Bank Repo RV Auctions: How to Avoid Money-Losing Pitfalls
Because there are so many nice repossessed RVs that sell for much less than their market
value at bank repo RV auctions, it is common to assume that purchasing a great RV that way
is easy. With all the talk of how you can make money when you sell it instead of having to
sell it for less like you usually do with RVs, it can be tempting to bid on whatever is cheap to
make a profit, but you can actually lose money by buying the wrong RV at the wrong price.
Besides buying an RV that needs so much work it becomes a money pit, these are the three most
common pitfalls at bank repo RV auctions. Use these tips to avoid falling into any of these.
Pitfall #1: You paid too much for the RV so you are having a hard time selling it for a profit.
This usually happens for one of two reasons: either you didn’t have a correct idea of the RV’s
value or you overbid by going beyond your maximum amount. You should have a good idea
of the trade-in value of the RV because that is the general price to use when bidding. However,
you should also check out local prices by looking at listings and talking to dealers to get a
more accurate idea of what it would likely sell for in your area. Remember to keep in mind that
condition, age, mileage, generator hours and features will all affect the selling price, even if they
do not make such a difference in the price you buy it for at auction.
You may be tempted to overbid because you really like an RV and think you can easily sell it
for quite a bit or maybe you just want to beat out a bidder that keeps winning over you. Try to
keep the emotions out of it and remember that you want to make money on RVs by buying them
cheap. Paying too much doesn’t make any sense and it is better to just wait for another RV.
Pitfall #2: You didn’t get any of the RVs you wanted, so you bid on any ones that stay cheap.
Unless you inspected it, you generally don’t want to bid on it. You have no way of knowing
what condition it is like inside and what repairs it might need. If you don’t have a good idea of
its value and popularity, you can’t easily predict what kind of profit you will make on it. Try to
inspect several RVs during the preview, so you have some backup choices. You can also just
wait for another auction and another group of RVs.
Pitfall #3: The RV you bought at auction won’t sell no matter how low you put the price.
The easiest way to avoid RV repossession is to sell the RV before it gets repossessed. Many of
the RVs at the auction were on the market for awhile but didn’t sell. The owner had no choice
but to let the bank repossess it.
Sometimes the owner needed to get too much money for them and they would have sold just
fine for less. Those are the ones you can look at. Avoid any RVs that are in really poor condition
since you will have to spend too much money to fix them up before they will sell. Also be wary
of any that have really odd layouts or strange features that will be off-putting to most buyers.
You want something that will appeal to the people likely to buy an RV from you.