Purchase from dealer or private party?

MookieKat wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:
Look for the deal that you can sell it for what you bought it for is the best way to go. Has worked for me for many years now.

How do you determine this? What is a good rule of thumb for predicting this sort of thing?

I look at all advertisements and classifieds. You get a real good feeling for what they are going for. It's really not predicting. It doesn't work for well for buying at a dealership but when it comes to buying used it works 100% for me.

When I what any type of toy I only buy one that is priced lower than the going rate and/or I offer less than what the average price they are asking. That way I KNOW that when I am done or didn't like it I can always get what I paid for it back. 30 years and counting and I have never had to sell something for less than what I paid for it and in most cases have used for a minimum of 2 years. I consider my method as using something for free.

Baring the crash of 2008 which history being cyclical it will take another 10 years for that to happen and IMHO it will never go that low again. For me all that meant was there was a glut of RV's on the market that drove the used prices down with people trying to get out of their RV's so they could save their house.

Same thing with my toad I was NOT going to buy a new one by any means I have no need for a small car, don't like small cars. But needed one for the MH for long travel.

I bought one way under the price they were going for so when I was done with it I could get my money back. When I hit the road full time the first CG I was in I was offered 2,000 more than what I paid for it. Didn't even know that Trackers were so well liked by RV'ers, It was then I knew I had done really good this time!

Bottom line there is ALWAYS a seller out there that is in a financial bind or situation and HAS to sell something fast and making a profit is not really high on their list. I find them.:C

MookieKat wrote:
Never purchased a vehicle from a private party.

:h I much prefer to let someone else do the big depreciation. Besides, I see very few people around here signing the praises of dealerships!

MookieKat wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:
Look for the deal that you can sell it for what you bought it for is the best way to go. Has worked for me for many years now.

How do you determine this? What is a good rule of thumb for predicting this sort of thing?

unless you can find an old lady who has this 1962 corvette mint condition covered with a tarp in her barn who wants $500 for it, any other vehicle transaction will in general be a losing cause.
and if you are going to sit around and not act until something comes along where you won't lose your shirt, you won't be Rving for many years. bite the bullet, buy something at a fair price, and don't worry about the economics, which will suck any way you look at it.
bumpy

rockhillmanor wrote:
Look for the deal that you can sell it for what you bought it for is the best way to go. Has worked for me for many years now.

How do you determine this? What is a good rule of thumb for predicting this sort of thing?

Would you please purchase an RV already.

i think an important thing to also factor in is if you are new to RV'ing you may not know for sure that camping and owning an RV is really for you. So buying a brand new one is going to leave you with an upside down vehicle to try and sell if it doesn't work out for you and your family. That was my thinking.

I first ran out and put down a substantial amount on a brand new Class A. Got home and started thinking about the depreciation just taking it off the lot and WHAT IF I really did not like full time RV'ing? How would I get my money back on it selling it?

I went back and they thankfully gave me my money back. I found a real nice used RV for a great price. It was priced that if after a year or so I wanted to bail out I could sell it for what I bought it for.

IMHO a used RV bought right is the best financial move for just about anyone first starting out. Look for the deal that you can sell it for what you bought it for is the best way to go. Has worked for me for many years now.

Private individual is not likely to be selling either financing or service agreement. You can arrange either yourself, but your resources and choices may be more limited than what the dealer has. However the dealer will be making the choices and telling you about only those options he wants to sell you.

MookieKat wrote:
I don't think I have much of an option....I want to buy used in order to avoid the new smell and also for the same money I could get a much better quality trailer

I understand the getting a better quality for the money, but I've never heard anybody say they wanted to buy used to avoid the new smell. I can tell you when I first started looking for used motorhomes, it was very difficult to find a used one that didn't stink on the inside. By the time people were ready to get rid of it, it had often sat unused for some time and often all closed up and some of them really got smelling bad. Either that or they had cigarette smoke smell in them. I ended up buying new and loved the new RV smell.

Wishbone51 wrote:
I'm glad that I bought my used TT from the dealership as a beginner. I was also lucky that they really stood by their sale. It came with a 2-month warranty, and I had to take it back for a couple of minor issues. I've also spent a lot of time on the phone with them, and brought it in several times for free help on somethings that I missed on the walk through (information overload)

This was our thinking also. We purchased our first RV from a dealer and we are glad we did. We are newbies and even though I don't usually buy from big dealerships, this time it is working in our favor. They have a lot of support and help that we might need as first timers.

We have been using my parents 97 Minnie Winnie so I did know some of what I was looking for. BUT when we would pick up the Winnie it was always full and ready for us to use. My dad always took care of all of that for us since it was his rig, now it's our turn to learn how to do all of that for ourselves :)


~ Dori ~

MookieKat wrote:
I don't think I have much of an option....I want to buy used in order to avoid the new smell and also for the same money I could get a much better quality trailer

Have owned 3 new RV's and none had a new smell problem. IMO with no prior RV experience I would suggest you buy new or find a unit just a couple years old. If you look for something in the 5-7 year old range and not knowing what to look for you could get yourself in trouble. When we went looking we decided to go new as it was an eye opening ordeal. After owning 3 RV's now I would not have a problem looking for a used one. You certainly get more value shopping used. But those savings can go down the drain fast if you aren't able to inspect one properly.