Luxury Coach Builder Takes Dim View of Industry Pricing Tricks

Foretravel, Inc., builders of Nimbus and Phenix high-end motorhomes says it will make its dealers leave leave, "confusing and misleading" inflated price stickers off its rigs.

In a news release, Foretravel's president, Lyle Reed, says, "The RV industry's pricing structure is commonly known for inflated MSRPs." Dealers commonly blow the price way up, then give a buyer a seeming "bargain" by quickly reducing the price during negotiations. Foretravel says starting with 2009 models, they are changing their approach from a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price to a Manufacturer's Straight Forward Pricing(MSFP) beginning with their 2009 Models. "We want our suggested retail prices to reasonably reflect their actual selling prices," the company release says. It should be noted that the Phenix model starts at a MSFP of $449,000.

If such an approach were true on an industry-wide basis, perhaps buying an RV would be a bit less like shopping for trinkets on the Mexican frontier.

Mexican street scene: retro traveler on flickr.com