Negotiating Used RV Price?

We're months away from purchasing our dream RV (used, 2014 or 2015 Entegra Anthem) and we're so excited.. but I need some advice negotiating the used price.    I've read on line that many people can purchase new rv's anywhere 20%-35% off MSRP.  What about used?  I've looked up the NADA RV value and it shows me the low retail and high retail.  If I like an RV should I start negotiating 35% off the low retail?  There's a lot of information about negotiating new RV's but not so much used.  I just want to make sure I've done all my homework and walk away with a good deal.  Thanks for in advance for any advice. 

Welcome to the RV forum sgthurow

If you've done your homework on the value(s) of those models listed. Then most of your work is done. As far as 35% off of low retail I think that's a bit low.

I'm sure others will be around to better guild you.

It's really not different than a used anything else,, a used house,, a used car,, a used boat.. You "feel' Each other out for a compromised number that is exceptable to both parties.>>>Dan ( If your "months" away then your too far away to worry about a deal that hasn't developed yet,, pin it down to a single unit you are looking at, then get serious)

Don't put too much stock in NADA value, it is basically a depreciation curve calculation, and a poor one at that.  It does not represent actual market pressures.

Having said that there is often room for negotiation in asking prices, in the case of my current coach, which was bought from a private party, we reached a mutually acceptable price after some negotiation which was about 20% below initial asking price (yet still well above NADA for my coach).  This was after I spent 5 months shopping for this specific model of coach, and had made offers, or had not been fast enough getting offers in on 3 or 4 others.

Thanks everyone for your advice.  I'm armed with even more information as we zero in on a specific coach    

Another source for pricing info is to go to PPL Motorhomes and search their database of recently sold units.

I tried negotiating price on my used motorhome when I bought it in 2014.  I tried cutting the asking price by $5k and the guy said no.  I had done my homework and knew that his price was about top market for this area but the coach was in excellent condition, had the original owner and a great maintenance record including fairly new tires.  Knowing that I lived in a county where the sales tax was nearly 9 percent and a huge personal property tax bill was attached to such a purchase every year  (assessed each Jan 1) I offered him his asking price but in this form.  I would give him two cashier checks - one for half his asking price and the other for the other half.  He would enter the amount of one check on the bill of sale and title transfer. The other check was his to keep but not attached to the sale.  He very grudgingly agreed (the coach had been up for sale for almost a year).  By doing this I got a discount of half the sales tax and a full year free property tax (I arranged for the sale on Jan 2).  In the end I did save the $5K and he got his full price.  Some can say it is dishonest but my old teacher used to say Tax avoidance is legal.  Tax evasion is illegal.  I like to think I avoided taxes but I know others would disagree.

Bill

  If I like an RV should I start negotiating 35% off the low retail?

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Start wherever you like, but that sort of deal ain't gonna happen, whether dealer or private sale.
Since there is no pre-determined used RV asking price, trying to get some percentage discount is meaningless (see Utclmjmpr reply). Nor is there any widely agreed NADA used value, as there is for cars. RV pricing is akin to house values and varies widely with location, condition, and even the season. Popular models often sell at or even above the NADA estimate, as do those in top notch condition, ala Bill N's response.

You will need to arm yourself with information about comparable sales in your area at the time you are buying. Figure out what others are asking for an RV of similar quality and features, and if you get lucky you may find a sales record of a similar coach (try the PPL consignment sale log mentioned by Back2Pa).

I would not worry in advance about the price, and frankly not all that much at the end either. The big questions are how well the coach suits your wants & needs and the condition.  Getting the right one is much more important than maybe saving a few thousand more.  By all means make a counter offer to whatever the dealer or owner proposes initially,  but it probably will be within 10% of the requested price and will likely end up closer than that.  Since we are talking coaches that run around $250k-$275k,  that's still a substantial number of dollars.

We just bought a used RV, so can talk a bit about our experience.

Nada is a shot in the dark, and tends to be low for desirable makes and models/configurations of particular RV's.

We found used pricing with private sellers was all over the place. Many of them were so financed-to-the-gills in stuff that there was no wiggle-room on pricing. Most of those units are still for sale.

We found our used RV at a dealer. With dealer pricing, keep the following in mind:

More than half the battle for a dealer is to find a buyer that is willing to buy NOW, and has the adequate means to do so, and knows exactly the rig they're buying. If you're paying in cash, it's available and ready to transfer. If you're financing, you're already pre-qualified for the amount you anticipate to spend. Having a buyer equipped and ready is GOLDEN.

The other part of the battle is closing the delta between asking and offer pricing. It's easier to close a 10-15% delta than it is a 20-25-30% delta, and if it's that large, one side of the deal isn't being competitive for some reason or another. Either the buyer is being unrealistic or the seller reasonably thinks there's a buyer to be had at the higher price, and that's fine. Nothing personal...dealer isn't a ripoff or a bunch of jerks (unless they treat you that way), you just aren't the buyer they're looking for, for that particular RV.

To close the delta, you need to know and stand firm on general market pricing by looking at everything that comes up for sale. Use that data as a baseline from which to work backwards. Be able to negotiate using things about the RV itself - condition, maintenance needs as a concession, or exact-models for sale for cheaper, and your ability and willingness to close the deal on that day can have some real swing.

Here's the thing: A dealer doesn't want to give you their best number for a used rig on a sheet of paper so you can take it somewhere else to have another dealer try to beat it and have their chance at you, presumably on a different used rig. Good dealers (the ones that sell RV's, not just sit on them) will reach deep if they believe there's an earnest buyer that will close the deal.

Cross-shopping is great with new rigs all equipped the same and based on a set MSRP baseline, but doing that used, you could be leaving your best deal on the table. So sit down and negotiate versus "shop", get into a deal sheet, be ready to buy. If it's not right, it's not right, say thanks, shake hands, and part ways. (And NO callback games, or walking out in a huff...make it clear that you have given your best offer, all possibilities should have been exhausted...just like THEIR deals, yours is also one-time, only).

We used the same strategy to buy cars as we did our first RV a month ago and it was fine. Candid negotiations, we were equipped and willing to buy, and they took the opportunity to move a used RV by working with us on price and concessions.  But they also weren't asking fake prices, it was within market range.

Wow!  Thank you all for taking the time to share your experience and knowledge.  Spending a lot of money on anything isn't easy (even if it's what you know you want).  I will check out the resources you've shared and start documenting comparables with the coach we want.. and go for it! 

Good advice, and to add, if you are ready, can buy and close, get there about the 27th, they are trying to finish a month and may move a little more.  If they are already above goal, (and they are not likely to share that), they may be more reserved.  However goals are almost always tough to attain, and they will go to lengths to make it.  BUT, you have to be able to close before end of business on last day of month.

Narrowing to a very specific make/model is okay (that's what we did with our first RV/motorhome)... but don't be afraid to branch out a little and look at some other units too. You might find something from another manufacturer that meets all your needs just as well. The more purchase options you give yourself, the better chance you have at finding a deal.

Once you do appropriate research and know what you're looking at used-RV-wise, I'm much more of a fan of shopping/purchasing gently used from a private seller. Craigslist is your friend. I'm in the Midwest and shopped CG sites from Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and smaller cities in between. That's also how I sold our first RV. All were very successful transactions -- I got a fair price on the motorhome sale, and an even better price when buying our trailer a few years later. Watching and waiting... the name of the game.

Bill N said:

I tried negotiating price on my used motorhome when I bought it in 2014.  I tried cutting the asking price by $5k and the guy said no.  I had done my homework and knew that his price was about top market for this area but the coach was in excellent condition, had the original owner and a great maintenance record including fairly new tires.  Knowing that I lived in a county where the sales tax was nearly 9 percent and a huge personal property tax bill was attached to such a purchase every year  (assessed each Jan 1) I offered him his asking price but in this form.  I would give him two cashier checks - one for half his asking price and the other for the other half.  He would enter the amount of one check on the bill of sale and title transfer. The other check was his to keep but not attached to the sale.  He very grudgingly agreed (the coach had been up for sale for almost a year).  By doing this I got a discount of half the sales tax and a full year free property tax (I arranged for the sale on Jan 2).  In the end I did save the $5K and he got his full price.  Some can say it is dishonest but my old teacher used to say Tax avoidance is legal.  Tax evasion is illegal.  I like to think I avoided taxes but I know others would disagree.

Bill

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That's 100% tax evasion....not tax avoidance.  Admitting that on a public forum is not a great idea.

Well that might have been my purpose in my mind, but all the paperwork shows it was totally legal and he signed that he sold the coach for a set price which I paid.  The fact that I gave him more money may have been like buying some of the used attachments, hoses, chocks, TV antennas, etc.  The paperwork was not forged or changed.  He sold me the coach for a stated price and I paid the stated price.  I admit it on a public forum because it is something that is done every day on sales of RVs.  I sold a travel trailer and when payment time came the buyer asked me to do something similar and I did without hesitation.  More than one of my previous RV purchases (including a dealer purchase) were done the same.  Discussions between buyer and seller are not required to be disclosed when done between private parties.  I am one of those old cranky guys who sees what I consider huge property taxes  - both real estate and personal property - go to some pretty questionable stuff.  85 percent goes to the school system which loves brick and mortar projects yearly and still comes back asking for huge bond votes almost yearly.  Of course all this is JMHO.  And then there are those who register their RVs in Montana or South Dakota and never set foot in the state - why - because you can and, if handled right, it is legal.

Bill

BTW.  A year or so after I bought the coach the local county changed the assessment law where they base the value for personal property tax on RVs as the NADA value (a portion thereof for the assessed value) and paid for 20 years on the vehicle - billed each year right at Christmas time....ugh.

Bill N said:

Well that might have been my purpose in my mind, but all the paperwork shows it was totally legal and he signed that he sold the coach for a set price which I paid.  The fact that I gave him more money may have been like buying some of the used attachments, hoses, chocks, TV antennas, etc.  The paperwork was not forged or changed.  He sold me the coach for a stated price and I paid the stated price.  I admit it on a public forum because it is something that is done every day on sales of RVs.  I sold a travel trailer and when payment time came the buyer asked me to do something similar and I did without hesitation.  More than one of my previous RV purchases (including a dealer purchase) were done the same.  Discussions between buyer and seller are not required to be disclosed when done between private parties.  I am one of those old cranky guys who sees what I consider huge property taxes  - both real estate and personal property - go to some pretty questionable stuff.  85 percent goes to the school system which loves brick and mortar projects yearly and still comes back asking for huge bond votes almost yearly.  Of course all this is JMHO.  And then there are those who register their RVs in Montana or South Dakota and never set foot in the state - why - because you can and, if handled right, it is legal.

Bill

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The fact that you are justifying it in your mind and that you found an easy way around the law or that lots of people do it, doesnt change the fact that its illegal.  I personally couldnt care less.  There are lots of unfair laws (taxes and otherwise) and there are lots of ways around lots of laws.  Im just pointing out that it is in fact illegal for anyone reading this that might do it without realizing it.

MikeStarr said:

The fact that you are justifying it in your mind and that you found an easy way around the law or that lots of people do it, doesnt change the fact that its illegal.  I personally couldnt care less.  There are lots of unfair laws (taxes and otherwise) and there are lots of ways around lots of laws.  Im just pointing out that it is in fact illegal for anyone reading this that might do it without realizing it.

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Sorry but we will have to agree to disagree.  I call it tax avoidance because I paid tax on every dollar shown on a legal document.  You seem to think I should run into the courthouse and say Here is extra tax money that I owe.Legally I owe NOTHING and the fact that you find it to be illegal is your opinion. 

MODERATOR WARNING
OK, guys, let's knock off the legal tax debate.  Whether it is fraud of avoidance is strictly between Bill and the tax authorities and not something to be settled here. Nor is it a helpful response to sgthurow's question.

As I said, I couldnt care less.  Im not an IRS agent, and I dont care what people do in regards to their taxes.  I'm just saying for the sake of anyone reading this that if Bill calls the IRS (or a tax attorney) and asks if what he did is legal they will say emphatically NO.  The odds of getting caught are next to zero, but people shouldnt read something like that here and do it themselves thinking its fine when its not. 

There's no debate whether its legal or not.  He and the seller agreed to enter false information on a legal document which is fraud.  End of story.  Its between Bill and the tax authorities as to whether he gets caught or not (which is highly unlikely)...but it still illegal.