Disappointment

[malexander]

Went shopping for a used class A this weekend. Drove all over the Dallas area. I couldn't believe the abused junk these dealers try to pawn off on people.
I'm not new to RVs, having had 2 5ers, then a class c Jayco for 10 years, now on my 3rd 5er.
They want to give you the lowest lowest trade for yours, and get the absolute max retail for theirs. I figured out they buy most of them at auctions so they know absolutely no history on them. You point out little "defects" their answer is "that can be fixed".
Anyway, just a little rant.

[KSCRUDE]

We bought a new Jayco fiver in 1994 and had 14 trouble free years out of it. Bought a new Newmar MH last year and have no major problems at all with it. I would never buy a used RV unless things were to Change way for the worse. RVs are one of the most abused vehicle on the road, as most people just use them and abuse them then take them home and part it, until the next trip.

[TeJay]

You're probable aware of this but a lot of people sell on the net. They might be getting rid of a unit because they can't travel any longer. That will happen to all of us. Or they may be wanting to upgrade and know they might be able to get a little more than an RV dealer would give them. There are a lot out there but it may take some searching. We traded our 99 Dutch Star with 33,000 miles and only got 25-K for it in 2010. I spent a week cleaning and waxing it. It looked like it came off the showroom floor. The owner of the dealership low balled me with an offer for 19-K I laughed at him. Then told him that he insulted me, which he did. He came up to 25 and I took it. It almost paid off the truck.

I didn't think I could sell it and I didn't want to go through the trouble. It was in excellent shape and well maintained. They guy who bought it only paid 25-K for it as well. We traded it in on a 2010 F-150 so we could pull a trailer.

I've read about a lot of people on these forums that have bought used and if they were careful shoppers they did OK. It really helps if you can fix a lot of the stuff yourself. If I were 10 years younger I think I would have bought used and brought everything up to top shape. Getting the right floor plan is important. Some of the rest of it can be upgraded. I didn't know this but there are a lot of RV salvage yards around. That's where our brand new totaled TT went. It didn't have 1,000 miles on it and got hit in a service area by a dump truck. A lot of good stuff went into the junk pile.

Keep looking you'll find a good one.

TeJay

[flaggship1]

When you hear the music playing the dance has begun. It's all business, nothing personal. Your job is to black his eye and make him like it. Unfortunately, that's his job too. You have the experience - just need to get your mind wrapped around it. I suggest not driving around DFW looking at RVs until at least this time next month. In fact - it's so hot - just don't go outside at all until late next month.

Good luck.

[vsheetz]

I prefer to buy used, from a private party, with maintenance records - and then put a extended warranty on it for the first year till I have first hand experience and to mitigate any major things I was unaware.. Better value, IMHO.

[malexander]

I agree with all these responses. I had to laugh at the black eye thing. I'll have to use it myself sometime.
But yeah, I'm in no hurry, it's sort of fun shopping. Especially picking through the manure the salesman is trying to feed you.
I really want to just trade mine in, like TJ, I just don't want to mess with trying to sell it myself.

[bdickson]

Since you're in the Dallas area, check out Motor Home Specialist in Alvarado. Ask for Rodney, tell him I sent you. They are about the straightest dealer I have ever encountered.

[malexander]

Originally Posted by bdickson

Since you're in the Dallas area, check out Motor Home Specialist in Alvarado. Ask for Rodney, tell him I sent you. They are about the straightest dealer I have ever encountered.

Actually, I live in OKC. We left for DFW area Friday afternoon. Came home today. I had MH Specialist on my list but ran out of time. We're going to Tulsa/Claremore tomorrow. May wind up going back down to see MH Spec. but will probably wait till after the big RV show here in OKC Oct 14 thru 17. Might find a deal on a new one.

[Dunner]

You all are gonna hate me for this. I went out one Saturday to look at MHs. I looked at 10 at two lots and went home and called my buddy with the link to some I liked. He has an `04 Sea Breeze LX on a WH chassis and recommended I get the `04 Sea Breeze on a F-53 chassis that I looked at. It was on consignment and only had 15k on it.

I made an offer, they countered and we settled.... all in ~6 hours. Tires looked great, but were 8 years old. It was super clean and all the batteries were ~2 months old. The dealer did all fluids and filters.

I had a 33' 5er for 10 years before that, so was not new to the RV world.

[cos80922]

Check out PPL motor homes in Texas. pplmotorhomes.com

[worleybyrd]

i just got a used 98 safari 40' dp and had some records but the price was right and i had to fix the 110v plug for the fridge, driver power seat, awning, steps,and the hurricane hot water system. none of it worked when the dw and i looked at it. i took it to a local rv shop in toledo ohio and they said all of it needed replaced with new at the tune of around 5000.00 so i was considering having all the work done with them. after i got to thinking about it i took the rig home and just started looking at how the things work and the steps they said needed a motor and control box, the awning they said had no motor and they couldn't get one and the driver seat needed all new components. so the steps was just a bad ground, the driver seat was the power and ground was not hooked up, and the awning ready for this ?????? they said it had no motor and couldn't get one ............well guess what???????? they never turned the power switch on. so i fixed everything with just some cleaning and about 5.00 from the auto store for connectors and elec tape. the old owner just got the coach and drove it one time ( he also go it used ) and said it was way to big and he just was worried driving it. so i guess even if you get a used rig everything can be fixed and a lot of times you can fix everything yourself if you just set back and think about how it works. i can't afford to buy a new rig ( i would love to ) so used is all i got and i make it work.

[malexander]

Originally Posted by worleybyrd

i just got a used 98 safari 40' dp and had some records but the price was right and i had to fix the 110v plug for the fridge, driver power seat, awning, steps,and the hurricane hot water system. none of it worked when the dw and i looked at it. i took it to a local rv shop in toledo ohio and they said all of it needed replaced with new at the tune of around 5000.00 so i was considering having all the work done with them. after i got to thinking about it i took the rig home and just started looking at how the things work and the steps they said needed a motor and control box, the awning they said had no motor and they couldn't get one and the driver seat needed all new components. so the steps was just a bad ground, the driver seat was the power and ground was not hooked up, and the awning ready for this ?????? they said it had no motor and couldn't get one ............well guess what???????? they never turned the power switch on. so i fixed everything with just some cleaning and about 5.00 from the auto store for connectors and elec tape. the old owner just got the coach and drove it one time ( he also go it used ) and said it was way to big and he just was worried driving it. so i guess even if you get a used rig everything can be fixed and a lot of times you can fix everything yourself if you just set back and think about how it works. i can't afford to buy a new rig ( i would love to ) so used is all i got and i make it work.

I thought about this same thing last night. I can do a lot of things/fix-up. I've done all the repairs in my mh & 5ers. It's kind of fun actually, it gives you a real understanding of how things work. My thought is, if it's not working, how can I hurt it?
I just don't want to pay premium price for a class A, then have to do a lot of work on it regardless of parts cost. But I don't mind getting a "good deal" on one and putting a some labor into it.
Anyway, we're going to see what Tulsa has to offer today. Somewhere, a dealer is going to treat me right (or make me think so) & I'll buy a new one from him in a couple of years.
Too bad Lee's RV isn't Lee's RV anymore (Lee died). He's who I bought my Jaycos from in the past. B....U.....T, we'll shop.

[datrbone8]

Originally Posted by TeJay

You're probable aware of this but a lot of people sell on the net. They might be getting rid of a unit because they can't travel any longer. That will happen to all of us. Or they may be wanting to upgrade and know they might be able to get a little more than an RV dealer would give them. There are a lot out there but it may take some searching. We traded our 99 Dutch Star with 33,000 miles and only got 25-K for it in 2010. I spent a week cleaning and waxing it. It looked like it came off the showroom floor. The owner of the dealership low balled me with an offer for 19-K I laughed at him. Then told him that he insulted me, which he did. He came up to 25 and I took it. It almost paid off the truck.

I didn't think I could sell it and I didn't want to go through the trouble. It was in excellent shape and well maintained. They guy who bought it only paid 25-K for it as well. We traded it in on a 2010 F-150 so we could pull a trailer.

I've read about a lot of people on these forums that have bought used and if they were careful shoppers they did OK. It really helps if you can fix a lot of the stuff yourself. If I were 10 years younger I think I would have bought used and brought everything up to top shape. Getting the right floor plan is important. Some of the rest of it can be upgraded. I didn't know this but there are a lot of RV salvage yards around. That's where our brand new totaled TT went. It didn't have 1,000 miles on it and got hit in a service area by a dump truck. A lot of good stuff went into the junk pile.

Keep looking you'll find a good one.

TeJay

Where were you when I was buying mine ?

[wa8yxm]

One of the things your (OP) Post says to me is folks are keeping their RV's longer. Don't know if that is a good thing or not.

There are some gems out there. How to find 'em, I can not tell you.