Re: Are NADA's published prices unfair to RV dealers?

We have had numerous occassions where prospects come in with the figures they think their unit should be worth that are quited a bit higher than our book figures indicate. I often makes it impossible to reach an agreement. There is much room for improvement.

Paul Minton
River City RV

Re: Are NADA's published prices unfair to RV dealers?

I STRONGLY AGREE!

Re: Are NADA's published prices unfair to RV dealers?

A couple of problems with NADA

1.) Retail customer go on the website and don't read the fine print that states what is included in the price. Then they go add things like AC that may already be included in the price. They also add for things considered standard on a self contained RV like the water heater. They get very wrong prices this way

2.) Some things book so low in NADA and worth more in some markets. I realize that markets vary so what will sell for over book in my market may not somewhere else. The problem is banks and credit unions live by NADA and makes financing used units very difficult sometimes.

Overall, NADA does a good job, but there is much room for improvement in RV blue book figures.

Re: Are NADA's published prices unfair to RV dealers?

I wanted to provide a little more insight as to the question you asked in your article. I have a little more than 250 rv dealers on my advisory board which provides me the luxury of getting to speak personally with many of them in regards to a multitude of issues our industry faces. While some dealers take issue with our prices online, a great majority have embraced this ever growing medium and made it work for them to grow their businesses.

In answer to some of the comments made in your article I would like to provide the following;

The website is www.nadaguides.com (not www.nada.com) while it's not a major issue I wanted to clarify that.

The dealer you qouted mentioned that the Low retail and trade-in prices were nearly identical, I wanted to show some examples to allow any of your reader's to see if they are close to identical or not. Your dealer mentioned that our retail prices should both be higher than the wholesale or trade-in price, they both currently are.

2007 Keystone, Cougar 291RLS, Trade-in $22030, Low Retail $24340, Avg Retail $29320
2005 Holiday Rambler, Vacationer 34SBD, Trade-In $60790, Low Retail $65280, Avg Retail $78650

I personally don't feel that their close to indentical but that's for each indivdual to decide. But certainely any of you can do your own comparing.

He also mentioned that we should print a high retail price. We used to do that but we had dealers complaining that every consumer that came to their store felt that their unit was excellent condition and that their trade-in should be valued closer to the high retail number. We listened to the dealers that contacted us and made the changes that made sense. If the issue is with our prices that's another discussion.

We are providing the same average retail number to the consumer that the dealer has been qouting for many years. I have also pasted below the exact verbiage that is shown on the website below the used prices online.

"Value Explanations"

"Prices shown are retail consumer values and to be considered as selling prices. Trade-in and loan values are confidential for our dealers and industry base subscribers. Trade-in values are to be determined by local dealers and are generally lower than values shown."

"Low Retail Value — A low retail unit may have extensive wear and tear. Body parts may have dents and blemishes. The buyer can expect to invest in cosmetic and/or mechanical work. This vehicle should be in safe running order. Low retail vehicles usually are not found on dealer lots. Low retail should not be considered a trade-in value."

"Average Retail Value — An average retail vehicle should be clean and without glaring defects. Tires and glass should be in good condition. The paint should match and have a good finish. The interior should have wear in relation to the age of the vehicle. Carpet and seat upholstery should be clean, and all power options should work. The mileage should be within the acceptable range for the model year."

I do agree with Mark Rispens in that we do have room for improvement and we are currently working on several solutions that we feel will go a long way towards educating consumers not to add for standard equipment and to understanding the proper way to look at pricing. We will also continue to accept and review feedback from the very businessmen that are on the front lines dealing with this marketplace. The RV dealers have always been a valuable source of information for us. I'm not looking to change any minds, just clear up a few things.

Thanks for the Blog, I enjoy reading it.

Re: Are NADA's published prices unfair to RV dealers?

I have to agree with what Lenny Sims of NADA just commented. If NADA posted higher numbers, then our customers would be expecting HIGHER trade-in values which would only prevent us from ultimately getting that deal.

I have been a member of the NADA advisory board for several years and can testify that they make adjustments to pricing from the market information that we send them.

I am CONFIDENT that NADA is doing a wonderful job ON-LINE in helping customers pre-evaluate their trade in before they get to our lot and give us a favorable chance to trade for that unit. Granted, we sometimes have to educate the customer as to what is optional and what is standard but, that is just part of being the professional that we are supposed to be.

I think our time would be much better spent by lobbying for ALL our AMERICAN OWNED Oil business be opened up and we not deal with any foreign OIL MOFIA until the price their product reasonably.

Re: Are NADA's published prices unfair to RV dealers?

We're all doing business in the information age and for that reason the internet is both a blessing and a curse. Savy cutomers come in prepared, with numbers in hand, and that's not going to change. If NADA can clean up the standard equipment versus option issue custromers and dealers will benefit.

Re: Are NADA's published prices unfair to RV dealers?

It is great to see NADA respond so professionally and show their interest in the topic raised in this blog. We can only hope that some of the other people reading these posts also jump in and provide commentary, claraification, and explanation when required. It's easy to hide behind the computer screen, but much more fun if you jump in and join the conversation as Lenny did here.

To augment Mark's comments on oil - go to www.americansolutions.com and order your "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" bumper sticker. Mine went on all my vehicles last weekend. Now if only we could get Congress to have the guts to do what is really needed to send a message to the rest of the world that we are fed up with foreign countries dictating our way of life in America. Why are we forgetting the very virtues and framework that founded our country? Let's fix our own problems and let some of these other countries fend for themselves or pay for our services.

How about if we start with Iraq and tell them they can start repaying us with some of their oil that we helped protect with resources, blood, sweat and tears - and the lives of many brave military personnel that made the ultimate sacrifice so that the people of Iraq might enjoy some of the freedoms we oftern take for granted in this country.

Happy 4th of July folks - let's grab a beer and throw some hamburgers on that grill, but don't forget that the fight is not over and we have a lot of work to do to make things right in this country and help reignite the excitement of RVing in America.