Buying an RV from Dealer vs Private Owner
Getting closer to purchasing our first RV. We are looking for a good used unit and have found a few contenders. Not sure how this all works but when I recently spoke to a dealer he told us absolutel...
Forum Discussion
I forgot to mention: For every car I've bought in a private sale, I've sold my car privately too. I have sold more than 40 cars privately over the years. The motivation was always pretty much the same: the few times I asked a dealer for a trade-in quote, I have been shocked at the so-called 'book value'. Selling it myself always resulted in higher proceeds. Every time.
So while I expect to buy a car privately at a significant discount, I know I can also sell my existing vehicle for than I can get from a dealer. How can that be?.
Clearly the answer is: Markup. Dealers want to maximize profit. This means markup on new vehicles and markup for those taken as trades. This practice is not unfair or unjust. It just pays the dealer's bills. To save money, you must remove the dealer middleman.
Disclaimer: I have bought and sold fewer cars since moving to a small town. The number of buyers and sellers just aren't the same as big metropolitan centres. I think this concern is amplified with MHs. There just aren't enough local buyers to go around. As such, I think I will need to sell my current RV on consignment through a dealer when the time is right. It certainly reduces my proceeds but exposes my RV to more buyers. Of course, the buyer is just getting a private sale coach by way of a middleman. I sure wish more RV'ers used Craigslist. That may be the best answer for all of us.
So while I expect to buy a car privately at a significant discount, I know I can also sell my existing vehicle for than I can get from a dealer. How can that be?.
Clearly the answer is: Markup. Dealers want to maximize profit. This means markup on new vehicles and markup for those taken as trades. This practice is not unfair or unjust. It just pays the dealer's bills. To save money, you must remove the dealer middleman.
Disclaimer: I have bought and sold fewer cars since moving to a small town. The number of buyers and sellers just aren't the same as big metropolitan centres. I think this concern is amplified with MHs. There just aren't enough local buyers to go around. As such, I think I will need to sell my current RV on consignment through a dealer when the time is right. It certainly reduces my proceeds but exposes my RV to more buyers. Of course, the buyer is just getting a private sale coach by way of a middleman. I sure wish more RV'ers used Craigslist. That may be the best answer for all of us.
