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Topic: NADA Pricing--Accurate? (Read 3 times) previous topic - next topic
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NADA Pricing--Accurate?
Yahoo Message Number: 57607
A recent announcement of an interest in buying a late model Lazy Daze at NADA "prices" has me a little confused.  I didn't realize that NADA was selling used Lazy Daze motorhomes.  I thought that individuals did that.
 NADA prices on used cars and trucks have always been below wholesale because it is in the interest of the car dealer ( the NADA membership) to use those tables to give you a trade-in price that is way below wholesale.  Now why would he want to do that?  Because if he can't sell it at retail in a reasonable period of time, he can take it to the dealer's auction and make a few bucks on the difference between below wholesale (what he paid you) and wholesale.  His profit is assured at the time he makes the purchase.  He can't lose.
 Now this nice lady from Tennessee comes along and offers to pay NADA prices for a LD, and not a penny more.  Look at the NADA tables and look at what folks are asking for their 3 and 4 year old LD's.  The difference is usually $15,000 to $20,000 between what they are asking for their LD and what NADA says they are worth.
 Sellers will build a little negotiating margin into their prices but none of us is crazy.  We know that the LD is a premium coach in limited supply and so we ask more for it.  You can buy a new Winnebago Class C for $60K or less on your lunch hour and skip the months of waiting for an LD.  Now go and sell that coach when its 3-4 years old.  You might get NADA pricing on that.
 How many used LD's change hands every year?  I'll bet it's less than 100 coaches nation wide and that is hardly going to show up on NADA's radar.  Those tables likely reflect average prices for used LD's of a variety of brands because there is very little data on which to base a price on a used LD.
 Near the bottom of the NADA pricing site is says---Note: Vehicles with low mileage that are in exceptionally good condition can be worth a significantly higher value than the Average Retail price shown.

'Nuff said.
Re: NADA Pricing--Accurate?
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 57609
Unfortunately, from a buyer's perspective, I have to agree with you.  By the same token, some sellers think LD's are priceless.  The thing we all have to keep in mind is that they are still built on the same chassis as all the other brands and use the same appliances and parts.  What LD offers is a well made rig that should sell at a premium over Flettwood and Winnebago but sellers have to be realistic too.  LD's aren't flawless or trouble free.  We've read of problems of bubbling paint, expanding trim pieces, etc.  If they haven't been maintained well they're still going to need whatever maintenance was deferred.

There was a fellow recently who offered his two year old but fulltimed in rig for over $60 grand.  He finally offered it to me for $51.8k but I passed because it had too much use for what I wanted (not to say it wasn't a terrific rig).  I don't know what his final selling price was.  I made a deal the other day for a rig but didn't get there before another buyer who paid more than our agreed price.
 Point is, both parties need to be realistic about LD's - they aren't the only well-made rigs on the market (though they're the only ones I'm interested in!).  The best guideline seems to be the published prices on this site's file section, adjusted for condition, options, floorplan, etc.