?? on selling motor home

[drewc]

Anyone have any suggestions for how to sell an older RV? I've made FW reservations in October in anticipation of selling our '86 Class-C and buying a pop-up or hybrid trailer. I might have to cancel them if I can't find a buyer though.

Our MH is in decent shape given its age, with lots of options, and only has 63k miles, but I think the age scares people off (and maybe rightfully so). I'm only asking $6250 for it, but so far only one call (listed in Want Ad Digest). We're interested in making this swap as we now have a more capable tow vehicle, and given the age of the MH, the cost of gas, and the inconvenience of not having a vehicle once the MH is set up for camping, we think a trailer is the way to go.

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions or tales of their own sucessful sales methods?

 

[Disneefun]

You might want to sign up with RVTrader.com and list there. A lot of people look there -- including those who are more willing to take a chance on an older model. There are other websites that list used motorhomes, as well. Most allow you to list for free but I'm not sure of other restrictions/commissions. Just make sure you know your NADA value and price accordingly. I've seen too many ads where people are asking way above NADA and the thing just sits there -- people aren't going to give you much, if any, above NADA on a unit that old no matter how good condition it's in.

If it has nice "curb appeal" from the outside -- does it look very nice for it's age? -- you might want to find a place along a major highway or major intersection and leave it out for a few days. That seems to work well around here -- people leave them where they can be seen and it generates interest (lock it up, of course, and take out anything valuable like the TV, DVD player, etc.). Just make sure you get permission from the person who owns whatever land you park it on.

Worse comes to worse, you could try trading it at a dealer for your new one. You probably won't get great money, but if all else fails...

 

[Mac and Us]

list it on rvtrader.com or ebay under the motorized vehicles. I've never done this but have heard that both are good ways to sell a used motorhome.

We have had tents, pop-ups, 5th wheel, 2 truck campers and 2 motorhomes and for us the motorhome is the way to go.

While you make a good point about gas prices think about this. If you buy a larger travel trailer you will have to buy a larger truck to pull it. The larger truck will probably be your everyday vehicle as well. Think about the gas price of driving the truck everyday vs. a gas guzzling Motorhome a few times a year. I agree that maint, insurance and registration are also factors.

I only mention this because we "thought" a truck camper and truck were the way to go. In our state you don't have to register the camper because it rides in the back of the truck. We started with a smaller truck camper, outgrew it and bought a large one that required a dually.

The cost of the truck camper and dually were more than the cost of our first brand new 2004 motorhome and brand new toyota tacoma pickup truck combined. Granted we now had 2 registrations, 2 vehicles to insur and maintain but overall we were saving on fuel because my husband wasn't driving the huge dually around everyday.

We have a rule that we try to camp at campgrounds where we are close enough to ride our bikes, walk or take a shuttle. If that is not possible and we are going to be there for 1 week or more we rent a car. So far it's worked out great. The things you like to do when camping also factor in. If you like to tour then you need a car/truck or something once you arrive.

It's all personal preference. I'm in no way trying to advocate a motorhome vs trailers/5th wheels, etc. I just wanted to share with you our experience.

Good luck in your search. It's fun shopping for a new RV.

 

[drewc]

Unfortunately, the MH has now aged out of NADA listing (at least the consumer listing). I think you have to buy a special catalog now for anything older than '89 or '90.

My "gut" is that it should retail for about $7000 -7500, so hopefully the $6250 is low enough to get some serious interest. When I bought it 3 years ago, the NADA for this Coachmen was about $8000 or so (which is what I payed). I've also done some pricing comparisons with what is listed locally and nationally, and I think I've priced it on the low side. Of course, it all comes down to what someone is willing to pay.

I even set up a quick website for the camper, which I've included in my classified ad(http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeo3bbo/) - critiques are welcome!

Good points on the gas prices. While this rig assuredly is a gas guzzler, the main problem we have is that we like to have a vehicle handy when we're camping, for side trips or the inevitable run to the store. Driving along one of our cars as well as the MH just isn't a good option for us.

 

[FWCamper]

We have owned 4 rvs. We always trade them in on the one we are buying. Of course you get less money but it was worth saving the hassle.

 

[drewc]

Believe me, I'd love to trade it in. Unfortunately so far, the wholesale value is looking very low, and I can't afford to lose that much value and still get another rv. I've had one shady dealer offer to trade it straight up for a used pop-up, only to renege. A more trustworthy dealer who we've been taking the MH to for repairs told us that the problem is that banks won't finance something older than 1990 or so. Since it still retails for a few thousand dollars, it can be difficult to find buyers with the purchase cash. That makes them reluctant to offer anything more for it than they can get selling it to a wholesaler to truck away. I'd hate for it to come to that, because it really is a good camper.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. We may have to postpone our Fort Wilderness trip this year, but we'll get there eventually.