Selling my 2012 Lounge .. pricing?

[russ240]

Any pricing input would be appreciated. We have put a down-payment on a used EarthRoamer so it's time to sell the Interstate. 42k miles, obsessively maintained, 300w Solar/battery/inverter/charger upgrade by Lewster (Lew does amazing work and this was a sizeable investment but made boondocking possible!), Koni shocks, good Michelins (3/4 tread), lots of little extras that come from 6 years of enthusiastic ownership. I'm thinking I'll place an RV Trader add ... not sure about Ebay? Anyone here have experience with selling one? I'm not looking to give it away but I do want it to sell fairly quickly. What should I ask for it?

[weirdstuff]

sending you pm

[Protagonist]

You know how they say any vehicle is worth 10% less than you paid for it as soon as you drive it off the lot? That's pretty much true. But not because it depreciates 10% in 10 minutes. It's because dealer profit and overhead are not part of the vehicle's value in the first place, and the price you paid includes dealer profit and overhead.

As a quick-and-dirty rule, take 10% off what you paid up-front. Then for every year you've owned it, take 10% off what's left. So during the first year it's worth 90% of what you paid. The next year it's worth 81% (not 80%, because 10% off of 90% is 9%). The 3rd year it's worth 73%, then 66%, then 60%, and so forth. No matter how long you own the vehicle, the value never drops all the way to zero by this calculation method.

Of course, any value-added modifications have to be factored back in; the above is just for the basic vehicle as you bought it. Tire replacement and battery replacement or any routine maintenance or repairs don't count as modifications because that's just maintaining status quo, but added solar wattage or increases in house battery amp-hours do count as mods, along with anything else that the van didn't come with originally. Same thing, 90% of the modification price adds to the vehicle's value in the year the modification was performed, then you take 10% off the total package per year until the next modification has to be factored in.

This method of depreciation is perfectly acceptable to the IRS for personal or business chattel property assets, and so can be considered "legit" for determining a fair sale price, too. That's not to say you can't sell if for more; you can still charge what the market will bear. But this calculation can also determine if you showed a capital gain on the sale for tax purposes.

It doesn't apply in the case of your Interstate, but once a vehicle is old enough to qualify as "vintage" the depreciation can be considered to reverse itself, with the value increasing each subsequent year, except that the residual values of any modifications you made are now taken off; the closer a vintage vehicle is to factory original, the more valuable it is.

I didn't come up with this on my own. My kid brother, who has a degree in accounting, worked it out for me. If I explained it wrong, the fault is mine, not his.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by russ240

...... We have put a down-payment on a used EarthRoamer .....

$$$$$$$$$$$$$ !!

Are you going to keep us updated on how this transition goes? (I hope?) I've been as curious as hell about those things, and corresponded briefly with the company on what I thought might constitute ergonomic design improvements (I don't believe they agreed with me - imagine that). I'd love to know more about them from an owner's experience.

[EarStreaming]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

$$$$$$$$$$$$$ !!

Are you going to keep us updated on how this transition goes? (I hope?) I've been as curious as hell about those things, and corresponded briefly with the company on what I thought might constitute ergonomic design improvements (I don't believe they agreed with me - imagine that). I'd love to know more about them from an owner's experience.

x2! Never knew a 'beastly' exist A whole new meaning to hard core

[Gneiss Guy]

I would put on the Airforums Classified before trying anything else. Most of the folks looking there already are interested in Airstreams and are more likely to appreciate the brand.

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by Gneiss Guy

I would put on the Airforums Classified before trying anything else. Most of the folks looking there already are interested in Airstreams and are more likely to appreciate the brand.

Yep, also keep in mind that the Classifieds are the means to sell here. Selling via a thread is not allowed and if the mods feel a thread is turning into a sales pitch, it will be removed. So use discression in posting valuation questions relative to selling.

Jack

[73shark]

I listed mine w/ RV Trader, here in Classifieds, and on Craig's List. All my legitimate lookers came from CL. The others generated inquirys that were usually those that claimed they saw one just like mine for $10K less or wanted me to finance it. They had no answer when I asked them why they called me.