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03-24-2017, 05:44 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 155
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Private Seller vs Dealer
Wondering what types of potential pitfalls one should be aware of when buying from a private seller? I imagine that buying from a dealer is similar to a car purchase - either bring your own financing or have the dealer arrange, fill out all the paperwork, and eventually (after paying off the note), receive a title from the lien holder. But what so you do when buying from a private seller? I am assuming that I would still arrange my own financing, and provide the lending company with information on the RV being purchased? What if the seller has a lien on the vehicle?
I probably have more questions. Really looking to hear from others about how you have handled this. We continue to search for our first motorhome. I am interested in gently used and in the 1-3 year old range (save some on the depreciation and hopefully a few of the 'new vehicle' issues have been resolved). I have found several MH's that we like, but they are from Private Sellers and I'm looking for some advice on how to handle that situation.
Thanks for any info - Have been on the boards here now for a few months and I find the information to be so valuable as we are conducting our search - already learned a lot of what not to do just by others sharing their experiences.
Thanks!
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03-24-2017, 06:02 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: AB
Posts: 7,587
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I bought my coach from a private seller from an EBay listing. Traveled to his location, did my inspection, paid him an agreed price and drove the coach home.
No warranty expressed or implied.....
Unless your in a position to inspect the coach or have someone you trust do it, buying from a private seller can be risky. Biggest risk aside from mechanical condition, is title. You must do your due diligence. Be sure there are no leins or encumbrances and get the transfer of title in your hot little hand before the money changes hands. Very Important.
There are cases of folks getting stung by dealers also so either way, dot the I's and cross the T's before handing over your hard earned cash. Once the cash is passed, you own it. For better or worse, till death do you part.
__________________
2019 Unity LTV CB, pushed by a 2013 Honda CRV, BlueOx Baseplate, Aventa Bar & Patriot Brake
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03-24-2017, 06:12 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Snowbird - Waterford Mi and Citrus Springs Fl.
Posts: 3,609
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I would say that buying from an individual may not always be the better plan for the unwary. Buying from a DEALER requires a wary purchaser as well though....
I guess the point there is you need to educate yourself to the point you feel confident making a pretty expensive decision.
Talk to your bank regarding liens and title work. They should be able to answer any question you might have there.
__________________
1997 37' HR Endeavor, 275hp Cat, Freightliner
03 CR-V Blue Ox, Ready Brake
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03-24-2017, 06:13 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 155
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Thanks - all good points. I've been so focused on $ that I wasn't thinking about the inspection . As we are looking to purchase our first MH, the inspection and walk-through explaining how the various systems work will be of utmost importance to us.
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03-24-2017, 06:37 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 487
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Frankly, I'd rather make a purchase on a used RV from a highly regarded RV dealer than from somebody from somewhere that requires a long distance drive and inspection. On the other hand, if the private seller is also highly regarded then that's my first choice. Now ... what is a highly regarded private seller? That's a subject for another post.
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03-24-2017, 09:37 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 2,984
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We bought our used 2004 MADP from a private sale on Rvtrader. I met him face to face and made the determination that he was honest and trusted his maintenance records. I drove 1300 miles and after purchase, drove it home because it was exactly what we were looking for. At some point, you have to decide whom you trust. I haven't met any dealers that I believed in...
If you are in the position to purchase a RV ,you probably are at a station in life where you have some judge of character. Go with your instincts and trust them.
__________________
'04 Newmar Mountain Aire 4016
400ISL/Freightliner
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03-24-2017, 11:13 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: SW Louisiana
Posts: 8,824
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I bought my motorhome (a 2002 Safari Trek) from a private seller in Florida a thousand miles away, I found it thanks to a craigslist ad for a bit over $20,000.
I first emailed, got more information, then exchanged phone numbers, called the seller made sure he talked the talk, and sounded like he had maintained the motorhome well in his short 2 years of ownership (he was selling due to buying vacation house up north near his family). Made arrangements to tentatively fly down within a week and purchase if the motorhome was as described.
In my case the private seller had a clear title, and I financed through my local bank. This involved getting the seller to email me digital photos of various documents (title, registration, drivers license, photo of the odometer, etc.) for me to forward to my bank. The bank gave me a cashiers check, a set of temporary license plates, and a bill of sale with those little sign here tabs for the seller to sign.
During this process I did some digital detective work, found where the seller had posted questions online to the owners group forum asking advice on various problems which mostly lined up with our communications. 5 days later I flew down to Florida with the cashiers check, the seller picked me up at the airport, we went to his house, I did a brief inspection of the motorhome which appeared to match his description of what he had fixed, and minor issues he was aware of. I know (and knew then) I should have done a more detailed inspection, but I had been up since 3 am, had driven 65 miles to the airport, changed planes once, and then rode another hour to the guys house. So sure over the course of the last several months I have found a number of little things a more thorough inspection may have revealed, that I might have used to negotiate the price down a little, but at the same time I am overall happy with the deal, none of the issues I have found so far would have made it worth walking away once I considered travel expense.
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03-25-2017, 12:26 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 862
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One big difference in the State of Illinois between buying from a dealer or buying from a private party is sales tax. If you buy from a private party, tax is maxed out at $1500. If you buy from a dealer, you have to pay 6-7% sales tax. When I purchased my RV from a dealer in VA a couple of years back, since I paid no sales tax to the dealer in VA, I had to pay the full 7% to IL. That was a $3500 hit vs a $1500 hit had I bought from a private party.
__________________
2013 Fleetwood Excursion 33A
Cummins ISB 6.7L (ISB 10)/Allison 2100 Transmission
Freightliner XCS chassis
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03-25-2017, 10:05 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: NE Oklahoma
Posts: 569
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I would never buy a motor home from a rv dealer. I've bought four MH's over the last 40 yrs and I've always bought from the owner. The guy who drives, maintains and is the owner knows the MH. The dealer has no hint.
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Rick and Lynda Smith
2020 JAYCO Eagle 30.5CKTS
2018 RAM 2500 4x4 Crew, 6.7L Cummins Turbo Diesel
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03-25-2017, 10:15 AM
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#10
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Tucson
Posts: 1,419
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Private sealers are less likely to sell you a problem RV. Dealers don't inspect trade-ins and don't do anything to them prior to the confirmed sale. Dealers don't know what they're selling.
And then there's taxes. I hate paying taxes. Dealers add taxes.
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03-25-2017, 10:19 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Rigby, Idaho
Posts: 3,902
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ualdriver
One big difference in the State of Illinois between buying from a dealer or buying from a private party is sales tax. If you buy from a private party, tax is maxed out at $1500. If you buy from a dealer, you have to pay 6-7% sales tax. When I purchased my RV from a dealer in VA a couple of years back, since I paid no sales tax to the dealer in VA, I had to pay the full 7% to IL. That was a $3500 hit vs a $1500 hit had I bought from a private party.
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In Utah, and likely other states, you pay the 6-7% tac on the portion of the purchase price that is above the trade-in, so there is a benefit to using a dealer. Other than that, I'd rather buy from the owner who knows the rig rather than a dealer who doesn't. I kinda feel the owner is more honest...
__________________
Cheers,
TonyMac
2006 Monaco Safari Cheetah 40PMT
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03-25-2017, 12:42 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Fleetwood Owners Club Freightliner Owners Club
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Texas
Posts: 4,283
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In 50 years of buying vehicles I've always come out ahead buying from individuals. Example. Sold a 05 Fiesta to a dealer for $20k. He resold it for $32k. I could have sold it for 25k. But it would have probably taken months. New buyer and myself would have come out ahead. Especially since I maintain vehicles exceptionally well.
And you got to inspect anything thoroughly first.
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Full Timers.
2015 Fleetwood Discovery 40E on a Freightliner XCS chassis with a Cummins ISL9 pulling 1 and/or 2 motorcycles, '07 Honda Accord OR a 17' Runabout Boat.
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03-25-2017, 01:07 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 862
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyMac
In Utah, and likely other states, you pay the 6-7% tac on the portion of the purchase price that is above the trade-in, so there is a benefit to using a dealer. Other than that, I'd rather buy from the owner who knows the rig rather than a dealer who doesn't. I kinda feel the owner is more honest...
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Good point. This is true in IL as well. You pay tax on the difference between the price you paid for your "new or new to you" RV and the value of your trade in. So if you get $40,000 for your trade in, you save $2,800 ($40,000 x 7% sales tax) on sales tax. One has to determine if their likely private sales price MINUS the dealer's trade-in wholesale offer exceeds the $2,800 in tax savings. I also add to that $2,800 in savings the expenses of the sale & the value of my time that I'll have to waste showing and selling the RV.
Further, IL gives you credit for any sales tax you pay in another state, so there isn't a "double taxation." I would assume other states have similar rules.
__________________
2013 Fleetwood Excursion 33A
Cummins ISB 6.7L (ISB 10)/Allison 2100 Transmission
Freightliner XCS chassis
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03-25-2017, 01:33 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Newmar Owners Club Tiffin Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Byhalia, MS
Posts: 3,367
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fiesta48
In 50 years of buying vehicles I've always come out ahead buying from individuals. Example. Sold a 05 Fiesta to a dealer for $20k. He resold it for $32k. I could have sold it for 25k. But it would have probably taken months. New buyer and myself would have come out ahead. Especially since I maintain vehicles exceptionally well.
And you got to inspect anything thoroughly first.
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Exactly the reason I trade when I buy a new car truck or motorcycle. I've never had any luck selling something myself. The best you are going to do is sell it at wholesale pricing or loan value. And it will take a long time. Too many tire kickers and no-show appointments. Too many wanting to low ball it and too many wanting to make some crazy deal. ("i'll pay you now and bring you the rest next friday after I get a check from my cousin who owes me....." blah blah blah).
True story: Some years ago, I needed to sell a year old Harley I had after I bought another one from an individual. So there was no option to trade. I tried selling that bike for 9 months. Had two lookers. Several no-show appointments. Finally was able to put in on my Harley dealer's showroom floor on consignment. He sold it in about 2 weeks for more than I had been asking. I ended up making the same money I had originally been asking for it after paying him his fee for selling it. Go figure. I'll always trade whenever possible.
jt
__________________
2019 Tiffin Phaeton 40IH
2005 Newmar Kountry Star Gas (Sold)
2022 JL Wrangler 4xe or 2017 Harley Ultra in tow
JT, Em & the boys, Kong & Baxter (rescued grey tabbies)
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