Which Older Alpine to buy??

[skp_member]

Hello,

We are fulltimmers, since 2000. Started with a 37' 5th wheel and in '06 we bought a '96 Safari Sahara. We wanted solid wood cabinets, factory wired inverter, washer/dryer, solid counter tops and U-Line. Basically we love our M/H. However wife wants a slide for more room.

We are in a price range of $80,000 and down. Looks like a '01 or so is in our price range. We want the same features as our Safari plus a slide.

What issues should we be looking for in a coach in this price/year range? I know tires, complete maintenance records, batteries and such.

Not being familiar with options in this year range, is there anything I need to be looking for?

If you are in the Texas area, and have one for sale, feel free to contact us @ jandlbrooks at yahoo dot com

Thanks Jim

[skp_member]

Hello,

We are fulltimmers, since 2000. Started with a 37' 5th wheel and in '06 we bought a '96 Safari Sahara. We wanted solid wood cabinets, factory wired inverter, washer/dryer, solid counter tops and U-Line. Basically we love our M/H. However wife wants a slide for more room.

We are in a price range of $80,000 and down. Looks like a '01 or so is in our price range. We want the same features as our Safari plus a slide.

What issues should we be looking for in a coach in this price/year range? I know tires, complete maintenance records, batteries and such.

Not being familiar with options in this year range, is there anything I need to be looking for?

If you are in the Texas area, and have one for sale, feel free to contact us @ jandlbrooks at yahoo dot com

Thanks Jim

[Stretch]

I think an 03 40fdts Alpine would be just about right for you. A lot of bank for the buck. A great chassis with a really powerful engine including a Jake Brake. 03 was a great year for alpine. WRV had really hit their stride in building coaches. Before that they had fit and finish issues. After that they started having cash issues which effected build quality. The 40fdts has three slides and has a king size bed and lots of goodies. You will have to bargain hard but with this economy you could get one.

[takepride]

I'd have to second that opinion. Our 2003 40FDTS has been great. The quality is very good and I haven't been plagued with all the various problems on this forum. I've cured a few very minor details myself and admittedly would recommend ditching the Freedom/Heart inverter for an RS2000 or RS3000. It solved all the various electrical issues I had. Mine is pre-Vansco, pre-Silverleaf and I'm glad. Everything is straight-forward and not overly complicated.

I still have yet to find a better floorplan, in any brand.

Pricewise, the 2003 is really holding up well (good for me, not for you). They still are selling well above $100K, though I saw a similar one go at PPL for less. Asking seems to be $130, but I'm sure selling for much less.

Mine is not available. I wouldn't even trade it for a newer one.

[tillbuilt]

The main differnce between the 03' and eirler is the motor. In 03' they started puting the 400hp. motor in. I was looking for an 03' or newer when I found an emaculant 00' w/ 13k miles on it. I figured for 50K I could buy the 00' and put the $3500 Banks kit on it and get 430hp. and still be money ahead. I was finding 03's for around 100K. See this E-bay listing.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...0290003078QQtcZphoto

This guy has had this for sale for 3 months as far as I know and started the price about 140k. I see that he is down to 95K. I would say this is a great deal.

[Dave and Jaime]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by tillbuilt:
The main differnce between the 03' and eirler is the motor. In 03' they started puting the 400hp. motor in. I was looking for an 03' or newer when I found an emaculant 00' w/ 13k miles on it. I figured for 50K I could buy the 00' and put the $3500 Banks kit on it and get 430hp. and still be money ahead. I was finding 03's for around 100K. See this E-bay listing.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...0290003078QQtcZphoto

This guy has had this for sale for 3 months as far as I know and started the price about 140k. I see that he is down to 95K. I would say this is a great deal. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That sounds like a pretty nice deal for an 03. Actually, this dealer sells a lot of bank repos. This particular Alpine has not been for sale more than a few weeks. The dealer did have another Alpine for sale a couple months ago -- I know because I bought it! 2005 36FDTS which I paid $106K for. Thought it was a very good price, too. That, undoubtedly, influenced his pricing for this 03 Alpine. The dealer did everything he said he would for my sale and we are very pleased with coach. He also did negotiate about $10K off his "reserve" price so he might come down some from the $92K listing.

[takepride]

That has to be the best listing for a motorhome I've ever seen.

That coach is beautiful and a GREAT price. If someone here buys it, I'd like to do a side-by-side.