How to buy a used toy hauler

twodownzero wrote:
Maybe I actually will try this. I guess I find it so dishonest when someone lists a trailer that is worth $5500-6500 for $9000 that I don't think they'll deal at all.

What's dishonest about that? Welcome to Capitalism 101.

4x4ord wrote:
Years ago when I bought my first 5th wheel I saw a very nice Custom Coach advertised. It was a private sale. The guy had it listed for $18,000 and I believe he honestly thought it would sell for that. I showed him an ad for another trailer that I was interested in and offered him 13500. He told me that he had already purchased a new trailer and his dealership was willing to allow him more than my offer. Anyway he traded it and a week later I saw his old trailer on a used trailer lot with an asking price of 13500.

Isn't that wild? He was so married to the unit that he took $8k for it plus some sales tax savings instead of the $13.5k you offered!

I would drive 500+ miles to buy the right unit with a wad of 20s right now, and it's winter everywhere. It's not like I'm looking for something new or too good to be true.

Years ago when I bought my first 5th wheel I saw a very nice Custom Coach advertised. It was a private sale. The guy had it listed for $18,000 and I believe he honestly thought it would sell for that. I showed him an ad for another trailer that I was interested in and offered him 13500. He told me that he had already purchased a new trailer and his dealership was willing to allow him more than my offer. Anyway he traded it and a week later I saw his old trailer on a used trailer lot with an asking price of 13500.

figuring out what trailers are really worth

Or check out ebay


You can also do similar on Craig's list. https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/search/rva?query=5th+wheel+toy+hauler

4x4ord wrote:
Obviously I don't know a lot about your specific situation but I'm thinking if you need to involve a bank in a 6 - $8000 toy purchase you are "paying too much for a well used trailer." I think in many cases used trailers on the dealer lots were almost donated to the dealer when the previous owners traded their old trailer in for a new one. I would have no problem offering 40% off the asking price on a 15 year old trailer. If you get laughed at leave your name and number and try again at the next dealer.

Maybe I actually will try this. I guess I find it so dishonest when someone lists a trailer that is worth $5500-6500 for $9000 that I don't think they'll deal at all. The reason I started this thread is that I really wondered if this is common or not.

I do not need to involve a bank at all, I just have a hard time figuring out what trailers are really worth. There are dozens or hundreds of brand names (although there might be 4-5 companies that make the bulk of them) and no real way to tell what they sell for. The guy who bought my camper from me said he ordered his toy hauler (new) from some place in Michigan and they delivered it to his door over 1,500 miles away because he couldn't find that great of a deal locally. I sold my camper for a fair price and I'm just looking to buy another one for a fair price. I had always thought "high retail" was only for the most pristine of units, but then I see units that are not in terrible shape but definitely need work with asking prices at double or more of their NADA value. Personally I'd rather have one that needs some work and save some money if I had the choice; wheel bearings, grease, brakes, etc., are cheap.

I get the vibe that many dealers are using their own money to loan people more than market value for their units so that they can sell them for inflated prices. In the year 2018, customers have such easy access to information, I find it hard to believe that can be a sustainable business model. Many of them are trying to push their customers to finance. I don't need financing and would be happy to pay cash right now if I could find the right unit. My budget is flexible if I find a nicer or newer unit than I'm looking for, but right now, I'm hoping to find a 2000-2005 or so unit and I'll upgrade to a nicer one in 5-10 years when I have more money.

Obviously I don't know a lot about your specific situation but I'm thinking if you need to involve a bank in a 6 - $8000 toy purchase you are "paying too much for a well used trailer." I think in many cases used trailers on the dealer lots were almost donated to the dealer when the previous owners traded their old trailer in for a new one. I would have no problem offering 40% off the asking price on a 15 year old trailer. If you get laughed at leave your name and number and try again at the next dealer.

azdryheat wrote:
It's like buying anything else - find the TH you like and make a reasonable offer. Be prepared to negotiate. When you and the seller are satisfied then you have your TH.

That sounds like a great plan, but I find it a bit off-putting when a dealer's website lists a unit that, for example, high retail is $11,900, and they have it listed for $16,000. What that means is that the most I could pay, even if the unit is pristine for its age, is 75% of the asking price. I find it hard to believe that any dealer would create that much "wiggle room" on the price.

I hear people saying the word "markup" but I guess I don't quite understand what that means in this context. They aren't paying retail or anywhere near retail for any used unit on the lot. If retail is $10-12k, they are paying $6-7k max and then pricing it at $16k when NADA retail is $10-12k. I think showing up with $10-11k for a unit like that is a pretty hefty profit in any business, but from what I've seen, the dealers don't seem to think so. Unless people are just not doing their homework?

Most dealers don't have anything on the lot under $15-20k unless it's a piece of junk they're trying to get rid of "as is." A dealer by me in New Mexico has a unit for sale for $19k that has a book value of about $12k. It's bigger than I'm interested in anyway, but how do you walk in and tell someone they're 40% over book? When I asked the salesman if the price was negotiable, he told me they were "blowing it out" at 40% over NADA high retail. It was and remains a fair condition unit and their asking price is about double what I would be willing to pay. It's still there a month later so I imagine others thought the same thing.

Everything I read on the internet says to do your homework, check NADA or similar, etc. And when I was selling my camper, I wasn't even able to get low retail for it as a private party.

Something is crazy about used RV prices that I just can't put my finger on. I've even thought about doubling my budget because the units that are 5-8 years old book at $12-15k, but dealers are asking $25-30k for them!

I find it hard to believe that these businesses survive entirely on people not looking up the market value of used units and simply relying on other people's insane asking prices, but my experience thus far trying to find one for a reasonable price suggests that might be the case. I hope I'm wrong about this.

Out in the west, it can be a 3-400 mile drive just to look at a few units, so showing up and haggling really isn't a practical solution for me at least.

Part of what you are fighting is that a private seller is often upside down on their RV and hoping to get what they owe. If it's a dealer then you are dealing with their markup. As azdryheat said you need to do your research and make your offer, and be ready to walk away.

Spend some time checking RV trader and other sites to get an idea of asking prices. Sites like crankyape.com and pplmotorhomes.com are good ones to use.

Beyond the price you want to make sure you don't get a lemon. If you know how to do an inspection you can find Pre-Delivery inspections all over the internet just search for 'rv pdi' if you don't then you can hire an inspector.

It's like buying anything else - find the TH you like and make a reasonable offer. Be prepared to negotiate. When you and the seller are satisfied then you have your TH.