Community Forums

MSD81 · 11-22-2015, 07:00 AM

Last year when we bought our 2015 Vibe TT we thought we were doing the right thing. But after 5 trips we are thinking of the future.
We are about 5 years from retirement and are now thinking we should buy 5th wheel now while we are both still working. My wife will retire first and I will continue to work out of our FW when we get the notion to go for a month at a time.

How much can we expect to lose on the TT when we trade?

Is there a better time of year to trade?

Thanks

jacwjames · 11-22-2015, 07:16 AM

To some extent it depends on how good of deal you got when you first purchased your TT.

I would do some checking on different sites to see what the value of your TT is, try Ebay & RV Trader, this will give you a realistic value. You could also go to a couple dealers and inquire what the value is, you may have to actually pick out a 5th Wheel and go through a negotiation to find out.

If you are considering trading you TT in it might be better to do it sooner then later as it looses value the longer you wait. IMHO the winter months are the slowest for RV buying/selling so dealers may give you a better trade to get a sale.

timetogo · 11-22-2015, 07:58 AM

If you've changed your mind in 5 trips, where will you be in 5 years?

stuhly · 11-22-2015, 08:38 AM

Sell it outright yourself. Put a fair price on it. Trade it in you better hang on. You will get the shaft.

UTTransplant · 11-22-2015, 08:45 AM

A fifth wheel will almost surely require a new truck too. Are you sure? I also think that 5 trips isn't quite enough to really figure out your likes and dislikes. Sometimes it takes a longer trips to find that you miss something bad enough to change (or not).

Dogpatch · 11-22-2015, 08:53 AM

I'd sell it yourself. Traditionally, You'll still make several thousand over dealer offer on a trade in.

Cumminsfan · 11-22-2015, 10:01 AM

I'd hang on to the Vibe until right before you retire, then get a 5th wheel if that's what you still want. I would be willing to bet that in another year or two you change your mind. What if the 5er you get still doesn't workout? Maybe the floorplan still doesn't quite work right. Spending more time in the Vibe and hitting some bigger RV shows might help you make a better choice.
As far as trading in, well take a large jar of Vaseline with you. It won't hurt as bad when they tell you how much they'll give you for your trade.
Only plus side to trading is if you got a really smokin deal when you purchased the Vibe. If you somehow managed to get more than 30% off MSRP you may be okay. But if you paid close to MSRP then it's gonna hurt.

easdsa · 11-22-2015, 03:57 PM

Mike and Susan, you are learning why so many people start out buying a used coach. The old saying about doing your research and then buying your third coach first makes sense.

I see your choices as:
1. keep it
2. trade it now
3. trade it later
4. sell it yourself
5. consignment sale.

You take the biggest depreciation hit the first year. If the trailer suits you well enough now, but you know it won't in a few years, you might want to consider keeping it until you have a better idea of what you want for a full-time coach. On the other hand, if you really don't care for it all that much now, you may as well get as much as you can for it by selling now.

If you trade it it on something else, particularly at the same dealership where you bought it, it may look like you aren't taking a huge bath, and maybe you aren't. The dealer can then advertise that they sold it new, and the customer liked them so much they traded with them again.

We bought our mpg new, knowing that we wouldn't keep it all that long, but we got it as a price we liked. When we were ready to sell it we put it up on consignment at the dealership. They not only priced it higher than what I expected, they sold it for the asking price. My net proceeds was still more than what I would have asked for it, and they did all the work.

Do you really know what you want for a full-time RV? Really? My suggestion would be that you talk to the dealership about consigning it now but with the agreement that if you decide to trade it in on something he has you won't owe anything for the time it was on consignment. If you decide to trade it in elsewhere you will pay the regular cost for the consignment. Use the time this buys you to figure out exactly what you want and need.

Check rvtrader.com and ppl to get an idea of what your rig is selling for now.

Superslif · 11-22-2015, 04:21 PM

I would have to agree to the point of keeping it the next 4-5 years till you retire or get very near. It will give you a chance to research what your needs will be in a new 5er, and a bigger truck. Unless you have deep pockets, trading a new RV is not ideal.

We're (myself) is about 6 months from retirement. Have 2013 hybrid tt now (used 4 full seasons) used about 200+ nights. I'm 100% OK still using it once we retire. But with that said, we do plan more 2-4 week trips, including next summer to Alaska.

We have kicked a few tires looking for a more 4 season RV trailer in the 25' - 30'? range. Our 26' tt now does afford easier access to the state and federal campgrounds we prefer. Our RV before this one was a 2005 hybrid with 380 nights over 7 seasons.

Things to consider: counter space, total length, cabinet storage, fresh water capacity, gray & black tank capacity, fit & finish, floorplan, 3 or 4 season capable and price point.

Dogpatch · 11-22-2015, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSD81

Last year when we bought our 2015 Vibe TT we thought we were doing the right thing. But after 5 trips we are thinking of the future.
We are about 5 years from retirement and are now thinking we should buy 5th wheel now while we are both still working. My wife will retire first and I will continue to work out of our FW when we get the notion to go for a month at a time.

How much can we expect to lose on the TT when we trade?

Is there a better time of year to trade?

Thanks

What is the exact model and length of your 2015 Vibe?

MSD81 · 11-22-2015, 05:48 PM

Dogpatch, it's a 268RKS, it think it is ~32' nose to tail

We are thinking about keeping it another year or so, it is fine for our current use.

But, we looked a really nice model that will work for us today...decisions, decisions

Dogpatch · 11-22-2015, 07:14 PM

There are two currently for sale on RVT. One for $22,500 and one for $22,995. One of them is in Flint, TX.

Not sure where you need to be to break away from your unit, but that's what's out there on a quick perusal.

Remember, you don't have to buy new. We bought a 5 year old model that was in great condition and used little. Going down a few years allowed us to by a nicer used fifth wheel.

MSD81 · 11-22-2015, 07:26 PM

Thanks, Dogpatch
We are going to look Friday at a few more, and will keep a well taken care of used in mind.

04266832 · 11-22-2015, 07:59 PM

I recently made a similar move. Bought a new 2016 TT and we decided to move to a fifth wheel last month.

What o found, going through the same thing, is that regardless of what a dealer will offer you, it will be based on the NADA wholesale with no options. From there, it's just playing games with the MSRP of the new one and what they're willing to work.

You can sign up for a free month of the NADA online dealer guide. That will give you your wholesale price. Take what you owe, minus the wholesale, and add it to your new purchase.

For example, on my trade, I owed $34k. Wholesale was 22k. My new fiver was 65k so I ended up with a price around $77k before tax and all that fun stuff.

There's another good resource I found on the forums (I can't find the site so hopefully someone has it bookmarked) that allows you to build an RV and get an estimate of dealer cost. I found the options lists to be very detailed and the dealer invoice price near exact for my unit.

The wholesale of your trade and dealer invoice of your new unit will help quite a bit trying to figure out a deal.