Prices for used Casitas

[whoot]

Do the prices for 17ft Casitas roughly follow this formula?

New = $20k
5+ years old = $15k
10+ years old = $10k

I'm trying to determine if I should get a new or used one.

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by whoot

Do the prices for 17ft Casitas roughly follow this formula?

New = $20k
5+ years old = $15k
10+ years old = $10k

I'm trying to determine if I should get a new or used one.

Don't think there is any "formula" set in stone for anything. Price guides are just that...guides. It's all what you are willing to pay for what the item is, don't over think it. As long as you are good with the price all is well.

[wwig]

Hey William, because the depreciation rate for fiberglass trailers is slow, it may make sense to buy new and get exactly what you want. We purchased a new Casita last fall having looked at late model used trailers and found the price difference to be relatively small. Which says a lot about our eggs. Good luck with your search.

[whoot]

Originally Posted by wwig

Hey William, because the depreciation rate for fiberglass trailers is slow, it may make sense to buy new and get exactly what you want. We purchased a new Casita last fall having looked at late model used trailers and found the price difference to be relatively small. Which says a lot about our eggs. Good luck with your search.

That's what I'm beginning to see. If the difference between a new trailer, and 5 year old trailer, is only $5k, I may as well get a new one. I will save at least $6k every year, once I get a trailer.

[Carl Pa]

Originally Posted by wwig

Hey William, because the depreciation rate for fiberglass trailers is slow, it may make sense to buy new and get exactly what you want. We purchased a new Casita last fall having looked at late model used trailers and found the price difference to be relatively small. Which says a lot about our eggs. Good luck with your search.

Came to the same conclusion last fall myself, then bought a new Scamp. This way you will know the history yourself with no costly surprises. Carl

[starbrightsteve]

I've come to the conclusion that buying new is a waste of my money. In 2013 I bought a 2011 17' SD for $14500. It came with an unused Calmark cover and had gone to little house customs for about $1000 worth of modifications. If anyone thinks all their troubles will be over if they buy new, they should follow the casita forum for a month. I think folks with brand new trailers have lots of problems and issues with new trailers.. Buying new is a convenience if you have the money. I did have to search for 3 months and then drive 500 miles when I found what I wanted, but I prefer the 3 to 4 thousand dollars to be in my pocket, not the sellers.

[trumpetguy]

Find a good, clean used trailer. Chances are the owner will have made numerous modifications to enhance the unit which will save you time and money. The couple that bought my 2007 Casita benefited from my hours of work, and a few thousand in mods. Fortunately our new Oliver came stock with just about everything. At a price of course.


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

[Ian G.]

The advantage of buying new is you can order exactly what you want, everything is new and there is a warranty / guarantee to protect you for a "short" period of time, The disadvantage is higher price and travel or transportation to the manufacturer.

The advantage of buying used is often a lower price, upgrades and modifications done by the previous owner if these mods are what you want and were done to a quality standard. The disadvantages are supply, if one becomes available it is usually sold quickly, you are unsure of the history or how it was used or problems with the unit, and modifications done by the previous owner that are not quality or potentially are a safety concern.

I have bought used where the entire Boler needed a complete rebuild, a used Casita in good condition where we enjoyed the trailer that didn't need any work at a good price and sold it for exactly what we paid for it, and finally a new Escape which we plan to travel in throughout our retirement.

[kamalamak]

We saw that used trailers depreciated about $800 to $1,000 per year. We thought about buying one, but every time we called (and we tried to do so fast), the trailers were already sold. So, the trailers are a great investment especially since the depreciation was so slow and sold so quickly. We bought new since the price differential was so small. Good luck!

[tractors1]

Also depends on your timing. Took me a year checking online every night to find a used 17ft Liberty Deluxe I could get to before it was sold, plus a 1 day air trip from Portland Oregon to Denver to inspect and buy. Some folks aren't that patient.

[Daniel A.]

I bought used my experience .
I took my time looking and found a trailer that had not seen much use the appliances were like new I was told the original owner bought the trailer with high hopes and only used it a few times. It sat in storage for something like 10 years, the second owner bought it and used it for a few years but health issues forced him to sell. None of the appliances had ever been used.

My 1991 Bigfoot other than needing a good bit of elbow grease on the outside was perfect I paid 8500 for it when new units cost three times as much.
Since buying I've added air conditioning and found a great deal on this forum from someone local a Polar Cub 9200 btu for half the price of new. He got the air conditioner with the trailer and never took it out of the box. I had the air conditioner installed at a shop my cost was 1200.00 which included up grading the electrical .
I've had many people stop to look at the trailer and every time they think it is new and are surprised at the interior space.

Fiberglass rules in my book, no leaks and will outlast me.

[WendyW]

I have a Casita on order now, and I'll have to drive from Minneapolis to Rice, TX, to pick it up in July. That's a pain, but the alternative was to drive an equally long way to pick up a used Casita, sight and problems unseen, for nearly the same price. If you live where there's a relative glut of preowned trailers, like AZ or Southern CA, you would stand a chance of inspecting it and walking away, if necessary, without driving a thousand miles one way. Buying new is worth it for me.

[whoot]

I have to give my apt notice if I am moving out - by July 31st, so I want to have the TT by July 1st. Which gives me 6-7 weeks to get the TT. That probably means I cannot get a new Casita, and also probably means I wont be able to get a $20k TT of any type. I may have to get a $10k used one. There are some $10k used Casitas, but rare. I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't get a $8k-$9k used "stick" TT, and live in that for the first 1-2 years, then get a FGTT like a Casita. That might let me test this whole TT-living thing, and give me time to order the perfect Casita. I just hate to drop $8k on a TT that I know I plan to get rid of ASAP.

[whoot]

Originally Posted by WendyW

I have a Casita on order now, and I'll have to drive from Minneapolis to Rice, TX, to pick it up in July. That's a pain, but the alternative was to drive an equally long way to pick up a used Casita, sight and problems unseen, for nearly the same price. If you live where there's a relative glut of preowned trailers, like AZ or Southern CA, you would stand a chance of inspecting it and walking away, if necessary, without driving a thousand miles one way. Buying new is worth it for me.

What was the time delay before ordering it, and picking up? Isn't it something like 2 months?

[wwig]

William, I placed my order for our Casita the last week of June and picked it up on September 9 th. If it were me I'd still look for a fiberglass trailer, there are many options out there. A stick built could be cheaper but also may have issues associated with that type of construction and you may lose a larger percentage of the money you invested.

[Mike Magee]

William, you could talk to some of the mfrs like Scamp, Casita, Parkliner, and Lil Snoozy to see what their lead times are. Another possibility: once in a while they have one sitting and ready to go, like when someone canceled their order at the last minute or (in the case of Scamp) if they got a few extra trailers built during the slow winter season.

Also, you can keep looking for a suitable used egg. Although they go quickly, more FG trailers pop up for sale all the time and you might find one when you least expect it.

Finally, if you are getting really close to your deadline, it's easy to turn to a stick trailer. Used ones are almost as plentiful as sand on the beach. Check them carefully for signs of water intrusion, of course. And remember that because they're so plentiful, you can usually get a private seller to drop below his asking price... sometimes by a decent amount.

I bought a stickie in 2011, brand new... a KZ Spree Escape 14RB (16' long overall) for just under $10K (about a grand below the dealer's asking price btw). I did it because I wanted to buy new, a comparably equipped Scamp was about $17K, and I just couldn't afford to pay that much right then. I only got 11-12 mpg towing it, and it was making my transmission temp light come on sometimes, so after 3 years I offered it for sale on CL for $7900 with the idea that I'd take $7500 or maybe even a bit less. An excited buyer bought it a month later for $7500. (But 2 weeks later the roof started leaking, so I went halfway with the new owner on a roof re-seal.) My point is, a smaller, entry level stickie just 2-5 years old might be purchased at 1/2 to 3/4 of the original price. Once it has taken that much of a depreciation hit, you could use it for another year or two (or three) and perhaps only lose another 10%-15% on it.

[whoot]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

William, you could talk to some of the mfrs like Scamp, Casita, Parkliner, and Lil Snoozy to see what their lead times are. Another possibility: once in a while they have one sitting and ready to go, like when someone canceled their order at the last minute or (in the case of Scamp) if they got a few extra trailers built during the slow winter season.

Also, you can keep looking for a suitable used egg. Although they go quickly, more FG trailers pop up for sale all the time and you might find one when you least expect it.

Finally, if you are getting really close to your deadline, it's easy to turn to a stick trailer. Used ones are almost as plentiful as sand on the beach. Check them carefully for signs of water intrusion, of course. And remember that because they're so plentiful, you can usually get a private seller to drop below his asking price... sometimes by a decent amount.

I bought a stickie in 2011, brand new... a KZ Spree Escape 14RB (16' long overall) for just under $10K (about a grand below the dealer's asking price btw). I did it because I wanted to buy new, a comparably equipped Scamp was about $17K, and I just couldn't afford to pay that much right then. I only got 11-12 mpg towing it, and it was making my transmission temp light come on sometimes, so after 3 years I offered it for sale on CL for $7900 with the idea that I'd take $7500 or maybe even a bit less. An excited buyer bought it a month later for $7500. (But 2 weeks later the roof started leaking, so I went halfway with the new owner on a roof re-seal.) My point is, a smaller, entry level stickie just 2-5 years old might be purchased at 1/2 to 3/4 of the original price. Once it has taken that much of a depreciation hit, you could use it for another year or two (or three) and perhaps only lose another 10%-15% on it.

It's weird how every single stick-TT seems to leak. I've never heard of one that does not. A friend bought a TT for "just $3k", and noticed some water damage. So he started cutting out the rotted wood. He eventually had torn apart the entire TT, and just had a metal trailer frame left, lol. Now he is going to build a Tiny House on the frame. I don't have those kind of skills, so I would need something that didn't rot in the first place.

Here is an example of a $8k stick-TT I was looking at, actually I see it is aluminum with a FG exterior. Maybe it doesn't leak.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdTUGxFDugM

"2007 Fleetwood Pegasus 180 Ultra Lite Travel Trailer, front Queen Bed, 2400 Pounds, $7,995"

[whoot]

Originally Posted by whoot

"2007 Fleetwood Pegasus 180 Ultra Lite Travel Trailer, front Queen Bed, 2400 Pounds, $7,995"

After doing a little research on this sTT, I see that in 2007 Fleetwood was the "top-selling manufacturer in its market", and in 2009 they filed for bankruptcy. Pffft. Guess I will pass on the Pegasus.

Fleetwood Enterprises - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[WendyW]

William, call Harald ASAP AT Casita, 903-200-4956, and ask. I think you could get it in time. I chose to delay my ready by date because I can't leave my apt. until end of August. Good luck!!

[whoot]

Originally Posted by WendyW

William, call Harald ASAP AT Casita, 903-200-4956, and ask. I think you could get it in time. I chose to delay my ready by date because I can't leave my apt. until end of August. Good luck!!

Maybe I will call him. I just tried to buy a used Casita, and it already sold. They had a 2014 17ft Casita Spirit Deluxe for $15k. They immediately got 20 calls, and sold it after about 3 hours. The salesman said "I think we could have sold it for more.", and I said, "I think you're right!". It is listed here:

Used 2014 Casita Enterprises Casita Travel Trailer For Sale In Hanover, PA - HAN1209372 - Camping World