Buying a Used RV - Is everyone Upside Down??

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KandT

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I moved my search to 2016 gassers and people seem reluctant to come down to even a listed retail price.  I was reading that many people are upside down especially after a few years of owning their RV.

I guess it rolls out like this:

1). People get the RV "bug"
2)  They buy a new RV and with decent credit they can take a nice long loan for it.
3)  They find out packing for this trips and $300 fill ups along with $75/night campgrounds means an expensive vacation plus maintenance and maybe storage
4). Year 3-4 into their 10-20 year loan comes and they go to sell it and discover they owe more than it is worth.
5)  They are forced to refuse legit offers of retail because they can't afford to sell it.

Does this sound right?  I mean I am not low balling here.  I am making real offers.  I dont get peoples responses!

 
Before we bought our new rig, we looked at 2-3 year old units. They were asking what I could buy a new rig for! I believe a lot of people buy new rigs for MSRP or near it, and an experienced negotiator can get 25-30% off a new motorhome, 30-35% off a travel trailer. So those poor souls are over market by 20% or so as they drive off the lot. Bad situation if they don?t admit it and pay someone to take it off their hands.
 
I think you nailed it.  Dealers love naive customers!  If they simply made a decent down payment, they would still take a beating, but could afford to sell it for what it was really worth, and still be able to pay off the loan.
 
UTTransplant said:
Before we bought our new rig, we looked at 2-3 year old units. They were asking what I could buy a new rig for! I believe a lot of people buy new rigs for MSRP or near it, and an experienced negotiator can get 25-30% off a new motorhome, 30-35% off a travel trailer. So those poor souls are over market by 20% or so as they drive off the lot. Bad situation if they don?t admit it and pay someone to take it off their hands.
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Yes sir - That is EXACTLY what I am seeing.  When I look at the MSRP and multiply by .7 or .65 (if you are lucky or get a last year's unit) then I could NEW what they are asking for for their 2-3 year old unit.  So they are looking for someone to fix their mess up.

Augh!
 
grashley said:
I think you nailed it.  Dealers love naive customers!  If they simply made a decent down payment, they would still take a beating, but could afford to sell it for what it was really worth, and still be able to pay off the loan.
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I'll go one further - If they bought a rig they could afford (used) then they wouldn't be in this mess at all.  I spoke with a woman I work with who literally said "We cant afford to sell our rig!"  They were going to pay it down to the point where they could put it on the market.
 
The people I bought my current rig from were upside down by $14K four years after buying new, but were smart enough to understand the situation.
 
Bingo.  Easy money, easy credit.  The exact same thing is happening in the recreational boat market.  If/when this economy cools I think the banks will own a lot overpriced RVs & boats. 
 
I mean I am not low balling here.  I am making real offers.
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That's a matter of perception, though, and the sellers you have met clearly have a different view.  If 1-2 sellers decline your offer, it may be they have simply overpriced. If everybody refuses your offers, maybe you are the one whose market valuation is off.  Afterall, the value of any item is whatever the buyer and seller can agree on. There is no right or wrong.
 
I the information age there is no excuse for not doing your homework.  I was at the big Tampa show this year looking at a new fiver.  It had a sold sign with a $50k price tag.  A quick internet search showed 6 different dealers selling the same model for around $35k.  Now I don't know what it sold for but I know the offer I would have made.
 
SeilerBird said:
I do not understand the total stupidity of buying a luxury item by payments. I save up the money and pay cash. Makes it bulletproof.
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Well if you can she'll out over 200 grand that's fine, but most of us can't. We bought something  we could afford but when you drive it off the lot and the value  goes down to half you can't fix that. It's simple r's do not hold their value.
 
That's what I'm saying though.  If we had found a mh that had what we wanted and needed for 50 grand that would've been great but we didn't so that's why we had to spend as much as we did. Then in less than a yr. The value had dropped  to almost half. It's like anything else. If you can buy it cheap then you  usually are never upside down, but with the cost of everything now a days it's alot harder to do.  And the time we spent using ours was  priceless
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
That's a matter of perception, though, and the sellers you have met clearly have a different view.  If 1-2 sellers decline your offer, it may be they have simply overpriced. If everybody refuses your offers, maybe you are the one whose market valuation is off.  Afterall, the value of any item is whatever the buyer and seller can agree on. There is no right or wrong.
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When I bought mine used, I found them on sale all over the country for all about the same price. I messaged about 15 sellers saying my budget was $13,000 less than what they were listed at and said I know it's way less than what they're asking, but that it's exactly what I'm looking for and is there any chance they would consider my offer of $13k less. Only one of the 15 responded, and here I am! He had all the records and everything and it was in mint condition. I'm hoping to sell it next summer for what I paid.
 
    Well if the recession that the press and economists are predicting hits, there will be a lot of bargains floating around.  However, if the economy continues to boom, prices will continue to climb.  So, my advice is to dig out the ouija board and let it make your decision as to when to buy.

Ed
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
That's a matter of perception, though, and the sellers you have met clearly have a different view.  If 1-2 sellers decline your offer, it may be they have simply overpriced. If everybody refuses your offers, maybe you are the one whose market valuation is off.  Afterall, the value of any item is whatever the buyer and seller can agree on. There is no right or wrong.
Click to expand...

That is a very fair point.  What I am surprised to see at this time of year is listings that have been for sale for over 100 days and they are still rejecting pretty close offers.  But as you said there is no right or wrong.  Late model RV's even 2016/2015 can easily depreciate $12,000 per year so if they are truly done depreciation is a hidden expense they may not be considering.

I suspect with no evidence to back this up except my own marriage that some wive's want them gone and the husband wants to keep them.  "No dear, it's being advertised but the offers I am getting are insulting".      ;D
 
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