Used RV Trade-In & Retail Valuations

[Crossingover]

Looking for insights into how RV dealers assess trade-in values and set retail value. I know condition/age/mileage (non-diesel only) are big factors, but I recently went through this with a dealer and was surprised by the disparity between what I was able to do via NADA and what the dealer presented. The dealer mentioned they go with what a bank would underwrite, so what book are the banks using? Are RV deals done differently than cars?

Thanks, appreciate your input.

[Grumpy]

There is a "BLACK BOOK" that they use, exclusive to dealers and banks.

NADAguides (National Appraisal Guides) and Black Book Values offer vehicle valuation services based on a proprietary collection of data points and professional market analysis. Black Book Values service offering differs from NADAguides in the fact that they do not offer direct to consumer services. Rather, their services are ready made for businesses such as auto lenders and dealers.

Black Book Values focuses on data points that can help lenders and dealers better identify vehicles with lower risks and higher potential profitability. Their pricing and value data includes statistical analysis that allows for current and time-sensitive changes in historical valuation to be easily understood resulting in reliable predictors of values and potential risks.

[Crossingover]

That's quite a detailed explanation, thank you Grumpy. The delta between trade and retail can be quite large with RVs, but I guess on a percentage basis they are fairly consistent with cars. I was comparing a few retail units to mine and the gap was quite large (10's of thousands) that, even when negotiating down and factoring in reconditioning, would still provide the dealer with quite a profit.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by Crossingover

That's quite a detailed explanation, thank you Grumpy. The delta between trade and retail can be quite large with RVs, but I guess on a percentage basis they are fairly consistent with cars. I was comparing a few retail units to mine and the gap was quite large (10's of thousands) that, even when negotiating down and factoring in reconditioning, would still provide the dealer with quite a profit.

I was also told that banks normally only loan on 80% of the Black Book value so that also restricts what the dealer can sell it for. True or not I don't know.

[harryjr]

We got lucky. The sales rep mentioned that the FW we were looking at was traded in by a campground owner. THANKYOU! There was a sticker on the rear. Think they would put on a competitor's sticker? Stopped by the campground and spoke to the owner. She was very cooperative. Told me all the history, including what the dealer had paid them. Very helpful during negotiations.

[TWP723]

Getting retail on a unit is easy and you shouldn't have a problem. Getting the REAL trade-in value is where you may come up short. Most of this information is privileged and only sales and managers can see the real numbers. I believe NADA has a section for RV's but it's mostly estimation.

[craigav]

I went through USAA (which may not be available for everyone). They were able to tell me what they would loan for what I was looking to purchase and were helpful enough in that I could call and did call on several different RV's prior to purchase. They also told me what my Coachmen 5th wheel RV was worth that I planned to sell (what they would loan on it). Also, they told me that it depends on the credit rating of the purchaser whether or not they would loan 80% or 90% or even 100% of the loan value and that they didn't use NADA or Black book in particular, but their values often were in line with NADA and the Black book (not sure exactly how or what book they used). I suspect that one could call any bank or lending institution that you deal with or have (or had) an account with and get similar guidance regarding what your trade in is worth in loan value as well as what you are looking to purchase prior to selling or purchasing anything. They were also able to provide me with "pre-approval" of a loan for any RV I wanted to purchase up to 90% loan value, as I have had USAA for ~40 years and have had many vehicle loans with them all with excellent repayment history. ~CA

Note to add, they also told me that they could tell me on any new RV what they would loan on that as well. I would just need to call them and provide the year, make, model, and perhaps a few other details.

[Randel J]

Trade-in value also is highly dependent on the "supply & demand" in your particular area. Out here in California, RV trade-ins are unusually high because supply is historically low, demand is still very high (and is projected to remain high well into 2022), and in most CA areas spring time is busting out all over. so people are hitting the road.

The biggest drawback for CA buyers is if your trading in your current RV for a new unit, you're going to pay thru the nose for the new RV, even with a high $ trade in.