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How to sell a "turnkey" FTers rig


bigmike

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We have now joined the ranks of those who have major changes in our lifestyle ahead of us. As a result, we are going to need to put our rig up for sale (after we finally got the floor plan just right-figures).

 

Anyway, I'm just asking for peoples thoughts and advice on how to go about the sale (Jack M, I know you have lots of experience with this, so I hope you weigh in).

 

One issue I think about, is that this set up will really only interest a discerning buyer who is wanting to go FTing or an extended stay. People who are looking for a weekend rig, or a few weeks a year, are probably not in the market for an EXCEL, or a diesel dually for that matter.

 

I see the two primary options as listing them myself, or a consignment lot. I'm willing to price in a way that gives the buyer the discount that I would pay the consignment, but I don't know if its realistic to sell this privately when it seems to me that it is a very select audience. People who don't understand why a one owner,factory ordered, used EXCEL costs more than they can buy a new, sob, mass produced unit for, are not going to be my audience, I suspect.

 

I know lots of pics are a necessity. I know there is a "for sale site" here on Escapees. Here are the kind of things I'm wondering about.

 

If we sell ourselves, what other listing places have value?

 

My first choice is to sell as a unit. (My thinking is someone who is in this market is just as likely to need a tow vehicle also) Thus, I would try to provide a pkg price that would beat anything someone could obtain if buying separately. Does this make sense? I know I can always sell the fiver and truck separately, but would then need to sell the fiver first.

 

Finally, I'm wondering about buyers being able to finance if needed when buying from a private buyer. Does it matter to banks if its off a lot or a private sale as long as the values meet their requirements? The 2013 fiver has nearly every option that was available from Peterson Industries when we ordered it, including full body paint. The 2014 F350 also has every option available. If I try to sell myself,I'm going to be selling the entire rig at around $110, so its not the kind of money that most of us just have laying around some place.

 

Please share your thoughts and experiences. We are having our next big life event-and trying to make the best of it as we move forward. Sorry for the length of this posing, and thanks in advance.

2014 F350 Dually Lariat 4x4
2013 Excel LTD 36RKM
Sir Reginald the cat who lets Big Mike and Jean travel with him

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Location is very important if you are to get your price. You need to be where the people you think will be interested will pass near and have the opportunity to see the rig.

 

Loans are a very touchy thing as it will depend upon the buyer more than you. Dealers do have connections to lenders but the lenders still have their standards which they expect the buyer to meet and that doesn't change significantly. I doubt that there is much that you can do to make a loan available to some potential buyer, other than by making the price low enough to fall well under loan value listed in the books. No lender cares whether the RV is an ideally equipped full-time unit or not, only what they think it will easily sell for if the buyer should default.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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A loaded Ford dually is going to sell reasonably quick by itself if you are respectable with the price. You may not take too large of hit on the pickup by itself IMO.

 

The trailer, unless you get lucky, which you may, you likely will take a bigger loss than you had hoped. This is the start of a new year and the trailer is now considered 2 years old. If it's not sold by about late august or september, it will be considered 3 years old, no matter the usage. But by itself, should you have the ability to show it plugged in, may interest a larger crowd than you think.

 

115k asking, minus about 50 for the pickup, and if you take realistic offers, would put the trailer in at bout 50k selling, or there abouts. IMO. There's a few that have that cash laying around. I might, and would like to know more, but I'm on the west coast.

 

A consignment lot can be very scary. You'd have to know in writing how their damage policies and finance policies work. If they back into it with another rig and smash a corner in, who is responsible? If they finance it, how is the contract written if the buyer defaults? There are a lot of nasty people out there that will do whatever it takes to steal from someone.

 

Please do not take this wrong, as you have just spent a lot of money are likely quite proud to have been able to have bought this setup. But 100k and little over, is not such a large sum that even craigslist would be a method to try. I bought a trac phone just for craigslistings, and will activate it soon to sell some of my extras. If you have a little time to sell it, and separate them, demand cash. Cash will be found if the buyer really wants the coach. Or, wire transfer.

 

IMO. Heavy on the O.

I'm a work'n on it.

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I have bought and sold many vehicles and RV's over the years.

Good comments above, but I strongly add these:

* You MUST have excellent pictures...get them taken by someone else if you are not capable.

* Take pictures in a nice area, not your driveway, or where you park it.

* Fix EVERYTHING that needs fixing.. major or minor.. even a slight drip in a faucet... it must be totally ready to go

* Price it fairly...these RV's take a beating on depreciating... don't expect the moon

* Leave a phone number...people are just not going to contact you by email, or thru other people.

* Offer a full inspection. I always did this and told potential buyer that if they bought my rig I would pay for inspection, if they did not they paid. (I was confident enough in the outcome of an inspection)

* Advertise it in every possible spot/location you can. My recent HDT sold to a couple in the Yukon, and I live in Wisconsin.

* Be totally honest with all inquiries.

* Lastly.. my opinion only, but take CASH or direct deposit to your account ONLY, regardless of who they are, even relatives :)

Good luck ,

Bob

1989 Safari Serengeti 34'
Towing a 1952 M38A1 Military Willys

Past HDT owner

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Your target buyers will also include snowbirds , dont discount them. Some of our snowbird friends from Canada have larger rigs than yours. There are snowbird forums and associations so that would be another place to advertise.

<p>....JIM and LINDA......2001 American Eagle 40 '.towing a GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 with RZR in the rear. 1999 JEEP Cherokee that we tow as well.

IT IS A CONTENTED MAN WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE SCENERY ALONG A DETOUR.

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All good comments....HDONLYBOB has the things I would stress.

 

You absolutely MUST have very good pictures and not just a few. Fifty to 75 pictures of all the items on the coach is justified. Close ups of interesting things. There cannot be too many pictures. Put them on your own photo album (google, or whatever). Go from general shots to detailed shots towards the end of the album. Put just a few of the best ones in the ad.

 

Use all venues available. Use a phone number....get a throwaway phone or a google number that forwards to your phone. NOT your real number.

 

Establishing the value is key. Frankley your RV is only worth a percentage of wholesale. That is what a dealer will give you on a trade, no matter how they play with the numbers. So bear that in mind. IMO, NEVER price it at high retail. You will just chase away buyers. And don't forget, your options have no value. Other than as an attractant to a buyer. But they have no monetary value in reality. Except for a genset.

Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member
Living on the road since 2000

PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail
2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it)
2022 New Horizons 43' 5er
2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 
2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU
No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units
2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck
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www.jackdanmayer.com
Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com

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You know one thing I have noticed in a lot of picture spreads is they don't do a good job showing the hanging clothes storage. Admittedly most are from dealers who I a sure focus only on what they think will make the sale or pull in the potential buyers.

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Good suggestions already.

 

Taking photos in a nice location can make a big difference, you want folks thinking camping, not sitting in the driveway unused another month.

 

Make sure you pick a photo site that lets visitors see your photos without logging in or needing an account there.

 

Put up your pictures and a brief caption on each and go through them a couple times to make sure they show everything you intended.

 

Email a link to your album (or post it here) and have others check it and give you any feedback on your photos before you post the ad.

 

Travis put a post up as a sticky one several of us worked on, it is in the marketplace here with tips for doing your ad.

 

http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?showannouncement=18&f=25

 

Once listed keep the RV show ready, batteries full, freshly aired out and windows clean, you may not have time to spruce things up before a buyer visit. Keep the parking spot nice looking too, long grass, weeds and such all contribute a negative impression you want to avoid.

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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I recently read some kind of craigslist statistic or whatever. (could be hearsay so....) You must price it so that by about the third offer, it is sold. After hearing of that some time back, I started watching some item for sale that were over priced. Sure enough, on average, they are still for sale after dropping their price several times. It seems that once the item is for sale, people that are interested keep watching for it. Once the price starts falling, they play the "he's getting desperate now" game. Or,..."there must be something wrong with it". IMO.

 

Something that has been hot discussion on all the ag forums and such, is the third and forth party offers to sell your item on their site. DO NOT !!!! even talk to them. Hang up immediately. If you continue talking and trying to be polite, they will eventually begin throwing offensive words at you for not going with their scheme. A quick hang up and note of that number is your only real option. IMO.

I'm a work'n on it.

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Before we purchased our TT I sold a VW Vanagon Westfalia Camper on EBay. The bids came from all over the country and even Canada. I was totally amazed by the number of bids and by the final selling price. Don't know how it would work for a 5th wheel but it might be worth a try.

Ron Engelsman

http://www.mytripjournal.com/our_odyssey

Full-Timing since mid 2007

23' Komfort TT

2004 Chevy Avalanche 4x4 8.1L

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I so much appreciate everyone who has weighed in on this. Its given me tons to consider and explore. I hope anyone else who has thoughts or wants to add to what they have said already also posts. To be honest, moving into another journey in our life is more than a little scary, and probably isn't helped by thinking about the selling process.

 

My DW and I were talking yesterday, and we both realized we are experiencing many of the same fears and apprehensions we went through when we began our FT journey, and at the end of the day we worked through it all. And we ended up loving every minute of it. So I'm sure hoping that at some point further down the road, we will be able to look back on this transition with the same amount of accomplishment and satisfaction.

2014 F350 Dually Lariat 4x4
2013 Excel LTD 36RKM
Sir Reginald the cat who lets Big Mike and Jean travel with him

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My DW and I were talking yesterday, and we both realized we are experiencing many of the same fears and apprehensions we went through when we began our FT journey, and at the end of the day we worked through it all.

Believe me that I know whereof you speak! We had some health issues jump up and force our hands in changing from the fulltime lifestyle also and it has not all been an easy transition. I think that most of us anticipate some transition issues when going on the road without realizing that going back will be just as great a change for us. Even so, we did find a happy landing spot as most folks do so the probability is that you will also. A positive attitude and looking to the future will take you a long way! Wishing you the best!

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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One easy thing, when you have it ready to show and folks coming to look at the rig, make sure it is level. There is nothing worse than trying to get in a rig that is low on the drivers side and you fall into it, or vice versa, low on the entry side and you have to literally climb in.

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It's worth what someone is willing to pay for it, no less, no more. Advertise anywhere and everywhere, indeed lots of pictures in a proper setting, (wide angle lenses work wonders) and easy comm. After that all you can do is hope for the best. Priced to sell is a valid concept.

Previously a 2017 Forest River, Berkshire 38A, "The Dragonship". https://dragonship.blog/

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