Hi, I keep on looking for a unit. I am a bit confused by the NADA values, they generally seem lower than the asking prices. It seems to me that sellers are using the guide to look up their unit, and then are adding all the listed options to their unit. However, the NADA price is for standard units that generally include most of these listed items. So a Barth generally comes with Air, heat, Refrig, TV, etc and they should not be checked at options. Any way that is what I think, comments.

Second I purchased the JRConsumer guide to RV, downloaded it and read it in about 20 min. Not very much real info in the book. I was disappointed in the purchase.

Now the RV.org site has a comparison guide and goodies (?) for about a $100. Anybody have this comparison guide and is it any good?

I was thinking of buying the NADA books, but to cover the time frame I am looking at 1990 to 2000 I need 2 books.

Can I buy a used NADA book?

Tom

Tom, in the current market, IMHO, the NADA (or any other reference) can't keep up with the volatility. Adding to that is the relative rarity of Barth coaches, such that prices asked and prices sold can be all over the place. A friend of mine, after many months searching, just landed an '04 Newmar Mountainaire 41' for 2/3 of NADA.

I would seriously doubt if RV.org has any info on Barths, but if you're also considering other brands, the expense might prove useful.

FWIW, when I was looking for a compact Class A diesel (32' or shorter), I considered Beaver, Bluebird, Hawkins (Also a defunct brand), Foretravel (which tends to have only coaches larger than I wanted), and Safari (Trek and Serengeti), as well as Barth (which was always my preference).

I bought my Barth in 2004, after looking for 2 years, during which time I tracked actual sales on this website. They averaged about 90% of low NADA, & that's what I paid for mine. Three years later, after spending about $6000 plus a lot of my own labor, with the coach in much better condition than when I bought it, I put it up for sale for health reasons.

After about a year on Barthmobile & RV Trader, which together generated about two curious phone calls per month, I was ready to donate it to charity when I received a cash offer about half of NADA. I took it.

Perhaps I should have tried e-Bay. Shortly after I sold mine, a similar unit reportedly sold on e-Bay for close to NADA retail.

One handicap I had was the fact that I'm tucked up in the Northwest corner of Washington State, far from major metropolitan areas.

I have looked curiously at the 1990 32' Regency that recently appeared for sale here. They're asking $39,900, NADA says $34,550. If it is as good as it looks in the pictures, & I were interested, I'd offer about $30,000. The worst they could do would be to laugh. The problem is, if you're the first bidder, & you make a realistic offer, laughing at you is probably exactly what they would do. Most owners have an exaggerated sense of the actual market value of their rigs.

NADA ostensibly bases its values on sales reported by dealers, but there aren't enough Barth sales to establish a realistic average, so those values must be calculated on the basis of some formula.

At bottom, fair market value is always determined by agreement between a willing seller & a willing buyer. Guides are only guides, no more, no less.

A recreation vehicle is an investment in fun, not a financial investment. When making an offer, one has to determine how much the fun will be worth.
If the seller thinks the offer is fair, you've bought an RV, if not, keep looking.

I paid $15000 for my 85 28' Regal three years ago. Today, if you keep track of what '85 Regals go for, you would expect to be able to get one for $9000. But what I look for is documented maintenance and upgrades. Decide what you want to do to the unit after you get it and add that to the price you can get it for and then see if there's one out there for the same or less total investment including upgrades. As an example, I would add to the $9000, $3500 for a Gear Vendors, $1600 for new tires, Thorley headers, Air bags for the rear, helper springs for the rear, complete overhaul of the brake system including rotors, pads, master brake cylinder, new alternator, $2800 for all new thermopane/tinted windows. So, all of that would add at least $12000 to the cost of the unit. If someone had already done all of that and was willing to sell you their coach for $15000 you would be $6000 ahead of the game

Considering what the high cost of fuel is doing to the RV market, I would say that 90% of low NADA is optimistic at best. I've been watching 80s Bluebird motorhomes on eBait that sold in the $20K+ range two years ago hardly generating any interest at any listing price higher than $12K now. There's one there that has one bid at $12K with not much time remaining. The entire market is in the gutter. There are many higher priced Barths here that have been posted for at least a year, if not longer.

Rusty, what was your reason for a 32 ft unit and not larger? I don't hear many complaints from you owners with older units. 85 was out of my range, but I don't know enough about how well these older units are keeping. I was thinking about 90 to 95 with the idea of keeping it for up to 10 years, I am 61 now. So a 1990 would be 27 years old when I want to sell it. Should I avoid the older units or not?

Tom

Tom, I have a driveway bordered by large, old Live Oak trees, and the largest that could make one sharp bend is 32'. That, and I travel just with my two dogs, and 28' is plenty of room for the three of us.

I suspect the RV market will remain in a tailspin for a number of years, so the residual value is likely to be lousy no matter what. However, Barths just don't deteriorate like the plastic pigs, and they're all rugged and overbuilt. There's no reason to avoid the older units for that reason - and since they're cheaper up front, the downside financial risk is small. Any older coach will need maintenance and repair.

Tom,
I also wanted a smaller pusher and my limit was 34 ft. That was probably very arbitrary but there is just the wife and I and we just wanted a smaller coach and I did not want any slides. I didn't feel like the extra room was worth the potential problems. I've heard to many horror stories about slides that wouldn't retract at some campsite out in the middle of nowhere. And the leaks!!! We looked at Bluebirds, Safaris, and Barths. Like Rusty, after learning more about Barth we limited our search to only that coach. They built exactly what we were looking for, 28,30,32,&34 foot diesel pushers. Breakaways and Regencies.

If you are talking about selling the coach in 2018 , I don't think the year between 1985 and 1995 will make any difference in getting rid of it. Hopefully there will always be a market for the Barth coach that has been maintained and well cared for. From a use point of view, I don't think it would be possible to actually wear out the chassis or coach works. Interiors can always be updated. We are currently in the process of installing flat panel televisions, dvd players, and satellite receivers in our 93 Regency.

Good luck on your search.
Nick

quote:

Originally posted by olroy:

I have looked curiously at the 1990 32' Regency that recently appeared for sale here. They're asking $39,900, NADA says $34,550. If it is as good as it looks in the pictures, & I were interested, I'd offer about $30,000. The worst they could do would be to laugh. The problem is, if you're the first bidder, & you make a realistic offer, laughing at you is probably exactly what they would do. Most owners have an exaggerated sense of the actual market value of their rigs.

LOL. Gotta love that last sentence.

When I was shopping for a Barth in the late 90s, I had several offers sneered at. Later, after I bought mine, several called me to take me up on my offer. One was a guy who tore up my card in front of me, then, later, had the Devil's own time finding me. I wish they had been that reasonable early on.

quote:

Originally posted by Tom Loughney:
I was thinking of buying the NADA books, but to cover the time frame I am looking at 1990 to 2000 I need 2 books.

Can I buy a used NADA book?

Tom

Tom, a used book would have old prices.

Even current books do not have accurate prices. Think of it..........the prices are reported by used RV dealers, a lot not known for, well, you know. They have a vested interest in prices being high. Even private sellers are loathe to admit they sold for way less than the asking price.

Anyway, are you connected to a credit union? They often have current information and will fax copies of a few pages to you if they think you are a loan candidate. So will insurance companies if they are interested in your business.

quote:

Now the RV.org site has a comparison guide and goodies (?) for about a $100. Anybody have this comparison guide and is it any good? Tom

I used the RV.org site CD to help me decide on my unit. However, I just looked at it and Barths only appear starting with a 1995 model. It won't help at all with anything older.

Mike

One other point about that guide. It doesn't have prices in it. It does have a depreciation schedule, but it only goes for 20 years.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Relative:
One other point about that guide. It doesn't have prices in it. It does have a depreciation schedule, but it only goes for 20 years.

Mike

I've also read several criticisms of the RV.org information, as far as weights and other motorhome specs being outdated and inaccurate. So buyer beware for anyone that has it - just make sure you base any buying decisions on multiple sources of information.