anyone enlighten us as to why we were quoted a delivery charge on a caravan that the dealer had in stock. seemed a bit of a rip off to be charged nearly £500 considering it was sat in the middle of the forecourt.
we could understand it if the caravan was coming directly from the manufacturer
If it was brand new then yes they all charge for delivery, £495 well it was when we last bought one. It's just another one of those little earners for the dealer/manufacturer. Make sure they have done all of those pre delivery checks and it is imaculate when you pick it up, you've paid for it.
The charge is for delivery from manufacturer to dealer. It is a negotiable expense. I didn't pay it last time but I did have the all powerful cash at the time.
It's known as 'ex-works' - there was a thread on here about it not long ago. As Trooper says, it's the delivery charge from the manufacturer to the dealer, and the dealer then passes it on to you regardless of how long it's been sitting on his forecourt.
------------- Tigermouse
I have a very temperamental personality - 50% temper and 50% mental
It doesn't matter what type of vehicle we buy there's always an element of a delivery charge included in the price isn't there ? I was educated by my dealer to look at it this way, the on the road price (including the delivery charge) was still about 700 quid more than I actually paid for my new caravan so in fact I didn't pay any of the delivery charge at all !!
I used to work in sales and understand it's just a numbers game, just try your best to get the deal price you feel happy with, if you're happy you're getting good value and good service for your money then you can't go wrong !
Delivery charge is negotiable with the dealer if the caravan is already on site, I got my present caravan free of delivery charge by hard bargaining with the saleman saving me £495+ vat.
------------- Simply Yung.(early retiree and loving it)
09 Mondeo 2.0 TDCI,07 Senator Virginia
April 1 ~ 5 York CP
5 ~ 11Loose hill C C
11 ~ 19 Gaer Hyfrid C C
They dont charge any delivery charges at UBC in newcastle on any vans, we always mentioned this at other dealers when we were looking for a new van and they all took the delivery charge off and give us a discount. I'm pretty sure they still made a decent profit though.
At the Lawns caravan show a couple of years ago I spoke to a salesman from the Swift group he said the delivery charge was £495, when I told him I only live round the corner from the factory he said it was also an pre delivery inspection charge as well. Needless to say I did not bother buying a caravan from them
when we went to look at vans we were told about this charge for delivery and pdi but managed to haggle it away sales team will always negotiate rather than lose a sale £495 is a small amount to lose on the price of a new van also it is a legal requirement that anything you buy new is fit for purpose so that did away with pdi charge as the dealer had to provide safety certificate on gas and electric system before it can leave their property
Our dealer doesn't charge delivery. He runs a couple of vehicles to collect vans from the factory. To be honest, I feel robbed by this charge myself, I'm afraid I'd leave the van where it is if they insisted on charging me to get their stock delivered to them.