Why It's often a BAD IDEA to buy a used RV from an INDIVIDUAL

Many people think that if they want to get a great deal on a camper they need to hit up Craigslist and find a For Sale By Owner.  I'm here to tell you that you often get the WORST DEALS EVER when buying from an individual.

Why?

#1 - It is common practice for a person to finance a new camper for up to 15 years with $0 down.  So they are going into the camper loan with ZERO equity.   So 2 or 3 years later when they want to sell it, they will have not made even a small dent into their loan because of the length of time it was financed.  And, I can tell you from experience, most owners want to sell their camper for at least what they owe on it.  Here is a for example...Joe Smith pays $25,000 for a new camper.  He finances it with $0 down @ 5% for 180 months.  Fast forward 18 months...Joe wants to sell that camper, he still owes $23.356 and that is assuming he didn't add any DMV fees, hitch work, accessories, etc into his loan.  Joe will want to sell his camper for at least $23,000 (only $2,000 less than he paid) for a camper that has been USED, no idea how it has been maintained, has no factory warranty on it.  Not such a good deal.


It's not unusual for me to see FSBO posts for 2-3 year old campers that the owner is asking more for than what I can sell an equivalent NEW camper with a full warranty for (granted, we do have the lowest selling prices of any dealer in the area, so this may not apply with comparing prices to other RV Dealers around here).


#2- Individuals do not understand how to value a used camper.   They hop on NADA guides and find their year/make/model and then they go to town adding "options" to bump up the value.  However, if you read the small print on NADA, it will say "only add options that are not standard on the unit when it was new".  Here is an excellent example.  I found this ad in our local Craigslist.  The price seemed really high to me (selling a 4 year old camper for $21k..I sell an equivalent unit with MORE OPTIONS and features brand new for $24,995), so I clicked on the ad and saw that this seller did what almost every single individual on Craigslist does when valuing their camper.

I click through the photos and see that the seller has listed the NADA value...shown here is their "NADA VALUE"

I look at his list of "options" and know that the majority of those items come STANDARD on this unit.  I pull up a 2013 Jayco brochure and verify which options are actually standard.  Here is my edited NADA showing which items are actually standard...

So, this guy is saying that his camper is worth $27,660...but he'll sell it for the bargain price of $21,000...well, lets look at the ACTUAL NADA Value and see if that's a good deal..

FULL NADA RETAIL (which as a dealer I never sell anything at Full Retail...always sell closer to wholesale value with the rare exception of unique/high demand units or very old units that are sold at market value) is $19,910 a far cry from the seller's stated value of $27,660...so that bargain price of $21,000 doesn't seem like such a bargain now does it?

And, before you think I'm picking on a person, please note that I did contact this seller to tell him/her that they are not doing the NADA value correctly, sent them the full list of features that are Standard on their camper and also sent them the correct NADA value..they have not changed their ad even knowing that they are opening themselves up for litigation from the future buyer by misrepresenting the value of their camper.

Do your research before you buy from Craigslist FSBO.  You don't want to get buried in a camper and owe so much more than it's worth that you can never trade out of it.  For example, if you purchased this camper for $21,000 and decided it wasn't a good fit and came to me to trade out of it..I would be offering roughly $14,000 in trade value (per the NADA trade value)...so you would immediately be upside down by $7,000 the minute you bought that unit.

When Is The Best Time To Purchase a Camper?

This is a question that I receive ALL.THE.TIME.  My answer is always the same...the best time to purchase a new camper is between the months of October and December.  There are several reasons why this is so.


#1 - National Dealer Show in September

Every September the RV Manufacturers host a national dealer show in Indiana (photo on left is from the Thor display in Elkhart).  At this show dealers are able to view new models, see product changes and sign up for new franchises.  To entice dealers to order order order, the manufacturers offer special discounts on units ordered at the dealer show and many even offer to pay any interest that the dealer will be charged on their inventory for a period of a few months.  As a result, most dealers will place large orders for inventory at the show which means that from the months of November to December, inventory levels will be at an all time high at most dealers' lots -- meaning you have lots to pick from and because of the special incentives they have been given by the manufacturer's at the show, the dealer will be able to offer larger than normal discounts on in stock units. (Just for good measure, the picture above is one taken of me at this year's RV Dealer show where we picked up the Rockwood GeoPro product line)



#2- It's the Slow Time of Year
After school starts RV Sales typically slow down until after the New Year.  Dealers will have a high supply of units but lower demand, so they are going to be willing to take a little (or a lot) less profit than normal to move a unit.


#3- Dealers are in a Race to Boost their Year End Numbers
99% of dealers rely on a financing source for their inventory (called Floorplan Lending).  The Floorplan lender bases the dealer's line of credit amount (how much money they will let the dealer borrow to buy inventory) in large part based on the amount of sales they had the previous year.  So December is the month that dealers are racing to add sales to their books in hopes of getting a larger line of credit for the following year.

#4- Tax Time Savings
If you are a business owner or travel for business, you may be able to write off the cost of a new camper.  Talk to your CPA and see if this is something that you can do to save money come April.

 And, even if you aren't able to write off the camper, the IRS will let you write off the interest you pay on your camper loan as it is considered a 2nd residence.  Talk to your CPA to learn more.

So if you are thinking about buying a camper in the spring, why not do it now when you have a better chance of finding the exact unit you want, in stock, and having the opportunity to pay less for that unit than you would in Spring.  Add to that some of the best financing terms available in recent history, including rates as low as 3.15%, $0 down financing and up to 90 days no payments (all with approved credit of course), it's almost a no-brainer!

Why not try something new with your family...WINTER CAMPING!  Camping is not just a spring and summer activity, search the web and you'll find tons of people who love camping in the winter with no crowds, easy to find reservations at popular campgrounds..there's not better way to make family memories.