You may be thinking of selling your RV because you want to upgrade to the latest and greatest model, or maybe you just need more space. Whatever reason you may have for selling your RV, thinking of the different ways on how you can do so is important. One of the options that you have is to have a consignment.
The main advantage of choosing to go with consignment is that it will lessen the hassle you have to go through when selling your RV yourself. However, the biggest disadvantage is that you have to pay a commission and won’t make as much money as if you sold your RV yourself.
Most RVers take advantage of consignment, especially when they are not very experienced in selling their property. This article will talk about the different advantages and disadvantages that you can get from consignment. I will also discuss how consignment works, how you can prepare your RV for consignment, what you need to keep in mind, and what other options you have aside from consignment. Lastly, I will discuss the difference between selling your RV yourself and RV consignment.
The Pros of Choosing RV Consignment As Your Selling Method
As I’ve mentioned above, the main advantage of a consignment is it saves you time and hassle from advertising, handling inquiries, and showing the rig yourself to the prospective buyers. Not needing to deal with these issues is worth losing a small percentage of money from the sale.
When it comes to working with a dealer, it will widen your net or your RV’s exposure. You will be able to consider buyers who need financing since the dealer will manage that particular aspect of the sale. Dealers will try to get your RV sold as soon as possible. When you are not motivated enough to market the sale rigorously, it may take you a long time to sell it yourself.
Aside from that, dealers have the ability to accept trade-ins, and a good consignment dealer will handle all the paperwork for you. Plenty of Rv buyers already own an RV, and the ability to accept trades is a must when you choose to have a consignment dealer.
If you choose to proceed with the consignment process, you will not have to show the vehicle to the interested buyer yourself. Usually, dealers will have buyers roaming their lots and may already have a buyer in mind for your rig. When you live in a cold-weather climate, consigning your RV to a consigner in a warmer climate would help drive more traffic and revenue during the off-season.
The Cons of Choosing RV Consignment As Your Selling Method
When it comes to the disadvantages, you need to expect that you have to pay the cost to bring your RV into good condition. If the dealer is going to stand behind your RV, it shouldn’t have any unreasonable defects present. When you can’t do the repairs yourself, the dealers will take care of it for you. However, it will be an additional cost and can be more expensive than fixing the rig yourself.
As I’ve also mentioned above, the biggest drawback of a consignment is paying a sales commission. Some dealers will charge you monthly fees, but this is not a recommendable program to sign onto. During the consignment, your RV will have to be insured while being sold, which is another cost you have to pay.
At most times, you will be under contract with consignment dealerships, which will hinder you from selling your RV anywhere else. During the time it’s being sold on consignment, you will not be able to use your RV, so you will have to skip any weekend RV trips you have in mind.
The cosigner doesn’t have permission to give a thorough walk-through to renters because of time or lack of knowledge of your RV. If you want to have your RV cleaned and presented well to buyers, you would have to pay an additional cost for it.
The Process of Consignment and What It Is
When you haven’t heard of consignment before, you may wonder what it is and the process. RV consignment is just like clothing consignment but on a much larger scale. You will turn over your RV to another party to sell while you still retain ownership.
The dealers will handle the phones, appointments, and financing. Once your rig has been sold, the dealers will take out a percentage of the sale. Some owners choose to consign because they live in rural areas and don’t want to deal with the hassle of advertising and showings.
Having said this, dealerships have better traffic and marketing, which means your RV will get more exposure than selling it yourself. The consignment fees would vary where some dealers charge a set commission, while others charge a percentage based on the final sale price of your RV.
RV Consignment: What to Keep In Mind
Now, before making any decision about consigning, it is best to do your own research. You want to choose an honest company where you can sell your RV. Taking a good look at the Google reviews and reading other reviews on their website can help know if the company is reliable or not.
There may be times where you can’t find a reliable and trustworthy consignment service near you. This is why it is best to check the reviews of consignment companies through Facebook, Google, and Yelp before contacting the dealership. You have to remember that consignment is a big commitment and requires a fair amount of preparation.
There are different things that you need to keep in mind when choosing your dealership. First, you need to check whether they charge at a flat rate percentage or are based through commission on the listing or sales price. Second is how long the consignment contract is and if they offer extra services such as tune-ups or cleaning.
Third, you have to check if there are any fees to set up your rig or any cancellation fees. Fourth is how much exposure the dealership has and how aggressive its marketing strategy is. Lastly, you have to check how tight their security is, and the most important is what customers have to say about them.
Preparing Your RV For Consignment
Whether you are selling a Class A motorhome, fifth-wheel, travel trailer, or toy hauler, you want to ensure that your RV is ready to be sold. The first thing that you should do is make sure to clean your RV both inside and out. Do not leave any food items in the fridge or storage compartments. You should also make sure your tanks are empty to avoid any smells inside the rig.
Most of the time, consignment dealers will take care of this for you, but if you don’t want to pay the extra fees, you can do it yourself. The second thing to take note of is to make sure you check your RV for mechanical issues or water damage. When you find major problems in your RV, you can contact a mechanic to get them repaired. Your consignment dealer can refer you to a reputable service center or fix the said issues on site.
Lastly, bring all service records that you may have since it will help your broker sell the RV for you. If you are the original owner, it is best to bring the MSRP sheet with you. Bringing this will help show the seller which options are included with your RV.
Cost of RV Consignment: Know the Fees and Rates
RV consignment costs can be tricky to calculate since there are many factors that determine the rate. Another to consider is it depends on the dealership and how they structure their consignment fees. The first thing to look at is the market value of your RV, which can be found on NADA Guides. You will also get a suggested listing price based on your RV’s mileage, age, and features.
Consignment can work in one of two ways. Either you will pay a flat percentage of the sale price, which is usually between 10 to 15 percent. Or you and the dealer will agree on a target sale price, and the dealer will collect the extra as their commission.
A great example is when you agree to list your rig for $85,000, but it sells for $90,000. The flat percentage the dealer will get is $9,000, while through the commission, they will get $6,800. The second option is the best for you in this scenario, but you can see how this could switch within different scenarios.
Other Fees You Need to Know in RV Consignment
Now, if you don’t want anything else done to your RV, you won’t have to pay other fees. As I’ve mentioned above, there are services that can add up to the cost of selling your rig. Plenty of dealerships offer services such as detailing and tune-ups, which will obviously cost you money.
However, these services can result in your RV being sold at a higher price than you expect. Most of the time, you can make more money back on the sale than you spent on the tune-ups you’ve done in your rig. Aside from that, there are also fees for insurance that you may want to consider depending on your situation.
RV Consignment Insurance: Is It Needed?
A lot of RVers are confused by the idea of RV consignment insurance since they already have RV insurance. Now, in most cases, insurance companies don’t cover rigs while they are in consignment. You might be left in a difficult situation if anything happens to your RV during the consignment period.
RV dealerships have plenty of security features such as cameras and gated access, but you can never be too sure as to what can happen. The RV consignment insurance will cover any damages by fire or when your RV gets stolen. Just like any other insurance, it’s up to you if you want to purchase RV consignment insurance.
RV Consignment: Is It The Best Way To Go?
Now, there is no best way to sell your RV. RV consignment is one of the best options that are available to you, especially when you don’t have the time. It is also considered a great option if you are not experienced in the sales department and you do not have many resources available to you.
The best way to know if you should go the RV consignment route is to determine whether you can make the money you spent on fees from a better sale. You will probably make more money on a sale while your RV is on consignment than you selling it yourself.
During consignment, you also have to keep in mind the fees that you need to pay, such as insurance, the commission, tune-ups, cleaning, etc. You would need to calculate how much all those fees are going to cost. You can figure out how much more money you expect to make when you have that number during the RV consignment.
If you think that the money that you’ll get back is not bad or more than what you prefer, then go for the RV consignment. However, if you feel like you won’t be able to make all the money back, you need to assess whether the time you gain from not needing to do the selling process yourself is worth that amount of money.
The latter part would be worth it for some people, but others prefer to make as much money as possible. Whatever you choose, make sure that it will be the best decision for you.
Private Sale Vs. RV Consignment
Plenty of people feel they are capable of listing their RVs online and selling it themselves without dealerships or banks being involved. They would need to do most of the leg work of marketing, showing, and following up with potential buyers, which is unnecessary for consignment. However, there are advantages when it comes to selling your rig yourself.
First is you get to choose the selling price of your RV. Unlike in RV consignment, the dealership would decide on the price by basing on your rig’s model, year, mileage, and age. With private sales, you get to make the decision on where to advertise and how the advertising is made. RV consignment, on the other hand, the dealers would be responsible for advertising your RV, and they would have a bigger reach to different potential buyers.
When selling your RV through a private sale, it might take a long time for the right buyer to come along. Lastly, when you sell your RV yourself, you will decide who purchases the RV, whereas, in consignment, the dealers will have the final say.
Now, in RV consignment, you have the choice to have the dealership do all the tune-ups and cleaning with an additional fee. However, you would need to clean the RV yourself and make sure everything is fixed before listing it with private sales. Also, if you plan on selling your rig yourself, you would take on the liability. If there are problems with the RV, the buyer can try to sue you.
If you want to know more about selling an RV yourself, here’s a blog that I think will help you.
Some RV Consignment Dealers, Services, and Specialists To Consider
If you need some helpful tips for consigning your RV, Family Motor Coach Association would be the best place to go. You can also search for different dealers in your area on their websites. Camping World is a well-known company when it comes to RV consignment. They have tons of locations across the United States, so most likely, there’s one near you.
RVT is a nationwide dealer search that is based on your location. They advertise hundreds of dealerships, so you can look at their ads to get an idea of how well the dealership will market your RV. PPL Consignment specializes in consigning used motorhomes, and they are one of the largest consignment dealers in the United States.
Consignment RV Sales is based in Montana and was named the ‘Highest Volume RV Consignment Dealer in the Midwest.’ They are a family-owned business that specializes in RV consignments. RV Arizona is a consignment specialist service and is the number one consignment dealer in Arizona. Aside from Arizona, they also attract people from the west coast.
Lastly, we have Classic RV located in New Jersey and is one of the largest RV consignment services on the east coast. There is plenty of RV consignment dealerships out there that you can choose from. With proper research, you can find the right consignment dealership for you.
When you find yourself watching your RV collect dust in your driveway, it’s probably a sign to do something about it. Cosigning your RV is a great option when you don’t want to go through the hassle of selling yourself. Aside from selling your RV, another option that you have is to rent it out. There are plenty of P2P networks that cater to renting RVs to other people.
However, if you feel like selling your RV is the best option, cosigning is the best way to go when you don’t have the time to spend on the sale process. Happy selling!
