Sell trailer to dealer or what?

Locally consignment is the typical method used here. The dealers park it and shows it and takes a percentage of your selling price. He is not tying up his money, only his lot space.

The dealers have plenty of used RVs to sell from the trade-ins they get. They really do not need any more. Hence the bottom line offers.

Most dealers already have a bunch of units to sell. Why buy one more? That's why they offer so little for your rig. Sell it yourself at a fair price for cash.It's not that hard, just takes some time and effort on your part to get the best price. First clean, clean, clean inside and out. A clean unit sells faster and for more than a dirty one. I always buy used and am constantly amazed that people try to sell dirt!

Expect 80% of low NADA at best.

I'd consider consigning it at a place like PPL first.

Dealer has no "motivation" to buy a used trailer.

With trades, they simply knock some money off the LIST price of the new trailer when trading in.

They STILL are able to make a good profit from this transaction but then they also have the trailer that was traded in to sell.

In this case the trade in helps to boost their potential profit from the original sale since they acquired the trade in for ZERO dollars to maybe several thousand (remember the trade in price was used to knock off from the MRSP which no one ever pays)..

You most likely will not find a dealer which will out rightly buy a used trailer BUT you might find some which are willing to take your trailer on CONSIGNMENT.

Consignment is basically you own the trailer while it sits on the dealer lot, you and dealer work out a reasonable selling price and the dealer acts on your behalf to sell your trailer.

Dealer gets a cut of the sale for their part in the transaction..

Unless you REALLY need to get from under a loan or can not wait to unload the trailer you are much better off selling it yourself. Really easy to do other than dealing with a few idiots and having to negotiate the deal.

Craigslist is a great way to start, free advertisement with pictures. Just do not include over the top amount of info, keep text simple and too the point. Give basics like make, model, year, length and point out a FEW of the good points.

Going overboard with the info makes folks get too much info and if it isn't what they are wanting they will not bother contacting you..

The contact is where you act as sales person and sell it up..

I don't know of any dealer that would just buy it from you and if they did, as mentioned, it will be for a LOT below the value. Some may offer to sell it for you on consignment where they'll get a percentage of the sale.

DukeAJuke wrote:

bobfears wrote:
Has anyone ever just sold their trailer outright to a dealer and not bought another? If you did what would you say was the percentage of the value that they gave you.

About 2 months ago I went to trade in our 26' 1997 Innsbruck in on a new camper and the dealer would only give me $1900 for it (it was in decent condition). I said the hell with that and decided to put it on Craig's list instead. I sold it within 5 days for $2900.00 (originally asked $3000.00). If I were you I would sell it on your own.

Same thing happened with us. I had several quotes from several dealers ranging from $5000-$7000. The surprising thing is every dealer I spoke to suggested that I sell it myself. I put it on craigslist and sold it 3 days later for $9600 to the 2nd person that looked at it.

bobfears wrote:
Has anyone ever just sold their trailer outright to a dealer and not bought another? If you did what would you say was the percentage of the value that they gave you.

About 2 months ago I went to trade in our 26' 1997 Innsbruck in on a new camper and the dealer would only give me $1900 for it (it was in decent condition). I said the hell with that and decided to put it on Craig's list instead. I sold it within 5 days for $2900.00 (originally asked $3000.00). If I were you I would sell it on your own.

Expect less than wholesale would be my guess. When they offer you a trade-in value, it is against the sale of another item that is in stock. In this scenario you are asking for their money without increasing their sales numbers. They will offer bottom dollar, IMO.

2008Wildcat wrote:
Expect a wholesale/ auction price offer...

Good answer. They will not pay more than they feel they can make a good profit from with a fairly quick turn around. Unless it is a highly desirable unit in very good condition, they can expect to carry it on their lot as overhead for some time.

Not an outright sale, but when we sold our Keystone 31 foot TT, the dealer gave us $4,500 credit on it. Couple weeks later, I checked their web site and they had ours for sale. The selling price was $8,500. It sat for a few months, and then all of a sudden the selling price was $9,500 with a great big "REDUCED" $8,500. I noticed a couple weeks later it was listed "Sold". I haven't checked in a while to see if it still on their web sit or not. But if that gives you any idea what they will offer, it's something to chew over in your mind. They'll offer you half or less for what they can sell it for. Check other dealers (on line), for your make and model that is currently for sale to get an idea. Then remember, the dealer you sell it to will offer you half of the or less. If all you want to do it get rid of it, it's a good way to go. If you're expecting to make anything off of it, then sell privately to someone else.