Can value of used MH exceed NADA?

[Mike and Cha]

Originally Posted by 4x4van

If a seller is highly motivated and anxious to sell, then he will price it lower or be more open to negotiating. If the seller is NOT in a hurry to sell, then the price would likely be higher and he will be less motivated to haggle. Neither is wrong nor unreasonable; just how it is.

If a buyer is highly motivated and anxious to buy, then he will offer more and be more open to negotiating. If the buyer is NOT in a hurry to buy, then he would likely offer a lower price and be less likely to haggle. Again, neither is wrong nor unreasonable, just how it is;

This is about the best answer you have received as well as some of those who recognize the money that was put into the MH, prior to putting it up for sale, may be worth a little more money on the front end. Nada is just a guideline, nothing more...it has no real value other than that as with a used MH purchase there are too many variables.

Like said the repairs already made are worth paying a little more for than another identical MH that hasn't had yet and you are going to have to do. Tires, brakes, generator, fridge are all things that could need attention the day you buy it and can add up to thousands of dollars. The bottom line is the right price is what both you and the seller agree on, as if either one doesn't like it they simply walk away from the deal. You need to do your research before jumping into anything or listening to advice from people who haven't even seen or driven the MH. Once you have done your research and seen a variety of MH's with different qualities and prices, then you will easily recognize the combination of MH brand, size, floorplan, condition, and price that is best for you.

[twogypsies]

I think sellers put a little higher price on because they know that buyers will always ask lower.

We did the same when we put ours for sale at PPL. However, the buyer paid full price. Lucky us!

[TQ60]

Using the $10000.00 brake job above...

Someone stating that would raise huge flags.

Why so much....


A... poor chassis design that needed much work...run.

B...poor upkeep allowing things to be such poor shape that many things needed full replacement not simple servicable item replacement....run faster.

[dmurdock]

To answer the OP's question, Yes...sometimes by a factor of 3 or 4...all depends on how often the item is turned over in the dealership/finance market and if these turnovers are an accurate representation of all the units out there or just the bottom end (junkers).

Go look up a 68 Camaro RS..I did. High retail is around 48k. LOL - for a runner yes, for a perfect car? double it. But, most perfect cars aren't sold at dealers and they aren't financed (so NADA doesn't know about them).

[JimmyNeutron]

Thanks everyone for all the responses! Wow, I was offline for a couple days and came back to a ton of info.

To clarify a few things that others have questioned/commented on so far:

• The $10k was not just brakes, it was also to upgrade a 5kW Onan generator to a 7kW, plus a couple other lesser items.
• I knew NADA was just a guideline, and the real value is set by the buyer, etc. I didn't know of any other source for avg valuation guidance besides NADA. The reason I wanted to find "average" as opposed to what we personally felt the MH is "worth to us" is to get a feel for its potential resale value if/when we decide to sell. I'd like to know what the average Joe thinks it's worth before I decide what it's worth to me, because one day I may be trying to sell it to Joe
• Didn't know about the PPL "sold" listings - definitely sounds more accurate than NADA.
• The seller of the subject MH had not only listed it at a "higher than NADA" price, but I later discovered that he listed it as a 1999 based on chassis year instead of the 1998 coach year. Average retail for 1998 was $2500 less than 1999. He was adamant that his was a 1999, even after I confirmed with the manufacturer that it was a 1998, based on VIN and build date. I walked away from that seller at that point.
• I ended up buying a different MH from a guy who had it listed right around average retail, PLUS it was in excellent condition inside, new tires, brakes inspected (50% life), glossy paint, etc. etc. Some stuff I still gotta do, but I feel a lot better about paying close to "street value" on this unit.

Thanks again for all the feedback.

[Papa_Jim]

Originally Posted by JimmyNeutron

Looking at buying a '98 Tiffin Class A that appears to be in pretty good shape with 40-50k miles. Asking price is about $1-2k over NADA average retail. I know that needing new tires, etc. can take a chunk OFF the value - however, this unit has fairly new tires, and the seller claims close to $10k in brake work, generator upgrade and other items done a couple years ago. The paint, decals, upholstery, etc. are in decent shape, but not spectacular time capsule condition.

So my question is, how reasonable is it for a seller to look for higher than NADA value? If this unit was in climate-controlled storage, had all records for all service intervals and 10k miles on it, I'd certainly expect to pay a premium. Just not sure how "special" a coach needs to be before you can expect to pay higher than NADA.

Hmmm.

We bought our coach 8 years ago for $37,000.00 Canadian dollars. Over our eight years of ownership we have elected to spend about $60,000.00 Canadian dollars on it. It's condition and appearance represent that sum of money spent on it. Many people have remarked about how beautiful our coach is.

After eight years we have now decided that it is time to sell this motor coach. I just checked the NADA. It states that our coach is worth somewhere between $9,900.00 and $11,800.00. That's American dollars, so in Canadian dollars that would be about 30% more.

I can assure you that for that kind of money, our coach will never be sold to anyone. I would rather enjoy watching it decay as it sinks into the ground in our yard before I will give it away to someone for practically nothing.

Go buy an equivalent model of coach for NADA, and then tell me how much money you need to spend to get it into the same condition as our coach.

Oh, by the way. Good luck with that.

Jim

[skypilot_1]

Sorry, but buyer's set the selling price, sellers the asking. Have a neighbor that said he was not giving his 1995 Damon away. Meaning the offers he was getting were below his conceived value.

"I can assure you that for that kind of money, our coach will never be sold to anyone. I would rather enjoy watching it decay as it sinks into the ground in our yard before I will give it away to someone for practically nothing."

Thats pretty much what he said too.

He keep it, the rubber roof deteriorated, water got into walls and interior.
I gently told him couple time..."sell it cheap..or don't sell it at all"

Boy he showed them buyers...stuck to his guns..!

[Bucky1320]

I constantly run into nay sayers about book value. Everyone is convinced that NADA is way low. Granted, it may not always be accurate. But you have to consider this: What is a future buyer going to use as a guide for buying from you? What is a bank going to use if perhaps you are financing or the next owner needs to finance? What about insurance claims? If you total it or something terrible happens to it, what are they going to use as a guide for pay out? The number one thing that has driven RV pricing up is all the folks that are upside down in their RV financing. They literally cannot afford to sell the unit for what it is worth without losing money....actually taking a loan out to pay off a motorhome that they will no longer own. We know these things are money pits and we will never get out of them what we have put into them in MOST cases. Or at least we should know that!

[vincee]

Bang! Bucky hit the nail on the head regarding financing. Most folks go in with a minimum deposit, take 15-20 year loans out, pay the minimum monthly payment, and after eight or nine fun missing years decide to sell their rig. Oh boy! we don't own squat on our RV so we have to at least try to sell it for what owed on it. To bad, I'm not interested in your poor financial decisions.

[skypilot_1]

Just had a 2002 Saturn LW300 totaled by insurance carrier. When asked how they come up with price. Agent told me they send photos and details of car to three dealers in your area. They take the avg of the three and thats what thy pay out minus deductible of course. They do pay those dealers a fee for this service. It was hail damage and I bought the Toad back. NADA/KBB never entered into figures.
Regarding being up side down with loan. Many buyers finance the extended warranty in the loan.

[JimmyNeutron]

I have to agree with Bucky and vincee on the loan thing. We have been debt-free except for a mortgage for many years, and for a year now we've had no mortgage. We bought a used coach that I could pay cash for up front. I could have bought a much nicer DP for three or four times what I spent, and then been a slave to some bank for the next 15 years, desperate to get some inflated price back for my rig when operating costs started to exceed my budget... NO THANKS!

[Scatterbrain]

Originally Posted by skypilot_1

Just had a 2002 Saturn LW300 totaled by insurance carrier. When asked how they come up with price. Agent told me they send photos and details of car to three dealers in your area. They take the avg of the three and thats what thy pay out minus deductible of course. They do pay those dealers a fee for this service. It was hail damage and I bought the Toad back. NADA/KBB never entered into figures.
Regarding being up side down with loan. Many buyers finance the extended warranty in the loan.

How do you think those dealers got to their price? They look at NADA, KBB, and likely Manheim and other auction houses to see what the average value they could expect would be. Just because your insurance didn't use NADA doesn't mean the dealers didn't.

[Bucky1320]

I'm not totally anti loan. If a person can pay off a new motorhome in 5 years, and put some money down up front, they are unlikely to be terribly upside down. But borrowing to buy something that depreciates like a car, with a loan term of a house, just isn't financially wise. Neither is paying significantly more than what professionals consider the value of a motorhome is.

[skypilot_1]

Originally Posted by Scatterbrain

How do you think those dealers got to their price? They look at NADA, KBB, and likely Manheim and other auction houses to see what the average value they could expect would be. Just because your insurance didn't use NADA doesn't mean the dealers didn't.

For buying dealers use auction house price levels. I wish insurance company had used NADA #s as pay out would have been higher for me.
When selling cars back in 80's. We used 70% of bank loan valve for trade-in/buying number. Which is what much RV dealers do. Have to cover the unknowns on a vehicle with dozens of systems. Many RV dealers will give a trade-in offer without ever seeing the rig. jus sayn