To haggle or not

[Rustic12]

Hi all. Have a new van coming hopefully before the end of the year and have been looking around online and visited a couple of conversion company’s to see what we are up against. It seems that all their websites are out of date when it comes to prices and they are “ in the process of updating their sites “ and because it’s a lwb it is 1k more to add to their current prices. Have they all put their prices up , taking advantage of the current high demand for conversions and do people haggle with them or is that a no no . Be interested to hear about your experiences
T.I.A

 

[VanDamMan]

Hi all. Have a new van coming hopefully before the end of the year and have been looking around online and visited a couple of conversion company’s to see what we are up against. It seems that all their websites are out of date when it comes to prices and they are “ in the process of updating their sites “ and because it’s a lwb it is 1k more to add to their current prices. Have they all put their prices up , taking advantage of the current high demand for conversions and do people haggle with them or is that a no no . Be interested to hear about your experiences
T.I.A

Hi @Rustic12 ...It’s a bit like finding a good builder..You either wait till they can fit you in and you pay the going rate ...or you employ cowboys that offer cheap and cut corners.......but like any trade you have highs and lows...You could do mods that would not effect any further changes and wait till things settle...dealers in general have higher margins so I haggle with them...but most converters have fix prices...this pandemic has caused lots of shortages and replacements are being sourced...just make sure the parts they fit aren’t cheaper alternatives

 

[DXX]

What’s to lose by trying to negotiate, that’s the only part that’s free?

 

[ThreeBridgeT6]

I think the other issue will be timing. The outfit I used are booked until next August so they probably don't feel the need to haggle

 

[huw169]

Basic supply and demand unfortunately.
Would you drop your price if you had a queue of people willing to pay full price, or even a premium to jump the queue?

 

[TrevorK]

To some extent it is more about the finding the best conversion for your budget, and the ability of the converter to adapt to your requirements - after all you only have one go.
Also at some point you will have to give your van and an eyewatering amount of money to your converter. Make sure you can pay the deposit with a credit card - even £100 deposit will give you "section 75" protection.
I think many people choose Californias to avoid this unknown.
We used Danbury, but they are no longer building campers