Trade in value (or lack there of).

Kbvols

Well-known member
Been enjoying your thread Steve. For what it's worth I took that punch in the gut last year when I traded the Greystone for the Bighorn.... but to be honest initially i swore they told me to bend over.....
 

NYSUPstater

Well-known member
Been enjoying your thread Steve. For what it's worth I took that punch in the gut last year when I traded the Greystone for the Bighorn.... but to be honest initially i swore they told me to bend over.....


With out Vaseline I presume as well!
 

avvidclif

Well-known member
In 4 months my rv will be paid for (been paying extra, I think BOA shows my next payment due sometime in 2025). In 24 months the new to me TV will be paid for. After that who knows. I haven't found anything I like better so far. I didn't buy mine as an investment but like sniper wouldn't want to be told to bend over either. Especially since I've invested several thousand dollars on improvements/add-ons.
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
Both my 2015 Prowler and 2015 Chevy 2500HD (today is my truck's 4th. birthday with 73,300+ miles on it already) were paid off in February.

Guess I'll be keeping them for awhile...

Just drove the truck to the Grand Canyon yesterday...I'm typing this from the Prowler in Sedona, AZ as we speak.
 

fastcarsspeed

Well-known member
We were lucky that our little TT was at a perfect weight and paying it down after 5 years put us in a good position. Trade in was a joke but we were able to sell through Craigslist private party pretty quickly and walked away with a couple thousand over payoff. 6k better than what the dealer offered on trade. After that we went looking for our 5th wheel toy hauler and after seeing new compared to 1-2 year old used units we went used. Doing the proper inspection and going in understanding the risks and we came out ahead. I really don't know if I would buy a new unit again as there are a ton of units that are a season old that were used 2-3 times and people are wanting to get of them in a hurry.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Dealer takes your trailer as a trade in. At the same time, most people are looking for a steep discount off the list price of the new trailer. So the trade has to stand on its own.

When the dealer resells your trade, his expenses include:


  • Commission to sales rep
  • Cost of the money he paid you on trade from time of trade to time of resale, which can be a long time.
  • Lost value of trailer while waiting for it to sell.
  • Cost of prepping it for sale including repair of obvious problems.
  • Reserve in case problems not obvious are discovered prior to sale.

The dealer sets a price that has to be significantly lower than that of a new trailer, and has to leave room for the buyer to negotiate a discount.

Then he expects to make a profit.

So let's put some numbers into the mix.

You buy a new trailer that has a list price of $75,000 at a discounted price of $52,500 and trade it in after 5 years. The dealer knows that an informed buyer of your used trailer is aware that he can buy a new trailer for $52,500. So the buyer thinks: "a trailer loses at least 10% of its value per year, so the value of a 5 year old trailer is around $26,250."

The dealer prices your trade at $30,000 so there's room to come down to $26,250.

Out of the $26,250, let's say he wants a 10% profit, or $2,625. Let's say he reserves another $2,625 for repairs and prep.

Now his $26,250 sale is down to $21,000. Set aside another $2,000 for carrying costs and contingency for lost value/lower price if it takes a long time to sell the unit.

Now he's down to an offer of $19,000 and still has to pay a sales person commission and give you the balance for your trade. Maybe your offer is $17,000.

On the other hand, if you can sell directly to a buyer, maybe you can get $26,250.

And if you can sell to an area where RVs are in short supply, maybe you can get $30,000. Fires, floods, rapid growth areas are all likely spots where buyers may find your rig attractive.
 

Kbvols

Well-known member
The Commander has called off negotiations. :cool:
Negotiations come to a halt, the cold war has begun, the commander is dug in. Yeah you'll have a new RV in a couple weeks! The dealer will cave the commander will triumph!
 

Sniper

Well-known member
Negotiations come to a halt, the cold war has begun, the commander is dug in. Yeah you'll have a new RV in a couple weeks! The dealer will cave the commander will triumph!
Oh she'll triumph new rv or not. LoL ;)
 

Sniper

Well-known member
Your so right there! Seriously hope it all works out for you all.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Thanks Keith. It's fun watching the Commander at work and the salesman look over at me to bail him out. LoL ;)
 

Bones

Well-known member
Some times the RV can work in your favor. especially if you own it because it can be used as the down payment and you can use that to drop the overall price of the new one
 

avvidclif

Well-known member
Dealer takes your trailer as a trade in. At the same time, most people are looking for a steep discount off the list price of the new trailer. So the trade has to stand on its own.

When the dealer resells your trade, his expenses include:


  • Commission to sales rep
  • Cost of the money he paid you on trade from time of trade to time of resale, which can be a long time.
  • Lost value of trailer while waiting for it to sell.
  • Cost of prepping it for sale including repair of obvious problems.
  • Reserve in case problems not obvious are discovered prior to sale.

The dealer sets a price that has to be significantly lower than that of a new trailer, and has to leave room for the buyer to negotiate a discount.

Then he expects to make a profit.

So let's put some numbers into the mix.

You buy a new trailer that has a list price of $75,000 at a discounted price of $52,500 and trade it in after 5 years. The dealer knows that an informed buyer of your used trailer is aware that he can buy a new trailer for $52,500. So the buyer thinks: "a trailer loses at least 10% of its value per year, so the value of a 5 year old trailer is around $26,250."

The dealer prices your trade at $30,000 so there's room to come down to $26,250.

Out of the $26,250, let's say he wants a 10% profit, or $2,625. Let's say he reserves another $2,625 for repairs and prep.

Now his $26,250 sale is down to $21,000. Set aside another $2,000 for carrying costs and contingency for lost value/lower price if it takes a long time to sell the unit.

Now he's down to an offer of $19,000 and still has to pay a sales person commission and give you the balance for your trade. Maybe your offer is $17,000.

On the other hand, if you can sell directly to a buyer, maybe you can get $26,250.

And if you can sell to an area where RVs are in short supply, maybe you can get $30,000. Fires, floods, rapid growth areas are all likely spots where buyers may find your rig attractive.

You forgot one thing. The price of the new RV is no longer $52,500, inflation, It's now $75k down from $95k. That changes everything.
 
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