Depreciation from what value? MSRP? Advertised price? Sale price?

[Alikair]

Originally Posted by RELHUB

Your question is impossible to answer.
Their is no one formula or rule of thumb that will work for all Makes and Models
That is why very few responded to this question back in 2015.
You will never be happy with any of the answers people supply you with

Actually the question has been answered.
According to that website I found and with help from kamphiker.

The depreciation as soon as it leaves the showroom is based on the price it sold for. Here is an example.
Motor home MSRP = 100K
Sale price 30% off = 70k
Used price 1st year 30% less = 49k
( I think its 20% out the door but I am using kamphiker info)

Apparently, there is a website you can punch in your MH info like a kelly bluebook that will show what your MH MSRP was and what the average "sale" discount price was at the time.

I dont really agree with this info because I am seeing used MH listing for more then what you can buy new when you get it at 30% off.
Either way, its good enough for me when its time to buy my MH.

Thank you all for all the input on this subject. I know it was very subjective and many factors had to be overlooked to have a conclusion.

[nightmission]

Originally Posted by Alikair

I dont really agree with this info because I am seeing used MH listing for more then what you can buy new when you get it at 30% off.

It would be helpful if recent buyers could weigh in on this. It would appear that sellers, both dealer and private sellers, are asking upwards of 30% or more from their expected sell price. The rational I assume is that since Manufactures MSRP is reported by new purchasers to be about 25 to 30% above selling price, they are dealing with a customer who assumes to get a "discount" and are inflating their expected sell price to reflect that.

[Prof_T]

The market determines the selling price. Depreciation values are at best estimates of inflated MSRP prices manufacturers list in order to give dealers wiggle room in negotiating profit. If you want a used unit look at as many as you can in the market place and then determine the price it will sell for. That is the true depreciation percentage of the unit. We purchased an 06 Wanderlodge at 15% of it's sales price in 06. Those units were not discounted off list. The issue with buying an older unit is no financing is available so the buyer is in somewhat of a better negotiating advantage.

[nightmission]

Originally Posted by Prof_T

We purchased an 06 Wanderlodge at 15% of it's sales price in 06. Those units were not discounted off list.

And this is an example of why it's hard to glean good information regarding purchasing a new or used RV. The poster fails to provide enough information to understand what discount he received and the context of it. "Its Sales price", was there a discount off of MSRP that he received a further discount or was it 15% off MSRP? Hard to tell, based of the information provided. Since MSRP is the only quantifiable number for any sale, new or used, it's incumbent that posters give information relative to the original MSRP, along with the age and model. Other data regarding extras would be helpful but would continue to muddy the waters.

Originally Posted by Prof_T

The issue with buying an older unit is no financing is available so the buyer is in somewhat of a better negotiating advantage

Certainly a excellent piece of advice and worth noting when purchasing used. Could be helpful to remind a seller who has an inflated idea of what their coach is worth.

[Unclepaul]

Right now used units are often selling for more than ordering a new one that may take up to a year to take delivery. Pricing under Covid much different than years ago.

[NeverGrowUp]

MY experience with Coachmen has been great, fast, accurate, and helpful responses.

[Kenvb]

my old school buddy sold there nice paid for home in the country 5 yrs ago for $650,000 and bought a used NewMar 45 ft tandem Motorhome.. 2 fireplaces. 3 TVs. 4 AC units. for $350,000 , roof started leaking around one slide out .Insurance fixed it.. they used it 3 yrs no issues.he thought. after coming out of its last storage.whole back of motorhome is soggy and moldy. Inurance wont fix again,said dealer warrenty should . he took to another New Mar dealer who charged him $110,000 to rebuild whole thing; its not on consignment for $150,000 .

[Ryqster]

Possibly...only possibly...there are many factors that could be overlooked here. Something is worth to the owner only what others are willing to spend. Certain makes, models, popularity etc. can vary by a decent margin what someone will pay for the perfect coach. Length (today shorter can be more popular in some circles (like my recent change). Fuel type, for another. The initial depreciation hit may be fairly consistent but from there it can be anyone's guess. The best example is the Sprinter based units. A person buys one of these because they get great fuel mileage, great maneuverability so on and so forth. Then they find it really has many limitations (towing capacity, storage etc.). I was actually looking at these a couple of years ago. Found them deeply discounted with almost no miles in great condition. But looking at short class a diesel pushers a year or two old, high prices and big demand. Just my 0.02.

[Pnakhoul]

A friend of mine owns an RV dealership locally and carries five different brands. He said to get an approximate cost of an RV that you can take the MSRP and divided by 150%. That number should get you the ballpark cost to the dealer. Depending on the brand, model, options etc. etc. will be dependent on whether a dealer will actually sell for close to cost. For example I purchased a 2021 discovery LXE bunk model, $408,000 MSRP. It has every option that is available from Fleetwood as well as the heritage edition which gives you The all white interior as far as the floors, leather, cabinets etc. etc. which is what is considered to be “in“ right now.

At the time that I was looking, I only found two in the nation that were specked out like this and we’re not already presold. I talked To one dealer in Tampa, Florida who told me no thank you we will not go below 10% on this unit. He did sell it that same week. Then I called Dixie RV in Calera Alabama ( Literally in the middle of nowhere) and after a week of negotiations and catching them on the last day of the month, they ended up selling it to me for $267,000 which is the equation I quoted above. That being said, if I went to trade this in to any new RV dealer, they will probably hit me at $30,000 back what I bought it for as they know what they could sell a brand new one for and would not want to compete with their new units.In my opinion, if I were to post my rig on rvtrader.com today, I could break out of it by selling it to the public or maybe even make some money as many dealers would not discount this unit so heavily. Another example would be a 2020 discovery LXE 40M. Those are last year‘s model and are still sitting brand new at many dealers across the country. It’s a very unpopular floorplan for too much money. MHS RV had four of them listed for 40% off for over two months before they actually sold. I bet the resell value of that unpopular coach is probably pretty nasty.

If there’s an rv out there advertised for 30-40% off then there’s 100% a problem with it as the good ones fly off the shelf and sometimes sell before even landing at an rv dealer.

As far as depreciation, they app take nasty hits. There isn’t one out there that’s not going to lose the very second you get it But... there are plenty to be known to be the easiest to resell like the discovery, the rambler etc etc. so with that being said my humble opinion is.. if you have the money and don’t care about losses then buy whatever you want. If you would like to lose much less money then buy one that works for you but is also popular so when it comes time to trade in or sell you are not buried deep underground.

[trux]

Don't waste your time anymore. Go directly to https://rv.org/
They can provide you with all the info on your RV and all that's out there. Accurate and unbiased non-profit consumer group that isn't tied to RV makers or industry. They will have a 20 year price table for your RV and more. I bought a membership and database for my DP motorhome and saved about $240K. It was worth the $150. You won't be disappointed!

[R.Wold]

I would never agree to more than 70% of msrp, but at this point in my RV education, I also dont think I would buy new. I just don’t want the head aches and delays of correcting factory defects, wonderful warrantees notwithstanding. So I’d rather pay 50% of MSRP on a 3-4 year old coach that has all the bugs worked out. Which is what I just did. And I’m very happy with my near perfect new old coach

[Pnakhoul]

Originally Posted by trux

Don't waste your time anymore. Go directly to https://rv.org/
They can provide you with all the info on your RV and all that's out there. Accurate and unbiased non-profit consumer group that isn't tied to RV makers or industry. They will have a 20 year price table for your RV and more. I bought a membership and database for my DP motorhome and saved about $240K. It was worth the $150. You won't be disappointed!

Will they back up their numbers with a check

[Scooter363y]

I have found that if I want to know what a motor home,car,motorcycle is worth and more important what I can get a loan for I call my credit union. These folks are usually right on the money (no pun intended) on the value of things.

If the price is too out of line these folks will let you know. Or if I want to sell something I can get a idea of what to ask here.

I bought my first two motor homes from a dealership. And my third (current) from a private seller. It was a little bit more difficult finance wise with the private seller the price difference was worth it. And I got a unit that was well cared for.

In general rvs are worth what others are willing to pay for them!

RV safe
Scooter

[Prof_T]

Originally Posted by Unclepaul

Right now used units are often selling for more than ordering a new one that may take up to a year to take delivery. Pricing under Covid much different than years ago.

Had an acquaintance that found this out recently. He and his wife decided on a Tiffin and ended up ordering the unit they wanted. The ones on the lot were not any lower priced than what he could order a new one for. Makes sense if you think about it. A dealer has a unit with a floor plan and that unit needs to move. You get your price and the ability to have your unit now. Order a new one exactly like you want, you still get the same out the door price, and the buyer gets exactly what they want from the factory. He and his wife was willing to wait. The new one was one model year later also. This was earlier in the year. I'm not sure his wait time but I'm thinking it was in the 3 to 6 months range.