How should i structure my RFQ

[Snowy]

When i get ready to order a new rig, I will put together a Request for Quote (RFQ) and send it to prospective dealers so that i know i am getting an apples to apples comparison. Should i limit myself to a clean RFQ, listing only factory options available from WGO, or should i add aftermarket upgrades that i want done by a dealer to the RFQ? For instance, i would prefer to have SumoSprings installed as soon as possible. I'd prefer to have dealers bidding on as close to a complete rig as possible so they don't jerk me around on installing the upgrades after delivery, but complicating up the RFQ with aftermarket items may not produce the best results. Thanks.

[avanti]

I don't mean to be a Donny Downer, but I am going out on a limb here and predicting that this will get you pretty much nothing. My guess is that such a document will succeed in getting yourself on the vender prospect list. From then on, they will send you exactly what you would get with just a phone call, i.e., they will bring up on their computer boilerplate specifying an offer to sell you whatever they have that comes vaguely close to what you are describing. They will then hit "print" and send it to you. It may or may not have much correlation with your specifications. Moreover, there will be half a page of fine print that says that this is non-binding, and that absolutely everything is subject to change, including price, delivery date, and available options.

Good luck, though.

[Bud]

Originally Posted by avanti

I don't mean to be a Donny Downer, but I am going out on a limb here and predicting that this will get you pretty much nothing. My guess is that such a document will succeed in getting yourself on the vender prospect list. From then on, they will send you exactly what you would get with just a phone call, i.e., they will bring up on their computer boilerplate specifying an offer to sell you whatever they have that comes vaguely close to what you are describing. They will then hit "print" and send it to you. It may or may not have much correlation with your specifications. Moreover, there will be half a page of fine print that says that this is non-binding, and that absolutely everything is subject to change, including price, delivery date, and available options.

Good luck, though.

"I am going out on a limb here and predicting that this will get you pretty much nothing"

This could be a good guess, but maybe it could be a start to see which dealer................?

Bud

[Snowy]

Do you mean to say that i can't order exactly what i want? Or are you just saying that whatever quote they will give will be on their form?

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Snowy

Do you mean to say that i can't order exactly what i want? Or are you just saying that whatever quote they will give will be on their form?

My fear is that your ability to order exactly what you want will in practice be limited to the upfitters' standard order sheets. The problems will start when you try to add anything that would take actual dealer thought or effort, such as the SumoSprings. I don't think many places will take the time to quote (or even read) a list of unusual stuff.

I hope I am wrong. Good experiment.

[Snowy]

So then you are saying that i can order anything i want that is factory supplied, like heated lines and double pane windows, but i shouldn't try to complicate up any RFQ with aftermarket stuff? BTW - I am not talking about any upfitter here, just a Travato from WGO.

[<<B-Guy>>]

Originally Posted by Snowy

So then you are saying that i can order anything i want that is factory supplied, like heated lines and double pane windows, but i shouldn't try to complicate up any RFQ with aftermarket stuff? BTW - I am not talking about any upfitter here, just a Travato from WGO.

This is sort of what I did after bouncing back and forth between a couple of dealers for far too long!

I put together exactly what I wanted (Only manufacturer add-on options) and requested their best price within 24 hrs to wrap things up - specifying that price would be a significant, but not the only factor in my decision thatI committed to come up with in the following 24hrs!

I discussed it with both sales people before sending out the email and both agreed - but then one called me back and said unfortunately his boss had told him that "We don't do business like that!"

I thanked him and said that it had been nice dealing with him and I would proceed with the other company!

A couple of hours later, he called back to say his boss had a change of heart and that he would be putting in a best price!

All worked out ok, and brought things to a head, which was the main thing I wanted to do.


Many years ago I worked as plant engineer for a major railroad overhaul shop buying millions of $ of shop machinery annually - it was all done with specs and bids.

To me that is the way it should work, with the customer calling the shots rather that having to go "Cap in hand" to the car salesman's boss virtually saying "Please sir, will you kindly accept my humble offer!"

That has always irked me, and I have always taken the approach that I will give the salesperson one offer to take to his boss and if not accepted, then I'm done and gone!

I did that one time and "walked" after the boss wanted up the ante only to have the salesman literally knocking at the door of our house an hour later to get me to come back and that they would accept my offer.

Of course I'm not kidding myself that they were losing money despite their protestations.

I hate buying cars, and buying RV's is much the same!

Brian.

[gerrym51]

Originally Posted by Snowy

When i get ready to order a new rig, I will put together a Request for Quote (RFQ) and send it to prospective dealers so that i know i am getting an apples to apples comparison. Should i limit myself to a clean RFQ, listing only factory options available from WGO, or should i add aftermarket upgrades that i want done by a dealer to the RFQ? For instance, i would prefer to have SumoSprings installed as soon as possible. I'd prefer to have dealers bidding on as close to a complete rig as possible so they don't jerk me around on installing the upgrades after delivery, but complicating up the RFQ with aftermarket items may not produce the best results. Thanks.

go to RVDIRECT and build one to your specs-they will e-mail you a quote and then you'll have a comparison when you ask other dealers.

you will find it under motorhomes then winnebago Travato. then you need to select model G or K or GL or KL

[avanti]

The car industry is slowly getting better in this regard. I recently bought a new car totally on the Internet using the kinds of techniques discussed here. It went very well, but I had to be willing to have the car shipped 500 miles. I had no problem with that and saved a great deal of money and grief. A lot of dealers just blew me off, but there were several who were clearly set up to go with volume over unit profit.

My skepticism lies in the fact that the RV retail industry is still pretty-much amateur hour. Very few true professional organizations.

[gerrym51]

Originally Posted by avanti

The car industry is slowly getting better in this regard. I recently bought a new car totally on the Internet using the kinds of techniques discussed here. It went very well, but I had to be willing to have the car shipped 500 miles. I had no problem with that and saved a great deal of money and grief. A lot of dealers just blew me off, but there were several who were clearly set up to go with volume over unit profit.

My skepticism lies in the fact that the RV retail industry is still pretty-much amateur hour. Very few true professional organizations.

the difference in my opinion is no car dealers service dept will blow you off for warranty service because you didn't buy from them.

rv service is a whole different magilla.

[Doneworking]

I have always thought RV dealers (most, certainly not all) are about where auto dealers were 25 years ago. With the information now available online to any purchaser, I guess they just hide and wait for the few uninformed buyers that come down the road. Maybe there are more of that kind of buyer than I suspect.

My favorite is the sales person of any kind of vehicle that has a business card with their name written and not printed on it. Yes, I have seen that more than once. Or a phone number with a distant area code or a combination of those two. Now, we understand about the area code and keeping your number but the two in combo should give you pause.

Most RV sales persons were not there a year ago and won't be there a year from now. Many have never owned a RV personally and few have product knowledge. Of course there are exceptional sales people but I truly think their numbers are few.

Just my experience over the years.

[bobkfla]

Originally Posted by Wingeezer

This is sort of what I did after bouncing back and forth between a couple of dealers for far too long!

I put together exactly what I wanted (Only manufacturer add-on options) and requested their best price within 24 hrs to wrap things up - specifying that price would be a significant, but not the only factor in my decision thatI committed to come up with in the following 24hrs!

I discussed it with both sales people before sending out the email and both agreed - but then one called me back and said unfortunately his boss had told him that "We don't do business like that!"

I thanked him and said that it had been nice dealing with him and I would proceed with the other company!

A couple of hours later, he called back to say his boss had a change of heart and that he would be putting in a best price!

All worked out ok, and brought things to a head, which was the main thing I wanted to do.


Many years ago I worked as plant engineer for a major railroad overhaul shop buying millions of $ of shop machinery annually - it was all done with specs and bids.

To me that is the way it should work, with the customer calling the shots rather that having to go "Cap in hand" to the car salesman's boss virtually saying "Please sir, will you kindly accept my humble offer!"

That has always irked me, and I have always taken the approach that I will give the salesperson one offer to take to his boss and if not accepted, then I'm done and gone!

I did that one time and "walked" after the boss wanted up the ante only to have the salesman literally knocking at the door of our house an hour later to get me to come back and that they would accept my offer.

Of course I'm not kidding myself that they were losing money despite their protestations.

I hate buying cars, and buying RV's is much the same!

Brian.

Hello Brian,
Wondering how it turned out.
Did things go smoothly when time to sign and pickup?

[Gosman]

RFQs are for ordering parts for an airplane, or to build a iPhone. RV dealers wouldn't know a RFQ if it hit them in the head!

[Binny]

Just adding that I too would appreciate hearing how your process works out. Please update us when you feel it's appropriate.

[<<B-Guy>>]

Originally Posted by Binny

Just adding that I too would appreciate hearing how your process works out. Please update us when you feel it's appropriate.

The process seemed to have worked out well for me - everything went smoothly in any event. Will I ever know if I got a good deal? I think it was fair, but somehow I doubt that the dealer I bought from was crying in his beer - hopefully t was a reasonably fair deal for both parties!

In summary, after about 6 months of internet searching, attending a few RV shows, and visiting several dealers, I zeroed in on exactly which make and model I would like to buy.

I had also decided that although no doubt I could do better by selling privately our last rig - 2005 Airstream Classic 30 trailer and a 2008 GMC diesel HD2500 truck - that I wanted the simplicity of a trade in as long as I was not really low balled on what they would offer.

Off course I know the games that are played in terms of trade in allowances in combination in reduction from MSRP.

When I got serious about buying, my negotiations were mostly done by internet and it boiled down to two local PW dealers. The van we had picked was
a 2019 PW Plateau FL. I wouldn't say there were not some features we didn't care for as much, but on balance for us, we felt it was our best compromise.

After a couple of weeks of emails going back and forth I was getting a bit frustrated and just wanted to bring things to had and wrap up a deal.

In a previous life, one of my positions working Canadian National Railway was as Plant Engineer in their largest Locomotve and car repair shops and part of my duties involved establishing and administering the annual capiltal budgets for replacing shop machinery - several millions of $ each year.

Routinely we would put out specs for the equipment we wanted and call for bids. The process worked fine.

So I emailed both salesmen I had been dealing with at the two companies and suggested that to finalise things, I planned to put out a request for theor best and final price within 24 hrs and that within 24 hrs thereafter I would make my decision - not necessarily governed by price but with price being a significant factor.

Both companies were receptive however within a couple of hours one company called me back and said his boss had told home "We don't do business that way!"

I thanked him for his time and said it looked as though he had made my decision easier! We remained on good terms! soon thereafter he called me to say that they would participate after all!

The two prices came in and were amazingly close! In fact I did not take the lowest bid - they were so close it was almost irrelevant, I factored in reputation based on my own gut feel and also on-line reviews as well as travel issues for post purchase servicing / warrantee work

As for the deal itself, I got more than we paid ten years ago for the Airstream - although to a degree, changes in US$/CAN$ exchange rates over the ten years worked to my advantage. For the truck, I got the high end of the asking price for the same vehicle, same year, similar mileage, so I was ok with that when coupled with something over ten percent off sticker price for the van.

So as mentioned I'm sure the dealer was not losing $ on the deal, but I felt ok about it. When we recently took delivery I found that the current sticker price for the same vehicle had gone up $7k since the time that we signed the deal last May, so that was nice to hear!

For anyone wanting to go this route, it wouldn't surprise me that some dealers will refuse to deal this way - they are so used to having the upper hand in the negotiations and having you grovel to them asking them to please accept your humble offer! They don't like the shoe being on the other foot so to speak - just my own thoughts on the subject!

Brian.

[Altster]

Sounds like what you want to do with a "custom builder" ie; sportsmobile.com or some of the other custom building sites / manufacturers.

Dealers aren't going to do anything but (as many have already mentioned) sell you something that comes close to what you are wanting - just not what you really want! My wife & I are in this same train of thought and although we have a pretty good idea of what we want, we are keeping our avenues open for (perhaps) working with a custom design and/or build shop.

So if you really want a custom built setup, forget the dealers! Start your search for custom RV builders - sportsmobile has tools for you to do your own layouts on the chassis of your choice - and this way "you can have your cake and eat it too!"

Be sure that you are comfortable with the chassis that settle on. If anything, go take a demo ride in each one and see which one you "fit in and like the best." Then start your design process.

Good luck