Advice for trading down?

[audio1der]

My sister and brother in law are interested in our '13 3220Bh, and we have wanted to get something in the 25-27' size for a couple years but going through a dealer would just lose too much $$.
We know how much $ we need to get for the unit, but I've put new axles, springs, tires, 6V batts, all LED, stabilizers, door supports etc etc etc into our unit and would have to start all over again if we buy a stock-like trailer (used) from someone else.
Has anyone gone through this, to tell me their method of decision making?
We find the kids don't need the monstrous bunk space at the back, we can only bring a 5th person in the truck so sleeping 8-10 is a waste, it needs a 40' storage spot and sometimes limits campsite spots. Plus, it's a little long for a half ton.

[dcg9381]

You're in Canada, so I don't know if this even applies.
In the US, in my state, if you have a buyer lined up you can ask the dealer to do a "pass-through" sale. This is essentially two things:
1) A "trade" to the dealer, you keep the tax benefit - you don't get taxed at the full cost of a "new" RV.
2) The used trailer is passed through to your buyer at an agreed cost.

I've done this twice:
A boat dealer did it for free - no cost, just did it.
A car dealer did it, but charged a $500 fee, which was more than justified by the tax savings.

In regard to what your RV is worth - opinions will vary, but mine is that private-party sale, yours (if in good shape) is worth about low retail. Make sure you don't double-count options when looking up value.

[bigbluthundr]

Audio - I am afraid to say that you are "HOOPED" I M H O.
Regardless of how much $ you put into your 2013 unit, you will NEVER recover it, just look at it as "I did it for me". Why would someone pay more for that unit than any other that might be available at a cheaper price ? Unlike a house and property an RV is a declineing asset, NOT a rising one.

A dealer would NOT give you cash $ in exchange for a smaller unit - might give you a "DEAL" if you purchased a NEW UNIT with more goodies ( ie they have to make some profit - on you, or the buyer that MIGHT buy yours.

Regardless of what YOU may think it is worth - most won't.

You would be best to get what you can NOW - in cash $ and then go shopping for what you want.

AS I say ONLY MY opinion.

Choose wisely

BBT

[x96mnn]

Being in Canada right now the makert is extremely hot for used campers. It would not be unheard of to get the price you paid or more for your camper!

The US $ has kicked the living out of the new RV price, a unit that cost 30K in 2013 is going for 39K this year, at least in Nova Scotia.

With that said if you plan to buy new or even used the price difference will hit you on the other end. But getting what you paid for would not be unheard of. The only BUT in this, most of the deals like this are being seen on the 25 to 26 light weight trailers, longer ones are a harder sell as most of that market opt for a fth as they are a bit more then say the average 1/2 ton owner is willing to tackle. My good friend has a 26 light weight, Paid 26k for it and was having some work done to it, is a 2012, the dealer offered him the price he paid the first offer and uped it 1k in each of the next two offers. problem is the campers to replace his are running mid 30s but if he was in a position to wait a year or two and gamble on the $....think he could come out on the winning side.

[sourdough]

Boats, Rvs etc. are not an asset. They decline in value from the moment you by them...no matter what you do. Having owned multiple boats, RVs and vacation homes I'll tell you the way I look at things.

You buy these things for YOU. YOU use them and receive whatever tangible benefit YOU wanted from them. At some point you hopefully receive what you paid for in in use, benefits etc. At that point it's a moot point.

My last 24' deckboat had 14 hours on it and paid for. I got what I wanted from it and gave it to my daughter/son in law. Why worry about getting $ and going thru the trouble? I have a vacation home in the mountains. It has more than repaid us by giving us SO much fun and memories. I'm going to sell it this year. I paid $xk for it and have done MANY upgrades. I'm willing to sell it very cheap simply because I want to move on....even though it appraises for almost 3 times what I paid. I believe toys; RVs, boats, vacation homes are bought for a person to use and get "something" from them. When that "something" is reached in my mind the "toy" has paid for itself and I don't worry about trying to recoup costs. I bit of a weird way to look at things but I just don't have the patience to haggle over trying to sell stuff. I'd rather give it away and let someone benefit once I've got my use from it. All to say, don't worry about getting max price out of something that has already given back to you

[x96mnn]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Boats, Rvs etc. are not an asset. They decline in value from the moment you by them...no matter what you do. Having owned multiple boats, RVs and vacation homes I'll tell you the way I look at things.

You buy these things for YOU. YOU use them and receive whatever tangible benefit YOU wanted from them. At some point you hopefully receive what you paid for in in use, benefits etc. At that point it's a moot point.

My last 24' deckboat had 14 hours on it and paid for. I got what I wanted from it and gave it to my daughter/son in law. Why worry about getting $ and going thru the trouble? I have a vacation home in the mountains. It has more than repaid us by giving us SO much fun and memories. I'm going to sell it this year. I paid $xk for it and have done MANY upgrades. I'm willing to sell it very cheap simply because I want to move on....even though it appraises for almost 3 times what I paid. I believe toys; RVs, boats, vacation homes are bought for a person to use and get "something" from them. When that "something" is reached in my mind the "toy" has paid for itself and I don't worry about trying to recoup costs. I bit of a weird way to look at things but I just don't have the patience to haggle over trying to sell stuff. I'd rather give it away and let someone benefit once I've got my use from it. All to say, don't worry about getting max price out of something that has already given back to you

The wAy you look at it is not odd...for the position you are in. Wish I was there, I am not but I do see the logic in your comment!

[bigbluthundr]

step two would be - goto your local RV place & ask - worst he can say is no way. Jose

BBT

[Pull Toy]

Here in New England, some of the larger dealers will take it on consignment for a commission. But bear in mind, they will expect it to be in excellent condition, and will charge you a fee to put their warranty, and paperwork into it. This won't free up your investment, until it is sold and it probably won't be their first priority vs the mark up they make on their "new" rigs.

GOOD LUCK

[koko]

We weep every time we trade in a trailer. We always sell them looking brand new and with so many added goodies, but we lose thousands of dollars. With our last two trailers, we found out what the dealer would give us as a trade and then we sold to our sons for that price - at least we could pass on the loss to people we loved. If you look on RVtrader.com, you can get an easy idea of what others are asking for the same used unit, but the dealer won't care! Only way to feel really good about it is to try to sell it yourself.

[theeyres]

All of those thing you added isn't going to add a $ to the value. You did it for you. Nobody will pay for the extras. End of story. Selling to family...guess that is between you and them if you want to add on for the added items.

[GMcKenzie]

Originally Posted by dcg9381

You're in Canada, so I don't know if this even applies.
In the US, in my state, if you have a buyer lined up you can ask the dealer to do a "pass-through" sale. This is essentially two things:
1) A "trade" to the dealer, you keep the tax benefit - you don't get taxed at the full cost of a "new" RV.
2) The used trailer is passed through to your buyer at an agreed cost.

I've done this twice:
A boat dealer did it for free - no cost, just did it.
A car dealer did it, but charged a $500 fee, which was more than justified by the tax savings.

In regard to what your RV is worth - opinions will vary, but mine is that private-party sale, yours (if in good shape) is worth about low retail. Make sure you don't double-count options when looking up value.

Not sure if it works for RV's, but I did the same thing buying a truck off of my father a few years back. He got to pay less in taxes. I paid the same in taxes as if he sold it to me privately.

I'm in Canada