While in the process of trying to find a Barth for my daughter Meg and her husband Dan, I started Google-ing "NADA 1985 Barth Regal", and was able to check the NADA out. On my 85 Regal 28', it's $5200. On another 85 Regal 31', it was $6200. On a 21' Class C w/ 350 it was $4000. The numbers on the two 85's seemed a little low. What do you all think? I would think if the Barth is pristine, these numbers probably are really low. OTOH, I remember when Dave Bowers sold his Regal, he had a lot of trouble getting a good price for it. My kids are new to Barth and I want to give them good advice and there's nobody with better advice than Barthmobilers.
Jim

The classified section has several examples of owners who are sure their MH is "pristine" and often the asking price is twice or three times NADA value, yet every day one can find dealers on EBay dumping inventory well below NADA. The market has largely collapsed except for cash buyers who demand a good deal and price has to be in line with condition. IMO the majority of owners
trying to sell have a huge reality check to go through. I follow Bluebirds carefully and it is a larger market than Barth, in 18 months prices have fallen 50+% or you can ask any price you want and keep it!

I was into selling anything antquujunk you can find a buyer for anything.we paid what we thought was a fair deal for something special(barth motorhome)if we liked it and paid 50,000 for it and were satisfied with it what is the difference.we sold my 1962 Grandprix for a good amount of money.what is blue book price or Hemmings motor price.thanks
lenny
ps if you are going to fix it and keep it the value is up to you.

I think that folks should be realistic about what their coach is really worth at the time they want to sell it.

We have sold our TT and are looking for a suitable coach for our needs but the "asking" prices that are 2-3x the average (NADA)retail price really are pushing us to another brand. I don't argue that one's coach in great condition is worth more than a average unit but realistically how much more is it worth? Breakaway models that are 16 years old can not be worth $30-$40K.

Am I wrong here? I have owned over 55 vehicles and know that anything will sell with a realistic price and never sell when price too high.

I have learned over the years to take all emotion out of a sale. Once you want to get rid of the vehicle you have to take a hard look at the condition, the age, and the economic times. It might be hard since these vehicles have so many memories attached as well as the mystic of the line. But, sometimes it is time to move on and get on with your life which might mean signing off on the RV times and doing something else. $20K in hand will buy lots of travel and hotels. $40K in the bush will buy you nothing.

Just MHO of course.

The problem here is that we only see the asking prices. The selling prices are always a big secret, so we really have no idea of what the selling market is, just the hopes and expectations of sellers.

Some owners will sit on their coach for a long time, thinking a buyer will come along and meet their price. I shopped for my Barth for a couple of years, often flying to check one out. For some time after I bought, I received calls from sellers (who had rejected my offers) wanting to sell their coach to me for my offer, or even lower. I wish they had gotten realistic sooner. Some were well over a year later.

Ditto,Bill. We looked very seriously at an 85 31' Regal. The interior looked nice but it hadn't been driven in 1 1/2 years, the owner used it solely as a house and didn't know a thing about motor homes, there were several large dents in it, and cats were an inside pet. So, while we would have paid a little more than the $6200 NADA, the "bottom line $12000 price" was out of line. Maybe some fool will come along and buy it for that, but it won't be me

Vehicles are worth only what someone is willing to pay and many things can influence that amount. A 1956 Porsche might be well worth $150,000 simply because there aren't many around, etc. However, if there are 16 available the price will drop.

I don't know if folks are just testing the market or actually value their vehicles that much but they certainly cannot expect quick sales with those inflated prices. Also, the internet has made a wide market that has few secrets. If a coach is on eBay you can watch the bidding and get a good idea of its worth.

Having said all of that, I certainly wish everyone luck with their sales and hope they do get their price. I have never hesitated to ask a high price and know that I may have to negotiate down. It's all part of the buying game but can surely take lots of time and flights as mentioned before.

I think many sellers (Barth and otherwise) have been left on a different astral plane - they haven't rcognized the plummet in M/H prices.

I agree with this link, and since our beloved Barth is for sale, I, for one would like to justify our "asking" price. As with any purchase, other than in a retail market, there is room for negotiation, that's why you see OBO, however, it has been my expreience that, two things, once you set your price you can always go down, but you cannot go up, and my personal favorite is giving your bottom line, most buyers seem to think that the bottom line starts the negotiation process, but it actually ends it.....

You usually get what what you pay for, sure there are some good, and really good deals out there, everyone's situation is different, some just HAVE to sell, need quick cash, etc, but my personal belief is that if you really want a quality item (such as a Barth), with all the bells and whistles, then the NADA is just what it says "GUIDE". It's prices are not carved in stone, and any reputable dealer will tell you that NADA has never written them a check. Remember your Mother's advise....if a deal looks too good to be true.......

Also, the NADA does not give you any credit or money for improvements, which we all know can cost thousands. It a very broad number, which I believe is partly driven by the dealers who can offer you more at trade in, making a deal more attractive when they show you, "this is only worth that, BUT LOOK what we are giving you, you won't get this deal anywhere else, yada, yada, yada."

I don't know why, but I've read a lot of suggestions that say in any market, buy low and sell high.....I'm certain those are familiar words. It seems (especially lately) that everything we are doing is just the opposite of those words of wisdom, we seem to be buying high and selling low....

If you see something that you like, make a reasonable offer, but be prepared to follow through, there's nothing worse than agonizing over an offer, and having the buyer not live up to their end of it..

Gotta go get my coffee

Couple of comments: A lot of people have to finance motor homes, even used ones in the $20000/$50000 range. So loan value is important and in my experience is closely related to NADA. Second, IMO,a Barth is not a collector item. Those of us who have them realize their uniqueness, but it is prudent to not pay much more for anything than you could get for it if you have to sell it for unforeseen reasons. A good example is what happened in the housing market. Inflated prices will eventually bite you.
Third, condition is everything, especially in a motor home. A good example is Ed Chevalier's 85 Regal. It's close to perfect. Just get in it and drive it away. NADA is $5000/$6000. That's ridiculous! Ed's price is very realistic.
Doug Bywater's 84 Regal is a work in process and he has it priced accordingly, even though he's spent hundreds of hours upgrading things you can't see.
OK, off my soap box. Time for more coffee
Jim

I certainly agree with Tina about the NADA being a guide and not a definite "fixed-in-concrete" price. For me, a purchase like this is going to be a long term deal--I once kept a Cummins Dodge for 13 years. So when the cost is averaged over that time there is room to pay more up front. But that does not mean that the vehicle is worth a sky-high price. I think 10-15% above the NADA average retail is a reasonable figure.

Improvements and extras have not much residual value. Electric heated seats don't hold their value very well. I am much more concerned with the power plant, chassis, brakes and tires than the curtains and stereo system. I would rather have a Gillig or Sparton chassis than an Oshkosh, for instance. Radiant heat in the floor of a coach is just something else to break, IMHO.

All I want to see is a realistic presentation of the condition and a "fair" price for the vehicle.

What is something worth??? That can be tough to answer.

I had this question once and I wanted it answered in a fair market. Does anyone remember when I put a truck on Ebay with a starting bid of $1.00?

http://barthmobile.com/eve/for...761014982#9761014982

I sold that truck for about 6k more than any local dealer would offer me. In an open market like Ebay you run the risk of loosing out. But honestly, I didn't care. I didn't want it, and it was sitting around collecting dust.

Honestly, watching that auction go from 1 dollar to almost 20k was extremely exciting and scary. My blood was flowing when I hit submit. I basically wanted to conduct an experiment... I was very happy with my results.

Am I telling you to do what I did? No, I am telling you that an individual that is selling anything needs to do a little self reflecting... Usually self reflection comes several months/weeks after your best offer was given and now you're selling it for even less.

Here is what could happen, in an extreme example, if reality doesn't strike the seller...

http://barthmobile.com/eve/for...1087061/m/3371066461

While I don't expect anything here to transform this rapidly, we've all seen things like this before.

I hope everyone gets what they want for their coach. We all know that our Barths are far superior to anything within the same price range. Given what they sold for new, most of the asking prices are in line with "Cost Depreciation values". But because we have orphans, the prices haven't held up like they should have.

And I'll have a Mocha Latte lite please.

Bill, you are right on with these comments and your experience with eBay reflects my own. Last year my wife, who does serious photography, decided that all of her analog film equipment was not being used since she had converted to Canon digital cameras, etc. She cleaned out her storage closet and I photographed the items and listed them on eBay. Most were without prices since I did not have a clue. I ended up selling about 10 lenses and lots of support stuff for over $4,500. We had thought the film camera era had faded but it was not so. There is a whole group of folks out there still doing it. We sold things in Japan, Singapore, Korea and So. Africa also. EBay has about 85 million viewers and I think that a seller gets the best price when that many buyers are looking at an item. Also, although people hate PayPal, it proved an excellent way to take payments. Instant credit to my account and the buyer got his purchase much sooner than sending a check, etc.

The point is that in our area if I advertised locally ($$) there might be only 5 - 10 people interested in the items. eBay is worldwide.

The internet has changed the way we buy and sell almost everything. A friend wanted a new car and the dealers in our area refused to even look for the model she wanted. She went on the internet, bought the car in So. California and flew out there to drive it back. All for less than the locally quoted price.

I was working in the Republic of Georgia and bought a Jeep Liberty on eBay over the internet. It is one of the best cars we have ever had. It is fairly rare since it has a MB diesel engine and that is why I bought it without seeing it.

Realistic prices move merchandise.

Don

quote:

Originally posted by T&T&B:


Also, the NADA does not give you any credit or money for improvements, which we all know can cost thousands.

Sad, but true. Most of my friends and co workers have been into machinery and vehicles. I have never known anyone to get back anything even close to what they put into improvements on a car, motorcycle, boat or airplane.

The only vehicles I have not lost money on were the ones on which I did no major repairs or improvements. Same for others. Improvements are fun and make you enjoy it more, but they are money and effort down the drain at selling time.

I know I would take a bath if I had to sell my Barth now. Or any time, actually. That's just the way it is.

And, again, the market would be more realistic if we knew the selling prices. Both seller and buyer would start out closer to a real-world number.

I've been rethinking my comments on NADA numbers. According to NADA, my 1985 Regal 28' with 75000 miles and the standard Regal equipment is worth $2000. That's riduculous!! Not even taking into consideration that's it's in good condition, I think I would have buyers at $8000 easily. My son-in-law looked at a 1995 Firan, NADA $8000. It actually sold for $14900, and I believe what the seller told me. Kids are looking at a 1984 Airstream 28' on P32. NADA, $1800. Again, while it may not be worth the sellers $17500, it sure as hell is worth more than $1800. What in the world is going on with NADA?