NADA values for used Bigfoot - what is your experience buying a used BF?

[Trusty2010]

We are looking at various Bigfoot TTs and the prices listed by private sellers (not RV dealers) are a good 40% higher than the highest NADA value. What has been your experience purchasing a used BF? Did you pay over the NADA listing? [I checked the 'sold' listings from various online sites and the ranges of prices is very wide, some are higher while others are not - so it is hard to draw any conclusions.]

Thanks for your help!

[Donna D.]

In the molded fiberglass world, NADA is worthless. Insurance companies love it, buyers would like to use it and (knowledgable) sellers ignore it. Since it's a supply and demand world, from a sellers point of view, why would anyone use something like NADA to price a molded fiberglass trailer for sale? I certainly would not.

If you want to use NADA values to purchase a trailer, you'll need to find a seller less knowledgable or perhaps a tad desperate for a sale. But if the value is good for the selling price, you'd better be prepared to jump on it immediately. You snooze, you lose.

YMMV

[Trusty2010]

Thanks, Donna, for your insight. I wonder why the RV dealers use it then - wouldn't they want the best price, too? Their prices are much lower than the private sellers - but probably because they just want to move the inventory and it does not make much sense for them to wait a couple of months to make a sale.

[Donna D.]

M. you'll find sticky RV dealers use NADA. Most don't have a clue to what a molded trailer is worth... at least until they're inundated by calls because of low pricing. It usually only takes them to sell one molded trailer to gain the knowledge.

I think Bigfoot is the only manufacturer (currently new truck campers only) that have a dealer network, all the rest sell manufacturer direct.

[Deb & Chuck]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

M. you'll find sticky RV dealers use NADA. Most don't have a clue to what a molded trailer is worth... at least until they're inundated by calls because of low pricing. It usually only takes them to sell one molded trailer to gain the knowledge.

I think Bigfoot is the only manufacturer (currently new truck campers only) that have a dealer network, all the rest sell manufacturer direct.

Donna,
I totally agree with you. With all the molded fiberglass trailers we have owned and sold (including 5 Bigfoots), if the potential "looker" starts talking about NADA prices, I'm done. I feel they haven't educated themselves enough and I'm wasting my time.
Deb

[Trusty2010]

Thanks for all of your help - I really appreciate it.

I have been watching BigFoot TTs that have been on the market for up to 30 weeks and was wondering if their high prices was the reason.

[Carol H]

I would suggest that in some situations how long a Bigfoot stays on the market may have a lot to do with its location. Here in BC Bigfoot trailers are not rare and you can normally find a few for sale at any given time. My big thought on location is if the trailer is located on Vancouver Island for example the local market may not be an easy sale as a lot of people who live on the Island prefer to have a camper vs a trailer (Bigfoot campers are very popular on Vancouver Island). This is due to the *high* cost of taking your rig on and off of the island. It cost me to take a 16' trailer on BC ferries about $120 each way in the summer. Another thought on location is if it is in the northern portion of BC it would take longer to sell than if it was in Vancouver for example. This is mostly due to lack of population for local buyers and the fact many outdoor types in the north are hunters who tend to prefer campers on the logging roads. Having said that they do indeed hold their prices and one should never expect to pay NADA price on any fiberglass trailer regardless of location.

[Bruce H]

I have sold one Bigfoot trailer and bought another within the past three years. I followed all the classified ads and sales of dozens of Bigfoot trailers during that time. None of them actually sold anywhere close to the NADA price. They are not reporting on market price or actual transactions like in the used car auction market. They simply have a formula that requires a certain percentage of depreciation depending on the age of the trailer. If you are in the market for a Bigfoot you are not going to get one for the NADA price period.

That being said, NADA creates two huge problems with their incompetence. First it messes up financing. If you need to finance your trailer no financial institution will cover more than the “NADA value”. That is about 60% of the average actual sale price of the ones that sell. Second, no insurance company that I can find will insure one for the amount you pay for it so you wind up carrying your own insurance on 40% of the value of the trailer.

My bank discovered the NADA value on the trailer I bought after they had approved financing and I made the deal with the seller. I was in route to Colorado to get it when they (the bank) backed out on the deal. That would have shot down most people but I cashed out some stock from my IRA account and paid for the trailer myself. Then my insurance company refused to insure it for the purchase price after I bought it. If I wreck it or it burns to the ground then I will go from there. I am not worried about it.

By the way, if anyone knows of a clean Bigfoot trailer for sale I need two more at the NADA price. NADA can kiss my rump.

Bruce H

[Trusty2010]

Thanks, Bruce. That is really good to know and I will call my insurance company tomorrow and see what they say (I have USAA which has always been a great company - so perhaps I will get lucky). Thanks, again.

[Mary F]

The uselessness of NADA is precisely the reason we keep the archive of our for sale ads on this site. Very occasionally, people have successfully used some of this data when working with their insurance company on a settlement. I don't know if it would help with financing...

[Trusty2010]

Thanks, Mary. I agree the historical data is a good starting point - even though the marketplace has changed drastically in the past couple of years so they may take that into account.

[Donna D.]

The marketplace for stickies has changed because of the economy... molded trailers not so much.

[Carol H]

In regards to insurance I ended up with what is known here as replacement insurance and I had to set a replacement price. But I was also told to keep a file of sales of trailers like mine as I will probable need it if and when I ever had to use the insurance. I know that I actually pay a little bit more for this type of insurance - in fact my broker called the other day suggesting I drop the replacement value on the trailer to get my costs down as most trailers they insure depreciate about 15-20% from new cost per year. I explained to her why that does not apply to a fiberglass trailer and she agreed I need to keep a file of sales I see.

[Phil Underwood]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

The marketplace for stickies has changed because of the economy... molded trailers not so much.

thats for sure..

[Bruce H]

If anyone is looking for a really nice small Bigfoot there is one on ebay now that would be worth the money if you could get it for 25k or less. The guy has been running it off and on for six months. I bid on it once last summer but didn't meet his reserve. He may have lowered it by now. I found another one. I don't know the guy and never did talk to him. The auction ends in a couple of hours.

Bigfoot Travel Trailer, 2008 17.5G - New this year - eBay (item 300496436261 end time Nov-30-10 20:30:00 PST)

[Trusty2010]

Originally Posted by Bruce H

If anyone is looking for a really nice small Bigfoot there is one on ebay now that would be worth the money if you could get it for 25k or less. The guy has been running it off and on for six months. I bid on it once last summer but didn't meet his reserve. He may have lowered it by now. I found another one. I don't know the guy and never did talk to him. The auction ends in a couple of hours.

Bigfoot Travel Trailer, 2008 17.5G - New this year - eBay (item 300496436261 end time Nov-30-10 20:30:00 PST)

Thanks, Bruce, I appreciate the tip!!!

[Lizbeth]

One might have to pay back registration on that trailer if they live in California. California is pretty money hungry right now. I guess if you can afford 30,000+ for a trailer... a few thousand more won't matter.

[BobB]

Quite a few 17 footers have languished on the market, but there are very few coming up for sale. We paid $17,500 for ours when it was 3 years old. NADA guides was $13,450 at that time. Ours was in very good condition (featured in albums). All I can say about the price on the 17.5 above is WOW! Anyone buying that one should spend some time figuring out what the loaded cargo carrier does to tongue weight. I think you would definitely need a truck to pull it.

[Tony Nowak]

We got a great deal on our 2003 BF in 2007 because the previous owner only asked for the NADA price.We just happen to see it on a residental street and asked to take a look inside. Had the Scamp 13, but the price was too good to say no. Only downside was the need for a larger truck. So it does happen.
Tony

[Toni M T]

I looked for a little over a year for a Bigfoot 17 and they tended to cost around $8,000 for 1980's versions. I did see one for closer to $7,000 in Oregon,but it needed a lot of work. The one I eventually bought cost less than usual and even though another buyer called the owner first, he was trying to get her down to the NADA value (around $1500)-at which point I swept in and got a great deal paying the price she was asking. I had to put about $1000 worth of repairs into her, but even at that I paid a lot less than the prices I had been seeing and think I got a great deal. After you have been looking for a while it will be easier to pay the higher prices as you will get used to them.

I am very happy with the way she travels and the comforts of camping in her. My only "issue" right now is that she has a ton of storage and when I fill it all up (bad habit) the trailer gets too heavy and pulls a little slowly up hills with our 6 cyl. smaller sized pickup (those 8,000 ft. passes in Yellowstone Park were an ordeal one summer). I think that is more my fault than hers and I am trying to cure myself of the "overpacking" I have done in the past-If I don't I am going to have to rename her "The Kramalot Inn!