Trade In

[Chris P.]

So am I going to get hosed on a trade in to a dealer? Trailer is only 6 months old, should have gone with my gut and got a bigger one. Considering an upgrade already if the price is right. Thoughts/experiences?

[norty1]

Do it. Chalk it up as experience. Better now than 2 years down the road.

[RedHorse1]

"Hosed" is a relative term. They will want you to buy at MSRP and give you as little as they can for your trade.
Internet dealers generally offer 30% discount but I don't know if they are interested in trade-ins (I bought my first TT from RV Direct and was pleased). Since you are in New Braunfels look into PPL.

[clubhouse]

Take your time and sell the current trailer private party. I went throught the same experience you are going through. I attempted a trade-in at 12 months to buy new but wasn't happy with the deal. We walked away from that opportunity.

A year later I tried again, same bad trade-in offer, so I listed it on Craigslist and sold it private party in about a month. Probably would have sold sooner expect I listed it in December when most folks were not thinking about camping -- but a nice young family found my add and was very happy to get a great trailer at a very fair price.

We bought it new for about $18k, sold it for $13k IIRC correctly. Certainly a hit, but not as bad as the $9500 being offered as trade-in.

Funny thing happened too, when I sold mine I spent a lot of time looking at other used trailers to determine a fair price. In that research I came across a the exact trailer I wanted to buy new being offered locally from a guy going through a divorce. I ended up buying that trailer instead of buying new again, saved lots of money - but most importantly was able to finance it through my credit union on a 2.34% 24 mth note, opposed to new at a similar rate on a 84-120 month loan. With a little effort I paid the loan off this month, 11 months into the loan, so now I own what wanted free and clear much quicker.

So, I suggest selling private party, and looking for someone trying to do the same and save yourself thousands of dollars. The used unit I bought was a '12 same as I sold, but got it for $10k less than buying the same trailer new in a MY 14 or 15. I figured for $10k savings, compared to the negotiated price I was getting from the dealership not MSRP, I could give up the warranty and pay out of pocket should any repairs be required. To date I have not had any issues and I feel that I am considerably ahead financially than I would have been otherwise.

Not long after financing the new to us trailer I discovered Dave Ramsey. This has lead us down a life changing path that has totally changed our view on using credit --- hence the speed I paid it off, as well as my Duramax and the wife's Highlander.

Sometimes things work out in a strange way. In retrospect I am very appreciative of the dealers two low-ball trade in offers. I know hold the title to everything I own except my house. Hopefully that will be coming in a couple years too.

Hopefully my story helps you a little. Best of luck.

[UPCamper]

The way I looked at it when we traded in was the longer it say in my driveway the longer it continues to depreciate. Could have sold it via private party but that can take a while.

[robkelly]

We talked to our dealer earlier this year about a possible trade (we were in exploration mode only) and they claimed that in two years they would likely give us the same price on a trade that they would today - their rationale is that they can't resell the warranty. I have a hard time believing that they'd do that, but we it didn't really matter as we decided to stay with our current TT for the foreseeable future.

That said, over Columbus Day weekend a couple camped next to us had worked with the same dealer and claimed that both times they traded up, both times after a couple of years, the dealer gave them, sight unseen, their original purchase price in trade. Hopefully we'll get a deal like that if/when the time comes.

[drk98]

We sold our first 5th wheel using PPL in Houston. It was only 18mo old and we got what we paid for it new less taxes and fees. They listed it for about 3k more than we paid for it.

It's crazy what PPL can sell used trailers for. They were great to deal with and it sold in just over a week at the end of January.

[BillMc40]

We shopped and really couldnt get a good deal local. Low balled my '07 Fleetwood Niagra and would nor order what we wanted. Was laughed at in Tulsa Ok. Found the deal 3 hrs away, couldnt of gotten a better deal. I emaoled all of the facts to the other dealers then they were willing to deal. I still drove the extra 15 minutes. The local dealer still wouldnt deal, told us to go else where.
BillMc

[chrisb]

Live and learn, We bought a pop up first instead of going with my gut, it worked well for a year and then our first long trip proved otherwise. Halfway through our trip I traded up , they have a jayco dealer right across the street from pirate land in myrtle beach where we found our 184bh and now we couldn't be happier. We didn't take that bad of a hit on a 1yr old pop up but to be as happy as we are with the 184 it was worth it. Good luck with whatever choice you make

[Jrmay25]

x2 to what Clubhouse said if you can and are willing to wait, you will probably be able to sell it on your own for more than a dealer will give you on trade. Considered going that route when we decided to move from our 2012 365BHS to a 2014 375 BHFS, but was worried we would be stuck making payments on 2 campers longer than we were comfortable with. Decided to bite the bullet and trade it to RVConnection and lost $5000 over what we paid for it just a year earlier.

[BigJohnD]

We've took a severe loss on "lessons learned". Lost probably around $20k a pop on the few motorhomes. Not so bad on the towables. Some were only a year old. We always traded until recently, where we used PPL Motorhomes in Sugarland, Tx. Trade Value at most dealers on our last Cedar Creek was $30k. It sold for around $42k at PPL, less the 10% they get out of the consignment. It was worth it to me as I banked a LOT more, and didn't have to do anything but drop it off.


I guess all depends on what you want, when you want, and how bad you want it.

[SecretCoveDave]

That's the truth BigJD.

[Ustabslim]

In Texas we gets a tax credit on trade value so that is a saving of around $1250 on a $20k trade. So if your getting $18,500 trade but can get $20,000 of street....might as well trade as will come out the same.

[etex211]

We traded a two year old KZ trailer when we bought our Jayco. We got $13,500 for the trade. If we had tried to sell it ourselves, we may have gotten $15,000 or $16,000, but there's no telling how long we would have had to sit on it. The dealer told us they would put on the lot at $14,900 and would be happy to get the trade value back. I think they sat on it for about 3 months.

What Texas High Sheriff says is true. You save the sales tax on the value of the trade-in when you trade. This is true for RVs and cars alike. The sales tax rate for vehicles (and RVs) in Texas is (I think) 6.25%.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by etex211

What Texas High Sheriff says is true. You save the sales tax on the value of the trade-in when you trade. This is true for RVs and cars alike. The sales tax rate for vehicles (and RVs) in Texas is (I think) 6.25%.

Yup, 6.25%. That tax is a definite consideration here when you're thinking about selling or trading. I'm going through the same decision matrix with my truck (or at least I was, decided not to pull the trigger this year, maybe next).

[Nighthawk 96]

I paid $11,500 for a year old 26BH which had virtually no wear on it. Traded it in at the same dealer (small family owned) for $10,000 and paid about $29,000 for our 27DSRL new.

The loan on the 26BH had been paid off in 18 months. We financed 19k and that loan will be paid off 12 months from now or in a total of 30 months. Interest rate was 2.99%

Not a follower of Dave Ramsey, but am aware of him believe that he has the right ideas concerning handling of debt, although financing at sub 3% is basically using other peoples money to purchase items such as trucks and trailers, since I can obtain a higher rate of interest rate on my investments.

[kjohn73]

We had a 2008 197 that we bought used in 2011. It was as new, and had hardly been used. In 2012, we traded it in for a new 197 with a slide. We paid $10,000 to boot. We maybe took a bit of a beating, but we are very happy with the extra room and much, much better floor plan.