There are actually several advantages to owning and buying used motorhomes for sale by owner, rather than buying them new. When you buy them new, you have to pay for retail price for them. When you buy a used motorhome, prices can fluctuate drastically. If you find someone who is motivated to sell, you can often pay 20 to 30% less for that used motorhome than for a comparable one. In addition, when you buy used, you don’t have to worry so much about depreciation. Used motorhomes are typically a lot cheaper than new ones. A motorhome that is three or four years old will cost only 50% as much as a new one. Since motorhomes lose most of their value during the first three or four years, this is one of the most expensive times to buy and own a motorhome. If you buy one that is already depreciated, you don’t have to worry about it going down in value nearly as quickly.
Another advantage to buying used RVs for sale by owner is that they are often cheaper than buying them at a dealership. When you buy an RV for sale by owner, you’re buying from someone who is not having to make a profit on every sale. A dealer on the other hand has to make a large profit in order to cover the expenses of owning an RV dealership. Usually, they like have a 40% markup on every RV that they sell. This allows them to cover all of their expenses and overhead, and 10% as a built in profit margin. Unfortunately, if you are buying directly from the dealer, you don’t often realize that you are paying a 40% markup on everything. But because RVs have such a high markup of their MSRP value compared to their invoice amount, they tend to drop a lot in value the first year or two of ownership. You can avoid this entirely, when you buy a used RV rather than a new one.
