Buying a used class A - RV-Dreams Community Forum

rwarner22 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Buying a used class A

macattack · RV-Dreams Family Member

We,like a lot of other people, went back and forth on buying a MH or 5er. We finally decided on a 5er but after looking and researching for a couple of years ,we were definatly going to go with a used MH if that was what we decided on. Two or three reasons for that was was that there are literaly thousands of MH out there that have very little mileage on them and most have all the bugs worked out and have a lot of the extra accessories already installed. Lots of these have been kept inside out of the weather when not in use and it's best for someone else to take the big hit on the initial depreciation. I ,myself would not hesitate one minute on buying a used MH. JMHO Good Luck on your search.

-- Edited by macattack at 16:34, 2008-12-24

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

Rv's, either fivers or motor homes are depreciating assets and I think actually depreciate faster than automobiles. The RVIA claims that the average RV is only used about 30 days a year, and therefore there are many hardly used models that are available for half the price of a new unit.

We bought our fiver new, because we decided to embark on this lifestyle with zero knowledge or experience with either camping or RV's. In retrospect that was a very expensive decision. We would never buy a new RV or truck again.

Do your homework and identify the best available models your interested in and then pay an independent RV tech to check it out before buying. You can probably save upwards of $100K on the one your thinking of.

Good luck,
Fred

foxriverguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Randy & Pam,

We bought our first-ever used RV from a dealer in September of this year. I, too, struggled with the same decision about which you have raised in this topic. Here is why we bought from a dealer:

1) Reputation. Admitedly the dealer is 1,000 miles from our home, BUT, at no out-of-pocket cost to us the dealer completed a two-page list of repairs that THEY found. Here is my favorite example: one gas strut on the 8 or 9 storage bays was defective. They replaced them ALL. Our motorhome is in storage until March. Once a month, a dealer employee starts the coach, checks everything and drives it for at least 30 minutes. Again -- at no cost to us.

2) I wanted a coach we could use problem free for at least some period of time. All coaches have or will have problems -- especially new ones. I didn't want to take the depreciation hit and I wanted the previous owner to have worked out the bugs common to most new coaches.

3) Manufacturer. We decided on Foretravel. This is a high-line coach very popular in oil country. However, they are comparable in price to some of the Tiffin models you are looking at. Our dealer is Motorhomes of Texas. I urge you to look at these coaches. You can Google: Oodle Foretravel RV. You will find a list of about 200 coaches in the United States

Final comment: Tiffin makes an excellent product. That was our#1 choice until we learned about Foretravel.

Good luck and have fun.

Roz · RV-Dreams Family Member

Greetings, Randy and Pam!

Everything that has been said to date is right on, whether MH or 5ver. There is a sufficient inventory of four sale, no there is a glut of for sale RVs quite competitively priced well below value.

The Internet is such a powerful tool to locate, look at and make cursory comparisions. Through the RV-Dreams family and even through web sites run by owners of like nameplate RVs, you can find someone nearby the location of a prospective RV to take a first hand look and provide you an opinion. Obviously, if your interest is still there, a local RV tech can be employed to provide a professional survey.

We have purchased two experienced, but loved MHs. One had less than 3,500 miles.

George is as smart as a Fox, in honing in on a nameplate or two before getting serious about any one unit. Then you can seek specific models or layouts. They are out there.

Take your time, enjoy the process. It works!

Charles

hogans1947 · RV-Dreams Family Member

We bought our used Class A motorhome on ebay 4 years ago. Got a great deal and everything went very smoothly. I'm sure there are really GREAT deals there, now. We purchased from a dealer. Just make sure you have a reputable person to deal with. Give a lot of thought to a 42' motorhome. Sometimes 40' is a bit too long to go where we want to go.
Brenda

TheBobGuy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hi Randy and Pam and ditto what the others have said. We've purchased 3 motorhomes used (1 gas and two Pushers), both from dealers and individuals and never regretted it. We saved so many $$$$ , we would never consider buying new.

Take your time and you will find many high quality used units out there. Now is a great time to buy, so you should be able to find some great deals. Since you do not have a trade in, you will be in a great bargaining position for a dealer. Don't be afraid to buy from a private seller...just check the coach our well and ask for copies of all maintenance performed, and, if possible, talk to the servicer of the unit. If you're not comfortable with the seller, then walk away.

Don't forget to look for things like the type of plumbing (RV or residential), wiring, insulation, quality of cabinets and fixtures, etc that you can find in a higher end coach that is a few years old. Be sure to look at a unit, say 6 to 8 years old and see the type of condition the cabinets, floors etc are in after so many years. This gives you a good idea as to how the coach will hold up as it ages. (If you buy a 2 to 3 year old coach and keep it 3 to 4 years, that's how yours will look). Those are some of the things that make a higher end coach (such as a Foretravel), that is a year or two older, a very attractive purchase.

If you can get there, go visit Lazy Days, just to be able to see so many coaches side by side and open for inspection. It is a dealer like no other. You'll either love them or hate them, but it's still the best place to get a first hand inspection of lots of coaches.

Good luck and enjoy your search for the perfect coach....that's half the fun of it!
Molly & Bob

-- Edited by TheBobGuy at 14:11, 2008-12-31