RV Depreciation – How To Use It To Your Advantage

RV depreciation

This article is going to be about RV depreciation. About what it is, and how you can minimize it and save money on the purchase of an RV.

So what is depreciation anyway? I mean, we hear that term used a lot. So what is it exactly?

Well, it’s simply what happens when something you buy loses value over time.

Now it often happens with vehicles, like cars and trucks. And of course with RVs as well.

So why do they depreciate so fast? Mainly because, especially with RVs, new ones are coming out every single year.

And they have new features and capabilities with every new model year.

So that means that the older ones are not quite as valuable anymore to the buying public.

Also, from year to year there’s going to be wear and tear on the RV too. And that’s going to lessen the value as well.

Watch my video on RV depreciation

So the thing I want you to keep in mind is that RVs should not be considered an investment in any way!

They’re all going to lose value somehow over time. But the question many RV owners want to know is, how fast do they lose value? And how much?

Table of Contents

RV Depreciation – How Much Does It Affect The RV’s Price?

Well, most new RVs that you buy are going to lose about 20 percent of their value within the very first year or so of your ownership.

And then after that they will lose more from year to year. But it’s not going to be nearly as much as that first couple of years.

Now here’s the good news though. Depreciation does affect the RV’s price quite a bit in the first five years.

But after five years it tends to slow down a lot in its drop in value from there on.

In fact, by year 5 most RVs have depreciated somewhere around 35 percent on the average. But by year 10 it’s only dropped to 50 or 60 percent.

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How RV depreciation affects RV prices
How RV depreciation affects RV prices

So I think you can see that RV depreciation starts to level out a little bit between year 5 and 10.

RV Depreciation Doesn’t Affect All RVs The Same Way

But different brands and different manufacturers lose value at different rates. And why is that?

Well, that’s because some brands are better known for quality. They have a great reputation with RV buyers and so their value holds longer.

These are brands like Airstream, Casita, Newmar, Tiffin. And there’s others as well. I can’t go down the whole list here in this article.

Perceived RV quality affects RV prices a lot
Perceived RV quality affects RV prices a lot

But there’s quite a few high quality brands that just hold their value better than others do.

And on the other side of the equation there are the typical high production RV builders.

You know, the ones that you see everywhere at almost any dealer you visit.

And they’ve got tons and tons of models and various price ranges and so on. Typically, they are the ones that often lose their value quicker than other quality built RVs. So just keep that in mind.

Now how can you slow down this loss of value in an RV that you have bought?

Well, I’m going to share three ways that you can do that. And number one is something we’ve actually already covered.

The Number One Way To Tame RV Depreciation

That is to try your best to buy a quality RV brand from a quality RV manufacturer.

Now how can you spot quality in an RV? Or what are the brands that have the best reputation?

Well, I know it’s a challenge for many buyers! And that’s why I created several guidebooks to help you in the quest to identify quality RV brands. I’m sure they can be a big help for you in the buying process.

Download my RV guidebooks on manufacturer quality

But now let’s move along to our second point on keeping the depreciation loss as low as possible.

The Second Way You Can Keep The Value Of Your RV High

And that is to maintain your RV as well as you possibly can while you own it.

How To Avoid Buying An RV Money Pit

Unfortunately, this is something that I’ve got to say a lot of RV owners don’t really do very well.

Maintain your RV to keep it's value high
Maintain your RV to keep it’s value high

They buy the RV, and then they kind of treat it like a new home that will never have issues. Or at least it will be a long time before they’ve got to do anything to it.

But the truth is are that RVs constantly need maintaining. And it doesn’t take an awful lot to learn what to do. Also it’s not difficult to do for most people.

In fact, roughly 80% of the things that need to be maintained or repaired around an RV can be done by the average RV owner.

All they need is just a little guidance and know-how that is usually easy to find online.

So try to maintain your RV and keep it in really good shape. And keep a record of what you are doing as you maintain and repair it too.

Record any maintenance you do or any repairs that you make to that RV. Keep very good records of the care that you have put into it.

And let me tell you, that impresses a buyer a lot when you go to sell that RV.

Maintenance records are a great way to get more money for your RV
Maintenance records are a great way to get more money for your RV

When you hand over the records that show exactly what you’ve been doing to keep that RV in excellent shape.

Well, automatically in the buyer’s mind, the value of that RV has increased immediately.

The Third Way To Keep High Value In Your RV

OK, let’s go to number three on our list of slowing RV depreciation loss.

And that is to keep your RV updated as you go with newer technology. Also with newer styles and appearance.

Update your RV's appearance to keep value high
Update your RV’s appearance to keep value high

Now this is important. Because a lot of times people are looking for the latest gadgets and the latest technology.

It’s the things that make RVing easier and more pleasant for them. Also, if you look at older RVs, you’re going to see colors that just aren’t anything near what we are into these days.

You will see things like carpet used everywhere all through the RV, instead of hardwood floors.

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And you’ll often see things that clearly date that RV by the appearance alone.

Well, try to keep your RV updated as much as you possibly can. And then when you do, the money you put into it isn’t wasted.

Because that way the investment is not only beneficial for you and your use of the RV.

But it’s also a big plus in the mind of a prospective buyer who’s looking at purchasing that RV too.

And that’s an important point! So keeping the RV modern in appearance increases the value of the RV to them too.

When Is The Best Time To Buy An RV?

OK, so then now the question is, when is the best time to buy an RV to prevent value loss?

In other words what’s the sweet spot in depreciation loss where you should be buying an RV?

Honestly it’s somewhere between year 5 and 7 in my opinion. Because up to then, like we discussed earlier, price depreciation has been pretty rapid.

RV Depreciation Value Loss Sweet Spot
RV Depreciation Value Loss Sweet Spot

But then it just sort of starts to level out a little bit at that point. And you can get a great RV for a great price that’s depreciation stable at that point.

Should You Never Buy A New RV To Prevent The Big Depreciation Hit?

So here’s another question, should you never buy a new RV then? Because of that big depreciation hit that you take right off the bat.

Well I’m not saying that at all! There’s actually several very good reasons that people buy new RVs.

For instance, they may just want that bumper-to-bumper warranty that comes with it for the first year or so.

That way they don’t have to worry about paying for any major repairs during that time.

Also, a lot of people like new RVs because nobody’s used it before them. So they know how that RV has been treated, since it’s brand new.

That means that nobody has had it before and done some bad things to it. Especially things that may not be obvious to the next RV buyer. So they like that!

They also like the idea that there’s not been anybody who smoked in it. Or had pets in it, or things like that.

And that’s especially important to folks that have allergies to those kinds of things.

Also people like to buy new RVs for the latest features, like this article mentioned before. They just want the latest technology available.

And there is nothing wrong with any of those reasons for buying a new RV at all. But here is another important point in favor of buying new RVs.

A Major Reason Why RV Depreciation Doesn’t Always Affect New RVs

And that is if you plan on keeping your RV. And I’m talking about keeping it for many years, maybe 10 years or longer.

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Well then honestly, depreciation doesn’t really factor into the equation very much at that point.

Depreciation on new RVs doesn't have to affect everyone
Depreciation on new RVs doesn’t have to affect everyone

Because during all those years of RV depreciation, you are keeping that RV instead of selling it.

But what if you think that you may sell your RV within the next few years or so?

Well then, it’s important for you to factor in the depreciation loss of value in the cost of that RV.

And then try to minimize it as much as possible in the ways I’ve covered in this article.

Well that’s it for now. Have safe and happy RV travels!

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