Any illumination from industry people?
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2002 7:52 am
Hi. Below is a copy of a email I sent to Palm Harbor on 3/5/02. Have had no response, to date. Not looking for any Palm Harbor specific answers here, but perhaps some illumination about the selling process?
"My wife and I have been exploring the possibility of purchasing a
manufactured home for a couple of years now. Most recently, in the York,
SC and Wilmington, NC areas. We have researched and read extensively
about various companies, and Palm Harbor would most likely be our first
choice. Quite a bit of this info searching has been online.
However, when we mentioned the payments listed on your web site, and the
"Special Incentive Pricing available only for ecustomers", as stated on
the site, we get blank stares. We ask what total the payments are based
on (How much is the house price that it's based on, we realize actual
payments vary on lots of factors), and are told that those payments are
not realistic (which we know), but the basic question is ignored. As for
the 'Special Pricing', we've yet to be shown what the difference in
price would be. Would it be possible to get some answers?
The one thing that has held us back from buying a Palm Harbor home, or
anyone else's for that matter, more than anything else, is the whole
sales process. We realize that it's a competitive business, but it's
worse than dealing with the fabled used car sales pitch. The 1st
question is invariably some variation of "How much of a monthly payment
are you looking at?". If we say, for example, $800, how do we know the
home couldn't actually be bought for $600. We don't think your sales
people are dishonest, but we assume they do work on commission. And the
fact that they seem to have no knowledge of our above questions, or
evade them, doesn't give us lots of confidence.
We once stopped in a independent dealer in Ohio (they sold Skyline and
one other brand). In each model, taped to the kitchen counter, was a
copy of the floor plan, and a price list. The price list gave the MSRP
of the basic home, and what it included. Then it gave the options that
where in the model you were standing in, and the dealer's total price.
The variables were land cost, and site prep. It made it very easy to
compare models. This experience was what made us continue to explore
manufactured homes, when we moved south. If our very 1st experience had
been what we have found since we moved down here, with all the prices
kept secret, we'd never have pursued it any further.
Thanks you for your time."
Thank you, in advance, for any info.
Jim & Brenda Flynn
"My wife and I have been exploring the possibility of purchasing a
manufactured home for a couple of years now. Most recently, in the York,
SC and Wilmington, NC areas. We have researched and read extensively
about various companies, and Palm Harbor would most likely be our first
choice. Quite a bit of this info searching has been online.
However, when we mentioned the payments listed on your web site, and the
"Special Incentive Pricing available only for ecustomers", as stated on
the site, we get blank stares. We ask what total the payments are based
on (How much is the house price that it's based on, we realize actual
payments vary on lots of factors), and are told that those payments are
not realistic (which we know), but the basic question is ignored. As for
the 'Special Pricing', we've yet to be shown what the difference in
price would be. Would it be possible to get some answers?
The one thing that has held us back from buying a Palm Harbor home, or
anyone else's for that matter, more than anything else, is the whole
sales process. We realize that it's a competitive business, but it's
worse than dealing with the fabled used car sales pitch. The 1st
question is invariably some variation of "How much of a monthly payment
are you looking at?". If we say, for example, $800, how do we know the
home couldn't actually be bought for $600. We don't think your sales
people are dishonest, but we assume they do work on commission. And the
fact that they seem to have no knowledge of our above questions, or
evade them, doesn't give us lots of confidence.
We once stopped in a independent dealer in Ohio (they sold Skyline and
one other brand). In each model, taped to the kitchen counter, was a
copy of the floor plan, and a price list. The price list gave the MSRP
of the basic home, and what it included. Then it gave the options that
where in the model you were standing in, and the dealer's total price.
The variables were land cost, and site prep. It made it very easy to
compare models. This experience was what made us continue to explore
manufactured homes, when we moved south. If our very 1st experience had
been what we have found since we moved down here, with all the prices
kept secret, we'd never have pursued it any further.
Thanks you for your time."
Thank you, in advance, for any info.
Jim & Brenda Flynn