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.