Community Forums

Sky_Boss · 05-20-2018, 01:45 PM

We don't have the budget to buy one coach and then sell ours. We must either trade or sell ours first coach then buy its replacement.

So...one thing we have going for us is that the RV Park we are in has a small home on it that was vacated when part time custodians moved out. It is in good shape and the park owner has plans to use it for some college bound kids in about 6 months but until then he is open to renting it on a 30-60 day basis and on short notice. I am going to assume that I'm lucky to have that option. That is really important since he and our German Shepherd Dog are good friends.

The general strategy is to put the coach on the market. I've had an appraisal done on it and think I can get at least $10K more than the $72K trade in offer we got from a dealer. That more than covers any tax advantage we get from trade in. There are certainly some pros and cons of going to a dealership with our coach and leaving in another but for $10K we want to explore selling first.

We also know there will be some additional costs with a sell then buy tactic. Cost vs. savings might look like this:

Costs:

1. Housing during transition.
2. Cost of transporting coach back to "home" to load with stuff in storage or renting small trailer to tow behind our CRV with us to new coach.
3. Sales Tax advantage from trade in.
4. Cost of keeping our coach on its RV Park site until sold.
5. Renting a trailer to tow and carry our stuff if returning back to our current location isn't feasible.

Savings:

1. Cost of fuel to transport our coach to the dealer.
2. Additional cash above trade in.
3. If we get that place in the RV park, no storage needed.
4. Having cash from the sale allows us to also shop units for sale by the owner giving us more options and perhaps better prices than at dealers.

Of course, there are some variations to all this. We think we can properly show the coach while we live in it thus avoiding housing costs & lot rental at the same time. Also, we might find "the coach" far enough away and in such a direction that returning back here is not important.

It is also my thinking that I should be able to make a better deal with a dealer if we can get beyond all the horse trading garbage and straight to the bottom line.

Any thoughts on cost/savings or pros/cons of selling and buying vs trading in?

tropical36 · 05-20-2018, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sky_Boss

We don't have the budget to buy one coach and then sell ours. We must either trade or sell ours first coach then buy its replacement.

So...one thing we have going for us is that the RV Park we are in has a small home on it that was vacated when part time custodians moved out. It is in good shape and the park owner has plans to use it for some college bound kids in about 6 months but until then he is open to renting it on a 30-60 day basis and on short notice. I am going to assume that I'm lucky to have that option. That is really important since he and our German Shepherd Dog are good friends.

The general strategy is to put the coach on the market. I've had an appraisal done on it and think I can get at least $10K more than the $72K trade in offer we got from a dealer. That more than covers any tax advantage we get from trade in. There are certainly some pros and cons of going to a dealership with our coach and leaving in another but for $10K we want to explore selling first.

We also know there will be some additional costs with a sell then buy tactic. Cost vs. savings might look like this:

Costs:

1. Housing during transition.
2. Cost of transporting coach back to "home" to load with stuff in storage or renting small trailer to tow behind our CRV with us to new coach.
3. Sales Tax advantage from trade in.
4. Cost of keeping our coach on its RV Park site until sold.
5. Renting a trailer to tow and carry our stuff if returning back to our current location isn't feasible.

Savings:

1. Cost of fuel to transport our coach to the dealer.
2. Additional cash above trade in.
3. If we get that place in the RV park, no storage needed.
4. Having cash from the sale allows us to also shop units for sale by the owner giving us more options and perhaps better prices than at dealers.

Of course, there are some variations to all this. We think we can properly show the coach while we live in it thus avoiding housing costs & lot rental at the same time. Also, we might find "the coach" far enough away and in such a direction that returning back here is not important.

It is also my thinking that I should be able to make a better deal with a dealer if we can get beyond all the horse trading garbage and straight to the bottom line.

Any thoughts on cost/savings or pros/cons of selling and buying vs trading in?

Every time, we've moved up, we've bought and then sold. Having a home with two driveways, helps with that, as well.
Still, given your situation, I'd probably do the same, as it didn't take long for us to find what we wanted at a good price and especially if one has it narrowed down to a specific model, before hand.

Sky_Boss · 05-20-2018, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tropical36

Every time, we've moved up, we've bought and then sold. Having a home with two driveways, helps with that, as well. ...

If we could buy then sell that would be great. We really need to sell them buy.

WeatherTodd · 05-20-2018, 04:02 PM

I would only suggest selling the unit as unlived in.

My friend was shopping for coaches last year and he went to look at a few full timed coaches and it was always a hassle.

One of them was at a private park and the seller failed to tell the guard gate he was coming.

tropical36 · 05-20-2018, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sky_Boss

If we could buy then sell that would be great. We really need to sell them buy.

I guess, I didn't phrase it right, so given your situation, I'd sell first, but with already having my eye on a couple of buys. In fact, you may able to make an offer on the contingency, that you sell yours first and a friend just sold his house that way.
What I was trying to say was and even if we had of sold first, it didn't take more than a few days for finding another, in two cases.
Then again, we live in the mother lode of RV's and where it's always a buyer's market if you have your check book and pen, in hand.

tuffr2 · 05-20-2018, 04:51 PM

I just downsized from a dually truck and 5th wheel to a smaller new truck. So I went thru part of your situation.

Both the truck and 5th wheel needed stuff.
(Truck needed 2 tires, 5th wheel needed a few things) Total fix cost plus the trade-in sales tax benefit really softened the deal.
Sure I could have gotten more but with a lot of hassle.

You can always get more but at what cost?

Agree, without the sales tax benefit my deal would have been bad...with the sales tax benefit my deal was a lot less bad.

jarata · 05-20-2018, 04:59 PM

for piece of mind i would just take the 10,000 loss and avoid the hassles

grindstone01 · 05-20-2018, 05:03 PM

Can you talk to a bank or dealer you are buying from to work out a temp 6 month balloon loan. The idea would be to give yourself as much flexability as possible and not box yourself into another RV you are really not happy with due to timing.
If you are buying from a private party, approach them with a down payment to hold for 6 months or until your current coach sells (the contingency mentioned above).

Sky_Boss · 05-20-2018, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tropical36

...
Then again, we live in the mother lode of RV's and where it's always a buyer's market if you have your check book and pen, in hand.

Yep...if we were in FL I would not think this out nearly as much. LOL

THANKS!!!

EDIT...HMMMM...maybe we should just motor on down to FL and do this? Got me thinking anyway.

Sky_Boss · 05-20-2018, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuffr2

...
Agree, without the sales tax benefit my deal would have been bad...with the sales tax benefit my deal was a lot less bad.

With SD having only 4% sales tax I don't get much benefit from that aspect of the trade in. I also would accept that unless I can honestly think I have a net gain of over $5k after puttying it all together that I would opt towards the relative convenience of a trade in.

veraken · 05-21-2018, 05:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jarata

for piece of mind i would just take the 10,000 loss and avoid the hassles

I agree. If you find a MH you are interested in, I would negotiate with the dealer and I'm sure you could close the $10,000 gap.

MisterT · 05-21-2018, 07:13 AM

we did this same thing TWICE, trading in at MHSRV in Alverado both times... easy, you park the old coach next to the new one, move you stuff 10 feet, and you're done!

now, I get the 'sale' to a private party as being assumed as the 'best' route, money wise, but the hassle factor is part of the equation, too, and can't be under stressed as very 'stressful'! (especially when the wife is involved!)

We found that while we could take the time to put our coach on the market, wait for potential buyers, live in it while we tried to 'show' it, and hope that the money would really work out for the best, it was the makings of a very long and stressful journey. The dealer's trade amount, and discount off the new coach, were enough to 'sell' us on the trade route.

Crasher · 05-21-2018, 07:20 AM

You haven't considered that you might not be able to sell for $10,000 more than the trade allowance. What if the difference is only $5-6,000. I can appreciate what you are attempting to do, but is it really worth the risk of maybe just breaking even or only a slight gain and having to deal with "potential" buyers wanting to negotiate your price down? The buyer will want his best deal too and he will be comparing your price with dealer pricing. If you have found the coach you want, will it be there after your's sells?

Sky_Boss · 05-21-2018, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grindstone01

Can you talk to a bank or dealer you are buying from to work out a temp 6 month balloon loan. The idea would be to give yourself as much flexability as possible and not box yourself into another RV you are really not happy with due to timing.
If you are buying from a private party, approach them with a down payment to hold for 6 months or until your current coach sells (the contingency mentioned above).

I'm starting to research this and a variation of it. I'm looking into buying our "new" coach with the minimum downpayment required then putting our coach for sale. After that, I would use those precedes to refinance the new coach and perhaps get a slightly better deal because of the improved LTV.

Ain't it all fun!? LOL