Is better to have cash or trade in?

Ralph Cramden wrote:

jplante4 wrote:
If you have a trade-in, the price of the new trailer will probably be higher. The dealer will have to take into account the cost to the dealership to store, cleanup and sell your old unit during the price negotiations.

Which is why you never tell them upfront you have a trade. Negotiate the price on the new first. Then throw the trade into the mix.

At the end of the day they either want to make a sale or they don't. The only thing a buyer needs is the ability to walk out.

Agreed, also the same for cars.

Last time we changed campers, no dealer in their right mind would have taken the old one on trade. Sold it in 2 days on CL. Did have to deliver it 100 miles.

Last vehicle I traded, I advertised it for a month at trade+tax bonus+500 and didn't get a single phone call. 6 months later it is still sitting on the dealer's lot. Much better than in my driveway.

Not Virginia. Here, the trade in value would could just like cash down.

If the sales price is 15,000 and you get 5000 for your trade in,
the price the state uses to figure sales tax is 15,000.

If the sales price is 15,000 and you have 5000 cash to put down,
the prices the state uses to figure sales tax is 15,000.

lawrosa wrote:
Although I sold my TT private and got 2 thousand more it really would of been better to trade it in.

For tax reasons.

In most states, when you trade-in your Trailer when purchasing another , you are only required to pay sales tax on the difference between the trade-in value and the price of the new Trailer

I got hit with the total amount of taxes when I brought the trailer from PA to Jersey..

If I had to do it over I would of traded it in..

Ralph Cramden wrote:

SoundGuy wrote:

Ralph Cramden wrote:
Put it on Ebay and sold it within 3 days, even hauled it halfway to AR from PA and met the buyer at a Cracker Barrel. Nice guy, still calls me with questions or to tell me how much he likes it.

Both reasons some see even yet more advantage to just trading in - once it's gone, it's GONE - no aggravation. ;)

To be honest it was not much aggravation. The buyer paid me $500 and paid for my fuel to take what amounted to about a 12 hour drive overall.

I was more than happy to do it.

Aridon wrote:

SoundGuy wrote:

Ralph Cramden wrote:
Put it on Ebay and sold it within 3 days, even hauled it halfway to AR from PA and met the buyer at a Cracker Barrel. Nice guy, still calls me with questions or to tell me how much he likes it.

Both reasons some see even yet more advantage to just trading in - once it's gone, it's GONE - no aggravation. ;)

One of the units we sold had that issue. Nice guy, but he would call me a few times a week with tech support questions. Now I didn't mind at first but it dragged on for a month and finally I just had to block his number.

Now when we do transactions like that we use a throw away number from google voice.

I never said the guy called me a few times a week, he has called or emailed about 4 times total in an almost 2 year period. Not a big deal to me.

Hey Ralph.. Just like the 'other forum' we were on, people only read and comprehend what they want to and then take exception to what you post and contradict you...

Only difference here is everything isn't falling apart....:E

lawrosa wrote:
Although I sold my TT private and got 2 thousand more it really would of been better to trade it in.

For tax reasons.

In most states, when you trade-in your Trailer when purchasing another , you are only required to pay sales tax on the difference between the trade-in value and the price of the new Trailer

I got hit with the total amount of taxes when I brought the trailer from PA to Jersey..

If I had to do it over I would of traded it in..

Do the math. Here in WA where I live we have almost a 10% sales tax. That means The tax value is about $1,500 on a $15,000 trade in. You can easily make that up selling it yourself.

Last weekend I sold our RV in 3 days to the third caller on Craigslist. I got no scammers trying to run one on me. The first person to make an appointment to look was a flake and didn't show. The second one already had money down on another rig and had to rearrange financing. The third bought it at my price (which was way above NADA retail). Not a lot of hassle and I definitely got more than I would have trading it in. I priced mine by looking at my competition on CL and priced mine accordingly.

Cash is King!

SoundGuy wrote:

Ralph Cramden wrote:
Put it on Ebay and sold it within 3 days, even hauled it halfway to AR from PA and met the buyer at a Cracker Barrel. Nice guy, still calls me with questions or to tell me how much he likes it.

Both reasons some see even yet more advantage to just trading in - once it's gone, it's GONE - no aggravation. ;)

To be honest it was not much aggravation. The buyer paid me $500 and paid for my fuel to take what amounted to about a 12 hour drive overall.

I was more than happy to do it.

Aridon wrote:

SoundGuy wrote:

Ralph Cramden wrote:
Put it on Ebay and sold it within 3 days, even hauled it halfway to AR from PA and met the buyer at a Cracker Barrel. Nice guy, still calls me with questions or to tell me how much he likes it.

Both reasons some see even yet more advantage to just trading in - once it's gone, it's GONE - no aggravation. ;)

One of the units we sold had that issue. Nice guy, but he would call me a few times a week with tech support questions. Now I didn't mind at first but it dragged on for a month and finally I just had to block his number.

Now when we do transactions like that we use a throw away number from google voice.

I never said the guy called me a few times a week, he has called or emailed about 4 times total in an almost 2 year period. Not a big deal to me.

SoundGuy wrote:

Ralph Cramden wrote:
Put it on Ebay and sold it within 3 days, even hauled it halfway to AR from PA and met the buyer at a Cracker Barrel. Nice guy, still calls me with questions or to tell me how much he likes it.

Both reasons some see even yet more advantage to just trading in - once it's gone, it's GONE - no aggravation. ;)

One of the units we sold had that issue. Nice guy, but he would call me a few times a week with tech support questions. Now I didn't mind at first but it dragged on for a month and finally I just had to block his number.

Now when we do transactions like that we use a throw away number from google voice.

Depends on:

1. How good you are with math
2. How reasonable you are with pricing
3. How desperate you are to roll over negative equity to a new unit.

Reality is there is no difference in a trade or buying outright if you have basic math skills. You know the price you want to pay, you know what you want from your trade and simple math nets a result.

Now trades tend to complicate things because these unit prices drop like a rock and people tend to do the 10, 15 or 20 year loan thing so end up owing more than they'd like to admit.

That is why RV trader is full of 1 and 2 year old rigs for the same or similar price as you can buy them brand new if you know how to wheel and deal / shop outside your home area.

Many people have inflated values set in their minds and inflated notes attached to a depreciating asset. Dealers will always give you less for your trade than they'll sell it for, RVs can be easy or difficult to sell on your own depending on what you have and demand for them. We've sold 3 on our own without issue but sometimes it can drag a little and sometimes they can go fast. Just depends, but we were always realistic with our pricing which helps. We've also traded and got a good deal because it was a unit they could turn around fast and we didn't want to deal with it as private sellers. Sure we got a little less but not much less so it ended up being a good deal for everyone involved. At the time I'd rather it sit on the dealers lot than on mine.

Just depends on what you want and your expectations.

Dealer doesn't care, he can sell it to you with no money down and for longer than you should probably finance it.

SidecarFlip wrote:
CL is terrible for selling big ticket items. RV trader and Flea-Bay is better. Less tire kickers and low ballers.

People use CL for a fishing expedition.

Not so from my standpoint.
I have bought and sold many items on Craigs list.

With my travel trailer; I sold it two weeks after I posted it. I asked $8,000, expecting to sell it for 7 and sold it for $7,800

I always put in my posts: "Respond with your name and telephone number or I won't reply back"

Jack L

Ralph Cramden wrote:
Put it on Ebay and sold it within 3 days, even hauled it halfway to AR from PA and met the buyer at a Cracker Barrel. Nice guy, still calls me with questions or to tell me how much he likes it.

Both reasons some see even yet more advantage to just trading in - once it's gone, it's GONE - no aggravation. ;)