course, I suspect that even with delivery you may find

a) it's cheaper







they have one in stock --they are a HUGE dealer and seldom have much wait to get the model you want.

Good luck!


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

bnqcsac said:


> Call Lakeshore (Michigan) to get the lowest price possible, then use that with local dealers.


Thanks for the reply! I'm in Oregon too.

So the dealers I'm talking about are Curtis (out for 6 wks) and Tacoma RV. Was thinking about dealing with Burlington RV.

Are numbers from a dealer 2,000 miles away going to sway someone here?
[/quote]

Pack your truck....and head East. We drove out the Michigan to get our 301BQ...had a GREAT camping vacation on the way home...even meet a few other fellow Outbacker.com members. All said and done...camping fee's...fuel costs...we saved $5,000 by driving to Michigan and back. The sales guys at Curtis told us we had no chance of getting the price I showed them...they would not budge a dime. Proved them wrong!!

I called just about EVERY Outback dealer this side of the Rockies....NONE of of them could come close.


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## TwoElkhounds (Mar 11, 2007)

We bought our 301BQ from Holman's last summer. We arranged a vacation with Holman's as our first stop on the trip. We packed all our essential gear into our truck (need a hitch mounted cargo carrier as well) and drove to Holman's (about an 11 hour drive for us). We arrived at Holman's in the evening. They had the trailer set up for us when we arrived and allowed us to spend the night in it. We spent that time inspecting the trailer and loading our gear into it. The next day way closed the deal and were on our way by noon. First stop was at Walmart where we stocked the trailer, then on to our vacation.

We had an incredibly good experience with our purchase there. Holman's price was rock bottom, we saved $3 to $4 grand over our local dealer's best and final offer. Anyone who lives on the East coast and is in the market for a trailer should really consider this option.

Unfortunately, the OP is on the West coast, so a bit of a drive. However, if you have the time and want to work in a trip to Yellowstone or Glacier on your way home, maybe it would work for you. In any event, you can use Lakeshore and Holman's to determine the bottom price for your trailer. No place else will have them cheaper. You can then work the numbers from there and adjust based on transportation and other costs.

DAN


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## TwoElkhounds (Mar 11, 2007)

Oregon_Camper said:


> Call Lakeshore (Michigan) to get the lowest price possible, then use that with local dealers.


Thanks for the reply! I'm in Oregon too.

So the dealers I'm talking about are Curtis (out for 6 wks) and Tacoma RV. Was thinking about dealing with Burlington RV.

Are numbers from a dealer 2,000 miles away going to sway someone here?
[/quote]

Pack your truck....and head East. We drove out the Michigan to get our 301BQ...had a GREAT camping vacation on the way home...even meet a few other fellow Outbacker.com members. All said and done...camping fee's...fuel costs...we saved $5,000 by driving to Michigan and back. The sales guys at Curtis told us we had no chance of getting the price I showed them...they would not budge a dime. Proved them wrong!!

I called just about EVERY Outback dealer this side of the Rockies....NONE of of them could come close.
[/quote]

You can justify a pretty long drive for five grand!! We did the exact same thing last year (albeit not nearly as far). It was a really great trip, went to a midwest rally and met some fellow Outbackers at the factory rally as well!! It was a real adventure!!

Money wise it is very easy to justify a trip like this. I think the time is the more difficult aspect of this sort of transaction. You probably need at least two straight weeks of vacation to make it work. A lot of people have work and life obligations that make this sort of trip difficult.

DAN


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

TwoElkhounds said:


> I think the time is the more difficult aspect of this sort of transaction. You probably need at least two straight weeks of vacation to make it work. A lot of people have work and life obligations that make this sort of trip difficult.


We did it, using only 5 vacation days. Left town on Friday after work...drove STRAIGHT to Lakeshore....only stopping for fuel/food/restroom. Arrived on Sunday afternoon, and dealership was closed, but our Outback was already prep with sewer/power/water connections and some light snacks/drinks in the refrig (a nice touch!)

Left Lakeshore the around 1-2pm the next day....headed for Mt Rushmore. Slept first night in Walmart parking lot somewhere in Iowa. Arrived sometime Tuesday afternoon and camped with Ridway-Ranger (from California...good timing that he was going to be there...great family!!)

Spent 3 days there...then started home. Spent Friday night in Montana and Saturday night in Idaho. Arrived home Sunday afternoon, a bit tired but excited to have my new Outback home and $5,000 in my pocket. Kids had a great time seeing a lot of the country that, if not for this trip, they might not ever see. We all said we'd do it again if we were ever in the market for a new trailer.


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## TwoElkhounds (Mar 11, 2007)

Oregon_Camper said:


> I think the time is the more difficult aspect of this sort of transaction. You probably need at least two straight weeks of vacation to make it work. A lot of people have work and life obligations that make this sort of trip difficult.


We did it, using only 5 vacation days. Left town on Friday after work...drove STRAIGHT to Lakeshore....only stopping for fuel/food/restroom. Arrived on Sunday afternoon, and dealership was closed, but our Outback was already prep with sewer/power/water connections and some light snacks/drinks in the refrig (a nice touch!)

Left Lakeshore the around 1-2pm the next day....headed for Mt Rushmore. Slept first night in Walmart parking lot somewhere in Iowa. Arrived sometime Tuesday afternoon and camped with Ridway-Ranger (from California...good timing that he was going to be there...great family!!)

Spent 3 days there...then started home. Spent Friday night in Montana and Saturday night in Idaho. Arrived home Sunday afternoon, a bit tired but excited to have my new Outback home and $5,000 in my pocket. Kids had a great time seeing a lot of the country that, if not for this trip, they might not ever see. We all said we'd do it again if we were ever in the market for a new trailer.
[/quote]

Sounds like a great trip! My assumption factored in some vacation time, maybe a stop or two along the way. But the way you did it is equally viable. Bottom line is with the service and price provided by Lakeshore and Holman's, it is a very realistic option if you have the time and want a great deal on a trailer.

I get a kick out of looking at online and TrailerLife ads with my trailer (used or new) for sale at thousands more than I paid for my brand new 2012 unit from Holman's. There really is no other way to go if you have the time to drive out to these wholesalers.

DAN


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

Oregon_Camper said:


> Call Lakeshore (Michigan) to get the lowest price possible, then use that with local dealers.


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## ORvagabond (Apr 17, 2009)

You might try Porters RV in Coos Bay. We purchased our Springdale from them for an incredible price.


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## kathandroddy (Feb 9, 2012)

We bought our 2012 250rs from Lakeshore and are getting it delivered to the Montana border which means we will only be taking a day trip to pick up our trailer. We will save $5000 from what we would have paid here in Calgary, Alberta. Will be picking it up in 2 weeks.


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## bnqcsac (Sep 19, 2011)

So we got the price from Lakeshore and ended up going with them to have it delivered. We called around to a couple dealers w/in 500 miles to see if they could to come close to Lakeshores price. They barely got close to the DELIVERED price. So we decided we may as well have it delivered even for a few bucks more than driving hundreds of miles for one.

Are we spending more than we need to? Likely! But we've been looking for trailers for over a year and I decided to just go forward with it. We kept going back to the Outback after literally scouring every make and floorplan out there.

You'll see I have another post on here concerning the slide that the Lakeshore mechanic called me about. Any help on that is greatly appreciated. With getting the trailer delivered, we do miss out on the PDI. Oh well, With the closest dealer still close to 6 weeks out on getting another 250RS, the time for waiting was over!

And to answer the question to my own post (unless posting prices is prohibited here - In which case I apologize) - $20,300 + $3600 for delivery to Oregon


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## kathandroddy (Feb 9, 2012)

when are you getting it delivered? We paid about the same as you, just a little less for delivery because they weren't going as far.


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## Boomer2012 (Aug 31, 2011)

Deals can be had buying back east but there is a cost associated with getting it. If you work, then there is a dollar value for the time you have to take off as earnings lost (even if you take vacation) and should always be factored into the equation. I would also assign a dollar value to the loss of the PDI as that was no less than a four hour proces during which we found issues that needed to be fixed while we waited (Thanks CamperAndy for the PDI). We bought a 2012 recently from Curtis Trailers in Portland and Erik W. was wonderful to work with and they were very competitive on price vs. Lakeshore + freight. And they took my 2010 tent trailer on trade also at a very reasonable value.

I would recommend them again in a minute to those that can't make the trip back east.

Jim


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## bnqcsac (Sep 19, 2011)

kathandroddy said:


> when are you getting it delivered? We paid about the same as you, just a little less for delivery because they weren't going as far.


It's supposed to leave Lakeshore Thursday and be in Portland by Monday. 
We considered making a trip towards Idaho or Salt Lake and cut down on delivery cost, but decided it was too risky this time of year if there were any issues along the way. 
I wouldn't have minded driving out to Lakeshore, but the wife, Jr and the Fido wouldn't fare well with over three solid days of driving. Especially this time of year.


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## kathandroddy (Feb 9, 2012)

bnqcsac said:


> when are you getting it delivered? We paid about the same as you, just a little less for delivery because they weren't going as far.


It's supposed to leave Lakeshore Thursday and be in Portland by Monday. 
We considered making a trip towards Idaho or Salt Lake and cut down on delivery cost, but decided it was too risky this time of year if there were any issues along the way. 
I wouldn't have minded driving out to Lakeshore, but the wife, Jr and the Fido wouldn't fare well with over three solid days of driving. Especially this time of year.
[/quote]

Let me know how it goes, we are supposed to meet them at the border on March 31.


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## mommy2boyz (Feb 3, 2010)

This is where an Excel spreadsheet became my best friend!! We priced a 250RS at Lakeshore (quote over the phone) and then started adding in all the details - doc fees, tax there plus tax when you registered it in California. Delivery cost vs. going to pickup costs. THEN, I scoured online for an 250 RS for sale on the west coast. I ended up finding one ON CLEARANCE PRICE in Arizona. I added what it would cost to go and get the one in Arizona to my master spreadsheet, and at the end of the day, I called a dealer just an hour away from us and used all of this info to negotiate. The reference to the actual price of the one in Arizona is what sealed the deal. I told them what I would pay out the door, including tax, according to my nifty spreadsheet. They tried to come back with "well then our salespeople won't get paid commission" and I told them to work out their issues on their own and let me know if it's a sale or not. It was a sale







. Armed with all of your numbers, you become much more powerful in negotiation, and then they'll either work with you or not. And I must say, it was great to have easy access to the dealer we bought it from when we had to take it in for warranty work before our 1st year was up. Just our experience...


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

when were shopping last week in Spokane for trailers, there was a beautiful 5th wheel with big kitchen lots of living room seating with couch and chairs...enormous bedroom...just gorgeous, we went in for fun . Get this, the slide was broke at one time when it was brought in it must have been crooked , it wiped side of kitchen counter, took handles off door and whole edge of inside of slide was removed. Due to the damage...the formerly $80k coach was now $40k. So what does that tell ya about mark up?


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## kathandroddy (Feb 9, 2012)

bnqcsac said:


> when are you getting it delivered? We paid about the same as you, just a little less for delivery because they weren't going as far.


It's supposed to leave Lakeshore Thursday and be in Portland by Monday. 
We considered making a trip towards Idaho or Salt Lake and cut down on delivery cost, but decided it was too risky this time of year if there were any issues along the way. 
I wouldn't have minded driving out to Lakeshore, but the wife, Jr and the Fido wouldn't fare well with over three solid days of driving. Especially this time of year.
[/quote]

Did you receive your new trailer?


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## torotim (Jun 24, 2010)

Your not doing too bad at $20000 + $3000 S&H. I bought my 2011 250Rs in May of 2010 from Outlet Recreation in Fargo ND for $22500. Only glitch was Keystone being behind in production. I didn't get delivery of it until July 17th but it was worth the wait!


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## W.E.BGood (Jan 15, 2011)

January 2011 for our 2011 250RS...$23,750 less our trade-in that was $11K. Seems one always takes a bath when doing trade-ins.

This was at Thompson & Sons RV Davenport, IA. No "extras" that I'm aware of.


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## duggy (Mar 17, 2010)

torotim said:


> Your not doing too bad at $20000 + $3000 S&H. I bought my 2011 250Rs in May of 2010 from Outlet Recreation in Fargo ND for $22500. Only glitch was Keystone being behind in production. I didn't get delivery of it until July 17th but it was worth the wait!


We got our 2011 250RS from Great Outdoors RV near Syracuse, NY for $17,900 plus $140 admin fee (it was to match a fee that Holman's were charging.) We lucked out in that we ordered at 2010 prices in late March, but by the time the trailer came in, in June, they were getting 2011's. By then Holman's had tacked on another $1000 to the price.


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## lakemead1 (Feb 21, 2012)

First time post, as we are brand new Outback owners. We also looked far and wide for a 250rs, and no one came close to Lakeshore! We live in Utah and made the drive to Michigan. 
I showed my neighbor who works at the largest rv center in Utah the Lakeshore paperwork, and he said he couldn't come close! We saved close to 10k by making that drive. That is no exaggeration! Looking forward to many years of fun.


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## Mikemcgl (Mar 11, 2012)

FYI paid $20,000 plus tax, title, for new 2011 230RS last month. In S.Cali.


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