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eTyres care about our customers. The
following article may be of interest.
Buying an RV from a Private Seller
by Barry Wilder
Just as the RV Dealer isn't your enemy - the Private
Seller can be your best friend. They don't have ANY
appreciable overhead built into the sale, other than the
cost of their advertising, and/or any repairs or
refurbishing to be done to the RV.
The private seller is usually much more motivated than a
dealer. They only have ONE unit on which to concentrate
their efforts. Many times their sole intention is to rid
themselves of the burden of their no-longer-needed RV.
In RARE cases, they are WISELY selling by owner so they
can move on to a unit more suited to their present needs
and desires. This allows them to sell their RV for a
higher price than a dealer would allow them on trade-in,
while still offering a bargain to their potential
buyers.
Purchasing from a Private Seller can work to your
advantage in many ways:
1. Lower overhead = Lower selling price.
2. Higher motivation = Lower selling price.
3. No over-pricing to allow for trade-ins.
4. More complete vehicle history.
5. A more personal transaction.
Because of these benefits, buying an RV from an
individual may allow you to save thousands of dollars
over buying a similar unit from a dealer.
You MUST however do your due diligence prior to the
actual purchase. Any faulty systems left unchecked or
untested will likely become your own burden unless
discovered PRIOR to your purchase. In other words:
"Caveat Emptor"... or "Buyer Beware".
For now, let's take a look at some of the advantages of
buying an RV from a private seller.
Lower or NO Overhead Costs
Most individual sellers will incur minimal selling costs
when selling "by owner". Most of these costs will come
from advertising in local newspaper classifieds,
Internet advertisements or other forms of marketing.
When compared to the costs incurred by an RV dealer, the
individual has a major advantage. First of all, they
have no commissions to pay upon the sale. Commissions in
the RV industry are commonly set at approximately 20% of
the gross profit.
In other words, if a salesman sells an RV for an average
profit of $5,000 - Then $1,000 of that is going to the
salesman as commission. This is not a concern for the
private seller, therefore sales commission ALONE can be
a potential gain of $1,000 or more to the buyer. (Not to
mention the other $4,000 the dealer gained over his
wholesale price)
Also, because of the minimal or nonexistent overhead of
the individual seller, profit is commonly NOT a motive
for selling. In MOST cases, the sellers simply want to
rid themselves of the unit. This usually translates into
THOUSANDS of dollars in savings.
While most private RV sellers will try to achieve a
RETAIL sales price when the unit is initially offered,
they rapidly tire of the stresses of the sales process
and lower their "perceived" value of the RV. In other
words, when they start the sales process, they have an
unrealistic impression of their RV's value. After
dealing with prospective buyers for a minimal amount of
time, they rapidly become educated on the true value of
their RV.
Seriously, think about your own experiences. How many
times have you tried to sell something for a premium
price, only to accept a lower, yet HONEST offer for much
less than your original price? It all goes back to the
old saying: "One in the hand is worth two in the bush."
In other words, fatigued sellers WILL accept a bargain
price if the offer is GENUINE. It ends their suffering -
so to speak.
The key is to FIND these fatigued sellers when they are
weak. Just as the predator on the African Plains seeks
out the weaker and slower prey, you must find the weary
seller - and strike when they are at their weakest
point. Ruthless -yes... Unethical - no. It's the law of
the urban jungle. Live and prosper by the law, or live
and pay a higher price... still by the law. (I can't
believe I just wrote that)
Higher motivation = Lower selling price
Most private sellers are very IMPATIENT. They easily
tire of the phone calls and missed appointments. Many
times they tire of NO phone calls or ANY appointments to
view their RV. This quickly motivates them to consider
any and all GENUINE offers.
Many times these sellers have found an RV that they wish
to purchase upon the sale of their present unit. They
worry that if their RV doesn't sell quickly they'll miss
the opportunity to buy their TARGET unit. This also
makes for a very motivated seller.
Most of these sellers realize that if they can sell
their RV for a little more than the RV dealer is
offering on trade-in, they will come out ahead. This is
a win-win situation for both buyer and seller. They are
willing to accept a little over wholesale for their RV,
and you able to purchase the same unit for MUCH less
than if it were for sale by an RV dealer.
No Over-Pricing to Allow for Trade-Ins
Hopefully you realize that an RV dealer will ALWAYS take
a trade-in at, or even BELOW wholesale. Also, that same
dealer's "sale price" will nearly ALWAYS be set HIGHER
than the actual RETAIL price of any particular unit.
This is done to allow room in the price to show the
buyer a retail price for their trade-in.
We know that there was a time you may have traded a car,
boat, RV or something else to a dealer (of any kind) and
thought you actually received RETAIL on your trade-in.
You DIDN'T - EVER! If you don't accept this for ABSOLUTE
truth, then we have failed in our efforts to educate you
in the dealer/individual sales process.
Complete Vehicle History
Most RV dealers DON'T want you to contact the previous
owner of a used RV. Go ahead and try it... Next time
you're looking at a used RV, ask the salesman if you can
contact the previous owner. You'll be amazed how the
salesman can come up with excuses NOT to contact the
previous owner... at least not until the sale has taken
place.
It may be reasons of privacy; it may be against company
policy... it will, however be very entertaining.
Private RV sellers normally have a much different
philosophy. They're TRIHILLED to provide complete
records of service work, maintenance, storage
information, etc. If they don't... you might want to ask
a few more questions. This is a good indication of a
negligent RV owner. They may be passing their headache
on to you. Do your homework and ask for as many details
about the unit's history as possible.
A more personal transaction
One of the most gratifying aspects of buying a used RV
from an individual is the personal aspect of the buying
process. As a result of your investigation of the RV,
you become intimately involved with the seller.
Hopefully, the RV you are considering has been the
seller's prized possession. They have loved it and taken
care of it. They have (hopefully) kept complete records
on each and every repair, improvement and service work
done on the vehicle.
Selling their prized RV is practically the same as
losing a child to college. In many ways, these
conscientious sellers may seem to be sizing you up as a
potential owner of their pre-loved RV. However, at the
right time, and for the right price... They'd more than
likely sell it to a carnival.
About the Author
Barry Wilder has been associated with his family RV
business for over 25 years. He is currently the owner of
Best Rate Financial Services, providing loans and
refinancing for RVs, boats and aircraft. They also
provide RV and Boat Warranties.
Best Rate Financial Services RV Loans and Financing |
