Depreciation on trailers

Depends on demand when its time to sell. I dont think you can go by NADA or KB. I paid 22k for my tt new in 07, its an 08 model and NADA says starting retail is 24k, avg 18k and low 14k, yet in my mind i would be happy to get 10k. Where do you start ? What will the market bear ? If you find someone that has no clue about the inflated msrp on rv' s then you might sell and not lose much. Mine was 33 msrp.

End of year – approximate depreciation…
$18000
1 - 18% 3240 = 14760
2 - 10% 1476 = 13284
3 - 7% 930 = 12354
4 - 6% 741 = 11613
5 - 6% 697 = 10916

This is exactly why buyers should try to get at least 30 percent off a new coach's MSRP. Fifty percent depreciaton in the first five years is pretty typical. In fact the monthly depreciation might be more than the payments creating a fairly expensive RV considering both payments and depreciation together.

the depreciation curve I use from new that seems to work fairly well on almost all types of RV’s from their SELLING price, works something like this through and to salvage value at the end of the 13th year…
And ASSUMES a MSRP minus 20% discount and a minimum or no down payment…
And ASSUMES maintained throughout with no major repairs needed inside or out…

End of year – approximate depreciation…
$18000
1 - 18% 3240 = 14760
2 - 10% 1476 = 13284
3 - 7% 930 = 12354
4 - 6% 741 = 11613
5 - 6% 697 = 10916
6 - 5%
7 - 5%
8 - 4%
9 - 4%
10 - 3%
11 - 3%
12 - 2%
13 - 2%

Salvage Value +/- condition…


.

Agree, those first few years are the hardest. If you're only thinking of keeping a trailer for maybe 3 or 4 years, would strongly suggest you look at something already a couple of years old...the worst would be past.

So much depends, no only on brand, but on floorplan. While bunkhouses are very popular and lots of demand for nice, clean ones just a few years old, we would have zero interest in one. If you're buying with the resale in the back of your head, look at the appeal to a larger group of buyers. Try to stick with a more generally neutral interior and stay away from overkill on graphics. Look for something with a functional kitchen, nice bathroom with some storage, good exterior storage. Personal opinion is that I'd be more interested in a nice, gently used trailer with good quality basics than one with a bunch of glitz. And, yes, you have to get it at a good price in the first place to minimize the depreciation hit down the road. AND maintain it meticulously.

RV values, by and large, drop like a rock the first few years.

The people who purachased our Jayco Eagle new in 2008 paid close to $27,000 (personally I think they could have done a bit better).

We bought it off of them in May of 2010 for $17,000 and that included a bunch of accesories he had purchased for it (RV cover, wheel covers, and various other items) AND the Equalizer brand WD hitch too ($500 value) that we use with it (which allowed me to sell the one I already had for a nice sum I might add).

In 2 years he lost $10,000 plus another $1,000 or so on the accessories and hitch..

I think you CAN mitigate deprecation to a degree on new units but you must pay a rock bottom price on them, maintain them very well, and then find the right situation when you end up selling them off.

Hard to say what it would be...too many variables. Thing is, anything new will depreciate fast in first 3-5 years. Look at nada.com at 3-5 year old trailers. They will tell you what they cost new (MSRP) and current value. This could give you an idea.

We have bought new and used...used you can get great deals, but new is always nice as its yours first.