Trade-In or Sell

[matt.brown]

Looking for some advice. I currently own a Class C and am considering buying a DP. Is it more advantageous to sell out right or should I trade the Class C in on the new coach?

[tj4dirt]

You should be able to get more for your MH if you sell it yourself. It my take awhile, you never know. Advertise it everywhere you can. If it doesn't sell then you take the beating and trade it in. I just had to that with a car.

[Pusherman]

I agree. Sell your current coach yourself. You can get closer to NADA retail for the sale, and the dealer most likely will only offer NADA wholesale on the new sale, after discounting the new coach.

Also, Class C coaches should be pretty easy to sell right now.

[JimM68]

I traded. Timing. Cash on hand. financing the new rig...
The dealer made me a fair offer sight unseen, I drove the old rig there (1400 miles) and drove the new one back.

How does one even deal with selling something as expensive as a motorhome?
I've done several deals with cars, coming and going, at 10k or less. Cash, as in a big stack of my favorite dead president on green paper.

When I bought the knight, I told them 20k of the down payment would be in cash. They refused to take it, told me to write them a personal check!

[rough road]

Jim, we would never consider selling an rv outright- any monetary 'loss', in our opinion, is offset by the numerous phone calls that we will not be getting from the new owner both with operating questions to demands for assistance for any failures-besides I am not sure that these days there would be much if any loss-dealers with -A's-sitting on the lot, bleeding them dry probably are willing to alot to move a new coach.

[matt.brown]

I was wondering if it is a good time to trade-up (so to speak) with the economy the way is. Think I might just see what kind deal a dealership is willing to give. Any advice on consignment sales.

[Pusherman]

The best model in the US for consignment sales is PPL Motorhomes. They charge a 10% commission on consignment, on the final sale price. This is generally a higher net price to the owner than NADA wholesale, which most dealers offer on a trade, when the new coach is discounted.

NADA average retail and low retail are available on the web; not wholesale, which the dealers have.

[bluepill]

In some states that have sales tax (NY is one), the tax on the sale is computed on the "Trade Difference" only. Example: your trade in is valued at 40K, the new unit is selling at 60K. You only pay tax on the 20K difference, not the full 60K.

[rough road]

Consigning your rv, while certainly more convienent to the seller-the Company usually arranges for financing, paperwork, my understanding is that this method does not release the seller, you, of any liability and in fact may increase it depending on the consumer laws in the State in which the deal is done ???

[WeatherTodd]

Originally Posted by rough road

Consigning your rv, while certainly more convienent to the seller-the Company usually arranges for financing, paperwork, my understanding is that this method does not release the seller, you, of any liability and in fact may increase it depending on the consumer laws in the State in which the deal is done ???

this is partially true.
You release your coach and keys to the consignee. You can keep the title until it sells (as security). Otherwise giving a dealer your rig, keys, and title on... essentially a promise could turn out to be a financial mistake.

As far as FSBO... it costs next to nothing and a few hours time to post your rig for sale online. For less than $150 you can buy a prepaid cell phone, list the rig on 2 national websites with very high traffic, purchase some 4sale signs, and list other local websites such as craigslist.

[M zoll]

As bluepill said you will save on sale's tax if you live in a state where they only pay on the differnt's, and you don't have to deal with showing it, or worry about someone calling you back because something broke.

[HD4Mark]

We traded in our class C partly due to NY sales tax. Trading saved over $3000 in tax. It was also worth some money to have the dealer do all of the run around. They were interested in the C so they gave us pretty much retail NADA.

If you have the time you could advertize it on Craigslist or something for free and ask what you would like to get to see how the market is then decide. I also think class Cs would be easier to sell in the current economy.

[Shardan1]

I'd say to research it both ways. Depending on what they'll give you for trade and what you could get selling outright. the tax incentive only works if don't think your coach is worth the extra tax break you'll get by trading. IE: if they'll give you 30 and be able to save 3 in taxes, or sell it outright for 40.
When we sold our old DP, we sold it above what the tax savings would be. We were also able to transfer our extended service plan, which in turn save them money as our coach had it since it was new.

[golfpro]

I agree, I am in the market for a new TT and I am going to sell it myself. I used to sell TT's so it already makes sense to me