First time buyer new gas Thor, or used Tiffin diesel class A?

[RStone76]

Hello everyone,
We are looking into purchasing our first Coach. We have been researching it for about a year and want to stay under 80k. Currently, we are looking at a 2014 Thor ACE 30.2 or 2008 tiffin allegro QBA. The tiffin is a front end diesel with about 20,000 miles on it. We have small children so we want bunks. Just not sure if a 6 year old coach is a smart buy or if it's better to go with new one. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

[aschuh53]

Thee a lot better buys on used To much loss on new Just make sure you get it checked out by some one that know Motor homes engines trans and anything top to bottom.There a warranty you can buy for used that can save you a lot of money if something big was to go wrong.Im sure other people will be on here to help you out as well.

[Vickie 4369]

Originally Posted by RStone76

Hello everyone,
We are looking into purchasing our first Coach. We have been researching it for about a year and want to stay under 80k. Currently, we are looking at a 2014 Thor ACE 30.2 or 2008 tiffin allegro QBA. The tiffin is a front end diesel with about 20,000 miles on it. We have small children so we want bunks. Just not sure if a 6 year old coach is a smart buy or if it's better to go with new one. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

If your Handy you will get a lot more for your money on a Used Tiffin, Tiffin is Quality You can't afford otherwise.

If you don't know what end of a screw driver to hold buy new with warranty.

Either Way Congrats.

I am a Newb Myself Just over a Year, I purchase a Used 2007 Front Engine Diesel, and could not be happier.

But I am a Mechanic, Carpenter, Plumber, Roofer, Refrigeration, Electrician, AC, Audio, Video, Capable

A house is a lot of maintenance, a House on Wheels is Double that and then some.

Ted.

[BFlinn181]

If you examine resale costs a couple of years down the road, usually a used coach is a better deal. Problem wise, from what I see on here, you'll have issues with new or used. New doesn't mean trouble free. I look at previous owners as quality control and upgrade agents. Check the date of manufacture on the tires on the '06, if not new tires, they are at there age limit even though 20,000 miles hasn't worn them out. A diesel isn't even broken in at 20,000 miles.

[lmcgill]

We only buy new. I work hard and want to play hard. When I take my weekend jaunts and a few weeks in the summer I don't want the worries and stress of fixing or getting things fixed off warranty. It is bad enough with a brand new rig. Plus, I enjoy ripping the plastic off the beds and enjoying that "new" feeling. Yes I know you can save money buying used, but to all those that only buy used, someone had to buy new! We went from a Arctic Fox TT than a Article Fox 5ver (both for only a year) than 5 years on a 39S Discovery and now 2 years on our 2012 AC Rev.
Never regretted any one of those purchases. The memories with our now 14 year old twins is priceless!

[luvlabs]

Any reason you aren't looking at Tiffin Gas coaches? Much more bang for the buck and you have Tiffin quality and support.

We had a Tiffin gas coach which we traded up to a Phaeton when we decided to go fulltime. Read some of the posts on Thor products and you might have a different opinion of what you want to look at.

The Allegro FREDs are good coaches. Just make sure that the previous owner had the brake recalls completed before you pursue it too far.

[dezolen]

Be sure to check Tiffin gas coaches. 35QBA has bunk layout.
Don't let list prices fool you as 25-30% discounts are common.
No regrets having bought new gas coach over 5 year old DP for our needs

[BarryN514]

We have had 2 used coaches and had to do some repairs on both within the first 6 months. You never know how the previous owner took care of it and if it was maintained regularly. The last one we had, was a 2002 with only 7,900 miles on it. That means it was not drove much and things like seal and other things need to be replaced. The costly one was the fuel pump went out and that was a $1,500 repair.

A few months ago we pulled the trigger on a new rig since the 2014 have been out for months, we were able to deal on a 2013 (New).

We thought about a DP but after reading several thread and most said that unless we intended to put 15K a year on her, to save our money. DP from what I have read like to be drove. With that being said, there are certainly advantages as well.

[okgc]

The Tiffin is the easy choice of those two. HUGE difference in build quality.

[JohnRR]

Good luck with your search.

[Scarab0088]

Welcome to iRV2! Hope you stay around and share about whatever you select!

I recommend that you do not take anything for granted...

Tiffin's reputation is not as important as care taken by a previous owner.
and
The A.C.E. line is all about innovation and smart engineering.

Then there is the sting of depreciation on new...but having a new RV is a wondrful thing - all yours, all new, no surprises...and a Warranty!

The Tiffin FRED is most likely a Cummins I-6 Diesel with Allison transmission. The A.C.E. will be a Ford Triton V10 with Ford Transmission (with "Tow/Haul" Mode). Both are very good chassis, but different. If you have no preference, then the gas engine might be simpler and easier to live with, being more similar to a large SUV for use and care.

The most important thing is the floor plan. Get the one that appeals to you!

Best luck.

[TXiceman]

First is anything Tiffin is going to be better than a Thor product. Maintenance cost needs to be reviewed based on intended yearly mileage. For low mileage usage, a gasser may prove to be less costly to maintain.

Ken

[B Bob]

RStone76

I wanted to buy a used coach because I made my living for years in used printing machines. But also because for the most part motorhomes depreciate significantly the first few years and I wanted to let someone else take that financial hit. In many cases a well taken care of 3-5 year old coach will cause you less problems than a brand new one.

We looked at one FRED coach like the Tiffin you asked about. It drove well when we tested it. But no pass though basement storage. IMHO that is a must. I don't know if the new Thor has that, but would guess the FRED does not.

In my experience the quality of most coaches is relative to how much money you spend. If you go to an RV show and look in a specific price range you will see many if not most of the same systems in all coaches in that price category. What I am talking about here is motors, transmissions, wheels, hot water heaters, rugs, and so on. A couple of people in this thread have said there would be big differences in favor of the Tiffin. Maybe. But you should be looking for yourself. Look at the way the cabinets are made. See if the wires are clearly marked. Is the underside coated against corrosion? Is the motor powerful enough for your uses. And very significantly does this coach have enough CCCs for what you want to carry.

The other key is if it drives comfortably for you. Take it on a long test drive and drive for quite a while on the freeway/expressway. I like diesel motors for motorhomes. They have high torque which you need to push a coach. That said gas motorhomes are fine too. And once your camped you don't know the difference. We have many friends with gassers in the size range you are looking at and they travel all over the USA in their coaches.

To me 32'-36' single or double slide gas coaches are a real sweat spot. Most of our friends have National coaches because we are less than 100 miles away from where they were made. And a couple have fleetwood for the same reason. Even though many on this forum would rate those two brands lower than Tiffin I have to tell you we have one Dolphin in our small RV club that is a 36' with two slides that has made it to Alaska twice and has way over 100,000 miles on it with the original motor.

My point would be, don't let other's rate quality of what you are looking at. Do that yourself.

[BFlinn181]

The depreciation on the new RV when you go to sell it will make you a 'Thor Loser.'