Why are class B's & conversion vans so expensive?

[RetSgt7114]

Wow, I was pricing some used class B's and conversion vans this afternoon, and was shocked at how expensive they are. Why are these units priced so high compared to a similar year/mileage class C or even some A's? I saw one conversion van (not even a B) that was being sold for $75,000.00? That's almost what I paid for my house. Incredible.

[bar_20]

My Roadtrek wrote:
Weeding out the so called B+ it looks like there are hundreds of used Class B's on RV Trader alone.
There are over 50 Roadtreks on Roadtrek International

There are almost 7,000 Class C's listed for sale at RV Trader. What's your point?

[bar_20]

My Roadtrek wrote:
On one sales site, someone said there there were something like 450 Roadtreks for sale. As new sales increase, more used Class B's will become available, and prices will have to drop, do to more supply, less demand. I think the market is already reacting to this, owners are finding that they are having to lower their price to make a relative quick sale. I think competition among sellers is maybe the highest it's ever been for Class B's. There are some great deals out there, and will be more in the next few years.
What a "B" sells for, not what it's listed, or appraised at, is all the really matters. Times are a changin. jmo.
Winter is the worst time to sell, and the best time to buy, so if your looking for a "B" nows the time.

I will disagree with you. Used Class B's tend to have more miles on them than a Class C of the same year. There can be a big difference in price due to the miles on the van. There is no large supply of used low mileage Class B's where I live. Several consignment dealers in my area cannot keep low mileage units in stock. As baby boomers retire and are looking for an easy to drive RV the Class B has become more popular than ever.

[My_Roadtrek]

Weeding out the so called B+ it looks like there are hundreds of used Class B's on RV Trader alone.
There are over 50 Roadtreks on Roadtrek International

[Fastpaddler]

I don't foresee a glut of B rvs here on the West Coast. I had a tough time finding my PW Plateau TS last year. There are few B vans anywhere as I peruse the various venues including the most popular RV dealers. If it is a B, it doesnt last long unless it is in rough shape and/or clearly overpriced.
AL

[Islandman]

the convenience of easier parking, ability to store at your home in many cases, excellent workmanship, good fuel mileage, ease of driving in traffic or on narrow roads, were important to us. We had excellent results with our PW Excel, the bathroom was small but all other factors made up for that. We now have a Class C, but miss the good fuel mileage of our PW. The value of our PW also held up, had it for six years and 25K miles; sold it for about $8K less than we paid for it. In short Class B's are worth more per square foot!

[My_Roadtrek]

On one sales site, someone said there there were something like 450 Roadtreks for sale. As new sales increase, more used Class B's will become available, and prices will have to drop, do to more supply, less demand. I think the market is already reacting to this, owners are finding that they are having to lower their price to make a relative quick sale. I think competition among sellers is maybe the highest it's ever been for Class B's. There are some great deals out there, and will be more in the next few years.
What a "B" sells for, not what it's listed, or appraised at, is all the really matters. Times are a changin. jmo.
Winter is the worst time to sell, and the best time to buy, so if your looking for a "B" nows the time.

[mlts22]

When looking at class "C"s, they take a pretty big depreciation hit, almost in the range of 20% when you drive it off the dealer lot.

"B"s, when looking at a 2012 used model versus a 2013-2014, there might be $4000-$5000 difference at most. With the market as it is now, might as well keep one's eyes peeled on rvtrader, and be prepared to buy within minutes to hours of seeing the listing.

A good example of this was a PW Excel on PPL's site I saw today that went for a price between $75k and $79k. It never made it to the webpage before it had a "Sold" tag. (I check PPL daily.)

[Kimbopolo]

So true about holding value. I got my Roadtrek 14 months ago. Today I checked the NADA value and it's worth more than I paid for my (used) unit.

[bar_20]

Class C motorhomes are made from the inside out. The frame is built, the cabinets are installed before the siding is put on. The class B is built from the outside in. Much more labor involved in building a Class B. If you compare an inexpensive Class C that sells new for about the same price as a new class B there is no comparison in the quality. Class B's are not for everyone. You can usually get about 25% off MSRP on a class C while class B's are usually around 15% off MSRP. You don't need to haul a toad around with a class B because you use it as your go for vehicle. Some people use them as a second car.

[Fastpaddler]

NCWriter wrote:
Class Bs also hold their value, for all the reasons above, so when it comes time to sell, assuming good standards of maintenance, you recoup a greater percentage of your initial purchase than you would with most A or C units.

I've seen used 06 Sprinters recently online with same asking price that we paid three years ago. Hard to know if they'll get what they are asking. But Mercedes Diesel engines are just getting warmed up and raring to go at 75,000 miles.

You are absolutely right.The Sprinter uses Mercedes engine,trans and chassis(costly to produce) and it is a commercial-grade vehicle of high quality and construction. You dont get the groans and squeals like other chassis. The cost of conversion is very high given, as noted, the high quality cabinetry installed piece by piece by licenced and experienced carpenters. Resale is remarkable. My 2006 PW Plateau TS had a resale value of around 70,000$ last year. I didnt pay that because i am foxy, eh?...
AL

[Fastpaddler]

PeteCo wrote:
Reasons for high price:
Higher demand than availability for used units
Low production rate
Custom fit of cabinets and other components
Exchange rate makes Canada made items higher (Roadtrek, Pleasureway, etc)

Hopefully the new Ford and Chrysler vans will help drive the basic cost of the van down over time. Also, if more US based manufacturers get into making B's that will help. But for now, prices are high.

Not so.Canadian dollar is lower than US dollar. IF you check the prices of Canadian built B class Rvs sold in the US you will find that they are way cheaper Stateside. That applies to almost anything Canadians buy in Canada compared to buying the same thing in the US. My BMW is way,way cheaper in the US.

[NCWriter]

RetSgt7114 wrote:

To each his own I guess. I wouldn't mind having one for a quick short get-away, but they are too much for too little in my opinion.

Actually, I think a class B really shines on extended road trips, at least for us. Instead of getting 8 mpg, a B gets double (or triple with some diesel Sprinters) the mileage. So we can go at least twice as far on the same gallon. And for touring America or Canada on a long road trip, we have minimal hassle for setting up/tearing down our campsite every few nights.

"Too little" is relative - some of us use our class Bs for three months or more touring per year and some of us use ours a lot as a second vehicle, too, parked right in the driveway...and the other day, we hauled a new door from Lowe's in it!....so we get a lot of bang for the buck.

But you are absolutely right, to each his own. There's an RV for every phase of life, every style of camping, every budget.

[Horizon170]

We must also realize that our B's have all of the items a much larger RV has so a lot of planning and tedious work goes into fitting all that stuff in a much smaller van and still make it usable.

[mumkin]

RetSgt7114 wrote:
I'm sorry folks, but there is no way that anyone can justify the extreme class B prices, even with the points mentioned.

Yup, we all have opinions and none of them matter a whit when it comes to the market and prices. As long as the manufacturers are having no problem selling as many of these as they can produce, the price will be what it will be...

When the market collapsed, many people downsized to Class B units... people who were used to more luxurious RVs than the old Van conversions many of us grew up with. The manufacturers are merely giving people what they want.

For those that want a basic bare-bones Van Camper, there is always Sportsmobile who build their units one at a time letting you put in what you can afford.

[garmp]

Try parking an A or 5'er in downtown Anywhere. TT's can be just as bad when coming upon an unexpected treasure worth visiting. Besides why not, B people are nicer!