One simple trick to save $14,864 on a new RV. Really…
It’s that time of year again. The Hershey RV Show. The bulk of the 2020 models are about to start hitting the shelves –coinciding with the big RV show in Hershey, Pa. Chances are, you’ll also start seeing advertisements for RV shows closer to home, often involving a handful of your local dealers getting together and renting a hall or parking lot. There’s certainly nothing wrong with these. Not only are they convenient, but you can often get much better deals there than you will find in Hershey.
Long considered the Big Kahuna of RV Shows (60,000 attendees last year), Hershey is the place to see the latest and greatest. Any manufacturer with the next must-have feature will save it for Hershey. There will be sales, and discounts, but the real purpose of Hershey is to show off what your team has been working on in the lab all year –and to build some buzz about your company.
Anyone who has ever attended the North American International Auto Show (a name no one uses; everyone refers to it as the Detroit Auto Show) will know what I’m talking about. Hardly anyone goes to the Detroit show to actually buy a car. They go to see what’s new and to compare many manufacturers all under one roof –and to start forming an opinion about their next car. The Hershey show is very similar. If the manufacturers can dazzle you at the show, there’s a good chance they’ll find you in their showroom when you’re ready to buy.
There’s two problems with buying an RV at the Hershey show. One, with limited booth space, manufacturers are forced to cherry-pick a few key models –and the rest stay home. Your choices will be limited. Two, considering the size constraints and cost of shipping RVs from all over the country to Pennsylvania, the manufacturers are obviously going to opt for their newest offerings –and those with the highest profit margin.
You won’t find much in the way of 2019 (or even 2018) RVs that haven’t sold yet and are being offered at a significant discount in Hershey. The real estate is too expensive for a manufacturer to showcase their leftovers priced to sell at close to wholesale. At Hershey you’re going to see lots and lots of 2020 models (and a few 2021 models, if you can believe it), all at a premium price –even after the special show discount has been factored in.
Consider the following real life scenario. Keystone RV will be at Hershey and they’ll almost assuredly be showing off their 2020 Montana Fifth Wheel. The Montana has been the best-selling fifth wheel in North America for almost all of its 20-year history and remains Keystone’s main claim to fame. It’s their bread and butter RV and they’ve sold more than 100,000 of them over the years. What Keystone will almost assuredly NOT be showcasing is the “now deep-discounted-to-make-way for-the 2020s” 2019 Montana.
And that will be just fine for most of the attendees. No one wants to see last year’s news. They want to see the newest model because, well, it’s newer –and newer is always better, right? Or is it?
Take a look at the two floorplans below. One is the new 2020 Montana 3120RL (currently on sale for $84,859) and one is the 2019 Montana 3120RL (currently on sale for $69,995). Can you tell the difference between the two? Neither can we. Does one of them look like it’s worth $14,864 more than the other? Of course not. And yet the vast majority of buyers from now until the end of the year will focus only on the 2020 model.
Hopefully, our readers will remember this moment as they amble the aisles at whichever RV show they choose to attend in the coming months. More hopefully, they will do a little research with the RV Comparison Guides at RVReviews.net to learn even more money saving tips and tricks when buying an RV.
And this ends today’s lesson.
For those of you going to Hershey, travel safe, and check those tire pressures before hitting the road.