Pricing confusion???????????

[coolmom42]

Was looking at an ad for a 2002 R-Vision Trail-lite 251 motorhome on RVTrader. It's listed by a dealer for $24,900.

NADA average retail, accounting for mileage but no options added is $11,582. (This is the most my credit union would loan.) Almost alll the options to check as add-ons on the NADA guide are standard items on that type of motor home.

The same model is listed on PPL as sold for $14,495.

So over $13K difference in the highest and lowest in that range.

HOW ON EARTH would you begin to know what to offer to buy? (Assuming all systems work and no major condition issues.)

Very very baffling.

[Jayco-noslide]

I think part of the problem is that many of us RVers have a hard time estimating what any given RV might be "worth" because there are so many variables; age, type of RV, condition, and many more. It's fine to say offer what you are willing pay to pay but one needs some guidelines to start with so the "book value" may help. I might be willing to pay $10,000 for a late model Class A but pretty silly if it will probably sell for over $80,000.

[Dtank]

coolmom42 wrote:

robsouth wrote:
An RV (or anything else for that matter) is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Owners very often factor in sentimental values and think that their item is worth much more than what the general public thinks. This is often a rude awakening for sellers, but generally the buying public has the last say, or the item does not sell. My truck, camper, pocket knife, etc is worth a lot more to me than to you, if you get my drift.

I understand that, and I've seen some ads from private sellers that were definitely overpriced.

However, this is a dealer, who I would think would price the MH to sell.

Surely (don't call you "Shirley") you jest.

Dealer wants to negotiate - and get you in the "Closing Room".

Start high, cut a supposed hot deal - and stick it to you...:S

.

[OFDPOS]

the bear II wrote:
I had a friend who thought the sticker price was the price you had to pay for the vehicle.

I offered to go with him when he went to buy his next vehicle. He was amazed at how low the price ended up.

Dealers know there are people out there who don't like to negotiate so they start high and come down to get the maximum profit.

Working at Auto Dealerships (service depts) before you could look up and find out prices just about anything on the computer. I was simply amazed at how many people came in and paid sticker price on vehicles.
Had one ol guy say "my times worth more than haggling over the price"!
Yeah and he just paid close to $8K more than he should have !

Everything is negotiable from the price of the vehicle to the undercoating ,interior treatment, finance and the extended warranty.
And most of it was just pure waste of money for the customer side to pure profit on the dealers side !

[Skid_Row_Joe]

coolmom42 wrote:
Most of the things NADA lists as options are going to be found on 90% of RVs of the type being priced---things like AC, television, radio, awning, etc. So when looking up the NADA price, I don't add on anything unless it's really exceptional.

Is this the most realistic way to handle it?

Yes. Totally rational.

Three things:

What you must be on the lookout for is the condition of the entire unit. If, the unit is pristine 360 degrees, low miles, impeccable records - then be flexible. But, within reason. Some dealers will jack their asking prices in hopes of selling near their asking price. Just because it's their asking price, does not mean it is rational or reasonable.

That is why it is imperative to consult the NADA book value on the RV. Pause, and give yourself some time to think it over, where you'll be able to take stock in the unit you just saw, and have the time to arrive at a rational offer.

Keep in mind that the NADA is the amount of loan value that a lender will and has affixed to any particular unit. However, don't miss a unit that is pristine, and be willing to step up your offer to secure a really cherry unit.

[coolmom42]

BobR wrote:
PPL's website has a section which lists actual sales prices. Also, the advanced search feature of Ebay can be used to find out what items really sold for.

I did check some completed Ebay listings. MOST of them did not sell due to "reserve not met." Interesting.

The ones that did sell on Ebay seem to be going for somewhere between NADA low retail and NADA average retail.

[BobR]

PPL's website has a section which lists actual sales prices. Also, the advanced search feature of Ebay can be used to find out what items really sold for.

[run100]

JALLEN4 wrote:
Trying to buy a unit for your personal use and limiting one's self to some magic formula based on some mythical value guide is a fool's errand.

Well said, Jallen4. Some folks view the various value guides (Nada, Kelley Blue Book, etc.) like their numbers are derived from a law of science or supreme being. Instead, the information they provide should just serve as a general guide.

In reality, often times "values" assigned to many things (whether a product, service, asset), don't make logical sense. For example, paintings that sell for millions of dollars boggle my mind. Truly, value and beauty are in the eye of the beholder.

When my wife and I make a purchase, we generally seek a "fair" price, from establishments we trust, that provide good customer service. I would much rather pay a few extra bucks at such places, than to hand my hard-earned money over to questionable characters or businesses.

So, I guess for us, price is not the number one priority, but just one of several considerations when making a purchase.

[coolmom42]

Most of the things NADA lists as options are going to be found on 90% of RVs of the type being priced---things like AC, television, radio, awning, etc. So when looking up the NADA price, I don't add on anything unless it's really exceptional.

Is this the most realistic way to handle it?

[Skid_Row_Joe]

wbwood wrote:
I never understood why dealers won't recognize a value when you start adding options to rv's according to NADA. I guess they do it to show a lower value...but I bet if you pulled up a unit they are selling and check it against NADA that they will have the options listed...lol

That's a good point - which is why I never add on options when pricing out a used unit. Options are non-recoverable, however some dealers try to sell the unit by adding the 'options list' on a used unit. Always start at what the base-price is, is good advise.

[Skid_Row_Joe]

PRodacy wrote:
When we were looking at TCs, our local dealer had one and was asking 15,000. I found the same year and model at a dealer about 5 hours away -they had it listed for 8500. I called our local dealer back, showed him the listing, and offered 8500. told them we needed a much better price or we'd go to the other dealer. They almost immediately came down to 9000, so we took it as it looked like it just came off the showroom. They also threw in Torklift tie downs and fast guns. Basically, just ignore asking prices and offer what you're willing to pay.

Dealers AND private party sellers are both sometimes almost 2 X NADA Low-Retail/High-Retail pricing.

I do exactly what you've done when buying used. Offer -50% of what they're asking. And come away with the unit and an acceptable, competitive price.

[PRodacy]

When we were looking at TCs, our local dealer had one and was asking 15,000. I found the same year and model at a dealer about 5 hours away -they had it listed for 8500. I called our local dealer back, showed him the listing, and offered 8500. told them we needed a much better price or we'd go to the other dealer. They almost immediately came down to 9000, so we took it as it looked like it just came off the showroom. They also threw in Torklift tie downs and fast guns. Basically, just ignore asking prices and offer what you're willing to pay.

[JALLEN4]

I have been involved in the buying/selling of many thousands of vehicles. In that process I learned 75% of units are average, 20% are junk, and 5% are exceptional.

The exceptional units have been obsessively maintained, have all the right equipment/colors, and are usually cleaner than when new. The professional people selling/buying know that you can throw the "book" away when dealing with an exceptional unit or a "junk" one.

There is a reason why dealers pay dearly for professionals to buy/sell their inventory rather than hiring a guy off the street for $10 an hour and handing him a value guide. There are a significant number of units that are worth 50% less than the book and a smaller percentage that are easily worth 50% more. Trying to buy a unit for your personal use and limiting one's self to some magic formula based on some mythical value guide is a fool's errand.

[wbwood]

I never understood why dealers won't recognize a value when you start adding options to rv's according to NADA. I guess they do it to show a lower value...but I bet if you pulled up a unit they are selling and check it against NADA that they will have the options listed...lol

[Tom_N]

bcbouy wrote:
if i was going to sell an rv in the middle of camping season,i'd price it just short of laughable too.

Depends on the area of the country.

In FL, TX and AZ this is the OFF season for RV sales.

-Tom