Question….If you see a caravan retailing for say $50000 & your van is worth $ 25000 retail. Now without any special deals or wizzbang offers & your trade in is in immaculate nick ,would you expect $ 20000 as a trade in ? that is to say would a dealer want a $ 5grand profit on yours ? I have no idea ,but I am about to start the game of upgrading & maybe my budget & my trade expectations are going to be sadly out of whack ! Plus the thought of hauling my van from yard to yard is going to be depressing somewhat. I have just surfed the websites to see an abundance of my type of van for private sale & as I am in rural Vic I don.t see this avenue as appealing .I can only suspect that the majority of you out their are saying "lots of luck pal " am I correct ?

It can depend on what the latest model of your van is worth, we bought a new van for $26,000 back in 2000, we had to sell it in 2002 when I got sick and got $23,000 for it from a dealer who sold the same brand,(not the one we bought it off), the equivalent van new was well over $30,000 and he resold it within a few days.

You may also get more for it selling it privately.

Markup on trade-ins is generally about $3000 – $5000 but will depend on how much/whether any repairs or other work needs doing. When trading, go by the changeover price as by the dealer charging you more for the new van, it allows them to inflate your trade in price making it seem like you’re getting a great deal.

Selling privately, even though that can be a pain, will allow you to negotiate the best "real" price for your new van.

Cheers
Gerry

Hi moamajohn, my suggestion is,
Just take some pics and do the rounds for the best deal.Tell them all the same things such as condition of tyres, panels, measured length , How many features and extras on it, single or dual axle, etc.
These guys know all there is to know; the one or two who offer the most are the guys who need the sale. Then bring it in to confirm the deal.
They love to see folks with their van in tow as they know you don’t want to take it back, and you a half way committed.
If you take the missus that’s commitment enough, I Reckon. No missus and your just another tyre kicker to them.
All this is just my experience .

By far the easiest way to go is to trade your van in…..what others have said is true…Your new van will have an inflated price….the Dealer will give you the wholesale price for yours (what he can get for it at the auctions) plus the ‘overprice’ margin on the new one. You will think you are getting a good deal but you will get a far better one if you make an effort to sell your van privately at even a couple of thousand less than what you’ve stated above….shouldn’t be too much of a problem if it’s as good as you say. Then offer the Dealer five grand less for the new one, than his asking price for a cash deal..
You will save thousands!!!!

Jock