NADA price guides accurate?

[RV Quest]

Are NADA price guides accurate for buying a used RV from a dealer? Should I expect to pay between the minimum and maximum NADA price list? I realize a RV cost is what a buyer is willing to pay, but is the NADA guide in the ball park? I see some used RV's listing for twice the NADA guide.

[gerrym51]

No-don't even bother

[mkguitar]

I think the sample sizes are too small to be representative of a specialty vehicle with a small market

Mike

[hepcat]

For B-vans, they're generally representative if the van is five years old or newer. NADA is based on reported selling prices. Of course, dealers use NADA for pricing their vehicles, so it's sort of a self-fulfilling prophesy in a circular-logic sort of way.

Older than five years, and most of those sales aren't reported to NADA at all. Private sales, of course, aren't reported... so they must use some kind of depreciation algorithm to come up with the prices.

Prices of vehicles ten years or older are based on condition, comps on the market, and what the market price will support. I've seen vans like mine (twenty years old) with a similar age vary as much as $20,000 in asking price from $5k on the low end to $25k on the top. Of course you can get $20k discounts off sticker on $150k MSRP vans... so I guess it's all a matter of perspective.

FWIW, for the first time this week I saw an ad with the sticker price for a B-van top $200k.

[markopolo]

Originally Posted by hepcat

............ dealers use NADA for pricing their vehicles..............

That, IMO, is the main reason to know and pay attention to NADA values. It has been my experience that when you go to trade in an RV they consult the book.

[booster]

We have found the NADA prices to usually be much lower than the actual selling prices, especially on newer units after a few years. The exception would be in the first year, as they take the % off of MSRP, and B's like Roadtreks can sell for 18% off when new, so you can have a one year old one listed nearly same price as you could get a discounted new one. They seem to depreciate all the RV a % per year of age, and B's hold value better than other classes, so can be off. The dealers love the book at trade in so they can get you van cheaper and make more at resale, I think.

The market has gone a bit nuts, though. I see late 90's Roadtreks listed for the same amount that they were when we were looking at them---8 years ago!

[SteveJ]

The market has gone a bit nuts, though. I see late 90's Roadtreks listed for the same amount that they were when we were looking at them---8 years ago!

I think a big part of that is the economy was in preservation mode at the time. I know that we cut back during that time as I was employed in the construction industry in central Flowriduh, which was hit quite hard. We did lose three of the six people that worked in our little niche field. I was next in line.