Moving to Class A Coach

Bob55 · 03-21-2015, 09:58 PM

My wife and I have decided to trade our 1995 429WU Winnebago Class C for a newer model used Class A with slideouts, automatic levelers, etc. So many questions now.....

I guess the first place to start is for recommendations. We (pretty much) know what we're wanting in the new coach, but don't really know the best path to take with our current RV. Trade it in, sell it outright, or? We love the dealership's service department where we bought it, but the sales side of the house was, um, less than spectacular. Would we get better trade in value from the dealership where we bought it, or is that really a moot point?

Yeah, we caught the RV bug hard with our '95 and want to move up!

TonyDi · 03-21-2015, 10:17 PM

You will generally get a better price for your Winnebago if you can sell it privately. That said, it is not always easy to sell a used MH. If the dealer where you are planning to buy your class A is anxious to make the sale, there will be room to bargain with your unit as a trade in.. I would rather have a good relationship with the dealer where I am going to have service done, rather then the selling dealer. If they are the same so be it.

Good luck with your search. Let us hear from you again when you decide.

Happy Trails!!!!

FIRE UP · 03-22-2015, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob55

My wife and I have decided to trade our 1995 429WU Winnebago Class C for a newer model used Class A with slideouts, automatic levelers, etc. So many questions now.....

I guess the first place to start is for recommendations. We (pretty much) know what we're wanting in the new coach, but don't really know the best path to take with our current RV. Trade it in, sell it outright, or? We love the dealership's service department where we bought it, but the sales side of the house was, um, less than spectacular. Would we get better trade in value from the dealership where we bought it, or is that really a moot point?

Yeah, we caught the RV bug hard with our '95 and want to move up!

Bob55,
While you and your wife have had maybe some great times in your ole' '95 Coach, lets face it, it's a 20 year old rig. I'm not familiar with that model so, I really don't have any idea of the value of it. But, most of the time, trading in anything that old, will not return much.

They'll give your almost nothing for it and, turn around and wholesale it to company that will move it. So, while it may not be that easy to sell your old rig on your own, it will most likely return the most money for it, if you do. At least that's what I'd try and do. Good luck.
Scott

adamfolger · 03-22-2015, 01:30 AM

I would give it to a friend/relative or make them a great deal. The dealer will actually charge you for taking it off your hands. They will just tack their costs on to the new purchase, by not selling as low as they might have, without the trade-in. It has no real value to the dealer. Not what you want to hear, I'm sure....

edgray · 03-22-2015, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adamfolger

I would give it to a friend/relative or make them a great deal. The dealer will actually charge you for taking it off your hands. They will just tack their costs on to the new purchase, by not selling as low as they might have, without the trade-in. It has no real value to the dealer. Not what you want to hear, I'm sure....

Adam is correct. You are "always" more likely to get the best possible deal when buying without a trade. Most dealers don't want an older or high mileage coach (that will be hard to sell) taking up space on their lot. They will have to spend money on it just getting it sold even to a wholesaler, so that money has to come from the new coach price you'll pay.

jerichorick · 03-22-2015, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob55

My wife and I have decided to trade our 1995 429WU Winnebago Class C for a newer model used Class A with slideouts, automatic levelers, etc. So many questions now.....

I guess the first place to start is for recommendations. We (pretty much) know what we're wanting in the new coach, but don't really know the best path to take with our current RV. Trade it in, sell it outright, or? We love the dealership's service department where we bought it, but the sales side of the house was, um, less than spectacular. Would we get better trade in value from the dealership where we bought it, or is that really a moot point?

Yeah, we caught the RV bug hard with our '95 and want to move up!

You can donate you old rig and get a tax deduction for it.

When going to another rig consider used over new. Better bucks for what you get. Just for comparison look at the brochure for this 40U. We love our rig for many reasons. But, don't even consider trading. Advertize on Cregs list if you don't want to donate.

Happy hunting.

Rick Y

KD4XR · 03-23-2015, 06:09 AM

Selling an older rig is not easy. I'm trying to sell a 2000 Georgie Boy Pursuit class A on a Ford F53 chassis with one slide and 24,000 miles. It has new batteries and tires ($3000) and everything works great. It just shows signs of age. It is valued at $13000 so I started out at that price. Six months later I am asking $8000. A few folks came by to look and offered $6000. Now I wish I had taken the $6000.

SuperGewl · 03-23-2015, 06:56 AM

Hopefully it's paid for, as stated donate the old rig to someplace that is registered. That is inportant if you want the tax break. From just base info on your rig if it is diesel and you sold it privatly you might get $6-7K and $5-6K for the gas model. A dealer will only give you 60-70% of that value if you are lucky. When you find what you are looking for take the time to look up the retail value on NADA and then make an offer that is less than that. Remember what I said about the dealer and how much they will pay for your used coach. They did the same thing to the person that traded it in, so if they are triing to sell it for $50K then the most they would have paid for it is $40K and they would have not given them as good a deal on the new coach so you loose on both ends.
You can still find some good deals on NEW 2014's and 2015's or slightly used ones if you search the private sales adds, but buyer beware. Private party means "AS IS"

Bob55 · 03-24-2015, 07:55 PM

All good advice, thank you! True, it's a pain to sell it privately, but we have had two different people stop by when it's parked out in front of the house to see if it's for sale.

It is paid for, so there aren't any issues there.

jerichorick · 03-24-2015, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KD4XR

Selling an older rig is not easy. I'm trying to sell a 2000 Georgie Boy Pursuit class A on a Ford F53 chassis with one slide and 24,000 miles. It has new batteries and tires ($3000) and everything works great. It just shows signs of age. It is valued at $13000 so I started out at that price. Six months later I am asking $8000. A few folks came by to look and offered $6000. Now I wish I had taken the $6000.

There are charities that will take it. You can then write it off as a donation on your taxes.

Rick Y

Mr_D · 03-24-2015, 08:27 PM

In some states (WA is one) if you sell your rig and get another you pay sales/use tax (8.4% here) on the whole cost of the new rig. If you trade it's just on the difference. So, take that into consideration if you have sales/use tax to pay.

jerichorick · 03-25-2015, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_D

In some states (WA is one) if you sell your rig and get another you pay sales/use tax (8.4% here) on the whole cost of the new rig. If you trade it's just on the difference. So, take that into consideration if you have sales/use tax to pay.

This is true. But, when you live someplace else all the time you can choose what state you will call home. MA was the place to leave and SD is the place to stay for me.

Bob55 · 04-03-2015, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_D

In some states (WA is one) if you sell your rig and get another you pay sales/use tax (8.4% here) on the whole cost of the new rig. If you trade it's just on the difference. So, take that into consideration if you have sales/use tax to pay.

I'm in WA as well, so that is a consideration for sure!

Mr_D · 04-03-2015, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_D

In some states (WA is one) if you sell your rig and get another you pay sales/use tax (8.4% here) on the whole cost of the new rig. If you trade it's just on the difference. So, take that into consideration if you have sales/use tax to pay.

On the Magna it was $23,403 just for the sales/use tax. Nice deduction on the Federal income tax next year but expensive this year! Trading saved us $5,989 in use tax alone. Could we have sold it ourselves and made more? Maybe, but at least this way we didn't have to wait for the right buyer to come along.

Gormleys · 04-08-2015, 02:12 PM

I just made the move from a gas class A to a diesel pusher. I listed my old "coach" on RVTrader and had a couple of hits within a day and sold it within a week. Did I get the "blue book" on it? No! But I got more than what it was worth to the dealer and covered the difference in sales and use tax. I also listed it here, but didn't get any hits.

This is the time to try to sell outright.

Old Car Nut · 04-08-2015, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_D

On the Magna it was $23,403 just for the sales/use tax. Nice deduction on the Federal income tax next year but expensive this year! Trading saved us $5,989 in use tax alone. Could we have sold it ourselves and made more? Maybe, but at least this way we didn't have to wait for the right buyer to come along.

What really burns me about that Mr D is this:

When your Magna was new they collected a sales tax on the coach, collected an annual tax in the form of lic tabs and then taxed you for every mile you drove it through the fuel tax. To then turn around and charge sales tax on a used item that had previously been charged a sales tax is WRONG. They can call it a "Use Tax" all they want, but since it matches the sales tax rate is in fact sales tax. Like inheritance tax, it's double taxation on money already taxed. Also the reason we are buying ours as a resident of another state which we will as soon as the S&B in Snohomish is sold which may well be before we buy the coach at the rate we are going. But I refuse to leave that kind of money here in WA.

Back to the OP's post, as others have stated it's less hassle to trade it in than to private sale, taxes as exampled by MrD can far exceed any additional funds you would get from a private sale. Donation is an option, but, you only get to take the value of the donation of your earned income, not the value off your tax bill. Have your tax man explain.

Myself I would want the dealer to give me full wholesale value for my trade in but would include that negotiation after we agreed on the new rigs price. Buying your rig at wholesale allows him to make money on both ends of the deal, which means he wont be trying to pass extra costs on in your purchase.

The sales side needs to make a living too or they wont be in business when you need them later for that stellar service.

Best of luck with your new purchase. I know its going to be exciting.

Bob55 · 04-09-2015, 09:09 PM

Old Car Nut, you're so correct about the sales side needing to make money as well. I've never been shy, though, and tell the dealership management in their surveys that the reason I'm in their dealership for my next purchase is because of the service support.

Off to Monroe this weekend for the RV show, gotta snoop!

Mr_D · 04-09-2015, 09:27 PM

I like looking at the rigs at the RV shows/rallies even if I have no intention of buying just to keep up with the floor plans and new equipment that shows up. Same with looking at what the vendors are selling.