Community Forums

palehorse89 · 02-22-2014, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peteyboy

Kind of dissagree about being the same as sitting in the garage. Weather on the body alone will take it's toll, along with all related bearings and any friction surfaces that are turning. Shocks and springs are still working along with the steering gear that turns when the MH does. I can understand why they may devalue the vehicle somewhat.

Bad choice of words on my half, by sitting in the garage and towing it, no miles are showing up, if the spedo is reading 36,000 like I stated, you will not know I towed it 80,000........if taken care of.

CampDaven · 02-22-2014, 04:37 PM

I may depend on the toad.

I dont think I would have much trouble selling my Wrangler as a road-ready toad, that is if I ever would sell it.

Wranglers hold value because they CAN go a long ways.

George Schweikle · 02-22-2014, 04:38 PM

Car Max can be a good place to buy a used car, but not a good place to sell your car. Remember the old saying: "Buy low, Sell high", and that's what they do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by abrasv

...so the other day I stopped at a place in St. Louis called Car Max. Nationwide place that advertises they will buy your car. I told them I was interested in trading for a vehicle I had seen on their lot. They appraised it and said since it had the hookups on the front (Blue Ox) for towing they had to discount the value. Quote was $7000 under what KBB said it was worth.....

1ciderdog · 02-22-2014, 04:45 PM

Similar to when I took a 5th wheel at a consignment dealer to sell. The salesman said the price would be lower because I had lived in it a couple of years and I said no the value should be higher because it was not setting around with seals drying up and that by using it problems were repaired when noticed. He didn't agree so I took it to another consignment dealer.

okgc · 02-22-2014, 05:07 PM

A used car lot will try to discount the purchase price for tow brackets when they buy it and raise the sales price for tow brackets when they sell it.

PyrateSilly · 02-22-2014, 05:16 PM

We traded off my PT Cruiser and sold the truck to then buy a 4Runner. It was manual and could be towed 4 down. It did not have the hardware on it but with some of the mods on the front we knew it had been anyway. We did not care and got it anyway. We were going to start setting it up to tow 4 down. Then Thom started seeing Fiat 500 Abarth's coming out and starting looking at them and then we test drove a few different Fiat's and well we then traded off the 4Runner a year after we got it and got the Fiat Abarth. It is also manual and it can be towed 4 down. We decided that getting the Fiat would be better for us gas mileage wise and a few other reasons. We have no plans to get a different car so we have now bought and will be installing the hardware to tow it behind the RV.

jamesrxx951 · 02-22-2014, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by okgc

A used car lot will try to discount the purchase price for tow brackets when they buy it and raise the sales price for tow brackets when they sell it.

That is most likely not the case. The dealer I worked for had service remove that kind of stuff. If the vehicle did not have a factory installed hitch, that was removed also. The said statistics show that customers don't want a vehicle that was used as a tow vehicle or toad. So that was removed before placed on the lot. The scrap guys really liked getting all the hitch assemblies.

Jack1234 · 02-22-2014, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by palehorse89

I have not run into this, If you are a super honest person, when trading a TOAD in, and the odometer reads 36,000 miles and you have records that you have towed it 80,000 miles......... the only way for anyone to know this with today's electronic cars is if you tell them. Being towed is just like sitting in your garage. So, who tells.....when trading or selling?

In BC (Canada) our consumer protection laws (Business Practices & Consumer Protection - BCPCA) require that a Car Dealer disclose that a car has been used as an RV tow vehicle. There are no "as-is" exclusions for Dealers and they are required to know a car's history and declare "everything".....or face penalties. As a result, you have no option to be anything but a "super honest person" if you plan to trade-in your toad. As a private seller you can hide behind the "as-is" provision, but must live with your conscience knowing that have not properly disclosed the cars history and are guilty of deceptive business practices as defined by the BPCPA.

BTW, I would never consider a "tow vehicle" if I was buying a pre-enjoyed car.....unless the vehicle came with a very attractive discount. If I was looking for a new TOAD, I would consider a vehicle with an odometer of 36k and 80k of towing as a 116k vehicle.

DSL417 · 02-22-2014, 05:48 PM

MH, 5ver, trailer...auto...depreciating asset. Fact of life. I have never known an owner to ever come out on the winning end of selling or trading a late model of anything for a new or newer vehicle. I guess I just consider that the price of driving what I want...just like accepting the price of the RV lifestyle.

CampDaven · 02-22-2014, 05:57 PM

Think what you like, but I had 125K miles on my Saturn, plus 60K toading, I was up front about it, and I got top $ BECAUSE it was ready to toad. It is still out there serving!

**CLIFFTALL** · 02-22-2014, 06:05 PM

I got more than fair value for my HHR that I towed for 30,000 miles. The dealer couldn't care less.

bdpreece · 02-22-2014, 09:42 PM

Just traded off my 08 Explorer last weekend and got more than NADA trade in value for it. They knew it had been towed and allowed me to take it home and remove the AIR Force 1 brake system before I took delivery on our new Explorer. The only stipulation they made was I could not remove the base plates as the installer cut holes in the air dam to accomadate them and they said leaving just the holes would detract from the value. Not a problem since the 08 base plates won't work on the 14 model.

Jack1234 · 02-22-2014, 11:43 PM

QUESTION;

Assuming you were in the market for a new to you used car? In good faith you purchased a vehicle in which the Seller represented that it had milage of 38k as evident on the odometer.....and you paid a price $$$ that reflected this level of use. A month or so down the road you had this car in for servicing and discovered that the suspension and assorted other parts were showing wear generally associated with a much higher milage vehicle and needed replacement at considerable expense$$$! Upon close examination it then became evident that the vehicle had been fitted for a base plate and RV tow equipment. Clearly the vehicle had been used as an RV tow vehicle, but this fact had been disguised and not disclosed to you by the Seller.

Would you....

A) Shrug your shoulders and think ......paid way too much $$$ for a vehicle with considerably more miles than the Seller disclosed and the extra $$$$ required for repairs are really .......no big deal?

B) Feel cheated and entitled to some form of compensation $$$ for deceptive and or misleading conduct on the part of the Seller ......as you would not have purchased the vehicle at this price $$$ .....had you known it's history and use as an RV tow vehicle.

If you choose (A) then you probably do not feel that using a car as an RV tow vehicle has any impact on its resale value. On the other hand, if you choose (B) then you probably accept that using a car as an RV tow vehicle will add to it's depreciation.

IamJerryP · 02-23-2014, 12:24 AM

You guys are funny.
There is nothing to disclose.
The dealers rarely know anything about the cars they sell.
Most trade-ins go to auction, and that auction could be hundreds of miles away. from the dealership, and the dealer knows nothing about them.
Those used cars on semi tractor trailer running up and down the interstates, are auction cars coming up from the Florida dealer auctions, or going down to be auctioned.
A used car may change dealer hands several times before reaching a final retail buyer.
It may go to auction 4-5 times, and travel several hundred miles, over several months, to the auction, only to end up down the street from the dealer it just left a week earlier.
The dealer knows nothing, and does not care about them when traded in on their own lot, or within a multi lot group that owns several dealership. One guy takes it in on trade, and some other salesman sells it. Maybe they decided to keep it, and put it on their lot, after a little it of work, if it fits what they need at the moment.
The little lots get almost all their cars at auction, or through a local wholesaler.
All that stuff you disclose to a dealer when trading in a car.... in one ear, and out the other.
Occasionally a salesman may have a person looking for certain car, but that is rare.