Community Forums

wardy · 02-16-2011, 07:07 PM

I was at Lazy Days yesterday and it was packed, so different than two years ago. So sure there may be some (many??) great deals out there but if you find something you like maybe you should be okay with just a "fair deal". Time wait's for no one....

Gary RVRoamer · 02-17-2011, 06:29 AM

One caveat: the online NADA RV book is based on average depreciation and may not always reflect market value , especially on popular models. You might try asking your local library or bank if they have a copy of the wholesale NADA book for Rvs, which has more data and better reflects actual selling prices.

You should also search sites like RVT.COM and RVCLASSIFIED.COM to get a feel for what others are asking for similar models. There will be a wide spread in private sale asking prices, but you can often get an idea of the range.

Dixieray53 · 02-17-2011, 06:39 AM

fansill,

Be sure and keep us all posted if you find that deal and let us know what you get....we all love pics of new rigs.

Tracy

RustyJC · 02-17-2011, 06:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

There will be a wide spread in private sale asking prices, but you can often get an idea of the range.

Bear in mind, however, that all too many individuals walk into an RV dealer as "green as a gourd" - they haven't educated themselves as to the discounts they should be able to get on a new RV and wind up paying far too much (the dealers sometimes call these impulse buyers "door pops") and financing as much of the purchase as their credit rating and the lenders will allow.

Then, when circumstances change and these buyers must sell, they expect to be able to, as a minimum, sell the RV for what they owe on it. Many times, they will be so far under water that their payoff balance bears no resemblance whatsoever to the actual market value of the RV, and they financially can't afford to take less than their payoff balance. So, private "asking prices" may be wildly inflated at the top end of the range.

Rusty

Midniteoyl · 02-17-2011, 09:19 AM

I remember when I first looked at new trailers. One that peaked my interest was $29900 dealer priced ($34900 suggested). We haggled, and the sales rep 'went through the motions' and ended up at a 'best price' of $23500, a pretty big drop. However, when I went home that night, I started looking around, and while I didnt see a better price online, I emailed several dealers in a 200 mile range and asked for their best price without telling them the price I already had. Most came back around the same or a few hundred cheaper. One, however, came back at $19350 with some 'extra cost' dealer options thrown in. A really nice savings.

Moral: It really pays to shop around. In this case, over 33% saved from the dealers listed price.

hondo122 · 02-17-2011, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RustyJC

Bear in mind, however, that all too many individuals walk into an RV dealer as "green as a gourd" - they haven't educated themselves as to the discounts they should be able to get on a new RV and wind up paying far too much (the dealers sometimes call these impulse buyers "door pops") and financing as much of the purchase as their credit rating and the lenders will allow.

Then, when circumstances change and these buyers must sell, they expect to be able to, as a minimum, sell the RV for what they owe on it. Many times, they will be so far under water that their payoff balance bears no resemblance whatsoever to the actual market value of the RV, and they financially can't afford to take less than their payoff balance. So, private "asking prices" may be wildly inflated at the top end of the range.

Rusty

They don't need everyone to be stupid, just one.

Snowman 1 · 02-18-2011, 10:25 PM

I have bought and sold more cars, motorcycles, and RV's than I care to remember. My experience in using so called "book value" publications, whether it be NADA, KBB, Edmunds, etc., is they are generally worthless. And this is especially true for RV's. You'll get nowhere near wholesale when you trade in and pay top retail when you buy a used one.

Ed-Sommers · 02-19-2011, 11:03 AM

As to the original question, I don't think they think we are all stupid, but do think that the majority of us are gullible.

I happen to think that also. Politics and religion have proved that to me over, and over, and over.

Ed

fishinful · 02-19-2011, 11:24 AM

Since you are looking for a used RV, then why go to a dealer?

My local dealer has good service and parts that are in stock that I can get right when I need it.

They do, however, have a few sources for obtaining used vehicles. One is on trade- ins, and the other is to go through various websites or publications. Heck, my RV dealer has the magazines right on his desk, he buys from the same sources that are available to you.

What I'm trying to say is that they quite often use the same means as is available to you.

So... what might be the first order of business is finding financing. Then, armed with a number of what you can afford, go forth into the craigslist, e-bay, Rv trader or whatever and start looking. When you do find something you like, bring it to an RV mechanic you trust and pay him to go through the vehicle for defects.

relaxd1 · 02-19-2011, 11:54 AM

My opinion.....if you are buying preowned buy from a private person. ID some units that meet your needs. Spend some time to meet the former owners and size them up. Look over their digs and see how they care for their possessions. Get the PM and repair history from them and follow up with their shop(s). Go back several times to look the unit over. Take time to review the findings of the visit each time. See if the story changes. Before long your gut will tell you if all is as it seems. Get some help from a qualified shop. We used Cummins Northwest Coach Care. Very knowledgeable company. With it narrowed make your choices and go with final offers. In the end buy an extended coach care policy with a high deductable to help you out if there are big problems. About 1K/year with 1K ded. We purchased our 06 Endeavor with that method and have had no regrets. We did the dealer thing for awhile. They may be necessary for a trade or financing although we used Craiglist to sell ours and found CU's were ready to loan if you were buying right. Interest rate was 5.99%/8yr. All in all we saved about 20% over the dealer route.

We found a lot of folks out there with very well cared for units that wanted out for various reasons.

Good luck!

11595gulf · 02-19-2011, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wardy

I was at Lazy Days yesterday and it was packed, so different than two years ago. So sure there may be some (many??) great deals out there but if you find something you like maybe you should be okay with just a "fair deal". Time wait's for no one....

Your goal should be 25% off MSRP. No need to rush, because gas prices will likely go up sooner than later, which will push prices down. You don't want to follow the masses here, because most will overpay. As many others have advised, ALWAYS, call 4 to 5 dealers and ask for their BEST price on comparably equipped units, find the lowest then ask the others to beat that price.

Guido

SteveLevin · 02-19-2011, 02:42 PM

You are always best suited doing your research first, and then make what you feel is a reasonable offer less 10%.

In the end, it's all just business. No matter how much they splutter or try and play "that's such an insult" that's how they get you to pay more money.

The best thing you can do in a negotiation is not spend a lot of time haggling. The more you are willing to debate, the more a dealer figures he can eventually get some extra money from you. Just tell them "hey, I don't want to waste your time or mine here, I have a couple of other coaches I want to take a look at" and go to leave. You establish that you have money, you have a desire to spend that money, and that if they don't take your money, you will find someone else that will.

In the end, with very few exceptions, dealers can bring in as much inventory as they can sell. Maybe they spend a little extra getting it from farther afield, but that's a pretty trivial amount of money. If they can sell the unit they've got and make money, it's no big deal to get another one to sell.

Steve

Midniteoyl · 02-20-2011, 01:52 AM

Dont forget also that a lot of the units at the dealers are there on consignment and thus there might not be that much room for the dealer to haggle...

ccook129 · 02-20-2011, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowman 1

I have bought and sold more cars, motorcycles, and RV's than I care to remember. My experience in using so called "book value" publications, whether it be NADA, KBB, Edmunds, etc., is they are generally worthless. And this is especially true for RV's. You'll get nowhere near wholesale when you trade in and pay top retail when you buy a used one.

RV sales have skyrocketed,since alot of families have stop flying to go on vacation and are staying near home.The campgrounds are filling up every weekend here in Indiana,its getting harder to get a spot in most grounds.I went to the rv show and they were selling units pretty fast,so there's lots of money out there and the dealers know it.