Is used coach market dead?

[JimW7]

Just a question: is it dead, or do you guys have any ideas? I have had my coach advertised for over a year now, on a number of sites (including this one) and have had no luck. It's a 1970, and maybe I'm over priced? I have $50k stuck into it, it's appraised at $75k, and I'm asking $40. Should I go cheaper? Medical issues are forcing this sale, I'm not much of a salesman, so any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Ace]

Jim not sure about the market today but i have sold two busses in the last 5 years. Both went pretty quick and priced well. I first put themout on ebay to get them noticed. I got SOME bids but like usuall, nothing great. After the auction, I bought an ad on a competitors web site along with a full description and pictures of everything I could think of that might interest the buyer. Both times it worked! The ads then cost 50 bucks but I think now they are free. I also wrote up two other ads for friends of mine and they too sold. I guess it depends on the ad and how much information you provide. I sold my Eagle to a guy sight unseen and he was very pleased with what he got.

I'm sure that MAK appreciates your business as well!

Another means is to maybe take it to some of the rallies. There are always walk ins or drive ins that are looking for their dream coach.

When the time is right, the buyer is right,  it WILL happen!

Ace

[RJ]

Hey Jim -

Why don't you get Ace to help you revise your ad(s) and see if the revisions spark some more interest and a possible sale?

[kyle4501]

Post pictures of the interior with your add, like the motor home dealers do. When selling something in that price range, you usually have to put in more effort to get someone's attention.

Talk to MAK about doing a center-fold article on your bus, then you can add 'as featured in a world famous magazine'!

That should get the word out.

Good Luck!

[Buffalo SpaceShip]

Jim, a few questions:

Is it a stick-shift?

Is it anything other than a 40' MCI, Prevost, or possibly Eagle?

If YES, I think you'll be hard-pressed to get much out of it unless it's very nice, 100% complete, and you can hand-pick the buyer... preferably a fellow busnut.

IIRC, when NJT flooded the market with their well-maintained MC9's, the avg. price of coaches (shells and conversions)  plummeted. The recent surge in diesel prices certainly didn't help, either.

And I'm convinced that maybe 1 in 1,000 RV'ers are would-be busnuts. I've been all over the states west of the Mississippi in various busses and can attest to this. The average RV'er prefers trailers or MH's with slide-outs and lots of stripes. They pick glitzy, poorly-built models over dependable, slightly unusual ones... almost every single time.

But take lots of pics, provide a lot of details (BUT NOT IN ONE LONG RUN ON SENTENCE, NO LINE BREAKS AND IN ALL CAPS) and you might get her sold.

Best of luck!
Brian B.

[tekebird]

as with anything custom...expect to lose your @$# when selling it.

A brand new Custom Coach or Featherlite or the like loses 50% driving off the lot.

you don't say what it is you have other than 1970.  There are alot of buses that are not sought after and even more that are poorly done in the eyes of prospective buyers.  I have seen some very nicely done ones with god awfull fabric and carpet selection, or paint designs for that matter.  All expensive things to fix.

as for your appraisal.....appraisals are not really worth annything when dealing with custom coaches, you are soley buying a piece of mind to back up your time and $$ investment.....it really has no relevance to what you can sell it for.

The only value that matters is what the sale price is, and there are huge variables with this.....time of year, cost of fuel, exposure, qulity of conversion, condition of bus yada yada yada.......

[brojcol]

In real estate, the three most important things are:
1-location
2-location
3-location

Having said that, just where are you advertising?  You may need to consider paying a little up front for exposure.  A good place to start is on the MAK board (as previously mentioned) and also on ebay.  You may need to post it several places to get "hits".  This will cost you some jack, but the exposure will definitely help you sell it quicker.  Plus, www.busforsale.com is a great place to post.  I don't know their policy, and they may want a percentage of the sale, but I think they will get the most for you...

Also, try parking it at Wal-Mart for a few hours every week with a big-ol "FOR SALE" sign on it.  I bought a truck like that once.  One of the best investments I ever made.  Because you know, people who go to Wal-Mart go there to spend money!!!

Jimmy

[gus]

$40K is not big bucks for a really nice Class A diesel pusher but, as already posted, few people want old buses. Busnuts seem to each want something unique but others want theirs to look like most RVs on the road, to each his own.

You can't have too many photos in your ads, especially of the interior.

I think that in the bus conversion market each of us is looking for a pretty specific one. I must have looked at 150 ads and a dozen buses.  I finally found the 4104 I had been looking for on ebay. It got no bids but was just what I was looking for. I didn't want a big 40 footer but that seems to be the best seller today. I inspected it and bought it.

It was less than half the price you're asking but needed some finishing work which was just as well because the house wasn't exactly what I wanted. It was 90% finished but I changed a few things around and redid some things that were wrong.

All this BS is just to say when the right buyer comes along it will sell. Happened to me.

[Ross]

$40K is a lot of money for a lot of people, especially if it can't be financed...and a 1970 can not be financed.  I know it can be financed with an equity line, but there are a lot of peope who don't have the equity.  One reason people buy S&S RV's is because they are easy to buy.  Walk in and if you have half way decent credit, roll home in a shiny new RV.

I think the market is somewhat dead.  The RV market is very slow.  People don't seem to have the play money they had a couple years ago...That or they're just holding on to it.

Ross

[belfert]

Supposedly, interest rates are impacting the motorhome market more than fuel prices.  A few percentage points can easily be more than $100 a month on a $100,000 loan.  $100 each and every month is going to seem like more money than fuel since it is a fixed expense.

FYI, the local Walmart has signs that vehicles left for sale will be towed.  I don't know if other Walmarts have such signs.

Brian Elfert