Nada Guides??

[gc24]

Does anyone put any value into what is listed on these if your looking to buy an A/S? Looking to buy a 05' 22' International CCD that is in Excellent condition. Anyone know what a fair offer would be?

[Larry in MO]

Fair offer? For whom? I guess I look at these things a little differently. NADA, Kelly Blue Book and other "guides" are just a starting point. (They are currently very high and don't even agree among themselves) Things happen too fast and the numbers are not very objective for those guides to be accurate. Used car salesmen like to whip them out to low ball you when trading up.

You need to figure a price from what you want to pay and not what someone wants for his/her vehicle. A "fair" price will not be "fair" to both parties. He/she needs to sell and you may want to buy!

Another thing to consider is the scarcity of the item. There are more (and are going to be more) '05s out there for sale than '55s. Don't get into a hurry on hobbies. There is always another one out there unless it is something extremely rare.

There are two things to remember:

1.Trailers, motor homes, cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, etc. make terrible investments. Keep in mind that you are going to lose money on the deal before it is over. It is recreation that will cost you money much like golf, bowling, or motorcycle racing. Also, they will always cost 2 or 3 times the money you initially expect to spend on renovation.

2. The best deal is at the buy and not when you sell. In other words, don't spend a lot and expect to get it back at the other end-you won't.

Fair price? In these times, I'd have cash in hand, show up in a tow vehicle, have an updated printed ebay list of similar models that did not meet reserve, write your short offer on a business card and be prepared to walk away. You might advise the seller that you cannot come back for $100 if he knocks it off next week. Emphasize cash in hand right now!

The seller wants as much as possible and the prospective buyer want to pay as little as possible. Fair? It cannot be fair to both so, I think, you should be nicer to yourself than the other guy.

[xonvldz]

i had an o5 28 safari that i traded on an 07 31 classic limited.the safari i bought as a leftover and got 20 percent off list.on the 07 i offered the dealer 20 percent lower than list ,and we were both happy.obviously on this priced unit i wanted the dealer to stay in business so i did not deny the dealer making a profit ,plus the fact i was getting a current updated model.my dealer has a waiting list of people constantly looking for used airstreams.im sure the market right now is slower than a couple years ago so demand is down,but a few years from now when demand picks back up and there are less used units on the market because of the new sales slump we are experiencing ,i suspect used values will be higher.generally my experience with airstreams tells me they lose 30 % the first yr then 5-6 % every year therafter.once they depreciate 50% of original list they tend to hold that value.look at my 31 now that they dont make them anymore,what do you suspect will happen.it is all simple supply and demand economics.of course condition and buying directly from the original owner adds value.if i ever want to sell mine it will be on consignment with my dealer,since his pool of used customers is approx 2000 people.airstreams compared to sob trailers over time i beleive are the most economical trailer to own.

[gc24]

Thanks. For some reason, I think that it is probably worth 27-28K