Hi,
Yes you should be able to find something in that price range.
Dealerships do have a longer and closer relationship with the banks and finance companies than a private buyer who probably only finances a car once every 3-4 years.
But also they tend to take in a RV for say $3,500 and mark it up to $5,000. Then the potential buyer might ask for a 20% reduction from $5,000 to only $4,000. To many of these deals, and they would not be able to pay the $2000 - $8,000 monthly rent on the property and would go out of business. So the mark up on each unit needs to be fairly high.
You can also ask private sellers for a reduction as well. 10% off is pretty common. You can also check with your local bank or credit union, tell them the RV you are looking at, and they will look up the bluebook and tell you the maximum loan value they will normally allow. That is normally the trade in value.
So a trailer that is worth about $10,000 might have 3 or more values. The maximum trade in value to a dealer trying to make a profit selling it would be about $7,500. That dealer will clean it up, then mark the price on it around $12,500. Then the customer will offer around $10,000 to actually buy it, and the dealer will say "I have to get $11,000" and the value goes from there.
The credit union might say the same trailer is going to have a maximum loan value around $8,000. They will loan anywhere from 70% to 90% of the maximum loan value, based on your credit rating and how reliable they think you will be in making the payments on time.
So don't be afraid to look at $7,500 units. You might be able to buy it for close to $5,000.
Fred.
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