Sell Yourself or Trade it in ?

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bollee

Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2006
Posts
10
Looking to upgrade my 99 Allegro Bus (She wants more slides) !!!!  Any advice regarding whether to sell the coach myself or is it easier in the long run just to trade it in ????
 
Well it's probably *easier* to trade it in (as in less effort on your part) but in general you can get more money out of it by selling privately.  It's really a convenience vs. value judgement call... that goes with any used vehicle sale.  This is probably not the greatest time of year for either method with an RV though, from the used units I've seen everything is priced lower for Fall clearances.  Is there any way you could wait until Spring to sell your '99?

P.S. If you're eBay-savvy, I have seen many units sell for more than what they seemed to be worth.  With eBay's popularity right now, I'd say you would get more visits/views to your ad then with any of the other online RV classifieds.
 
What Scotty says...

Selling an RV can be a long and frustrating process - only a few sellers move their rigs in a relatively short time, say less tan 6 months. It's probably worth a try, but don't get your hopes up too high. And don't expect to get retail book value either - most private sales go for well under NADA retail pricing.

Be aware that you have to get substantially more than the dealer will give in trade (which is wholesale book value) if you live in a state that has a sales tax. That's because most sales taxes apply only to the net difference on a  trade. If you sell your Allegro privaely, you will be buying the new one for cash and pay sales tax on the entire amount, not the difference in the trade. That often amounts to several thousand dollars in tax.

We are looking at going to a larger rig ourselves and face the same dilemma you do.  Will probably advertise our rig in a few places and see what happens, but am making plans on a trade rather than private sale.

By the way, if a 2002 36 foot Dolphin LX with two slides would be of interest, email me for details!  ;D
 
When we bought our Class A, the dealer offered us $500 for our 1987 Coachman Class C. We declined and sold it locally with nothing but a "For Sale" sign in the window for $5000. You're always going to get more selling it yourself than trading it in. Depends on whether or not you mind sitting on the old one till it sells.
 
bollee said:
Looking to upgrade my 99 Allegro Bus (She wants more slides) !!!!? Any advice regarding whether to sell the coach myself or is it easier in the long run just to trade it in ????

Can't add much to the points already written here -- other than are there any issues with the Allegro? I traded earlier this year, and had to make that decision with a '98 Tioga. One of the issues was a dime shaped hole in the fiberglass a foot or so under the rear window. My first attempt to fix it for sale was to buy one of those fiberglass kits. That didn't work well at all so I started getting estimates. $350-500 on three quotes. Then there was the roof. I had taken off my solar panels and Internet antenna. No leaks, but if a potential buyer saw all the filled holes am sure they would be reluctant. The difference between wholesale and average retail on that rig was about $6,000 -- but as Gary points out, it's tough to get that even on a very clean rig.

My other issue was being a full timer. Couldn't imagine trying to sell a rig while still living in it -- so I traded it in. The convenience factor was probably worth the difference in this case. Of course, if you can afford to buy the new rig w/o trade -- then sell the Allegro, that might be an option - though Gary's point about sales tax on a trade is well taken.

California is one of the two states that does a "gotcha" trade in sales tax. I bought the rig in TX and did not pay tax on the trade. One has 20 days to register upon entry back into CA. On the 21st day, one pays a 40% penalty. I then had to pay tax on the trade as well. Was told there is only one other state that does that type of rip-off but can't remember which one. Unfortunately, the other loop hole of avoding the CA sales tax if out of state for 3 months has now increased to a year. I was almost out of state for 3 months anyway after the sale -- but couldn't make it for a year. Can't really change residency due to my Kaiser health plan. If my permenant residence changes, Kaiser would do an automatic drop.
 
Just a quick note ...

If there was anyone on earth I'd buy a used MH from, it would be Gary from this forum. I can't imagine you'd ever find a MH better maintained ...
 
If you sell your Allegro privately, you will be buying the new one for cash and pay sales tax on the entire amount, not the difference in the trade

Gary,

Won't dealers in the U.S. allow new vehicle buyers to pass the private sale through the dealer's  books as a courtesy so you pay sales tax only on the difference, as though you traded in?

It's a common practice in Canada, where the private sale goes in and out of the books, the private buyer pays the sales tax on the private sale and the new vehicle is taxed as though there were a trade in.
 
I have been advertising my 5r for awhile.  It is good to know it does take awhile.  One of my pet peeves has been the scam artists.  I'll send you X number of dollars and please deposit the remaining $5000 in this other account.  I am fed up with those folks!  If you do a private sale be aware of this and careful.  The internet has made things so much easier and yet more complicated.  Phil
 
Should they buy from me they will go to my bank and insert Cash or verified  deposit  so My bank will allow me to transfer the funds immediately without a hold on my funds so it is a completed deal.  If not they don't buy from me cause I don't have to sell it.  Those are my terms and the heck with theirs.  As they say  My way or the Highway.
 
I agree with you 100% Shayne.  Many folks, some older, get ripped off by these cons.  I got an email from this joker recently and he would not even tell me where he lived.  I emailed him back, explaining my concern of scams, and never heard from him again.  When someone eventually buys my rig they will have a heck of a good deal but for folks who want to steal from me they will have nothing.
 
Phil  I couldn't agree with you more.  I was a sales Mgr for auto and Rv dealers yrs ago and things haven't changed much in those categories.  Heck for that matter I don't really trust Banks.  That's why I said transfer my funds.  That means to a Safe, a large one somewhere and I know the place.
 
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