The study used a mug as the item of interest and researchers measured how much people would be willing to bid in both an open and closed bid process. It turns out the longer people hold an object the more they begin to feel ownership of the item even before they buy it.
When I shop I usually don't touch items unless I'm marginally interested in purchasing them. So, it makes sense that when people stop long enough to examine an item thoroughly they would be more prone to buying it. Unfortunately research also shows they are prone to pay more for it.
"The amazing part of this study is that people can become almost immediately attached to something as insignificant as a mug. By simply touching the mug and feeling it in their hands, many people begin to feel like the mug is, in fact, their mug. Once they begin to feel it is theirs, they are willing to go to greater lengths to keep it." said study leader James Wolf.
Take this research further and apply it to the purchase of a “big ticket” item like a car or RV and you can save yourself a lot of money.
This study is about “feelings” of attachment you get when shopping. If you're aware of these feelings, you'll be a smarter shopper.Based on this study, here is a guide that should prevent you from paying too much for an RV.
Before you even begin to look at RVs make an agreement with yourself that you will look at a many RVs at several different dealers and shows. Agree that you will NOT make any one of these RVs yours in your mind. Don't visualize yourself having the time of your life while thinking about any particular RV. Instead, choose two or three RVs that will suit your needs. Decide in advance what you want to pay before you make an offer. This target price will help you overcome the “mine, mine, mine” emotions that drive purchasing decisions.
Remember that RV dealers are willing to negotiate especially during this economic downturn. If the dealer doesn't like your offer it's easier to walk off the lot because you have two other deals to consider. Don't be surprised if you get a call with a counter offer immediately.
The whole point of this exercise is to remember not to “get married” to any particular RV until after you've made the deal. Remember that all “sticker prices” are negotiable even at “below wholesale prices.” Don't give in to high pressure sales tactics that take advantage of your emotions. As the buyer you are in the driver seat as long as you keep your “buying” emotions in check.Helping you keep more of your hard earned money – Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing
5 comments:
Very good advice that I wish we had had before we got our current RV. However, we had an additional complication - the RV we already had. My wife just could not get adjusted to having our fifth wheel looming over us as we went down the road which was severely limiting her willingness to go anywhere with it and, when she was guiding me into a spot, she couldn't quite get over the feeling that it was top heavy and looked like it was going to tip over.
Unfortunately it was only a year old, so we were very upside down in our loan.
We bought our new class C motorhome in July and were able to trade the 5th wheel in. We probably could have gotten a better deal, but we are happy with our little Navion iQ.
Mike Goad (at home in Arkansas)
Haw Creek Out 'n About
What about part suppliers if you go out and buy that beautiful motor coach or any other new RV? I'm saving to pay cash for my next upgrade, but replacement parts are an issue.
May I add a little advice, learned the hard way.
We were given a great price on our RV trailer, however during the financing stage of the
purchase, the lady used a very slick method of talking us into additional costs by
spreading the price of the unit over 15 years (or 180 months). We thought, "How low our
monthly payments were! Gosh, that will be a breeze to pay off and we’ll never even
notice the difference to our bank balance." She recommend: theft deterrent acid etching
of the windows, Stain Guard fabric treatment throughout, extensive coverage for
breakdowns including towing, and Life and Disability Insurance...etc. These costs were
added to the ‘monthly payment’ and seemed extremely low at the time. Upon reflection,
she only told us what the coverage would cost, “per month’, and after some research I
discovered our Automobile Club membership (for RVers) included the same coverage, a
couple cans of Scotch Guard, and a $10 bottle of glass etching, and my employment
included Disability Insurance. Slick salesmanship on her part and inexperience on our
part cost us an extra $6000. Please don’t make the same mistake we did.
Signed: First time RVers but smarter the next time around.
Thanks for the advise, but that won't be a problem. My home/office is a Jazz 25ft 5'er and my last bill. I've looked at motor coaches but settled on the Jazz. No more loans. My upgrade is cash from now on. I base camp at a mountain park west of Capitan, NM with a monthly rate low enough to help me get there, combined with my RV payment is cheaper than an apartment where I might not get my truck vandalized. I'm watching manufacturers of 4 season rigs while I'm saving and wish them the best not only as a full timer, but a business owner.
Seeing these guys go under and ones that are still going at it, my concern is the third party suppliers that make parts for our rigs. What we need are talented repair techs to help us keep our rigs going.
So far as all of that extra stuff they try to add on, I must say that was the most gratifying part of our last purchase, at least on our part. We said, "No!" to all of it and, I must say, the business manager -- or whatever his title is -- was clearly none too happy, since we were not adding any worthless extras to our purchase. From what I understand, the dealer makes quite a bit off of the extra stuff, so it's in his interest to push it.
We bought an extended warranty with our 2004 Honda CRV. It's up in less than 1000 miles. It cost us $1600, plus interest, of course, and we've never used it. That's the last time for us.
Mike Goad
Haw Creek Out 'n About
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