Selling: Need Dollar Value for T-1950

tony17112acst · 06-06-2009, 07:15 AM

We have decided to go from a TT to a class A motorhome.

Therefore, we are selling o ur 2004 T-1950 in beautiful condition.

Can I get a few opinions on the current value on it? Consider it perfect on the inside and almost perfect on the exterior.

Thanks a lot everyone! -Tony17112acst

Honda03842 · 06-06-2009, 07:49 AM

Tony where is your 1950 located?

By the way we have a Class A motorhome and have come to recognize that a trailer can last forever and that a motorhome has a limited life. Now our motorhome is 12 years old and covered a 100,000 miles so it's given good service but in every way it is more expensive. It's ultimate downfall is the engine and transmission though ours is still going stong.

Just a thought.

Norm Milliard

2beagles · 06-06-2009, 08:27 AM

You can check the value of your coach HERE

**Sunline Fan** · 06-06-2009, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2beagles

You can check the value of your coach HERE

Low Retail: $4,900
Average Retail: $5,900

Don't add in any options because that would imply that you are including an additional, say, refrigerator, with the coach, which I doubt is the case.

Jon

**JohnB** · 06-06-2009, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunline Fan

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2beagles

You can check the value of your coach HERE

Low Retail: $4,900
Average Retail: $5,900

Don't add in any options because that would imply that you are including an additional, say, refrigerator, with the coach, which I doubt is the case.

Jon

Jon

Can you expand on your comments as to what not check the boxes on the options that Nada has check boxes for?

There is a large value difference in the 2 numbers.

Why would they ask if you have a spare tire, or a power tongue jack, power roof vent or even HW with DSI if you are not to include it?

I have heard you say that before but never understood why. The dealers are advertizing sales prices with the options in them. Why would a private sale give it away?

tony17112acst · 06-06-2009, 09:44 AM

My T-1950 is in the Harrisburg, PA area.

Also, I did go to NADA but I DID add the extras, so I may need to look at the site A LOT closer. The $5000 value is quite dissapointing. I was hoping it would be worth $7000 perhaps.

Thanks for the opinion on class A versus a trailer. We will revisit it based on your good point. However, we DO have the money to make the switch and we just are concluding a 2-week trip from PA to the Grand Canyon. The gas mileage with our 2001 Olds Bravada is about the same as a class A or C (and even my Dad's 5th wheller!!). We're getting about 9.0 MPG but we'd get that with a class A and enjoy the driving part of the trips infinately more than being in an SUV.

**Sunline Fan** · 06-06-2009, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnB

Jon

Can you expand on your comments as to what not check the boxes on the options that Nada has check boxes for?

There is a large value difference in the 2 numbers.

Why would they ask if you have a spare tire, or a power tongue jack, power roof vent or even HW with DSI if you are not to include it?

I have heard you say that before but never understood why. The dealers are advertizing sales prices with the options in them. Why would a private sale give it away?

I guess I should have explained it a little better before...I'm not saying not to check any options, but be very careful what you do. For all coaches 1998 and newer, they automatically include the cost of the Preferred Options Grouping (POG) because so many coaches had them. They really weren't options any more. What the POG contained differed between models, but typically it was stuff like the wall clock, AC, Microwave, Awning, TV Antenna, Kitchen Kit, Stereo, and Outside Shower. The only way it wouldn't include some of those things is if it weren't available on that model. So any of those things listed there should not be checked.

Your WH example is perfect. Say you originally had a gas-only WH. Then, a couple years down the road, you decide to upgrade all-out with a gas/electric/DSI model. By checking that box, they give you the full cost of an additional WH. Say that new WH was $400 new. They give you a $195 residual value for that WH. So the way I look at it, the original WH should be included in the deal AND operational, plus the new WH should be included with the sale. So essentially you'd be buying the trailer plus an extra water heater. If this were an upgrade performed at the factory, then you'll just have to use your own judgement to factor in maybe $20 for the upgrade (or maybe 50% of the cost difference of the two models of WH's)

I just went back and priced through the same coach by picking some of these options that it probably has but are really already included with the POG. It took it from a $5000/6000 trailer to a $7525/9105 trailer. Big difference. Here's what I put in:

13,500 BTU (Non-Central/Non-Ducted) $355 $430 (INCLUDED IN POG/PRICE ALREADY)
APPLIANCES
Gas Grill Cook Top $555 $670
Microwave Oven $120 $150 (INCLUDED IN POG/PRICE ALREADY)
Water Heater 6 Gallon Gas/Elec. w/DSI $160 $195 (INCLUDED IN POG/PRICE ALREADY)
ENTERTAINMENT
19" LCD TV $805 $975
AM/FM/CD Stereo $155 $190 (INCLUDED IN POG/PRICE ALREADY)
T.V. Antenna W/Booster $50 $65 (INCLUDED IN POG/PRICE ALREADY)
JACKS AND LEVELING SYSTEMS
Power Hitch Jack $95 $120
Scissor Stabilizer Jacks $120 $150 (STANDARD/INCLUDED IN PRICE IF A SR, MAYBE OPTIONAL ON NON-SLIDES)
MISCELLANEOUS OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT
LPG Gas/Smoke Detector $55 $70 (STANDARD EQUIPMENT/INCLUDED IN PRICE)
Outside Shower $60 $75 (INCLUDED IN POG/PRICE ALREADY)
Power Roof Vent $95 $115 (A EXHAUST FAN IN THE BATHROOM IS STANDARD, BUT IF UPGRADED, SEE PRIOR EXPLANATION)

The TV, outside RVQ, and power hitch jack are all legitimate options, if included, but the amounts are quite small besides the TV. But I don't think too many people will be letting new LCD TV's go with the trailers unless they're permanently mounted. Also, I'm not sure what kind of gas grill they're talking about, but the RVQ types are no where near this price.

NADA set up these pricing charts to cover pretty much any RV. Yes, they differ slightly between motorhomes, FW's, etc, but they are not by any means brand specific. Sunline was unique in that many of these options are already included as standard equipment or in the POG, whereas they are not in other manufacturers. If we were talking about, say a Forest River Product, we would probably have to click quite a few of these options.

However, there are a few instances where clicking some of these is OK, such as, let's say Joe Blow has a 1987 T-2461 (yes, that's completely random). If Joe is trying to sell his, he could click to add in a microwave because most likely he never had a microwave originally. The same could go for a TV antenna possibly and an awning (awnings were a rare option back then). Also, if Joe added in a Stereo, he could check that as well, because his coach was probably just pre-wired for one.

I figure that the base price is the best to go by, because most likely people will want to add a little to the amount to create their asking price anyway, so it'll probably be most accurate that way. For the case with Sunline's, NADA's values just inflate the actual values quite a bit.

Tony, remember, you can always ask more than you want, but you can never get more than you ask. It's a very fine line between a good starting price and too high of a price to turn people off very quickly. I think you would be fine asking $7000 or 6500 knowing that the average value is about 6000. This gives you a little bargaining room. In this economy though, I wouldn't try to ask more than that because I suspect people will get turned off.

For the seller, yes, adding all these options is great to back up a higher price, but, as a buyer, I would run a base NADA search possibly without ever seeing the coach to know what's on it. So if you ask 9000 and a buyer runs the search and sees 6000, he probably won't even bother calling you.

Jon

Honda03842 · 06-06-2009, 12:42 PM

Just for information. We've averaged 7.2 mpg with our motorhome over 8 years and 80,000 miles covering all US states except one and all provinces of Canada. We also never drive very fast, average speed is 57 mph. Towing our Honda CRV behind the motorhome does not seem to affect mileage.

We love our Bounder but also love our Sunline. We find the Sunline has many advantages - it can go to Dunkin Donuts and MacDonalds with ease. ALso it fits into many national parks where a Motorhome can't go or barely fits like Chaco Canyon and we have a small motorhome 32 foot and we average 20 mpg

However I must admit the motorhome provides luxury, it is fully self contained, it has everything and a place for everything; a generator that won't quit and enough water for two weeks if you're just a little careful.

Choices, choices -

Good Luck,

Norm Milliard
1982 Sunline 15.5 SB, soon with full bath.
2004 Honda CRV
1997 Bounder, 32H

WandaLust · 06-06-2009, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honda03842

1982 Sunline 15.5 SB, soon with full bath.

Where are you fitting a full bath in the 15.5? To fit a full bath in ours we would have to either move toward the front and remove the seat at the table and block or remove the roadside window... or bring it out toward the door and barely squeeze past the stove.

How are you fitting it in?

Honda03842 · 06-07-2009, 06:15 AM

I should be completed with the shower in a couple of weeks.

Today I'm putting a skylight in to provide adequate headroom for the shower, once in I will build the shower walls. The shower floor is done.

I removed the bathroom wall that was at the end of the dinette and the bathroom wall that faces the kitchen thru to the left edge of the bathroom door.

To fit the shower I took about a 14 inches off the dinette, still providing a seat for me at the dinette. Of course my dinette table is only two feet deep. One of the first things I did when we got the trailer was to shorten the table to make it a 'for two' table.

The shower goes from the front of the bathroom sink to the shortened dinette, making the shower 24 inches deep. It extends towards the trailer door 25 inches. This setup allowed me to use the existing shower drain.

This means the shower now extends 1 foot beyond the former bathroom wall. This extension is not across from the sink but rather across from the doorway. There's plenty of space for this.

Beside the refrigerator I am building a 5 inch deep floor to ceiling pantry. The bathroom door will be angled betwen this pantry and the new shower.

I had originally considered bumping out the rear of the trailer two feet but have decided to build a solar panel for the roof to increase our boondocking ability first.

I have been taking pictures and plan to add them to our Preparing a Sunline file.

Happy RVing to all,

Norm Milliard

WandaLust · 06-07-2009, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honda03842

I should be completed with the shower in a couple of weeks.

Today I'm putting a skylight in to provide adequate headroom for the shower, once in I will build the shower walls. The shower floor is done.

I removed the bathroom wall that was at the end of the dinette and the bathroom wall that faces the kitchen thru to the left edge of the bathroom door.

To fit the shower I took about a 14 inches off the dinette, still providing a seat for me at the dinette. Of course my dinette table is only two feet deep. One of the first things I did when we got the trailer was to shorten the table to make it a 'for two' table.

The shower goes from the front of the bathroom sink to the shortened dinette, making the shower 24 inches deep. It extends towards the trailer door 25 inches. This setup allowed me to use the existing shower drain.

This means the shower now extends 1 foot beyond the former bathroom wall. This extension is not across from the sink but rather across from the doorway. There's plenty of space for this.

Beside the refrigerator I am building a 5 inch deep floor to ceiling pantry. The bathroom door will be angled betwen this pantry and the new shower.

I had originally considered bumping out the rear of the trailer two feet but have decided to build a solar panel for the roof to increase our boondocking ability first.

I have been taking pictures and plan to add them to our Preparing a Sunline file.

Happy RVing to all,

Norm Milliard

I would love to see the pics of this project as would my husband. Do you have an URL where you uploaded them yet? We shortened the table a little also. It's only the 2 of us so it was totally wasted space. Getting in and out of the roadside seat was difficult for anyone who weighed more than 100 lbs. I love your idea of enlarging the bathroom.

Honda03842 · 06-07-2009, 05:03 PM

Wanda-Lust,

I sent you two emails at your private address with pictures.

Norm Milliard

WandaLust · 06-08-2009, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honda03842

Wanda-Lust,

I sent you two emails at your private address with pictures.

Norm Milliard

We got them. Thank you.

tony17112acst · 06-08-2009, 03:11 PM

OK, back to the original topic:

I did a search on online RV sites for buying and selling and found that everyone seems to want A LOT for their T-1950's!!

I even saw one for $13,000! Based on what I've seen out there, If I price my $2005 at $8,000, it would EASILY be the best deal out there! EASILY.

Anyone disagree or have any more input?

HappyCampers · 06-08-2009, 05:18 PM

Put on it what you think it's worth. If you are off in your assumption you will know it sooner or later. The number of calls, and the dickering over the asking price will lead you in the right direction.

**JohnB** · 06-09-2009, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tony17112acst

OK, back to the original topic:

I did a search on online RV sites for buying and selling and found that everyone seems to want A LOT for their T-1950's!!

I even saw one for $13,000! Based on what I've seen out there, If I price my $2005 at $8,000, it would EASILY be the best deal out there! EASILY.

Anyone disagree or have any more input?

Hi Tony.

Did not make it back to posting yet, but I was going to do what you did. Search online RV sales and see with the dealers are using as a guide. Time, may be the thing that you have to work with. There is a good buyer for everything that has true value. And your Coach has true value. Just need to find the right buyer that knows the quality they are buying and you sell it at a fair price for the value. I know I'm in the exact same boat right now with my 2004, T2499. However I would gladly sell if for a lower fair price to someone who really will enjoy it then trading it to a dealer that gives not much and turns right around and will list it for sale for $3 to $4K more. Do you want one? I’m still in TT separation anxiety. DW says she won’t go back since we have the larger camper. So “The Camper 1” needs a new home

Jon (Sunline Fan) I hear what you are saying on the NADA but what "book" do the dealers use? I have not found many dealers sales prices match the NADA. Always very much higher. And they sell higher too.

I really hate this depreciation mess. TT’s are linked to Autos due to needing to be tagged going down the road. The value drops the day it rolls off the dealers lot brand new. Yet homes appreciate which they should. There are many of us that are as picky about our campers as our homes. The campers are immaculate. Someone finding a good used Sunline in great condition is far ahead then buying many new “other” brands. I know we are not going to change the way the industry is, this is just one of those rants, pet peeves…. Trust me, I really hate car shopping. Same thing.

**Sunline Fan** · 06-09-2009, 10:20 AM

Hi John,

It's been a while since I last looked at a NADA book, but that's what they normally use...the printed NADA guide. They look up the model in the book and get the price. I believe the book will list the model, low retail, average retail, and I think it might also list a trade-in value.

I can't remember exactly, but I seem to think there's another section in the book listing all the accessories, like spare tires, awnings, etc., but the dealers I don't think ever go over to that part of the book. I remember getting a trade in quote on one of my coaches and he just looked up the model and that was it. No questions asked about what it had on it.

Dealers will price above the actual value to try to make money on it. That gives them bargaining room with a potential buyer to eventually get down to near the blue book value. The dealers do stick to the book very much for trade in values, and I think the only thing that changes that is if they find any obvious damage when it comes in.

Jon