Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Trailer Purchase [NFC]

[Dennis Liu (bigheaddennis]

Charles:

1.  From what I saw when I was in the market for a car trailer, the going
rate for used trailers seems to be fairly steady at around 50% of the new
price, with a 10% fluctuation up and down.  Asking prices could be all over
the place, but from what completed-deal data I was able to see, 40%-60%
seemed to be quite common.  Which is a bit surprising because age didn't
matter nearly as much as condition (then again, since it's not a car, it's
not that surprising).

2.  I'll disagree a bit with Brian's comment about options.  Sure, what he
said may be true for CERTAIN options, like sunroofs or nav systems.  But
there are plenty of options on which you'll never recover anywhere near your
cost, or maybe even a penny of your cost.  It depends on the type of option
and the vehicle you bought.  For example, the "soft leather" option may cost
you $600 when you buy new, but be worth much less to a used car buyer and
almost nothing to a wholesale buyer.  Power sliding doors on a minivan?
That's worth something.  But power window shades?  Not nearly as much.  I
think the scenario that Brian describes, where the value of a car will
incrase by 3.5x the cost of the option is exceedingly rare.  Just my $0.02.

As for the application of this theory to trailers - again, you have to look
at the specific option and the type of subsequent-buyer you're likely to
come across.  Stuff like awnings and generators and floodlights may be of
value to some folks, but others are more interested in aluminum ramps and
tire racks and winches and tongue jacks.  FWIW, most trailer options do NOT
return you a multiple of their cost; you're lucky to recover a fraction of
their cost.  BUT they may open the market of buyers that would be
potentially interested in your trailer (the flip side is, your trailer
doesn't get disqualified for the lack of an important feature).

vty,

--Dennis



-----Original Message-----
From: Brian E. Buxton [mailto:BrianBuxton [at] BuxtonMotorsports.com] 
Sent: Saturday, October 20, 2007 5:52 PM
To: Dennis Liu
Cc: The FerrariList
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Trailer Purchase [NFC]

Charles,
Trailers are exactly like vehicles re: the purchasing process and the 
amount of money that can be negotiated off the price.  Maybe even more 
so.  There is a decent amount of profit in trailer, and sometimes 
dealers will advertise them very inexpensively to sell volume, and some 
will advertise full MSRP and try to make good profits on fewer units.  
Obviously exactly as with cars, the more expensive the trailer the more 
profit (and negotiating room) there is.  I am currently pricing out a 
43' 5th wheel Featherlite (38' on the floor) 2 car trailer with a lot of 
custom options (12V power, shore power, 3 different types of lights in 
the floor as well as in the side and rear of the trailer - all 
independently switched, 10K pound wireless winch in the floor, power 
winch and rear trailer door, etc.).  Basically I am paying retail for 
the trailer shell and getting all of the options for free ... basically 
$12K worth of options.  Not too bad in my opinion. 

As I tell all of my clients (regardless of whether they buy from me or 
not), buy the best that you can afford - the best deal is not always the 
least expensive price.  And if you are buying it new, get as many 
options as you can afford or that are reasonable.  Even if you never use 
them they will make the car/truck/trailer hold value better and be more 
salable to a wider range of people when you go to sell whatever it is.  
As an example, ordering an H2 Hummer with a sunroof adds $800 to the 
price of the vehicle.  But the wholesale price of the same vehicle 
(used) without a sunroof is $3,000 LESS than if it had one.  So you are 
money ahead buying the sunroof, even if you never open it.

Hope this helps.

Brian



Charles Perry wrote:

>Gang -
>
>I am about to purchase a horse trailer for my wife. This is my first
>trailer purchase so I need to borrow the list's expertise. We have
>researched the trailers pretty thoroughly and believe we have narrowed
>down what we want, but before we buy I wonder if any of you who have
>experience can tell me anything about negotiating prices for trailers.
>I'm sure there is "room to move" as they say, but any idea what margins
>are on trailers? There seem to be relatively few dealers for some brands
>and of the 6 brands or so we've looked at, they all are within a few
>hundred dollars of each other.
>
>Just wondering if this is like buying a car or if the pricing is
>relatively inflexible.
>
>Since I will eventually be buying a car trailer for myself as well,
>related stories are appreciated!
>
>-- charles
>  
>

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