Private party sale or dealer sale?

[Turbo Turtle]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a used Endeavor or Diplomat coach in the next few months. As I look at ads on the Internet, I gotta wonder: is there an advantage to buying through a dealer (who doubtless needs a profit margin) to buying a coach from a private individual? One can get a warranty through Good Sam's or the like, right?

[Jim Stewart]

No advantage to buy from dealer and yes you can get an extended warranty/insurance policy/service contract. In many cases, it is a dis-advantage to buy from a dealer (increased cost, poor service and less than desirable coaches).

[Dr4Film]

Are you buying outright or do you have a RV to dispose of in place of the new one? If you're buying outright, you will get a much better deal and usually a lot more for your money with a private party sale versus a dealer. If you have a RV to dispose of, you will generally be better off with doing the deal with a dealer and trading your old one in for the new one. It will take a bit of horse trading but these RV's are moving slow right now with the economy so bad that most dealers are willing to listen to any deal offered. I bought my most recent RV home through a private party and got a GREAT deal. Almost half price and it was only 2 years old at the time, however it took me years to sell off my 36 ft. Airstream Landyacht and when I did, I had to take the loan on it. When and if the time comes to dispose of my RV home, it will definitely be through a dealer as I don't want to go through that again.

[Turbo Turtle]

We will be buying outright.

Is the Internet the best place to look?

What kinds of channels do private parties use? When I google I generally get dealers, not private parties.

[RV Wizard]

try rvtrader.com . Once you have done plenty of homework in the area and have an idea as to what you want and get some final selections lined up, make preparations to have a qualified RV tech be ready to do an inspection for you, if you buy from a private party.

[csp]

Turbo Turtle
I found mine on Ebay. I bought it for half of the value. I took a big chance flying 1063 miles to pick it up but it was well worth it. If you shop on Ebay you can also check nearest first.
Chris

[Jim Stewart]

We also got ours on E-Bay. We had a few things we had to fix or replace, but that would be true if from a dealer. We also saved close to 35%% off of NADA low retail.

A good deal on E-Bay is about NADA wholesale.

[hardy1000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbo Turtle Hi, I'm looking to buy a used Endeavor or Diplomat coach in the next few months. As I look at ads on the Internet, I gotta wonder: is there an advantage to buying through a dealer (who doubtless needs a profit margin) to buying a coach from a private individual? One can get a warranty through Good Sam's or the like, right?

Try these guy's and read all of the testimonials, they are the #1 Monaco / HR dealer in the US and I can tell you that no one could beat there price, and they are the best sales people that I have ever delt with. (Honest, I do not work for them) they are just good guy's.

DeMartini RV Sales, Recreational vehicles (RVs), Holiday Rambler, Holiday Rambler Motorhomes, Monaco Motorhomes, Monaco Coach, Monaco Coach Corporation, Used Diesel Pusher, Used diesel, Endeavor, Scepter,** Imperial, Dynasty,* Windsor, Camelot, Navig

[randco]

If you are lucky enough to find a nice rig offered by a private party at a reasonable price, go for it. I haven't found any "deals" from private sellers. Most of the vehicles I have looked at have been priced way over NADA Average Retail and the sellers won't budge. There are to many that are upside down with their loan.With a dealsership, you can expect that they need to make a profit and the profit will vary on how much they want to sell the coach. Ask to see the 2009 NADA Recreation Appraisal Guide's Dealer Wholesale. I would expect dealers would try to get between 5% and 15% above wholesale.If the dealer doesn't have an Appraisal Guide, go to your local library and look up any models that you are interested in.

[Ed S]

What year Endeavor you looking for???

[Turbo Turtle]

IF I do the HR, I'd want an SFT, ideally a 2007 or 2008 with low mileage. We are also seriously considering Monaco Diplomat SFT 40' only, Country Coach Allure sunset '37, and Foretravel 40' models with a minimum of 2 slides. I am thinking that if we're going to go full time, we should strongly consider tag axles, but I only want a maximum length of 40'. Those are my parameters. Any comments or advice are MOST welcome!

[Dr4Film]

Turbo Turtle,

I agree with Hardy1000's selection of DiMartini. I've talked with him on the phone but have never finalized a deal. Also, when I was seriously perusing the internet for private party deals, I used the following web search results which lists a bunch of different locations where people lists their RV's.

Try this link:

Google Directory - Shopping*>*Classifieds*>*Automotive*>*Recreational *Vehicles

Good luck!

[Turbo Turtle]

Thanks!

[wandering1]

Your best buy will probably be from a dealer. Individuals think their units are worth more than they are actually worth and a lot of people are upside down on their loans and they are looking for a bailout. Dealers do need to keep some money coming in to pay bills and are willing to negotiate especially if you have cash.