Selling Class A

We bought our MH four years ago in a private sale, after it was advertised in our local paper. The owners (the original purchasers) had run into medical issues after 8 years with the RV and offered it at what they still owed on their home equity loan. It was about $5k under Blue Book.

We had three enjoyable seasons with it, but the '14 season turned into a "no use" situation, due to other things, like our 50th wedding anniversary and some issues with family. We decided having it sit on the driveway depreciating by the month wasn't a good idea.

Not wanting to deal with "looky-loos", we decided to consign it with a local dealer, who had a good reputation. What a disaster. We finally got out with just a bit less than wholesale blue-book and $4000 more than we thought we'd get after the "only bid", but the dealer was really shady. No names, no pack drill - we sorted out the differences and I've agreed not to post any more disparaging remarks.

Be VERY cautious with a consignment. The dealer holds all the cards and can really screw you if circumstances permit. If you decide to go that route, get a copy of your state's rules regarding consignment sales and study carefully, preferably with a lawyer looking over your shoulder and make sure the dealer follows the rules.

If you don't want the hassle of dealing with private buyers, then IMO, it's better to sell directly to the dealer and avoid the grief. You'll get less, but it saves a lot of hassle.

JRtraveler8 wrote:
I have not been able to visit this forum for some time. I lost my husband in November and as you can imagine taking care of his estate.
The last thing, I need to do is to acquire the updated payoff on our unit. And determine trade-in value.

I need the best course of action. My question is has anyone had any experience with the ads seen in MH magazine wanting to buy motorhomes.
So if you have any info regarding selling or trading please give me your insight.
Thank you so much.

What is the said coach that you are selling? You never know there may be someone on this forum who may be able to help!

JRTraveller8,
Lots of advice to digest. Here's my 2 cents. I've had very good experiences with PPL here in Houston as a buyer. They run a great operation and take care of both the buyer and the seller equally well. That's really important in our (expensive) hobby. You'll get a good, honest and realistic evaluation of your unit and you'll know what you should expect to receive. They'll do a great job of prepping it and taking care of any issues that need to be addressed. If it doesn't move as quickly as you'd like, the price can be adjusted accordingly. In short - PPL will make the selling process pain-free.

Getting the unit to PPL in Houston is another issue. If you're thinking of moving to a smaller class-c then a spring road trip down to our fair city would be a worthwhile trip. You could arrange the sale of your unit and look at all sorts of other units on the lot at the same time. Just a thought.

I, too, would recommend PPL Consignments in Houston if you can get the motorhome down there. They'll sell it and you name your price. They'll also detail it so it looks sparkling to sell. Good luck!

pastor Charlie got it right. We bought a private sellers DP. We drove the coach, liked it and made an offer. they accepted the offer. I told the couple that I could give them a deposit down and return in a couple of days to buy. He said a handshake will work. We were both Military Veterans. We drove back and met them at their bank. They wanted a partial cash payment and the rest deposited. We used the same bank so I transferred the balance after cash to their account. Bank notarized a bill of sale for us and we drove off..

I helped my parents sell their MH as my dad's health declined. Neither really wanted to sell, but knew just sitting wasn't good for it. I found that listing it on RV Trader was a good option. We got a much wider exposure than from local advertising and also avoided more of the folks that weren't serious about buying. My experience has been that with Craigslist you will get some local people calling that really just want to see the thing. When you have someone who finds the MH on RV Trader and is willing to come look, especially if they drive many miles, they are pretty serious.

Also be very careful meeting people you don't know, or having them come where you live. Try to find somewhere that is in a high traffic area, that you can have people meet you to check the thing out. This is the time to call on some of those people that in November said "Call me if you need any help."

JRtraveler8 wrote:
I have not been able to visit this forum for some time. I lost my husband in November and as you can imagine taking care of his estate.

Sorry for your loss, but post your coach Here

describe it well, and post the price, never sign the title or allow it to leave, until you have the money in your bank.

You might use your bank as escrow to transfer title.

Also sorry for your loss.

There are three ways to sell your motor home-

1. Craigslist/ want ads / rvtrader etc. If you are comfortable with meeting strangers and going for test drives with who knows who.

2. Trade in. You will not get much value for the coach, but at least you will be done with it. Easy but not a good return on investment.

3. Consignment. They show it, they take the risk with test drives,
they do the paperwork, but they take a commission. Probably 10% or so.
Your sales price will be higher than trade in, even when taking into consideration their commission.

PPL Motorhomes has a great reputation. I'll bet they could even arrange to have your RV picked up and driven to their lot.

Here is their web site - PPL Motorhomes

Sorry for your loss.
Just some random thoughts to help.
I just bought an '07 35E from a dlr in Wisc this past summer. 25k miles perf cond loaded like yours, 6 brand new Michelines and new Trojan batteries, not a scratch or ding.
He initially was asking 72K and lowered it to 69.5 I paid less than 60k for it.
The 35E Bounder is highly sought after by buyers in the know because of its bath and half and other amenities.
Aside from condition, timing, weather, location and good exposure are the key to selling. Now is the time that the wx beaten yankees are dying to get into summer trips. I would consider using RV Trader and or ebay. Lots and lots of pictures & a good write up. Most dealers will tell you that early spring is THE time to sell. There are consignment dealers such as PPL in Texas, but there are MANY cautions about about this program.
Good luck.

I'm sorry for your loss. Your hands have been more than full dealing with the estate. And now you have the prospect of selling the rv in front of you.

If you consider consigning your rig, perhaps there might be a dealer closer to home for you. PPL is quite a long haul from where you are located.

I think I would be like you, if something happened to DH, I would want to continue traveling in some type of RV.

I wonder if you could trade what you have now in for what you think you could handle driving & upkeep.

If you consider selling privately please be careful using CL or any type of private listing. I live in GA where there has been a number of deaths related to craigs list. Never meet prospective buyers alone. The police depts are recommending that people arrange to meet at the police station. This is recommended if it's just a cellphone or all the way up to a vehicle.

I hope to see you on the road somewhere. It'd be great to sit around the campfire & share some stories with you.