Buy and sell or trade?

[denchiro]

We have found our perfect coach - a late model Allegro Bus 37 AP at a great price. It is for sale by an individual. We currently own a 2014 RED 33'. The quandary is, do we buy it outright with financing by one of the RV lenders and try to sell our coach or do we try to find the same coach at a dealer somewhere so we can take advantage of the sales tax trade in - approximately $28K?. How hard would it be to sell our coach, listing it on RVT etc.

[BCam]

Originally Posted by denchiro

We have found our perfect coach - a late model Allegro Bus 37 AP at a great price. It is for sale by an individual. We currently own a 2014 RED 33'. The quandary is, do we buy it outright with financing by one of the RV lenders and try to sell our coach or do we try to find the same coach at a dealer somewhere so we can take advantage of the sales tax trade in - approximately $28K?. How hard would it be to sell our coach, listing it on RVT etc.

I'm not sure what you mean about the "sales tax trade in". In general, as with buying an automobile, you'll generally be financially better off selling your current MH privately rather than trading it in. Similarly, buying from an individual is typically going to be cheaper than from a dealer. At least here in California, there's no way to avoid the "sales tax", but states might differ on this issue.

A trade-in purchase has several moving parts, the agreed on value of your trade-in, the agreed on price of the new purchase, and the agreed on financing terms. The dealership will try to structure a dealership that nets the dealership what it wants in a manner that you find attractive. One way or another, they're going to get their money. It's kind of a pay-me-now or pay-me-later deal. And they will be more skillful at this "game" than the typical buyer.

[ajsfla]

Most states I'm aware of figure the sales tax on the difference between the selling price of unit being bought and the trade value. So yes you have some money less on the bottom line when a trade is present. Question is if the reduced sales tax is cost effective compared to sell your own and buy outright.

[Don and Kim]

When we moved up to a newer coach last year I shopped a couple of dealers and trade in was almost $30k less than we received selling to a private party.
Our old coach was extremely clean, maintenance was up to date and we sold it in a couple of weeks after listing on RVT for free. In Ohio there is only sales tax savings if purchasing a new coach.

[Winemaker2]

Your late model RED 33 should be very marketable. Many folks look for a good DP a few yrs old and they are hard to find.
If it's in good shape and you have good maint records you will likely do better selling outright.
Look up MHs similar to what you are considering to what dealers are asking. Make your offer to buy based on the economic balance with sales tax on the difference included.

[BCam]

Ok, if I understand correctly, your sales tax savings will be the sales tax rate multiplied by your trade in value. According to your profile, you live in Texas and a Google search tells me your sales tax rate is 6.25%, therefore your sales tax savings is 6.25% of your trade in value. For example:

New MH Full Price = $200,000, Full Sales Tax = .0625 x $200,000 = $12,500
Trade In Value = $90,000
Net Price = $200,000 - $90,000 = $110,000, Net Sales Tax = .0625 * $110,000 = $6,875
Sales Tax Savings = $12,500 - $6,875 = $5,625, which equals .0625 x $90,000 Trade in Value

I'm not sure what your $28,000 figure is since it would only be your sales tax savings if your trade-in was worth $448,000 (.0625 x $448,000 = $28,000), which doesn't sound correct.

Given the above, you would be better off trading in only if a reasonable private party selling price was less than 106.25% of the trade-in value. Typically, I would expect a much higher private party price since trade-in values tend to be pretty low. At least with automobiles, it's common for dealers to offer trade-in values that are 30% or more below a private party value unless they're compensating by pumping up the sales price of the new rig and/or the financing terms.

I think you need to pin down some good estimates of all the variables in the two different approaches, get your head around the math and set down a side-by-side comparison. And don't forget that the selling price of the new MH in a cash deal is likely to be 20% to 30% less than the selling price of the same MH in a trade-in deal.

[Winemaker2]

Careful... frequently I've seen dealers offer fairly high trade in values but they are taken against their list or ask selling price for the new one. Often that selling price is very negotiable if you are ed buying outright w no trade.
It makes the comparison difficult but doable.
I'd start negotiations w no trade to find out their lowest selling price. If it's something you are comfortable with then continue discuscussions if not walk away.

After reaching a selling price you are comfortable with ask them about trade value. Do your homework re what you can expect to get selling your old. Compare to dealer trade plus sales tax savings to see which way is best.
Then decide if the difference is worth your effort and uncertainty.

[denchiro]

Dealer not willing to work with us so we will sell and then buy the coach we want.

[BCam]

Originally Posted by denchiro

Dealer not willing to work with us so we will sell and then buy the coach we want.

Good decision. Maybe you will find a nice one being sold by an owner who's taken good care of it and is ready to deal. That would be the best all the way around.

And, after you sell your's, if the one at the dealer is still around, they might be ready to sell at a good price.

[rrtribble]

denchiro,

If you are financially able and since you've found the DP you want at the price you are willing to pay I recommend you buy it outright and sell yours using iRV2 classifieds and all the free RV sales sites. I sold mine 2016 Tiffin in 4 hours BUT I priced it to sell. I checked all the sites and dealers for asking price of similar MH, determined wholesale and then talked to purchasing agent at LazyDays - they offered wholesale. I added what I wanted to the wholesale value and listed it. As I said it sold in 4 hours and had my cash in hand in 3 weeks due to a buyer family problem that came up.

Since then I purchased the DP I had discovered.

Hoep this helps and wish you the best. Richard

[Hojo2000]

You are in Texas? Go talk to PPL about a consignment sell. They should be able to sell a 2014 RED rapidly at the market price and will take a 10% commission. Better than what a dealer will give you, but maybe less than what you can get with a direct sell.

[DKRITTER]

What’s the hasssle factor of selling your RED yourself worth?

Pretty much agree with the other posts that the dealer is going to give you somewhere around 30% less for your trade than you could get yourself.

Let’s say you’re a good negotiator and you cut that to 20%, if your RED is worth a 100k that’s 20k less in your pocket. But if you do trade you save on sales tax of 6k. So your at best 14kish ahead. When it’s all said and done it will more likely be around 7-10K ahead.

Me I’d sell it myself and pocket the money, my wife on the other hand would never go through the hassle. She would gladly pay someone 7-10k to handle it.

No right or wrong answer here just a preference.

[BCam]

I've sold two TT through Craig's List in less than a week each time. The only hassle is being able to screen out low-ballers over the phone and avoiding having to schedule a meeting.

In my experience, the typical approach of a low-baller is to want to negotiate over the phone without seeing the rig. They usually will say something like "What's the lowest you'll take, I have cash money?" They also seldom ask any pertinent questions about the rig itself. I learned this after two very unproductive meetings.

Also, after quickly giving the potential buyer an overview of your MH, let them look it over while you wait outside ready to answer any questions they might have. Believe me, you don't want to hear their comments about every little thing that strikes them.

I had one potential buyer who questioned every little thing I'd added or changed by asking "is that stock?" with the implication that I'd have to reduce the price by a significant amount so he could return it to like new condition. I was selling a Nash and he spent half the time telling me how great Lance TTs were. I had to bite my tongue to avoid telling him to go buy a new Lance. Needless to say, this was a short visit. The eventual buyer of the second TT was a nice young family who were as excited about buying as I was about selling.

And don't use your real phone number, get a Google Voice number. If you're using a cell phone you should set up a contact for everyone that calls so you'll know in an instant if it's a repeat call. Something like "MH- Jim 12-6" is what I'd suggest. Your Google voice # will forward to your cell phone.