Where to sell motorhome/where are Winnebagos more popular, WA or NV?

[theroc]

I’d like to get some opinions on where would be the best place to sell my motorhome. I have places and spend time in either western Washington or southern Nevada. Of those two areas, where do they sell more Winnebagos or where might Winnebagos be more popular?

Any suggestions as to what the best way to sell a motorhome? Is it best to do a totally private sale like selling a car? Or might it be better to consign it to a RV dealer or lot? If a private sale, where would be the best place to learn about selling a motorhome? …things to be aware of, determining the right asking price, how to have people test drive it, etc. This will be the first time that I would be selling an RV so I have no idea how to go about it and what to watch out for.

Thanks.

[TXiceman]

We have done both private sales and also consignment sales. You can also list the motorhome in the classified section here on iRV2.

The problem with a private sale is you will be hounded by consignment companies promising great things. The other issue is you will get scam emails of the Nigerian type, so you need to be very careful that the funds must be 100% legitimate and in the bank before you release the title on the motorhome.

We used PPL Motorhomes in Houston to sell our 5er for more than we had listed it for during the previous 6 months. The 5er was cleaner on the PPL lot than a previous consignment place. PPL seemed to take more care in making sure people did not track dirt into the RV. Also had the batteries disconnected so they could not run them down.

When we sold our class C ourselves, we only had a couple of lookers and the first one bought it. When they drove it, I went with them and did the initial driving before I let them drive it in an area with little traffic to get the feel for it.

You will also get a bunch of calls from people immediately wanting you to lower the price before they have even looked at it...just looking for a bargain.

The big key to selling it is to make it spotless clean and remove ALL of your stuff from the RV if you are not leaving anything with it. If they seem to like it, leave them for a spell inside it with the A/C running and let them look it over and imagine then enjoying the RV...let them fall in love with it.

They may want to get it inspected by a shop or mechanic before they buy it. So ask some local shops what they would charge to furnish a buyer an inspection and report.

As for location, to sell it, I don't know if anyone can answer that question. But you need to be in an area that is not suffering from the poor economy to get the best results.

Ken

[ichn2go]

Try the classified ads in a newspaper in a large city near you..Had more success this way than on the internet and Craigslist is free..Can't help with location. Good Luck

[RickO]

I certainly don't know about sales statistics, but since we began full timming in Sept, DW and I have worked our way from Nor Calif to North Carolina where we are now... and we both have commented on how many more Winnie products we see on the road in the south than we did in the west.

Good luck...

[theroc]

Thank you for the advice, Ken, Ichn, and Rick. It looks as if I'm going to have to spend some time to research all that's involved in selling my rig.

From the preliminary investigation I've done, it looks as if you have to choose a consignment establishment with care. There also seems to be a lot of pitfalls to selling the rig privately.

I think this is going to be tough.




ETA: does anybody have input on how popular or unpopular an older 34H floor plan is? Will I have a difficult time selling it for a decent price or will I have to discount it quite a bit because nobody likes the floorplan? I happen to think it's perfect ...not only the floorplan but the length as I usually can maneuver in and out of most places that folks with longer rigs might have trouble with.

[Luv2go]

We sold both our previous RV's ourselves, the first using rvtraderonline, the second using Craigslist. Both sold successfully and reasonably quickly, we did not get too much trouble with the Nigerian e-mail scams or consignment companies.

One thing we insisted on was having the buyer appear in person, no deals via e-mail, etc. (that dealt with most of the scammers immediately, the never responded to our reply). We also did much of what Ken suggested regarding prep and showing of the RV's, and also ignored any e-mails immediately asking us to lower the price. We did price both the RV's appropriately per the NADA website, and it did help that the last coach we sold had an inverter/battery setup that would support an oxygen generator overnight with no trouble.

BTW, I, too thought selling the second RV was going to be tough. The economy was starting to crash and more negative news was occurring every day. It did sell however, 1 week before we took delivery on the new coach!

Good Luck!
Stewart

[theroc]

Thanks, Stewart. So you basically went through the same procedures as if you were selling a car privately?

I'm hoping I'll can remember all the procedures to safeguard a smooth transaction as this will be a much larger amount of money that I'll be receiving than any car I've sold in the past.

I've been reading some horror stories about consignments. I guess I'll first try to sell it privately and then take it to Houston if I can't sell it in my local areas.

Thanks again, folks.



...oh, and any comments about the desirability or lack thereof pertaining to the old 34H floorplan? Is trying to sell a shorter coach easier or more difficult than it would be for a 40 footer? I'm thinking that most buyers will be looking for a 40 footer but I'm also thinking that some might want a shorter coach.

I know some are concerned about the stability issues on the road when driving a 35 footer but I've never had that much of a complaint. Sure, a 40 footer feels more stable and planted but a 35 footer is more maneuverable in tight spaces.

[TXiceman]

Good luck with your sale, Due to the amount of money involved, I'd insist on a bank to bank transfer and let your bank set it up.

PPL did a great job of selling ours and got top dollar for it. Make sure everything works on it before you take it in. There shop rates fro little repairs are a bit on the high side. They charged me something like $75.00 to diagnose and replace a tail lamp and close to $100.00 to diagnose and clean the frig burner.

Ken

[theroc]

Thanks for the great tips, Ken.

I never thought of an electronic transfer. I'll be sure to consider that. The other thing I will do is to try to accompany the buyer to the DMV so I'm sure that the registration/title is transferred.

Yes, I'm in the process of getting as many things fixed as I can. I hope I won't have to take it to PPL but I guess I will if I have to.

Anybody else know of some good or reputable consignment places on the west coast?

[Luv2go]

Thanks, Stewart. So you basically went through the same procedures as if you were selling a car privately?

Yes, basically the same procedures, in NC the title has to be notarized, this happened at our credit union. I called the DMV to get the exact procedure so it went smoothly.

I really like Ken's idea of a wire or electronic transfer, the RV's we sold were for far less than what you will be selling your for. We took bank checks but it is a lot harder to forge a bank transfer!

Stewart

[vectra96]

You might check with your dmv, we have a form you can fill out and mail in to notify them that you sold the vehicle. No charge for this, just lets them know. I always copy titles to vehicles I sign over to someone else. Had the police stop by one time, two years after I sold the vehicle, never reregistered and they wanted to know who I sold it to.

[TXiceman]

Texas has a mail in form for the seller, but you have to send $5.00 with it.

Ken