Page 13 - Spring 2018 GMC Vintage RVing

Technical Corner MAINTENANCE, PARTS, TIPS, INNOVATIONS AND MOREHow to Sell (or Buy) A GMC MotorhomeJerry Work | Previous owner of a 1978 Royale and 1977 Clasco | Kerby, OregonThis article is from a tech session presented at the GMCMI 2018 Spring Convention in Tucson, Arizona.For more than fifteen years Sharon and I enjoyed traveling North America and Mexico in one of our two GMC motorhomes.The 1978 Royale we purchased with 44,000 one owner miles. Later we found a 1977 Clasco sitting in an air conditioned building in Naples, FL, with only 13,000 miles onthe clock since it rolled out of the Clasco restoration facility in 1994.Both were spectacularly good coaches, but quite different inside. The Royale was a one year only floor plan with a large ‘U’ shaped lounge in the rear that made up into a larger than king sized bed. The original owner had replaced all the soft parts of the interior with a beautiful caramel colored natural leather – the ceilings, wall panels, roman shades and seating were all redone in leather so it wasa great place for two people to hang out and travel.The Clasco retained the standard GMC floor plan but replaced everything you could see with a light gray colored material, laminate or matching light gray “pleather”. A permanent standard double size bed made up therear with a couch and dinette up front for socializing. Having two coaches with very different interior configurations allowed us to pick the one we wanted to use by how we were going to use it – the Royale for long distance travel for just the two of us, or the Clasco for trips involving meeting up with lots of our friends in the GMC Community. We used them both thousands of miles per year and loved every minute of it – or at least “most” minutes of it! Like every GMC owner we experienced an occasional break down on the road that was less enjoyable.In recent years, we began talking about staying out on the road for longer periods than we could support in either GMC. About a year ago we purchased a 40' Prevost Country Coach conversion that works well for these longer trips. We laughingly referto it as the box the GMC came in!We determined it was time to sell ourtwo GMCs. Both sold quickly and for our asking prices. How we did so is the subject of this article.Selling or buying a GMC are two sidesof the same coin so what I offer here as suggestions for how to sell a GMC quickly and easily will apply equally as well if you are in the market to buy one. Just reverse the roles described but keep the sequence the same.Begin by putting yourselfin the proper frame of mind.Selling (or buying) is not a competition or a zero sum game where one party wins and the other loses. If you do it right you will remain friends with the buyer just as you might well have remained friends with the person from whom you purchased your coach originally. I like to call this the “Golden Rule” – Do unto a buyer as you would have a seller do unto you!Simply stated, be as open, forthcoming, and honest as possible when presenting your coach to a prospective buyer. Hold nothing back. You want them to make an informed decision on their way to purchasing what you both hope will become their dream GMC coach.Now let’s get some obviousthings out of the way.What you spent has little to do with what a buyer should or will value. Where you had the work done determines the cost, but not necessarily the quality of what was done. For example, an engine R & R usually takes 20 to 30 hours. If the work was done where labor rates are $40 per hour, that will cost $800 to $1200. If you live in an area where labor rates are more like $125 per hour, you will spend $2500 to $3750 for that same job. Is one “worth” three times the other? Not to most buyers!Paint is another good example. A good paint job on a GMC can cost anywhere between $8,000 and $20,000 yet the buyer will value condition and only buy what they see, not reimburse you for what you spent.“Brand new” is a giant red flag for most buyers, especially for mechanical things. A new engine or transmission with less than 2,500 miles will cause most buyers to question why you are selling after putting so much money into the coach. They also will be asking themselves what else might be about to go wrong. So, pre-empt the question by answering directly and truthfully before they even have a chance to ask.SPRING 2018 GMC MOTORHOMES INTERNATIONAL 13