A sad day, Nada Pricing and Thank you

[David and Susan Bratt]

Today we sold our much loved Rover, our 24RB we took to Europe. It dawned on me in the process of selling her that it would have been nice if I had known what others her age and size had sold for. Wouldn't it be nice if somewhere we could keep an anonymous list of units sold and their selling price. We ended up selling our 15 year old BF for 22K after a 24K and 22.5K offer didn't work out.
We have bought and sold 3 Born Frees (one we lost in a flood) but in the other four transactions (buying or selling) with private individuals we have been asked three times to falsify the selling price for tax purposes. If Nada gets their information about value of vehicles from title registrations, they obviously wouldn't be getting accurate information. Saving a couple hundred bucks on the buying end could be costing thousands on the selling end. A consignment dealer in SW Florida (a hot bed in the RV industry) told us he could probably get us 15K - 17K for us. I'm sure he had looked Rover up on Nada.
Finally, I want to thank you all for the marvelous information we have received on this site. I feel like I have friends here. Thanks to Bill for your work here, to Kim and Ed for your generous efforts on our behalf. We were truly privileged to be a part of the Born Free family. Safe travels, everyone.

[Roger H]

That is sad indeed! I really don't know where NADA gets their info on selling prices, especially when it's a unit like a Born Free that has such limited sales on the used market, and most change hands in private deals rather than through reporting dealers. I've gotten a couple of killer deals on Born Free that way, and did ok when I sold my '01 23RK some years ago.

What you describe is even a bigger disparity when you look at NADA and fiberglass travel trailers like Scamp, Casita, and so forth, or older Airstreams.

Good luck in your future endeavors!

Roger

[Dallas Baillio]

What I noted is that people asked you to falsify the selling price for tax purposes. I am not a "goody two shoes" but I cannot suffer that type of behavior. Where is their moral compass? No matter how you attempt to justify it, and we have all heard the false reasoning, it is a scum bag approach. I don't pat myself on the back for taking the moral high road, I just know that if I did that all my justifications would come back to haunt me every time I recalled the experience. No thanks I have enough guilt that I carry around with me already.

[oliverpsmile]

We ended up selling our 15 year old BF for 22K after a 24K and 22.5K offer didn't work out.
I'm sure he had looked Rover up on Nada.

Sorry you feel this way. However:

1. Nobody held a gun on your head to accept the Buyer's offer
2. Nobody forces him to pay your asking price
3. Economics 101: Demand & Supply

p.s. We sold the same BF for 18.5K because we wanted a quick sale -- it was done in three days!
Adam Smith's Invisible Hand of the Market in action.

[David and Susan Bratt]

I wasn't feeling sorry for myself about the price. I was simply reporting it for the benefit of others who may be thinking of selling their 24RB. And I was referring to the consignment agent "looking up the Nada" pricing, not the buyer. Sue

[richnwendy]

One-hundred percent agreement with Dallas. Asking a seller to falsify sales price to benefit buyer's tax burden is asking you to participate in fraud. Not doing business with such folks.
Happy trails.

[CuJo's Pride]

Susan, I'm so sorry you had to let Rover go. We so enjoyed hearing about your adventures in Europe. There seems to be a lot of tough critics out there these days. I'm finding it tougher to post on here because of this. It's a great resource but can feel harsh sometimes. Please don't take the comments personally. It's hard to price these guys because they are unique and each one has something different. You can take some solice that the new owners will love Rover as much as you do and they will have many new adventures ahead.

You will be missed. Please take care and stay in touch. Best of luck to the both of you.

Jo and Curt..

[Dqcarol]

A used RV ... of any type ... is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it! Sad, but sadly true. We previously owned a Foretravel 40' coach. When insuring it or establishing value, we always had to jump through a bunch of hoops to justify the $$$. A Foretravel is not to be compared with a Winnebago or a Thor (or a Prevost), any more than a VW or a Hyundai should be compared with a Mercedes or a Volvo or a Porsche. Apples and oranges. NADA is much too generalized for any true sort of valuation with some specific brands. That being said, it was our job (when selling our coach) to target our potential buyers and teach them why our coach was worth what we were asking. Specific upgrades, complete years of maintenance records, tons of photos, and the support of a very active Owner's Forum really helped with the credibility of our presentation. BUT ... we had to be realistic about what the market was dictating, as well.

We just bought a very nice 2005 RB unit and after doing our research (much of it on this website!) were able to make a bid that was fair, but not insulting. It is disappointing that the previous owner did not see fit to hand over any maintenance records, but we were able to get a "baseline" feel for the the state of the coach and are satisfied that we have a solid rig to begin our next journeys. A year ago, we might have had to pay a great deal more for this rig ... and a year from now, in spite of our recent additions of a solar panel, new converter/charger, new deep-cycle Marine batteries and more, we will likely see some depreciation. Ah, well ... if a boat is "a hole in the water that you pour your money into" , an RV is a similar "hole in the air that sucks dollars out of your wallet". A Born Free hit our radar BECAUSE it is such a solid, well made machine with a reputation to match ... but lots of folks don't know the difference between brands.

I wouldn't trade the fun I have had traveling around for all the $$$ in the world. I am thinking that you feel much the same.

[CuJo's Pride]

Very true and nicely said !

[randallrae]

Sometimes you can retrieve some maintenance history by getting a carfax report , and having a ford dealer service dept run your vin that might show some service history , and recalls .