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RV-Dreams.com Home -> RV-Dreams Community Forum -> Buying An RV -> Purchase early or wait?
Post Info TOPIC: Purchase early or wait?
markyodo


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Purchase early or wait?
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Hello all I am new here and my introduction is here LINK.   We had a Class A and sold it about 5 years ago when the travels slowed due to scheduling.

We were reviewing our travel budget for July 2016 and found that we had spent $1080 on cabins, yurt, hotel stays during our vacations last month.  

My wife would like to purchase a used RV now with the intention of upgrading when we go full time in 6 years.  I would like to wait and purchase an RV with better options and more money when we are closer to our decision date but then she made a good point.

We had calculated approx fuel costs, some meals, and camp site rentals and figured we could have saved $400-$500 in July if we had an RV.

So my dilemma is should we make an investment now for 5-10 year old Class A knowing it would probably have to be gas, or continue saving and wait for the right time to get the Class A Diesel?    She made a good point and we are traveling more often I just don't know if we have weighed all the pros and cons, and we have limited funds so I don't want to be stuck with lengthy payments.

Thanks in advance for your advice and opinions. 

 



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PrairieRV


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Did the savings she calculated take into account the cost of the RV and its carrying costs (maintenance, taxes, insurance and storage when not in use, etc.)? So it's really a question of (1) buy less now and incur the carrying costs, or (2) buy more later and spend a little more for vacations in the meantime.

Patti

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Barbaraok


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We purchased a used 29 ft Class C about 3 years before we went fulltiming. Great rig to learn on, we had wonderful trips, the rig was very forgiving to you as we learned, easy to handle, etc. During those three years we spent a lot of time and used the rig for trips to Walt Disney World and to go to meetings in the summer in Chicago. We consider the difference between what we paid and what we got on trade-in as one of the best educational value we could get. Look at it as investing in your education and enjoy it. Our greatest problem was having to turn back towards work each Sunday after a weekend away - - the urge to turn to the horizon re-enforced our desire to go fulltime.

Barb


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markyodo


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Patti, all but storage was considered, and yep that's the dilemma.

Barb, interesting points.   I forgot to mention that as former Class A owners we were also sudo full time RV living as seasonal camper hosts for the local state park.    That was actually some of the fondest memories our children have, growing up in the state parks from April - Oct.

 

 



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kb0zke


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Most people who start out full-timing don't get the right coach the first time, or the second, or even the third. My suggestion would be to take a bit of time to figure out what sort of coach would best suit your full-time needs and wants, then buy it used. Use it and decide if you really got it right, or whether you need to change something. If so, trade. By the time you are ready to sell your place and hit the road you will really know what you want and need. If you don't already own it, you can trade again.

BTW, many full-timers find that buying a higher quality coach, even if it is used, is a wise way to go. Many owners of older, high-end coaches upgrade their coaches, adding solar, residential refrigerators, etc. While they don't get the full price back when selling, they find that those upgrades help sell the coach, and usually they get at least some, often half or more, of their investment back. In the meantime, they have the "advantages" of a newer coach at a much lower cost.

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