By Cheri Sicard
A lot of folks seem to be getting OUT of RVing lately. If that’s you, the team from RV Lifestyle is here to show you how to sell your RV for maximum profit in this segment from their RV podcast.
While you can use services to help you sell your RV, the most profitable way will be to do it yourself. To be sure, there are pros and cons to doing this, and they discuss these in the video as well as other ways of selling your RV.
How to sell your RV step by step
The team makes it easy by laying the process out step by step.
#1 Determine what your RV is worth: The team suggests starting by checking the value at J.D. Power. Keep in mind this is only a low ballpark estimate and in line with what a dealer is likely to offer you on a trade-in deal.
#2 Clean and stage the RV: You want to show your RV to potential buyers in its best light, so make sure to have it meticulously clean.
The team also suggests removing all personal items and staging it like you would if you were selling a home so the owners can envision themselves in it. I can say from experience that most people don’t bother to do this, so you will put yourself well ahead of the competition if you do.
#3 Fix anything broken: This will eliminate any last-minute surprises during the sale. It will also help the RV pass, should the buyers hire an inspector.
#4 Take good photos: You will need lots of good photos of the interior and exterior of the RV. It doesn’t hurt to include some scenic photos of the RV on some of its trips either.
#5 Hang a sign: They recommend putting a “For Sale” sign on the RV and parking it in a prominent place. I would add, check local ordinances, as not all locations allow this and you could get a ticket if yours doesn’t.
#6 List it: The video says you can’t beat a listing in RVTrader.com, and they also talk about why you might want to avoid Facebook Marketplace.
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RVDT2732
Thanks Cheri. I appreciate that you watch and summarize the videos you review. I prefer reading and don’t often watch videos – except maybe Dustin’s repair and maintenance videos 👍🏻
Profit?
That implies selling it for more than you paid for it, which is surely an extremely rare circumstance with used RVs. “Maximizing selling price” is more like it, and is the positive spin on what is actually “minimizing the hit you take due to depreciation”. 😉
Yet more advice on how to lose money and waste time. If you want to know your RV’s true value, what others think it’s worth, pay for a certified appraisal. Those companies pay for the actual “what it sold for” data from DMVs and wholesale networks. That info is NOT available for free anywhere. Appraisals assume a good condition.
If you’re a buyer, a certified appraisal tells you what people really paid so why should you pay more? Only pay for an inspection if the appraisal shows the asking price is fair.
JD Power, NADA RV (owned by JD Power), and others, give their data away for free? How do they stay in business? Someone has to be paying them a lot of money for something.
Thank you for noting and summarizing the video, Cheri! I found much of this logical, but also easily overlooked, depending on the time and effort one applies to the task of owner-selling. Have a great week and safe travels!