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Old 10-22-2012, 07:16 AM   #1
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Buy new used trade in?....

We have a 04 Cherokee lite 28A+ travel trailer and need to upgrade to a fifth wheel with two rooms. I am becoming increasingly confused whether to trade in and buy new or trade in and buy used or buy privately and sell ours online? Also the models we are looking at are the Sierra 365saq or 315bht and I've seen a lot of posts on quality issues and wonder if it's better to get a new one with a warrantee? Or do ppl just trade them in every few years and not worry about the issues?

Also what's up with Rv wholesales? Do they have a place you go into or go you have to deal online? Are they that much cheaper? And do they offer the same warrantee and customer service as s dealer? Can you get things fixed easily If you buy from them?

I know this is a lot of questions but if anyone has suggestions they would be appreciated! We are full timers who travel a lot all over the country. Thank you!
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Old 10-22-2012, 07:25 AM   #2
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You will probably do best financially if you sell you old rv yourself. But right now you are going into winter season - the best time to buy, but not sell. So you'd probably have to hold onto your old trailer until spring.

New or used is an old debate. I've had good luck buying new. I'd be leary of something only a couple years old - someone could be just getting rid of big problems. People rail on about dishonest dealers sticking them with crap, but then in the next breath talk about selling off their "lemon" rv.

Rvwholesalers doesn't take trades. They are an actual dealership that can do repairs on site, but they have a service network for those customers far away and for those traveling.

Good luck in what you decide.
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Old 10-22-2012, 07:30 AM   #3
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Thanks for your help! That's what I was figuring about the buying now vs selling... We might have to trade in then because we have no where to keep our TT since we are full timers with no home base.
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Old 10-23-2012, 08:05 AM   #4
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Just like a car; there are 4 independent transaction to the typical purchase.

1) The new thing you are buying
2) The old thing you are selling or trading
3) The way you are financing it
4) The extended/dealer warranty

It is to your DEALER's advantage to lump them all together so the maximixe their profit while letting you think you are "stealing it from them."

They can give you a killer price on the camper; then rape you on the other three and make more than selling it outright for cash.

REMEMBER it NOT an all or nothing thing.

To pay the LEAST for your camper:

Arrange financing BEFORE you go to the dealer with a credit union or bank so you know up front what interest rate and terms you can expect. You don't need to actually use them, but you can use the bank's deal to weigh the deal being offered at the dealer.

Price any extended warranty BEFORE you sign anything at the dealer. My bank offers an extended warranty that pays the cash for repairs to you; for example. You just provide receipts

If your old camper is in good shape DO NOT trade it. Sell it yourself for what the dealer offered plus any sales tax savings you would have lost by trading it; OR MORE. If they gave you a great price on the camper, they offered you "scrap out" price for the camper.

Use an online source (RVWholesalers or RV Direct) to negotiate a cash only price (with delivery) so you have an idea what you should expect to pay for the camper. If you decide to buy from them (and you may), then consider driving your truck there to pick it up at the dealership. The cost of picking it up may be way less than the delivery charges.


Remember there are 4 DIFFERENT transactions to "doing a deal" and you should shop for them all individually before you walk into the place you plan to buy it. Resist the urge to "take it home today!" without careful homework before hand. You will absolutely pay the most for your camper or car.
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Old 10-23-2012, 08:09 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by Elanpottery View Post
Thanks for your help! That's what I was figuring about the buying now vs selling... We might have to trade in then because we have no where to keep our TT since we are full timers with no home base.
A storage lot may hold your old camper until it can be sold.

Just realize you will get a "wholesale" price for your camper. If they offer a "too good to be true" price on your trade; you should be aware that you are paying more than you could for the new one.

This may be OK for your circumstance however.
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Old 10-23-2012, 08:28 AM   #6
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I believe cars lose about 20-30% of value after about a year.
Are trailers similar?

From lurking a few weeks it appears new trailers can have a number of issues that need attending to that will be ironed already out on the pre-loved TT.
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Old 10-23-2012, 08:35 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by Arefbee View Post
I believe cars lose about 20-30% of value after about a year.
Are trailers similar?

From lurking a few weeks it appears new trailers can have a number of issues that need attending to that will be ironed already out on the pre-loved TT.
30-50% depending on the popularity of the model. And it's right after you sign the papers, not 1 year.
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Old 10-23-2012, 02:25 PM   #8
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30-50% depending on the popularity of the model. And it's right after you sign the papers, not 1 year.
I have to somewhat disagree with this statement. That may hold true for some vehicles, but not trucks and not campers from what I've seen. The keys are: 1. Get a great deal in the first place, 2. Take care of your stuff so someone actually wants it when you sell, 3. Have some marketing knowledge and know how to sell- this includes if you are trading in. There are worlds of people that know nothing other than what the sticker says. In 2005, I bought a brand new F150 FX4 that was loaded. Sticker price was in the 38K range. I paid 32,800 OTD. This equates to just over 30K actual purchase price. I drove it for 2 years and it had 30,000 miles on it when I traded it in for $23,500. This was NOT an inflated number as I had already negotiated the price on the car and had a good deal on it before even telling them I had a trade. Therefore, I lost approximately 22% after 2 years and 30,000 miles. Granted, I am very meticulous about caring for vehicles and the truck was absolutely flawless. The dealer did have to install new tires at a cost of around $800, however. The dealer I traded to did make a mistake and sent me the paperwork that was intended for the new owner of the truck. I opened it thinking it was the paperwork for our new car. I found that they had sold the truck for $27,995. Only 2K less than I paid new, but the new owners probably thought the "saved" over 10K by buying used because they compared to sticker price of a new comparable truck. As far as the camper market goes, when we were shopping dealers were discounting used 1-2 year old units in my area by about 10-15% off what they COULD be bought for. This would be almost 1/2 of new MSRP- and they sell them all day to uneducated buyers I'm sure.
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Old 10-23-2012, 02:46 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by Arefbee View Post
From lurking a few weeks it appears new trailers can have a number of issues that need attending to that will be ironed already out on the pre-loved TT.
The "pre-loved" part is certainly true. The reality is is that most used RVs are pre-abused and neglected to the point they need major work to get them "camp-able."

If they are watertight and lovingly used, almost no one trades them till they are nearly junk due to the extensive mods made to make them home.

While you CAN find a "diamond in the rough" (repo or bunkhouse to duet trade in), most new folks to the RV world do not know enough about what to look for to make an informed decision and rely almost entirely on the salesman; a recipe for disaster.
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Old 10-23-2012, 03:03 PM   #10
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We're on our 4th camper and have always purchased new...mostly due to the wife's prefence of not wanting use someone elses bathroom and bed. (We don't talk about what happens at the factory).

We sold 2 of our old units ourselves and traded in the 3rd. In the case of the trade-in, we kept that separate and tried to sell it ourselves. Just before we picked up the new 5th wheel, we called the dealer and taked about a trade-in because it just wouldn't sell. We wound up excepting his offer which was in the middle of the wholesale range according to NADA.

At least we know what we got and the deal was not confusing. I'm sure we could have done better selling it ourselves if we had more time, but in the end, we took what we could to apply it to the new purchase.
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Old 10-31-2012, 03:10 PM   #11
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Superduty's post moved to classifieds for better exposure.
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