Trade-In Values

midnightsadie wrote:
all great answers ,its the bottom line you need to work on ,out the door if your happy ? go for it. they can wiggle numbers till the cows come home its the last figure on the bottom line that counts.

This. Since it is the bottom line that matters, that is what I work from with any deal that includes a trade. Be prepared though, some dealers don't like working with the "out the door" price because it is more difficult for confusion to be introduced. You decide what price you are willing to pay for the new coach. Subtract what you are willing to take for you old coach and then add taxes/fees/profit/etc (some you have to pay, some you don't) and that is your top number out the door. Of course this assumes your trade is paid for or you at least have equity in it. If you owe on it or you are upside down on it, you have to take that into consideration in your figures as well. Start your negotiation significantly below your top number. I always have a folder with me with a single sheet of paper in it. That piece of paper has my top number written on it. If, during the negotiation I start to waiver, I consult my "research" for a minute and get back on track. Remember, this is a business transaction. Treat it as such. People worry about insulting the sales person. Be polite, but firm on what you will pay. If necessary, walk. There are other dealers.

Thank you everyone. I completely understand that I need to consider the net of the trade-in + new coach, but I have data to support each number individually. So I'm questioning each one separately.

On the trade-in, I have the NADA report which has two numbers on it. Trade in of $167k and Used retail of $235k. If you take 25% off (std list price discount), the dealer can sell it for $176. Currently they are offering us $160k for the trade-in. So they will ultimately make $16k just on the trade-in.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but shouldn't I be getting $167k for my trade-in?

Janis

You could get $167K for your trade, but then they are just going to not take as much off of the retail of the coach you are buying. This is why the bottom line is less confusing. Other than potential sales tax implications, it doesn't matter what the trade is and what the purchase price is, they are going to make their minimum profit from the deal and you ultimately have to pay the bottom line amount. The trade value they give can affect the taxes depending on the tax laws of your state.

The NADA is not a price list, it is a "guide". Every dealer has their own pricing model and what they work with in profits. The only amount anything is worth when selling or trading is what someone is willing to pay. If you don't like what the offer is don't complete the transaction and find another buyer.
Selling yourself will always get you more but you have to do the leg work to make the sale. When you trade, the dealer has to do the same plus.
You have to decide what you are willing to pay for the whole deal. What someone puts on the individual lines is unimportant, except for sales tax calculations, all that matters is the bottom line.

While you have the info for each one individually, the dealer will always look at the totality of the deal, at the bottom line. You can rest assured if he gives you more on the trade, he will not discount the new one as much. It's no different when trading in a car. Same principal applies.

I usually try starting out by negotiating the price on the new vehicle/RV. Then try to do the best I can with the trade (if I have one).

It's called Nada GUIDE for a reason. There's no guarantee they will get $176K selling your used one.

Mike

I have sold a couple of campers but no where near the NADA value.

My bottom line is to do a nation wide search for like campers and get a feel for the water on the real pricing. Discount the outrageously priced ones and try to sort out the ones that are close to the bottom line.

I am an out the door price guy. Last car we bought I did not even fiddle with pricing/cooking the books. i knew what I wanted and it was out the door right up front. Took about 30 minutes to get to the bottom line.

Just remember, as I foggily recall for some reason, that Toby Kieth once proclaimed, if you cannot afford to walk you will never get the price to your satisfaction or "a good deal".

We had a trade-in on the the last new TT we purchased and the salemen tried and tried to add a ton of confusion to the deal and ultimately I just said I don't care how much you give me for trade-in or how much you want to sell me the new unit for, but this is the amount I am will to give you in the difference.
We ended up getting the deal we wanted