Why are class B's & conversion vans so expensive?

Well, anyway, folks. My observation referred to Canada as buying a Canadian-certified for use model is advisable. I was also thinking of a diesel like the Plateau TS or GWV Legend. Never see many here for sale, certainly not at the RV dealers. Quite a few on Ford chassis though. With a population of 35 million here instead of your 300 million there you can see why there are so many available in the US for sale if as noted by the ever reliable/helpful My Roadtrek, there are so many for sale Stateside. A class B with 100K miles, if diesel, is not a big deal. I bought mine with 50K miles and I intend to put on another 50K unless I convince myself to buy a new or newer model. Prices are higher usually in Canada by the way for new or used B class rigs. Interesting really as most of the most popular B brands are made in Canada!!

I can speak only for pleasure-way Lexor and Excel models. I wanted a late model Lexor and found they were few and far between and prices on 2009 and 2010 models that I could find were very near to that of a new one. I decided then to look at Excels, same thing, very few low mileage 2009 through 2011 units available, and again very expensive. I finally found a 2012 that was only five months old with 3,200 miles on it 15 miles from home for sale by owner who just wanted to get rid of it and I got it for less than the 2010 models were listed for. Also, I did make 3 prior offers on them and all three would not budge on their prices and we're soon sold. One last comment, there were a lot of late model diesel models available.

Nick

First I don't live in Laramie, I live on the Pacific Coast. The majority of Roadtreks for sale at Roadtrek International are over five years old. All I was saying compared to Class C's the amount of Class B's for sale is far smaller. I recently purchased my 2007 Roadtrek Adventurous with 10k miles. It was on the consignment lot for two days and the dealer had five back up offers behind us. On the other hand he had three other Class B's in stock all over 10 years old all over 100k miles on their clocks. One a Chinook, one a PW and the third a RT all three are still there. Maybe the people selling them live in an area that B's are hard to sell. A few years ago when I lived in California I had 2004 RT 170 that I was selling. it had 18k miles on it. I had it listed on RV Trader for one week and it sold to the first person that called. They drove down from Montana to pick it up. I had at least 10 callers after I made the deal to sell it. BTW I sold it for $3,500 less then I paid for it.

Maybe I should ask what's your point? I was responding to Fastpaddler comment about Class B's being hard to find. Obviously there not that rare, as there are thousands of them for sale. Also, I never said anything about low mileage, but search the web and you will find lots of them with low mileage.
I don't think you can compare the B market in Laramie with the larger markets across the US.

My Roadtrek wrote:
Weeding out the so called B+ it looks like there are hundreds of used Class B's on RV Trader alone.
There are over 50 Roadtreks on Roadtrek International

There are almost 7,000 Class C's listed for sale at RV Trader. What's your point?

My Roadtrek wrote:
On one sales site, someone said there there were something like 450 Roadtreks for sale. As new sales increase, more used Class B's will become available, and prices will have to drop, do to more supply, less demand. I think the market is already reacting to this, owners are finding that they are having to lower their price to make a relative quick sale. I think competition among sellers is maybe the highest it's ever been for Class B's. There are some great deals out there, and will be more in the next few years.
What a "B" sells for, not what it's listed, or appraised at, is all the really matters. Times are a changin. jmo.
Winter is the worst time to sell, and the best time to buy, so if your looking for a "B" nows the time.

I will disagree with you. Used Class B's tend to have more miles on them than a Class C of the same year. There can be a big difference in price due to the miles on the van. There is no large supply of used low mileage Class B's where I live. Several consignment dealers in my area cannot keep low mileage units in stock. As baby boomers retire and are looking for an easy to drive RV the Class B has become more popular than ever.

Weeding out the so called B+ it looks like there are hundreds of used Class B's on RV Trader alone.
There are over 50 Roadtreks on Roadtrek International

I don't foresee a glut of B rvs here on the West Coast. I had a tough time finding my PW Plateau TS last year. There are few B vans anywhere as I peruse the various venues including the most popular RV dealers. If it is a B, it doesnt last long unless it is in rough shape and/or clearly overpriced.
AL

the convenience of easier parking, ability to store at your home in many cases, excellent workmanship, good fuel mileage, ease of driving in traffic or on narrow roads, were important to us. We had excellent results with our PW Excel, the bathroom was small but all other factors made up for that. We now have a Class C, but miss the good fuel mileage of our PW. The value of our PW also held up, had it for six years and 25K miles; sold it for about $8K less than we paid for it. In short Class B's are worth more per square foot!

On one sales site, someone said there there were something like 450 Roadtreks for sale. As new sales increase, more used Class B's will become available, and prices will have to drop, do to more supply, less demand. I think the market is already reacting to this, owners are finding that they are having to lower their price to make a relative quick sale. I think competition among sellers is maybe the highest it's ever been for Class B's. There are some great deals out there, and will be more in the next few years.
What a "B" sells for, not what it's listed, or appraised at, is all the really matters. Times are a changin. jmo.
Winter is the worst time to sell, and the best time to buy, so if your looking for a "B" nows the time.