Sell to dealer vs. consignment

[sCentralJoey]

I'm selling my class C RV and toad. Selling to a dealer sounds straightforward. Consignment... why would I do that if I could just sell to the dealer? It seems like it would have to end up with a good deal more money in my pocket to be willing to take on the risk of them being able to sell it in a timely manner for the price I'm looking for.



Has anyone had an awesome experience with consignment? Why/how did that turn out to be the best option for you?


I'd also love to hear any consignment horror stories folks might have.

[Sergiop]

We sold our 99 Tioga 24D on consignment thru PPL in Houston. We were not getting another MH at the time. I didn’t want to deal with people to sell it thru Craigslist or RV Trader. Sold in a month, I think they took a 15%(?) commission. It was a painless transaction.

This was in 2006.

[sCentralJoey]

That's useful, thank you. And wow, maybe a sign of the times: I just talked with a dealer in Washington State and they said consignment would be "$3,000 or so more", meaning, I might sell to them for $100,000 but if I consigned it with them I would get $103,000. If I'm understanding the dealer correctly, that makes more sense to me. It's a seller's market and they are scrambling to find inventory. I'm taking risk having it sit on their lot and they're presumably holding on to (and earning a little interest on) $100k for the month or so it takes them to sell the RV.

But if the choice was $100k to sell to the dealer vs. $85k (minus 15% commission) for a consigned sale... I'd for sure just sell to the dealer.

[Radio]

Yeah there is the consignment fee.

When I bought a new truck in 2021, I learned that in Georgia, sales tax on a new vehicle is reduced by having a trade.

New truck selling price - trade in agreed value = taxable amount.

In my case my $4000 trade saved me about $300 in taxes.

Your numbers my be bigger, so be sure not to leave the money on the table.

[D W]

I seriously doubt the dealer is going to pay you "full mark" with an outright buy. With a consignment the dealer is playing with house money and has nothing to lose.

[TeachTexas]

We sold our last trailer through PPL. Got our asking price;they took a 10% commission and we still got what we originally paid for it. I don't know if the crazy price world we're in now is still going strong but that is what contributed to getting such a good price. It sold in 1 week, no muss, no fuss

[sCentralJoey]

So when you say "10% commission", that means they take a 10% cut of the sale price, right? The person I talked with offered me more for consignment. Like, $x for selling to them outright and $x + $3,000 if I consign (let them sell). I need to double check. It made sense to me that they'd actually pay me because I have to wait for them to sell it, they could mess something up, etc. Ultimately they take less risk, so they pay me to assume that risk. He called it "free inventory".

[TeachTexas]

PPL offered a buy outright price as well, which was less than I listed. I considered the commission when setting asking price.
If they buy outright, they have to re-title and put up money for the purchase. They also have to cover with insurance. Their money is on the line if they have a problem selling. Most commission sales involve risk for the owner. You may not get asking price and things can happen to the unit while in their possession. Make sure your insurance will cover while on a sales lot. Make sure your agreement sets out all conditions of the consignment. One clause to watch out for is the lowest acceptable price. This could wipe out anything you thought you would gain if they play games.

[ppine]

I have bought a lot of RVs, one from a dealer. I have never sold one to a dealer because I don't like their prices that they offer.

I have had good luck with consignment lots selling 2 RVs within 4 days. The others I sold to friends or on CL.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Read the consignment agreement carefully. We looked at selling through PPL and they wanted a 'make ready' fee in addition to their commission.
We ended up selling it privately through CL, I think.
If it was a decent price, I'd sell to the dealer rather than having people walking through the rv and watching it deteriorate on the lot while I waited for a private offer.

[TeachTexas]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

Read the consignment agreement carefully. We looked at selling through PPL and they wanted a 'make ready' fee in addition to their commission.
We ended up selling it privately through CL, I think.
If it was a decent price, I'd sell to the dealer rather than having people walking through the rv and watching it deteriorate on the lot while I waited for a private offer.

The make ready fee is optional but they will push it. We opted to not use it and did fine as we were already very cleaned up. They offer it for free on their mailer a few times a year.

[jkoenig24]

As fat as I'm concerned, TOO MANY things can go wrong on a consignment sale. The dealer has more incentive to sell his own stock first. As mentioned already; BEFORE you go the consignment route, make SURE your rig remains covered by your insurance policy. I believe that the consignment dealer's policy excludes RVs owned by "others". Granted, the RV market is still strong for used rigs so, a REPUTABLE consignment dealer might be able to find a buyer quicker than you can BUT, I'd want a clause in the consignment contract that allows you to take YOUR RV back if said dealer cannot sell it in say one month. If the dealer balks at that, I'd be VERY wary of him.

[Bob2019]

I put my last TT up as a consignment. I was really late in the season and had people interested - it was the cleanest, in perfect shape but people looking at it wanted it for $2,000. My consignment person had no problem me picking it up in January and trading it in on my Forester. Dealer gave me a $5,000, sight unseen, trade-in. The trade in also reduces the sales tax and perhaps license fee. I was OK with the transaction.

[Grumpy64]

I sold mine on consignment thru Dana Drake’s Countryside RV Sales in Green Cove Springs, FL.
I put my fifth wheel on their lot and they sold it for a premium price. I did have to pay a consignment fee of 10%. All of the dealerships were offering me $15,000-$20,000 for an RV that I sold for $45,000. My initial purchase price was $50,000. I feel that I did very well on the transaction.

[mtnlvr]

I’m considering the same options. I have a 2014 MBZ Solera with about $15,000. in upgrades & full body paint. A dealer offer me $60,000. , disregarding all the upgrades. I could put it on the lot ( busy main Hwy frontage) of my small rv service center for consignment. Since they service it, they know the vehicle & can verify it’s good working order. As a single female I don’t really want people coming to my home but I could probably get significantly more money if I do. This would help me in purchasing a more expensive unit though.
I had a negative experience many years ago trying to sell my Jaguar. I found out that the consignment lot put hundreds of miles on it, (they drove it to Vegas.) I took it back and sold it myself.

[Murphy55378]

I have a 2018 Winnebago Vista LX 27N motorhome. Dealer offered me $74,000 cash and said they would retail it at $94,000.

[JimEastTexas]

Sold two fifth wheels at PPL Houston, broke even on one, made money on the second.

Haven't used recently as my RV insurance company will cancel my insurance if consigned, i. e. not in my control...

[RoadRacer]

Sold a Holiday Rambler DP on consignment in 2017 through PPL in Houston.
After I drove it around the country for a year, PPL did some needed work in its service facility and it sold in approximately one month. I netted within $200 what I paid for it after deducting the sales commission, service work and detailing/wash/wax fee. I would do it again.

[randomtravels]

Originally Posted by sCentralJoey

I'm selling my class C RV and toad. Selling to a dealer sounds straightforward. Consignment... why would I do that if I could just sell to the dealer? It seems like it would have to end up with a good deal more money in my pocket to be willing to take on the risk of them being able to sell it in a timely manner for the price I'm looking for.

Has anyone had an awesome experience with consignment? Why/how did that turn out to be the best option for you?


I'd also love to hear any consignment horror stories folks might have.

You want to hear consignment horror stories?

Here's one. I listed a motorhome with a dealer that does consignment in Texas in DFW area. On the listing side they set very high price for it, clearly trying to make 25% markup on consignment versus the usual 10%. They price they set was too high and people wouldn't buy at it. I asked them to lower the price but it was still too high.

Next, I asked if they'd buy it outright as they mentioned earlier they would., since it wasn't selling through consignment. That's when I realized something was wrong based on their strange and evasive, shady responses. You see, they thought I was traveling somewhere far away but I was back in town.

I went to pickup the motorhome from them right away, with 1 day notice, as it was becoming clear they weren't really selling it. What I found was my motorhome was sitting out there with busted top went, open to any elements and rain, possibly for weeks, being flooded. The fridge, which was working perfectly earlier, was broken. Batteries dead. I'm still trying to access damage to other systems. Generator won't start anymore. Filth that can't be easily cleaned up (if these stains can be removed at all) covered carpeted spots. Full of dead insects, wasps probably a wasp nest somewhere. I realized they were outright lying to my face earlier, saying they checked it than that they didn't check it, suddenly not waning to buy it, etc

Luckily I took it to a technician the same day after I retrieved it. Total damage is still not known. The technician had told me that this dealership is known to damage consigned RVs on purpose, such as mess up wiring, so that they can get people to pay a lot of money to their in-house service shop. I would not consign an RV ever again.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by sCentralJoey

Has anyone had an awesome experience with consignment? Why/how did that turn out to be the best option for you?
.

We considered consignment for our trailer.
However, the 'make ready fee' and consignment fee would have meant that we would not make any money on the deal. In fact, there was the real possibility that it would have cost us money if it sold on their lot.

Have you considered listing it on the 'Classified' section of this forum!