Forum Discussion

rldunn's avatar
rldunn
Explorer
Oct 18, 2018

Need advice on selling toad

I have just started the process of selling my 8-year old MH. I have a daily driver that I have also been using as a toad - I completely love this vehicle, but I'm wondering if I should sell it now also to take advantage of all the mods that I have done to it to make it towable (kit to use OEM lights, supplemental and emergency brakes, and tow brackets permanently attached to an aluminum front bumper).

I don't mind having any of these mods, but they would all now be pointless to me. To a buyer with a MH, it would give them a toad that would be plug & play with no further work required by them to their unit.

Basically, this is where I am at this point. I love this vehicle and would be happy driving it for several more years. But, I am wondering if these mods would be considered desirable to others, making more sense to sell it now at a premium over the blue book price and then roll that money into buying a replacement daily driver.

My questions are:

1) What are others experiences with selling a toad with mods like this?

2) In your opinion, could I get more than the blue book prices for this because of the mods? Or would I possibly get less than the blue book price because the population desiring toads is small and the population not requiring toads would view rolling miles and/or mods as a negative?

3) If the consensus is that I could get above the blue book price, any suggestions for the best method for selling something like this? I traded-in my last toad on this vehicle, so I've never gone through the process of selling a toad before.

(Apologies to anyone reading this who also read my earlier post - my earlier post was deleted, and speculation is that was because it contained details that made someone think it was a sales ad. I only saw the first few responses to the other post, so I would appreciate anyone taking the time to respond here again!)

20 Replies

  • Just sold my Malibu Maxx that was set to tow and it only brought more due to low mileage and a guy wanted it for his son who is just getting a first car. There are not alot that two 4 down and need something near us so go for the best price you can and sell the tow equipment on the Marketplace or Craigslist.
  • Jeez, why didn't you tell me before I bought my 2018 JK to be towed.

    Your conversion is very valuable and will increase the value to the right person. JK's are the most popular toad.
  • Big Katuna wrote:
    The toad being set up to tow is a BIG negative to anyone not looking for a toad.

    For an RVer, I doubt you can get a premium and it probably narrows your buyers pool.
    I for one, don’t trust anybody’s install, plus is it a Roadmaster vs Demco, etc.

    I take everything off and try to sell it and trade it in.

    Dealers do NOT want to see baseplates, brakes, etc.

    It's a ReadyBrake, so not much to screw up except where it connects to the brake pedal, and that part's accessible. Won't be appealing to anyone with a diesel pusher who wants an airbrake system, obviously, so that narrows the pool even further.

    I'm with you - I tend to not trust anyone's install either. However, I've heard plenty of people say that they think the MH life would be interesting/fun/exciting, but they wouldn't know how to go about getting everything set up. That's the group I would need to reach, though maybe the number of actual people in that group (vs those that say it and don't really mean it) is much smaller than I think.

    One of the early responses to my other post that I actually saw suggested that I pull the mods out and sell them separately. So maybe I do that, but part of me feels like that would be such a shame. It was a PITA to drill a hole through the metal bumper to install the brake and light connections. And to fishhook the lighting kit through the whole length of the frame. Among other things. It just seems like there must be people out there who would appreciate not having to deal with that themselves (or hire someone to do it).
  • The toad being set up to tow is a BIG negative to anyone not looking for a toad.

    For an RVer, I doubt you can get a premium and it probably narrows your buyers pool.
    I for one, don’t trust anybody’s install, plus is it a Roadmaster vs Demco, etc.

    I take everything off and try to sell it and trade it in.

    Dealers do NOT want to see baseplates, brakes, etc.
  • wanderingaimlessly wrote:
    The general consensus that I have read is that;
    If you can find someone through a user group that is specifically looking for a toad, AND has already installed the matching equipment in their MH, you may get some premium for your unit.

    If you are selling the MH, you may get a reasonable amount added to the MH price since the Towed is already set up for that MH

    If you have to sell on local market to a non MH buyer, the add ons to use as a towed will likely be seen as a negative to the vehicles value since it likely has thousands of miles on the chassis and wheels that are not showing on the odometer.

    The details of the equipment are such that it wouldn't require anything particular on the MH - just a standard receiver and light-plug (the round one - 6-pin I believe), so it would really be independent of any specific MH setup.

    What are you thinking of when you say "user group"? Some kind of local group who own MHs and travel together?
  • Seems like the only subject of your posts is selling something. Boring.
  • agwill wrote:
    Eight years old, just drive it as long as it runs well. It really only holds value to you.

    Sorry, the MH is 8 years old. This is my 2nd toad, so it's 3.5 years old, 77K miles.
  • The general consensus that I have read is that;
    If you can find someone through a user group that is specifically looking for a toad, AND has already installed the matching equipment in their MH, you may get some premium for your unit.

    If you are selling the MH, you may get a reasonable amount added to the MH price since the Towed is already set up for that MH

    If you have to sell on local market to a non MH buyer, the add ons to use as a towed will likely be seen as a negative to the vehicles value since it likely has thousands of miles on the chassis and wheels that are not showing on the odometer.
  • Eight years old, just drive it as long as it runs well. It really only holds value to you.