Newbies need your help!

[Gayschimeck]

Hi Tiffin Owners,
We are looking to purchase a motorhome and understand from most that Tiffin is one of the top if not the top quality coach maker. However, new coaches are way above our price point. We have the opportunity to purchase a 2013 35QBA with 18,000 miles. It appears to be in good condition & have all we've been looking for in a coach. They're asking $99,998. We have looked at NADA and it says low of $84,000 and high average of $101,000. We're taking it for a test drive tomorrow afternoon and thinking if all goes well we would offer $85-90,000. We would love any words of wisdom you experts could give us. Thanks in advance for your help!

[GreaTOne65]

Welcome to iRV2. You have come to the right place, the people here are very helpful about nearly every question you have. Tiffin, builds very good coaches. My only advice to you, is you need to own one to know what you really want in a coach. I am on my 5th coach, so as you can see, it took me awhile!! LOL!!

[The Quince]

Tiffin is a very good product and the owners stand behind their product. I suggest you go to rvtrader.com and look up what the coach you want is selling for there. I've bought and sold several coaches on that site and was always glad I did. Hope this helps you live your dream.

[garykk]

You don't say if this is a private sale or dealer. The asking price is just about at high retail, which is too high
Take into consideration that the tires are about half way through the 6 years that most folks change out their tires, that's several thousand dollars. Also with 18k, and 3 years, a service may be due if it's not already been done. This can run to almost a $1000 if done by a dealer.
Ask to see service and warranty records.
Get a copy of a decent Rv checklist to go by when you check out the RV, pay particular attention to the slide operation and leveling as well as appliances.
Suggest you pay for an independent inspection before you get there..if your seller is private and serious, they might provide this...
Good luck and I hope this is the one and you enjoy it

[TonyDi]

A hundred thousand is at the high end of the scale. It's probably just a starting point for negotiations. Before you commit to the purchase have a licensed RV tech inspect the coach. There could be many surprises that you don't want to find out about after you own it. It will be money well spent.

Good luck. I hope it works out for you.

Happy Trails!!!

[cj23andout]

We purchased our 2013 35 QBA for $110,800 in June of 2013 (built to order in February 2013). The MSRP as equipped was $141,260.

AND: We paid too much!

I passed a deal that was $2500 cheaper to avoid traveling to Florida to pick it up. We thought we would get good service by buying from a closer dealer -yeah right. That didn't happen either!

No worries, we LOVE the coach! We took it cross country last summer and had the trip of our life.

So with revised numbers, I could have bought our rig for $108,300 brand spanking new.

We have almost every option and added a couple special-order items. The only big option we didn't get was the in motion satellite.

I hope I am not killing a deal for a fellow member here, but I too think this is a little steep.

We have had a few minor problems and one serious one. Check the Halo Leather, if so outfitted. Our dinette and Euro-recliner started flaking away. Tiffin took care of it even though it was out of warranty by shipping us a new set of dinette benches. They said they got a bad batch of material and stood by their product like very few companies do today. This was the Autumn interior package with optional dark brown halo leather. I forget what that color was called. The other color offered was very light tan.

So, if the coach you are looking at has dark brown leather, check it out very closely. When our's started flaking, it started at the edges of the seams. Then later, it started flaking on the flat surfaces too.

If it has the problem, Tiffin may take care of it for the original owner, maybe not for a subsequent owner.

good luck

[Gayschimeck]

Hi all,
Just wanted to give an update. After looking for several months and trying to make a purchase of a motorhome happen we have decided it's just not meant to be at this point in time. What we have found (in our experience & which has been very frustrating) is that the entry level smaller coaches don't seem to meet our needs/wants of quality and to get that we were having to go to bigger coaches that we didn't want and were out of our price point. We have now decided to go back to our original plan of a 5th wheel. A lot fewer things you have to consider in getting a product you feel comfortable with. We really appreciate all of your responses and help that were given!

[Matt D]

Good luck on your search.

I think you will enjoy RVing regardless of the type of unit you own.

In our case, we have had the unusual opportunity to try both a Class A, and a very nice 5th wheel, then the same Class A again.

As we have small kids, we really prefer the Class A, particularly as many of our trips are on the longish side.

We actually bought our Tiffin new in late 2011 (it is a 2012 QKH -bunks) and took it out as often as my schedule permitted. Our last big trip was two years ago, and we covered 6500 miles and 35 days away from home. We drove from Houston, to Pender, NE, then to Mount Rushmore, Little Big Horn, Glacier N.P., Polson, MT, Gardner, MT. (North end of Yellowstone), Fishing Bridge, West Yellowstone, Coulter Bay near Lake Jackson, Gros Ventre, Jackson Hole, Estes Park, CO, then an unexpected speed trip to Central CA, then home.

We couldn't have done this in a 5er.

The following Jan. we sold our beloved QKH over job concerns.

We quickly bought a Open Range RF376FBH, and pulled it with a F-250, then F-450.

One month after buying the F-450, then buyer of our old MH indicated he wanted to sell at a very good price. He was changing gears.

Eventually, he bought our 450 and 5er, and we got our MH back! You would be surprised at how little difference in price there was between the 5th wheel & truck, versus the MH.

Funny thing is, as nice as our 5th wheel was, it just didn't work for us as a family while traveling. Everyone pretty much did back flips when we decided to get our QKH back.

My point of this novel is, we feel most RVs are really very similar when parked. Where the big price delta comes in, is in the motorized units, and the luxurious travel they provide.

While 5th wheels are at an attractive price point, you need a serious truck for the larger units.

As you're in CA, and may not need long range capability, a 5th wheel may be the best choice. However, if you're still interested in a MH, look at a higher end unit just a few years older than what you've considered.

At somewhere around 5 years old, most DPers take a nose dive in valuation.

You might be able to get a much better MH, at a lower price if you open up your parameters.

Good luck either way,

-Matt