Trade-ins... when did things change?

They are probably right on the lending to anything over 10 years. Even trying to get a travel trailer that's 4 or 5 years old, it's difficult to get a loan on it.

And yes, the dealers will give you a low ball offer, on anything you are selling or trading. This is pretty much normal. Unfortunately, you are attempting to sell to a dealer who wants to resale for a profit. They don't want to get stuck with something older that no one is willing to pay cash up front for.

If you doubt the dealership, go to your local bank or credit union and ask them if they would re-finance your current coach. I bet they laugh you out of the building.

pacificnw wrote:
In my estimation they would serve their potential clients better if they simply said... "we don't want your trade in."

Maybe the low offers are a subtle way of telling you they don't want your trade in?
You are normally better off selling privately than you are trading.

Last time I looked (couple years ago) our bank did not offer RV loans for units over 8 yrs old. Another also had an 8 yr limit. Seemed to be the norm.

Last time I checked nada value for my 5er it seemed rather high. At 7 yrs of age the nada value was about 75% what I paid for it. Do a google search for your particular model and see what advertised units are listed at. Then assume the actual sell price will be below that. And the trade in much less than that.

pacificnw wrote:
So I am in the market for a new MH and I have a 10 year old MH that I thought might be of some interest to dealers selling new MHs. Not so. When did this change? Did I miss something?

They offered you $18K? It looks like your RV is of some interest to the dealers, just not as much as you think it should be. I think NADA also shows a price for trade-in value - it's a lot lower than retail.

Dealers typically figure trade-in values using the low retail without any of the options added but with deductions for age, mileage and condition of the unit. If you used an on-line RV value calculator to figure what your RV is worth and added in the options and such, your number will be quite a bit higher. Also, NADA tends to show lower prices than Kelly Blue Book. Most people doing a private sale will try and use the Kelly prices with options included.

Lending agencies typically won't put up money on RVs older than 5 years. Dealers usually have deals with banks that allow them to get around those rules if they're selling the unit and providing the financing though. So sometimes it's easier to get rid of a much older unit by doing the trade-in and taking the hit on the value.

You can do better in a private sale or even a consignment sale, but both come with a few more complications. In a private sale you or your buyer may be faced with the financing issues and you have the problem of "is the check good, etc" and "when, where or how do I sign over the title?" With a consignment sale those problems are taken care of for you, but you have to figure the commission on the sale which reduces what you'll get in the end. However, you usually come out better money wise on the consignment sale over the trade-in. And with both private and consignment sales there's the time lag of finding the right buyer before you can get totally out of the RV, whereas with a trade it's all taken care of when you sign over the title.

A dealer will normally offer a trade in value of close to the wholesale value. Dealers and other businesses buy at wholesale and sell at retail. NADA numbers are often higher than the actual value so the $18,000 trade in offer may be a reasonable number.

Geography has a lot to do with it as well.

DallasSteve wrote:

pacificnw wrote:
So I am in the market for a new MH and I have a 10 year old MH that I thought might be of some interest to dealers selling new MHs. Not so. When did this change? Did I miss something?

They offered you $18K? It looks like your RV is of some interest to the dealers, just not as much as you think it should be. I think NADA also shows a price for trade-in value - it's a lot lower than retail.

X2

Plus it would be harder for a dealer to unload it to a potential buyer who could not get a loan for a 10 year old MH.

When I hear the OP's type complaint, the SIMPLE answer is, SELL IT YOURSELF! If it is worth 30K, then selling it for 25k would be EASY. You have just made 7k. I think the OP will find out that NADA is NOT the best price range for used RV's. One of the problems with Kelley/NADA and such is, they list a price then you go in and add the standard/optiona equipment. The problem with this is, the price already takes into account the standard equipment and some options for the used market. People add in all their equipment and they come up with a unrealistic price and expect the dealer's to recognize that price. Doug

PS, I have been in the RV and Auto retail industry for almost 40 years. I have NEVER traded a Car in. YOU NEVER BEAT THE DEALER WHEN TRADING IN AND BUYING NEW(autos or RV's). NEVER HAPPENS, EVEN THO PROPLE THINK THEY DO ALL THE TIME. I sell my Car for almost used retail. Takes time but I am not going to lose thousands of dollars just to make getting a new vehicle easier. BTW, I buy 1 to 2 year old vehicles. Only once in 20 years have I purchased a Auto NEW and I got such a good deal, I did not care about depreciation.

dougrainer wrote:
When I hear the OP's type complaint, the SIMPLE answer is, SELL IT YOURSELF! If it is worth 30K, then selling it for 25k would be EASY. You have just made 7k. I think the OP will find out that NADA is NOT the best price range for used RV's. One of the problems with Kelley/NADA and such is, they list a price then you go in and add the standard/optiona equipment. The problem with this is, the price already takes into account the standard equipment and some options for the used market. People add in all their equipment and they come up with a unrealistic price and expect the dealer's to recognize that price. Doug

PS, I have been in the RV and Auto retail industry for almost 40 years. I have NEVER traded a Car in. YOU NEVER BEAT THE DEALER WHEN TRADING IN AND BUYING NEW(autos or RV's). NEVER HAPPENS, EVEN THO PROPLE THINK THEY DO ALL THE TIME. I sell my Car for almost used retail. Takes time but I am not going to lose thousands of dollars just to make getting a new vehicle easier. BTW, I buy 1 to 2 year old vehicles. Only once in 20 years have I purchased a Auto NEW and I got such a good deal, I did not care about depreciation.

The above is great advice. Also as you are in the NW, 5 years ago when I was looking to finance my used Class C, both BECU and Inspirious CU's didn't have an age requirement. They did have a mileage requirement, < 100K. Don't know if this still holds true but a phone call would clarify.