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Depreciation opinions?


krilov

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I'd agree with Derek. Unlike a trailer such as the airstream or slide in camper such as the Alaskan, Motorhomes over 20 years old in general become obsolete mostly due to their drivetrains despite how well kept the coach is. Driving a 25 year old car around has its minuses.

On the other hand, old cars are cool! Restored they are worth a lot of money and a blast to own. Unfortunately, our toyhomes aren't at that age yet. They need to mature a few more years before they really stand out as "antiques". Right now they're in that limbo land of just being OLD.

The 2 custom Chinooks restored by master car builder Nolan, prob are the best example of old toys that might be worth something.

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How much were they worth when they were new? It seems like the paperwork I found on mine was about 28~32K$ with all the options (21'rear dining sunrader classic with Air cab & cabin, auto trans, generator, airbags,cruise control, microwave, cassette deck) Of course those were in 1985 dollars (Gold was 330~430, Silver 5~6 $ an ounce then, 1400 & 30$ now) so the dollars value has dropped 4 to 5 times in the last 25 years, or it takes 4-5 times as many dollars to buy the same thing now, but I digress, "the cost of living has not changed for social security recipients"

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My 21ft sunrader with full bath in the back AC in the cab and regular interior stuff had the bill of sale approx 30K...it isn't worth that yet but if i fix&maintain it maybe my son will sell it for near that as an antique in the future....time will tell...there are peeps out there who love them. and just wait gas will hit 4-5$ a gallon eventually...and who has money anymore?

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I agree that the ToyHouse are probably at their low points, and will probably hold or increase a little as fuel cost go up.

I aggressively looked around for about four months. Until I found this one, I personally inspected over 10 units, GMs, Fords and Toyotas, each time I had cash in hand ready to drive it home, But in each of those cases, I found stuff that stopped the sale.

My reason for choosing the ToyHouse over the GMs or Fords, was fuel economy. We're planning a 10,000 mile trip to Alaska this spring. Trip plan is $4/gallon average.

At 14 mpg, thats 715 gallons at $4/gal = $2860 just in fuel

at 7 mpg from a Ford or GM, Double the fuel costs =$5720.

What I'm going to save in fuel pays for 1/2 of the ToyHouse.

The ToyHouse is just right for my wife and I, has most of the comforts of home, and is small enough to get in and out of most places where a car would fit.

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Edited by waiter
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age means nothing at this point. it's all about condition, options and model. Of the more common models Sunraders probably bring the best money on average since they hold up better than most structurally, especially if regular maintenance has been neglected.

fuel prices will certainly be a factor. if gas goes to 4 bucks again, we will see a nice bump.

as for them ever reaching collector status and bringing their original sticker price, I wouldn't hold my breath for that. There are plenty of 40 plus year old winnies out there that won't bring more than a few thousand...if they're real nice. Not so nice, and they bring scrap value.

i will amend my statement about age slightly in that newer models with the V-6 bring a premium, but a nice 91 V-6 will bring better money than a not so nice 93. As fuel prices climb more you may see this premium go away as 4 bangers typically deliver a few extra mpg. The same can be said for manual trannies.

So, if you have an 18 ft 4 speed sunrader you are thinking of selling, it might be worth your while to see if gas goes up this summer.

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Will a pristine Toyota motor home ever be a classic? I guess its possible people bring old tractor trailers to car shows so why not? Airstream trailers have quite a cult following as do Toy homes there was one for sale at an RV dealer, I stopped in and the owner told me it was sold 15 minutes ago he said he had no ideal the Toyotas were that popular or he would have asked more for it but still it was sold for a fair price nothing special. I learned after years in the car biz that most people spend more money restoring some thing then it is worth so its also possible to get caught in that trap. I know I have more money in mine then I’ll get out of it but I like it and I like it even more so after the up grades then when I bought it. So my advice enjoy the ride don’t put it in a barn and cover it with a tarp in hopes of selling it for a million 20 years from now or you may end up with a 40 year old MH that’s worth $5,000. By the way the new Winnebago Via gets 15+ MPG and it's a lot bigger.

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Still lusting after one of those Winnie Via's, eh Maineah?

Sure would be sweet to have something that nice that just might beat a toy's fuel mileage.

What I would really like to see is something new similar to the vixen. If they would get close to 30 mpg with 1980s technology, think of what you might get with a modern tdi engine.

Still don't understand why they didn't put the TDI in the VW based fwd winnie. I would think that could have hit 30 mpg driven conservatively on flat roads.

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Agreed. It's not as though there wasn't a TDi version of the Eurovan.

http://3list.co.uk/2831/vw-2-5-tdi-westfalia-california-campervan-1-owner

On the other hand, there are some pretty good Toyota Diesels available elsewhere.

It all comes down to the cost of getting the engines certified for North America.

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the TDI engine already was certified here.

the continued absence of euro style turbo diesel powered mini-RVs here just baffles the oooo out of me. the sprinter chassised C and A classes are here, but, a little bigger than what i was thinking of.

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Oh yeah a 2.5 eurovan engine I'll have one of them with a 6 speed for my Toyota thank you. I put a clutch in a Vixen years ago it had a 6 cylinder BMW diesel backed up to a ZF 5 speed, folded up all most as low as a car. I can't tell you how much I would like a Via but I just can't seem to come up with the $135,000. My credit union just laughed.

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  • 2 weeks later...

While they have a great upside as fuel rises what you will eventually run up against is the Sprinter Chassis RVs. With the right specs, they will see in the low 20mpg range. Since they are still sold new, they will continue to depreciate. They are much nicer inside, pretty maneuverable and you don't have to restore one to have a no hassles RV. A $40,000 Sprinter getting 22mpg starts to look pretty attractive to a $20,000 Toyotahome that gets 14mpg.

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While they have a great upside as fuel rises what you will eventually run up against is the Sprinter Chassis RVs. With the right specs, they will see in the low 20mpg range. Since they are still sold new, they will continue to depreciate. They are much nicer inside, pretty maneuverable and you don't have to restore one to have a no hassles RV. A $40,000 Sprinter getting 22mpg starts to look pretty attractive to a $20,000 Toyotahome that gets 14mpg.

Boy, howdy! My brother bought a Winnebago View in 2007 (I think) brand new, but couldn't afford to keep it and now has a Toy home. The View was DeLuxe! - very nice interior, all the goodies you could want AND it could tow a 5,000 pound trailer (he pulled his Goldwing in a trailer) and still get 20 mpg. When those things drop a bit more (used, of course - they are about $100k new), they will have my attention!

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