What does nada guides reflect

[mwilliamsmd]

Looking to trade my AS in when I pick up my next AS. I looked up the value of mine on NADA which most dealers reference. Question - is the trailer value the base model PLUS options/features or the base model plus any changes made. When I calculated mine, I added in all the features (awning, AC etc etc.). Dealer tells me for AS the base value already includes all the features of the trailer except specific upgrades (convection microwave, extra awning etc etc). Does anyone know if on NADA you add back all features of the AS or is the base value "as is"?

[AnnArborBob]

It's my understanding the Blue Book (aka NADA) values for travel trailers are based solely on original MSRP (likely without options) and a depreciation formula that NADA has invented. It is my understanding that NADA values do not reflect actual real world transactions and are almost always way too low. Usually people who refer to NADA for Airstream valuations are trying to buy at a very low price or trying to minimize an insurance claim. If a potential buyer is referring to NADA prices in trying to negotiate with you, run do not walk away from that deal. Unless you live in the middle of nowhere, there are so few good used Airstreams out there that you would be much much better off selling it on your own. You can use Craigslit and the Airforums Classifieds as a guide for your pricing. Be fair in your initial pricing and you will sell it pretty fast.

I'm sure that others here will have good suggestions for how and where to list your Airstream for sale.

[Echelon73]

We bought a used (2010) Airstream last year. I found the NADA values to be a joke. Most all the used ones we looked at were priced well over what NADA listed. The few in the NADA range were in very rough condition. It makes financing a used Airstream difficult unless you are willing to put quite a bit down. The market may have changed since then, but I suspect there is still a big gap between what NADA says and what used ones are selling for.

[dscluchfc]

NADA is the book run by dealers and bankers to beat you over the head and reduce the amount they loan and the dealer will pay on trades.
It is their "Reference Bible" and book of guaranteed profits.
The bank doesn't really like loaning on RVs, so they want the loan "wholesale" value to be as low as possible to increase the likelihood of the loan not being very upside down.
The dealer participates in this because he doesn't want to give much on trades, so he will fudge the truth and say the base price is all that counts....which is unmitigated BS. The base price + adds is what counts....so they want to steal your adds if they are trading for it, and price them double if they are selling them.

The only real thing that counts is MARKET VALUE.
What will a willing buyer pay to a willing seller that they both can agree to be happy with?
Airstream trailers regularly sell for well over NADA.
In a conversation recently with my insurance company for my 84 Airstream, I asked the question, if it gets totaled in a grapefruit sized hail storm, what are you going to pay me......they said NADA. And so I asked about comparative sales....and they said yes, if that could substantiate a different value.
So, I asked this lady in their claims department, to whom I had been referred with my question to look up my trailer in her blue book...so she did.
Then I asked her to go to several URLs that strongly disagreed with the NADA for a 31 ft Excella price.
I told her, you can't buy one with everything working and it needing nothing major done to it for less than $12,000-$15,000....which is "Actual Cash Value" for an Airstream.

Don't be fooled.....NADA and Airstream values are FAR apart.

[hobiedog]

Make sure your Airstream is insured for "agreed value" not NADA. RV specialty insurance companies can do this if you ask.

[iowaroots]

The values are too low on NADA. unrealistic. However be careful with your insurance companies who use it as valuation. Be sure to get clarity with the insurance company you use.

[vito98103]

Several years ago I noticed a big difference between NADA prices and what was being asked by dealers. I called NADA and talked to someone who told me that used RV prices are determined by a group of dealers sitting around a conference table making up numbers (true). She also said that Airstream dealers decided long ago that they would not provide actual numbers to anyone.
Used car prices in the NADA book reflect actual selling prices in a particular area, but apparently used RV prices don't mean much of anything. I've seen units listed in the Seattle market for crazy prices (e.g. 2007 Holiday Navigator MH for $175).

[kb0zke]

Look up the NADA values for used Newell motor homes. Can't find them? That's because Newell makes so few coaches that there really isn't a good way to figure the used value. They've been around since 1968 and haven't yet made coach 1600. NADA works fairly well for high volume vehicles, but not so well with low volume ones.

On the other hand, NADA does provide a floor. If someone is offering less than NADA it may mean that they are out to get you. Buyers and sellers both need to know what the NADA value is for a particular coach. Buyers should understand that they are very unlikely to get a coach for less than NADA - and if they do they ought to be very suspicious of it. Sellers ought to know that they will get at least that much, and likely more.

Since most Airstreams seem to be sold by private parties, rather than dealers, the actual selling prices are not reported to NADA and not included in NADA pricing.

[pmclemore]

I think the NADA values are what you'd like to buy an Airstream for, but never what you would sell one for.

Pat.

[Hittenstiehl]

Bingo Pat that's the best explanation so far.

[JeffM]

Nada has a spot for most of the upgrades, but like everyone else has said... they are not even in the ballpark of being near market value. I've been watching the market closely, trying to find a good deal on a rig. Today I finally pulled the trigger on one, afterwards I tripped on the NADA site so i figured I'd give it a try... I was laughing at the results. It was showing under half of what market value is.