Buying a used RV

[jphansen]

Due to a wild idea of mine, we have been looking around for a used travel trailer. super light weight - ok condition - cheap.....

We have looked at 2 dealers so far (at the used stuff)

I am shocked

When I try to trade something in I am told trade-in is MUCH less that NADA.

Of the 3 units we looked at the price (starting point) was 2 to 2 1/2 times NADA suggested price.

What gives??????

One salesman told me it was because FEMA is buying up everything and is driving prices up.

Is this just some game here or is this happening everywhere?

I am just looking for insite to this and trying to decide if we keep looking or are we wasting our time????

[jphansen]

Due to a wild idea of mine, we have been looking around for a used travel trailer. super light weight - ok condition - cheap.....

We have looked at 2 dealers so far (at the used stuff)

I am shocked

When I try to trade something in I am told trade-in is MUCH less that NADA.

Of the 3 units we looked at the price (starting point) was 2 to 2 1/2 times NADA suggested price.

What gives??????

One salesman told me it was because FEMA is buying up everything and is driving prices up.

Is this just some game here or is this happening everywhere?

I am just looking for insite to this and trying to decide if we keep looking or are we wasting our time????

[OkieCat]

Hi Jeff & Pat!

While I am not a RV buying expert it sounds to me like you need to start looking at the rigs individuals have for sale. We bough both our pop up and our gently used travel trailer that way.

We saw an ad in the classified section of the newspaper and found our pop up. Then when it was time to consider going to a travel trailer we had looked around at RV shows and knew what we wanted even though we had yet to see it. Actually before we were "ready" to buy one I read a post on another message board about the Sunline being for sale near us when we lived in Texas. We had never seen a Sunline so I talked my DH into just looking. It was love at first site, it IS the trailer we knew we wanted after looking at RV shows and not finding one that was exactly suited for us. The best parts about it, the trailer was less than a year old, we could transfer the factory warranty and the price was right! We made arrangements to buy it and then put an ad in the newspaper for the pop up. We sold it to the second person who looked at it for almost what we paid for it! Talk about a good deal for everyone!

So the moral to my long winded story is that you can find some nice rigs from individuals and not have to pay the dealer mark up on their trade ins. Take your time, go ahead and look around on dealer lots, figure out what suits your needs and then start your real shopping. It is a bit more work to drive to people's homes or storage lots but you can save a lot of $$$$!.

Good luck! I hope y'all enjoy your trailer as much as we do ours no matter what your "wild idea" may be LOL

[Mooky Mouse]

Jeff and Pat,

You might want to start some online searching as well. I found www.rvonline.com especially helpful.

I was able to look at quite a few models and do some price checking at the same time.

Cat brought up some good points as well.

Good luck!

[jphansen]

Cat, yes your ideas are good and we are doing that, but it is very difficult when you are on the road full time and in an area for a short time.

We are doing everything we can, checking online, checking dealers and individuals. I am really interested in can you expect to pay near nada??? Just a thought.....

We too will know it when we find what we want.

Some of this is just for fun. Can we get what we are looking for, for a price that is OK

[OkieCat]

I guess I didn't notice that you are full timers.... Hummm that does make it a bit more challenging. Don't give up, you can do what you are wanting to do.... it may take some time but you can find a TT that will work for you at a decent price.

We actually paid just a tiny bit over NADA wholesale. Is that what they call it? Or is it trade in value? Anyway the lowest NADA price listed. Our Sunline was less than a year old, had been used on one rather long extended trip and we never figured out if the man we bought it from decided the RV life wasn't for him or he bought it to use on that one trip. He gave us EVERYTHING as a part of the deal. We had basically the same model truck as his, so he let us take his brake controller, gave us all the accessories he had bought like a great water filtration system, all the hoses we have ever needed, RVQ, DVD system he installed with surround sound (much better sound than the factory stereo), Reese hitch set up, and he even gave us a great vacuum cleaner!

We know we were lucky and just happened to find the right rig at a great price. My point is if we can do it, call me a positive thinker because I think you can, too!!

Good luck!

[CyberVet65]

Find your rig. Then get the floor plan that you want. Go to the manufacturer's web site and look for MSRP.
Then go to :
http://www.motors.ebay.com or
http://www.rvtraderonline.com or
http://www.rvsearch.com or
http://www.rvregistry.com or
http://www.rvonline.com


Then you will get an idea what the going price is for your "ideal" RV.
I am doing this in search of a used Class A DP. It's fun to look.
Chet

[jphansen]

Thanks Cat -- that is what I wanted to know. If you were close to nada that is good to know.

Chet,
Thanks for the web sites. I had not found one of them, so this gives me another place to look.

We want to buy this trailer for one trip so the right price is very important. (will probably give it to one of the kids when we are done so cheap is the key word)

Thanks, I am continuing to look.....

[C Driver]

You can actually buy used FEMA trailers at their auctinos ... but be warned, most are not designed for 'camping' as they have no storage tanks, etc. and a lot of them are in really bad shape ...
Now, a question? Why not just rent one? If you are only using it for one trip. Or, possibly a popup camper rather than a trailer?

[jphansen]

Ed,
We need it to be fully self contained and renting is not an option. Our trip should last about 5/6 months. I did look at renting, scary...

We are looking at hybrids (sp?) but a true pop up is probably not going to work. I want a full bath/kit/sleep area. We want to spend several months in Alaska and do not want to take the "big rig".

We have found several that fit our needs, but the first prices we are seeing are double nada. I was wondering if that was a trend or just a local problem. We will start looking else where as we travel. Fortunely there is no big hurry.

Thanks for the response.....

[Hitchhiker]

I think the 'tale' you were told about prices being higher than NADA retail because of FEMA is a typical salesman's line of BS to justify an exorbitant price. NADA is in the business of evaluating resale transactions and monitoring the resale market. They would adjust their prices accordingly if there truly was a spike in the resale pricing for used trailers.

I'm no authority on FEMA, but from what I've gleaned they only buy new (or nearly new) units. I doubt they are in the market for a TT that's several years old. You should be able to buy at or below NADA retail easily.

[Jim Wilson]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">When I try to trade something in I am told trade-in is MUCH less that NADA. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
The NADA Guide on-line displays different prices then the book uses, and the book is what an RV dealer will quote. Also, those prices are retail. Dealers sell at retail and buy -- take trade-in's -- at wholesale (in theory, anyway). You can expect to get much less for a trade then the NADA will show it's worth.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Of the 3 units we looked at the price (starting point) was 2 to 2 1/2 times NADA suggested price.

One salesman told me it was because FEMA is buying up everything and is driving prices up.

Is this just some game here or is this happening everywhere? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
The new and used market has been impacted by FEMA, but at this point unless you're in the affected area the impact will be all but minor. The manufacturers had the entire winter to supply the government with units, a time when most of them traditionally curtail production because of diminished consumer demand. But this year (2005-2006) they didn't reduce production. That put them in the position to minimize the impact for the non-government portion of there business.

Months ago FEMA had all the units they needed, which meant the manufacturing capacities could switch back to the consumer side. The flow of new units should be pretty solid now, and I doubt that the "FEMA affect" is still considered valid.