Re: buying a new TT
Pretty much so. Of course, the catch is to balance what the dealer has in the RV aginst what it's value to you may be. The other thing to keep in mind is that the loss from depreciation has less effect the longer you keep the RV. In other words, suppose you could buy a 2007 for 80% of MSRP and a 2006 for 70%. Now each of those will depreciate by about $50% of the origional MSRP in the first three years after the year of manufacture. So if each had an MSRP of $50K, at the end of five years of life each would be worth $25K. But for the 2006 that three years will happen in only two years, so the difference is 1/3 less time of ownership. On the other hand, after ten years the value will probably be about $10K for each and while the 2006 would reach that point one year sooner, the difference in use would be only 10% less than the use time for the 2007, so the net effect per year is much less. The reason that is important is that if you will keep the RV for ten years or more, then the savings on the "last year" RV could very well pay off, even if you don't get it for quite the price that a used one of that year would command. But if you only plan to keep each one for two or three model years, the effect of anything you have to pay above the used value will have a great impact.
To know what the price is for the units that were made in 2006 and sold, check the NADA or the Kelly Blue book websites. The price that they quote is what yours will be worth the moment that you drive from the lot with it, if you buy last year's model.