How to sell our motorhome?

[Brooks]

Any Bogleheads here who have had success in selling a motorhome?
We have a beautiful class C motorhome only 2 years old and have it up for sale on FB Marketplace and Craigslist for $105,000. We'd like to get it sold, pay off the loan and concentrate on foreign travel.
[Link removed by admin LadyGeek]
I have the price a little lower than a JD Power/NADA valuation.
It's been on the market for weeks with little activity. One Canadian couple was interested but decided to look within Canada when they saw how unfavorable the exchange rate is.
I think the problem is a combination of a soft market and a big ticket item.
We were approached by and allowed an experienced dealer to list our motorhome but they layer in their commission and make the price more unattractive.
[Link removed by admin LadyGeek]
We're going to try posting flyers in local campgrounds after Memorial Day when they open up here in the Buffalo area.
Of course everything is about money, maybe I just need to overcome my reluctance to lower the price.
There are a lot of smart people on this website, thought there might be some ideas ...

[Jimbo Moneybags]

Any mass-produced consumer grade RV from a company like Jayco (owned by Thor) will depreciate like a rock the minute you drive it off the lot. They are not known for their quality and simply don't hold their value.

The bottom line: just like selling a house or a car, if you aren't getting prospective buyers, your price is too high.

[firebirdparts]

I guess you are competing with much bigger and much nicer machines that are older and $50,000. I guess RV trader is your best bet, but I might try consignment if I could somewhere.

[LadyGeek]

I removed the OP's motor home listings. As a reminder, see: No Solicitation

Please do not solicit business or website traffic on this forum.

General discussions on how to sell, price, and other details are fine.

[Rocky Mtn Man]

I have sold many cars, motorcycles, gym equipment, etc on FB marketplace, Craigslist, newspapers classifieds (decades ago). I make a handshake agreement with my spouse that we lower the price every other Thursday. That keeps us accountable to our goal of trading the item for money. Otherwise you end up backtracking and mentally justifying why you need this item when you don't get what you think it's "worth"

It's difficult, but take the ego out and keep lowering the price.

[vested1]

I followed the link you provided before it was removed and a quick look for several of the same model in various locations, that were similarly equipped, and newer with fewer miles, were less than your listed price. You can try to sell it on consignment at a large RV dealer, but they will take their slice.

[Jack FFR1846]

I have sold dozens of cars and they are all sold the same way. Listing as you have is fine but clearly the price is too high. With a $10k car, I would lower the price at LEAST $200 a WEEK. For your RV that's 10 times that price, you should lower the price $2,000 a WEEK. You will gain a following of potential buyers who see that they might be able to afford your RV and will jump in when the price becomes reasonable to them. What you value this at is irrelevant. What buyers would value it at is what matters and the longer you wait, the lower the value is going to be. I know nothing of the value of this thing but would recommend you immediately drop the price by $10k to get closer to market price. We're in a huge slump for vehicle sales with buyers tired of overpricing and simply getting out of the market and this includes RVs. Owners have in many cases repaired and upgraded what they have and decided to live with what they have for another year rather than paying huge bucks for a nicer machine.

If you think you're just not exposed enough and wait, the value of this thing will drop thousands a week while you sit at an overprice. Drop it now. Have you considered eBay motors? It will get you a bigger market.

[bob60014]

RV sales are highly cyclical and now, with the recent COVID buying demand & rush over and with sky-high interest rates for used motorhomes, the MH market has really shrunk. You may have to be creative and/or hope for a interested cash buyer.

[Watty]

We have a beautiful class C motorhome only 2 years old .....
...
... We'd like to get it sold, pay off the loan and concentrate on foreign travel.

A high percentage of people that bought motorhomes during the pandemic feel the same way and a lot of potential buyers are looking at international travel too.

If I was in your situation I would drop the price a LOT to get a quick sale since if it does not sell by about July few people will be wanting to buy them then and lots of people who used their RVs for one last summer will be ready to sell their RVs too by this fall.

Frankly if I was going to buy an RV I would want to buy it well before Memorial Day so that I could make reservations at campgrounds for summer trips. If someone buys an RV now they will have a very hard time getting reservations at many desirable campgrounds.

I am just speculating but with the current economy people are speculating that there will be a lot of car repossessions when people cannot pay their car loan payments. That could be a problem with RVs too.

[quantAndHold]

I’m selling a motorhome right now too. The place people look for RV’s is on RV Trader, not Craigslist or FB.

The other issue is that when you’re selling something for six figures, you have a disadvantage compared to dealers, who can fix things that are broken cheaply, provide financing, etc. What we found is that when all is said and done, we won’t lose too much consigning it with a dealer, compared to selling it ourselves, and it is a lot less work.

[MrMoose]

Have you checked with any of the large RV dealers that offer to buy or consign your rig? Depending on your pay-off, it might be worthwhile to cut your losses (ongoing payment, insurance, storage if applicable) by taking the wholesale price they would offer.

[123]

...The other issue is that when you’re selling something for six figures, you have a disadvantage compared to dealers, who can fix things that are broken cheaply, provide financing, etc. What we found is that when all is said and done, we won’t lose too much consigning it with a dealer, compared to selling it ourselves, and it is a lot less work.

Cash buyers hold onto their cash for a better price. If a product is financed people are generally able and willing to pay a higher price because they are not paying for it now but "later". A dealer can include financing for the buyer in the deal, likely the same way as you if you used dealer financing.

[WhyNotUs]

We bought from ad on RV Trader

[quantAndHold]

Have you checked with any of the large RV dealers that offer to buy or consign your rig? Depending on your pay-off, it might be worthwhile to cut your losses (ongoing payment, insurance, storage if applicable) by taking the wholesale price they would offer.

We also found that the net price the dealer offered us for consignment wasn’t much less than the private party price we were having trouble getting on our own. And letting the dealer do all the work of advertising and dealing with looky loos was worth it.

[lostcoast2023]

The market is absolutely saturated with these things right now. Your links were removed, so I can't tell what you mean by "very nice", but if yours is in the 24' to 31' range with low miles, it is very likely overpriced unless it is a higher end model.

From the research I have done, Class C's that were selling for 100k+ during covid are now closer to 70k. If they drop down to 50k or less, I may become interested, but I lost a lot of money last time I owned one.

[margaritaville]

Unless there's a niche market for your model (like for Airstreams), RVTrader is where people go to look for RVs. You're running out of runway for this year. As others have said, it's time to drop the price and move it versus letting it sit and depreciate further. If you want it gone, look at what others are priced at and list lower.

[snowman]

RVTrader as others have said. Also post question about pricing/market conditions on your manufacturer/model online forum. Lots of members are clued in on pricing in general, and will let you know if you are at least in the ballpark.

[michaelingp]

Have you checked with any of the large RV dealers that offer to buy or consign your rig? Depending on your pay-off, it might be worthwhile to cut your losses (ongoing payment, insurance, storage if applicable) by taking the wholesale price they would offer.

We also found that the net price the dealer offered us for consignment wasn’t much less than the private party price we were having trouble getting on our own. And letting the dealer do all the work of advertising and dealing with looky loos was worth it.

Admittedly, I'm very averse to hassle, but I just think there are times you need agents. It's been a while, but when we sold our motorhome we just drove it to the nearest RV dealer who took consignments. A month or so later we got a check in the mail. Could I have sold it for a little more on my own? Perhaps, although I thought we got a pretty good price even taking out the dealer's commission. I know there are lots of people who wouldn't think of paying a dealer thousands of dollars to sell a vehicle they were perfectly comfortable selling on their own, but for me it was totally worth it.

[Wanderingwheelz]

We sold our motorhome in just about 30 days to the first couple who looked at it. RV Trader works, no doubt, but I used the FB group for owners and prospective owners of the specific motorhome we owned to sell it. I knew what I wanted for it, priced it there and that’s exactly what the buyers paid me (plus a separate check for some additional items we negotiated on when they took delivery.)

This is peak selling time for an RV, and no surprise, this is the exact time of the year ours sold- to a couple from Buffalo. There was much more interest in motorhomes when we sold out two years ago, though. A lot more.

I’ll edit to add one thing. Two years ago when we sold ours there were less than 50 used copies for sale nationwide- private party and dealers combined. Today there are 250 for sale across the nation. I’m sure you remember the state of the market when you bought. That’s when we sold.

[Wanderingwheelz]

Have you checked with any of the large RV dealers that offer to buy or consign your rig? Depending on your pay-off, it might be worthwhile to cut your losses (ongoing payment, insurance, storage if applicable) by taking the wholesale price they would offer.

We also found that the net price the dealer offered us for consignment wasn’t much less than the private party price we were having trouble getting on our own. And letting the dealer do all the work of advertising and dealing with looky loos was worth it.

You don’t know what the net price is going to be yet. It hasn’t sold.

If you told the dealer what you were asking FSBO it would be unlikely that he would want to blow you out of the water with a number that’s way below what you thought it was worth. As the clock ticks he knows you’re going to be receptive to price cuts.

[quantAndHold]

Have you checked with any of the large RV dealers that offer to buy or consign your rig? Depending on your pay-off, it might be worthwhile to cut your losses (ongoing payment, insurance, storage if applicable) by taking the wholesale price they would offer.

We also found that the net price the dealer offered us for consignment wasn’t much less than the private party price we were having trouble getting on our own. And letting the dealer do all the work of advertising and dealing with looky loos was worth it.

You don’t know what the net price is going to be yet. It hasn’t sold.

If you told the dealer what you were asking FSBO it would be unlikely that he would want to blow you out of the water with a number that’s way below what you thought it was worth. As the clock ticks he knows you’re going to be receptive to price cuts.

Actually, I have a contract with the dealer for he net amount, so yes, I do know.

[rockstar]

That’s a lot of money. If I was going to spend that much, I’d rather go to a dealer and sort out financing. I’m definitely not going anywhere with much in cash. And I don’t know if any apps will allow transfers that high.

How do you expect someone to pay you? And how would title be transferred?

I’d also be worried about being scammed.

I’d look at consignment like others are saying to give the potential buyers piece of mind and to set the price properly. The RV boom from COVID has cooled.

My parents bought a used RV in the 80s from a dealer for $5k. And the amount was small enough to be a cash deal.

[lostcoast2023]

That’s a lot of money. If I was going to spend that much, I’d rather go to a dealer and sort out financing. I’m definitely not going anywhere with much in cash. And I don’t know if any apps will allow transfers that high.

How do you expect someone to pay you? And how would title be transferred?

I’d also be worried about being scammed.

I’d look at consignment like others are saying to give the potential buyers piece of mind and to set the price properly. The RV boom from COVID has cooled.

My parents bought a used RV in the 80s from a dealer for $5k. And the amount was small enough to be a cash deal.

These deals happen all the time with cashiers checks and wire transfers. It gets more complicated if it is financed or the buyer wants to finance the purchase.

[quantAndHold]

That’s a lot of money. If I was going to spend that much, I’d rather go to a dealer and sort out financing. I’m definitely not going anywhere with much in cash. And I don’t know if any apps will allow transfers that high.

How do you expect someone to pay you? And how would title be transferred?

I’d also be worried about being scammed.

I’d look at consignment like others are saying to give the potential buyers piece of mind and to set the price properly. The RV boom from COVID has cooled.

My parents bought a used RV in the 80s from a dealer for $5k. And the amount was small enough to be a cash deal.

These deals happen all the time with cashiers checks and wire transfers. It gets more complicated if it is financed or the buyer wants to finance the purchase.

There are also escrow services that can handle situations like financing or an out of town buyer. But yeah, a big part of the reason I decided to consign ours was when I started thinking about the logistics of moving all that money, I was less and less interested in dealing with all that myself. It isn’t like a car, where someone just brings an envelope full of cash to the deal.

[NYCaviator]

The market is absolutely saturated with these things right now.

This. RVs were a hot item during Corona when air travel was limited. Demand vastly outstripped supply. Fast forward to 2022/23 as things opened up and there are LOTS of people regretting their RV purchase, especially if they still have a loan (and had to also buy a gas guzzling truck to haul it). It’s a buyers market.

OP needs to list on the RV specific websites and probably lower the price pretty significantly to make it more attractive to buyers.

[Jeepergeo]

It's a buyers market right now.

If you price it right, it will sell within days. I know it is hard to lower your price...at least consider the cost of payments, interest, insurance, and registration as those can add up while waiting for the unit to sell.

[rockstar]

That’s a lot of money. If I was going to spend that much, I’d rather go to a dealer and sort out financing. I’m definitely not going anywhere with much in cash. And I don’t know if any apps will allow transfers that high.

How do you expect someone to pay you? And how would title be transferred?

I’d also be worried about being scammed.

I’d look at consignment like others are saying to give the potential buyers piece of mind and to set the price properly. The RV boom from COVID has cooled.

My parents bought a used RV in the 80s from a dealer for $5k. And the amount was small enough to be a cash deal.

These deals happen all the time with cashiers checks and wire transfers. It gets more complicated if it is financed or the buyer wants to finance the purchase.

There are also escrow services that can handle situations like financing or an out of town buyer. But yeah, a big part of the reason I decided to consign ours was when I started thinking about the logistics of moving all that money, I was less and less interested in dealing with all that myself. It isn’t like a car, where someone just brings an envelope full of cash to the deal.

Then, I'd be concerned with wire fraud and getting a legit title, not a stolen vehicle/RV. While I know I'll end up paying more at a dealer, there is more piece of mind here. I'm definitely not meeting someone over Craigslist and doing a 6 figure deal.

[mkc]

There are some dealers who will do a "pass-through" transaction for a fee. You bring them the deal and they will handle the paperwork for you. It's much less than the usual 10% commission, but it's still $1000-2000 in many cases. For a higher-dollar sale it might be worth the fee for peace of mind on the funding side of things.

[hvaclorax]

Any mass-produced consumer grade RV from a company like Jayco (owned by Thor) will depreciate like a rock the minute you drive it off the lot. They are not known for their quality and simply don't hold their value.

The bottom line: just like selling a house or a car, if you aren't getting prospective buyers, your price is too high.

+1
Be patient. The best time is now through July or August. That’s when people get the bug to bug out.
I enjoy sales though Craigslist or Facebook. Expect scammers especially for such a large ticket item. How much is your time worth? I get impatient after a month or so. Keep reducing the price. Also make sure your ad contains attractive photos. Look at other ads for ideas. Keep it fresh for prospective buyers. Check your information from time to time. New ideas from friends and family?
But, bottom line is to keep reducing the price. Or take the ad down if you get tired of the hassle factor. Repost it in the spring.