Will my RV or Motorhome be worth less at trade in after a Collision repair?
Whether you are new to RVing, or have been doing this for a while, at some point you are likely to want to trade up.
When we buy a big ticket “toy” like an RV or motorhome, in the back of minds is always the thought that one day we will be selling this or trading it in. As you get more involved in the hobby, and you attend events like RV shows, it is easy to start wanting newer, bigger and better. It is what this country was founded on after all.
But what if your RV has had collision damage that was repaired in the past? Does it affect the resale the same way it does cars?
The answer is it all depends on how long you keep the RV or Motorhome.
Regardless of the severity of the damage, the likelihood is strong that your RV or Motorhome will be worth less than a comparable RV or Motorhome with no collision repair work at trade in.
With RV’s, Motorhomes, 5th wheels and even travel trailers, the condition of the unit and the level of care and maintenance will have a much bigger impact on resale value than a history of repair.
There are a couple of reasons for this:
First of all, the fear that people have in buying a car or truck with prior collision repair damage involves safety first, and the quality of the repair second. We have a different mindset about our cars than we do our Rv’s.
Secondly, RV’s are constructed differently than cars and trucks, and a quality collision repair can truly be just as good as new if not even better.
Collision Repair could mean a lot of different types of repair on an RV. With a car, collision repair usually means the car has been in a wreck.
With an RV, collision repair could be performed as a result of hail damage, backing into something, scraping something, or a tire blow out doing some damage to a wheel well.
Most people would not be too concerned about an RV with these types of repairs and they are mostly cosmetic repairs.
As far as safety is concerned, if an RV has been involved in a major collision, it will most likely be totaled. Again this goes back to the nature of the construction. When a car gets into a major collision, it can often be repaired. If an RV is in a major collision, insurance companies usually write them off as a loss. So when they are repaired it is mostly to fix cosmetic damages, or small, lees impactful damage.
You can get a CARFAX report on an RV or motorhome so at trade in, the repair might show up, however, you cannot get a CARFAX Travel Trailers, 5th Wheels, Tent Trailers or Campers.
Diminished value might not apply when selling to an individual VS. a dealership.
Of course none of this matters if you sell your RV or Motorhome privately. This can be a bit of a hassle to some, or no hassle at all if the RV or Motorhome is paid off and you don’t need to sell the RV or Motorhome in order to finance the new one
One way to avoid the hit to your trade in value would be to try and sell the RV or Motorhome yourself. Auto body repair damage might not be a factor at all to an individual who is buying your RV or Motorhome.
What to do if you have minor and un repaired damage.
Perhaps the repairs are minor enough that you might consider paying out of pocket to have it fixed before you trade it in. Take your own mileage into consideration. A high re-sale vehicle with un-reported well executed auto body repair work might actually pass by your average dealership appraiser without being noticed. It is certainly worth a try. You might also consider taking it to several dealers to see what the ranges of trade in offers are locally.
Hopefully this article has shed some light on this subject. Remember to consider the vehicle condition, mileage and your plans for the vehicle before deciding which way to go. If your RV or Motorhome is nearly new or brand new, then Diminished Value claims might be the way you need to go. If it is an older high mileage RV or Motorhome, then the trade in value might not even be affected at all by the collision damage.