Trying to get your price for your used 5er may be challenging with the current economy. I agree with the previous post that you will save on sales tax if you trade yours in. You will also save yourself the headache of dealing with private sellers on your current unit.
One of the advantages of a trade (as posted above) is that you avoid the hassle of dealing with selling your old unit. One of the disadvantages of a trade is that you have reverse sticker shock when you see how "little" the dealers offer for your current unit.
Something that worked well for me was that I thoroughly researched the unit I wanted to buy and researched my old unit. I then asked the dealer for a price on the new unit and when it was silly high, I told them that I had a good unit for trade and that I would provide the trade and buy the new unit as long as I was no more then $XXXXX out of pocket.
I then walked away....they called me a day or so later and while we dickered around for a couple hundred bucks, the deal was largely done at the "out of pocket" or "net" price I offered.
CRL
Temporarily (5 years & counting)displaced Alaskan
My Other RV is a 1946 PA-12
RGordon wrote: I hope you don't expect them to knock off 30% then expect retail for your trade-in. It really don't work that way. You would be better off selling your camper and buying theirs.
I am in the middle of this very process myself. Of course, yes... I'd like full retail for my trade, 30% off MSRP and only the options equipped that I want - not the options they happened to have on that floorplan on the lot. It's what I want -- but I'll settle for less.
I was offered full retail on my trade and 15% off the MSRP including $6,000 in options I really don't need. It was a nice start and I walked. We had a message on our answering machine before we got home.
I'm not quite there with this "sell it yourself" though. One advantage to trading is that you don't pay sales tax on the trade value which is about $1,000 for me. You can also arrange to swap your trade for the new RV in one day - which is convenient. Assuming I sell after I take delivery of my new rig I'd need to pay for storage on the old rig until it gets sold, insure it, and arrange to show it until it's sold. To me that's all worth $$'s to avoid - the question is just how many $$'s.
Dave Lindemulder
Tammy, Mark and Kirsten
04 Dodge 2500 4x4 SLT Quad Cab/Short Bed
HO-CTD/48RE - Graphite: Raptor SS nerfs, Tekonsha Prodigy, Reese 16K Kwik-slide, BD X-Monitor, PML Trans pan, PML Diff cover, DiPricol fpg
04 Jayco Eagle 305 BHS
Thanks to all who wrote, you gave me some good ideas. I like the idea of finance and pay off if no prepayment penalty. We are not in a hurry to buy,therefore the price we want to pay will have to come to us. Wife does not want to deal with selling so we will do OK if we get trade in value for our rig. There are 3 prices, retail, wholesale and trade in. Why do I not tell them until the end of the deal that I have a trade, do you ever play cards, you never show your whole hand. I want a price from them before I tell of a trade. I will be polite, I want trade in value on my rig and 30% off retail on new rig and will walk away from anything else. The dealers have only one objective to get as much money out of you as possible. In Calif. we pay sales tax on full price of the new unit we are buying. A buyer in this economy should be in the drivers seat, I know a dealer personally and the only thing holding up his buisness is the repair shop, he isn't selling much. Thanks again to all.
Tell the dealer what you have to trade as soon as possible, it could save you and the dealer a lot of time. If you have a '04 or newer model and it's worth more than $20k at retail...chances are he does not want your trade and will not do a trade. There's very little traffic in our area for used fifth wheels over $15k.
A consignment arrangement works best for late model fifth wheels. Get a hot price on the new camper and you price your unit a price between trade value and average retail. If you special order a fifth wheel, maybe your camper will be sold before the new one arrives.
Never offer to pay cash to get a better deal...that went out with striped bell-bottoms.
Don't be afraid to walk on the deal. Start at 40% off. Don't hesitate to use other dealerships in other town as leverage, if they know you can get the same unit in another town they will deal more. It also helps if your wife is with you and she does not like the color and she complains and fusses a little.
Good luck,
Tim
Hey, I thought my wife and I were the only ones who did the 'bad cop, good cop' routine
If we're shopping for a car for her, I'm the bad guy (not enough power, not 4wd, transmission not good enough, suspension too soft, etc). When it's for me she's the bad guy (wrong color, seats don't feel right). She does better than I do. She usually pries some money out of the deal for having to put up with a wrong color or some such thing.
charlie
2006 Toyota Tundra Double Cab
2003 Skyline Nomad 24ft Fiver
portablevcb wrote: Hey, I thought my wife and I were the only ones who did the 'bad cop, good cop' routine
If we're shopping for a car for her, I'm the bad guy (not enough power, not 4wd, transmission not good enough, suspension too soft, etc). When it's for me she's the bad guy (wrong color, seats don't feel right). She does better than I do. She usually pries some money out of the deal for having to put up with a wrong color or some such thing.
Surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet. Once you get an offer you can accept, try to add a few things into the deal that you will need at dealer cost. A hitch would be a good example. This way you save a few hundred extra dollars and the dealer isn't out anything. Its a win-win and should not be a deal breaker.
Bill, Carol & Striker The Cat
2005 Everest 323k
1989 Ford F-350 Crew Cab, 460, 5 spd, 4.30 axle
Everest owners: check out the Everest Owners Club.
Make a small loan, Make a big difference: Kiva.org
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years & counting)displaced Alaskan
