How many have bought sight unseen?

[veraken]

I would never commit to a purchase of this magnitude without seeing it first. A dealer/seller will say anything and tell you what you want to hear.

Before you finalize any purchase, I would suggest that you get an independent certified RV mechanic to inspect all the RV systems, including the roof. In addition I would have the engine, transmission, frame, etc. inspected by a diesel service shop. Having a coolant and oil analysis by a lab (like JG Lubricants ) would reveal any hidden problems.

Make sure everything is in writing!! Any purchase should be contingent upon successfully passing these inspections/tests.

I would do this to any used MH I was looking to buy.

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[steve11669]

I decided what make, model, price and age I wanted then whatched as many ads nationally as I could (several weeks). It popped up and I was 1st to call. Allot of phone talk and pictures. Great repair and maintenance documetation. I agreed to buy it upon visual verification.
I flew 1200 miles with a cashiers check. I did buy it. While exchanging paperwork, 2 people called about the rig. The seller showed me a list of 18 people hoping to see it.

I got what I wanted at a very good price.

[steve11669]

One negotiating point could be a 1 year extended warranty covering the Rig. That could be worth 2 to 3 thousand dollars.

[Forkyfork]

Sight unseen means....dropping all the cash on the deal and no contingency or way out if its crap. I looked at a few ebay listings that were payment due at end of auction and as is where is. I pity the fool that bought the gulf stream i looked at. Lipstick on a pig. Lol

Putting a deposit down and inspecting it isnt sight unseen. If thats the case i bought mine sight unseen. New dosent apply. . The fact i hadn't given them anything, i was able to negotiate what i wanted.

[MisterT]

depends on what you mean by 'sight unseen':

- never seen one, don't know anything about it, have no clue what it is?

- never seen this particular model, but have seen photos of it online?

- you've seen this yr/mke/mdl before, maybe at a dealer, but just not this specific one?

- a craigslist ad with no photo?

... would you buy a home 'sight unseen'?


yes, brand new units are different from a used unit...

New: you can find enough info online, including the selling dealer, to feel comfortable knowing what you might be getting, and you'll have a warranty.

Used: no, there's little way to really gauge what you are getting, there are too many variables to what you might find when you see it in person, even if it's at a dealership - pre-owned does not equal new.

[Helmick]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/RvPricing/

[Boondockin]

We had been shopping for about a month online with no luck local...

My wife sends me a text of a MH she found on craigslist 700 miles away... 35'... V10... two slides... two ducted rooftop ac units... looks amazing in the pictures...

Called the seller... asked a few questions... decided to go look at it...

called my Dad and asked if he would be interested in taking a trip to go look at it with me... he fussed and fussed and tried to talk me out of it... he eventually agreed to go... when I got off the phone with him I told my wife... I don't know if I want to make the trip with him now... ha ha...

It was in rough shape... had been sitting for seven years... pretty much nothing worked... but looked nice inside and out... was clean... no visible water damage... leveling jacks got stuck in the down position... almost didn't get to test drive it... rear ac didn't cool... dash ac didn't cool... engine pinged under load... generator barely ran plus had a massive exhaust leak... rear end had a hard shake at low speed... just to name a few... was like driving a dump truck with square wooden wheels...! ha ha... I can fix almost anything and gave them a low ball offer... and they took it! Crap! I had no idea what I was getting into... LOL... what a mess! What an adventure... barely made it home... left out Saturday morning... got home Sunday evening... I don't have the vocabulary to express how awful it rode and drove... WOW what a handful...! My Dad called and asked if I was dozing off... I told him I was too busy fighting to keep it in the road to fall asleep! I was like a one man band... ha ha! Swerving, weaving, bobbing, bouncing, banging, shaking... the whole way home... it even adds a new dimension called yaw... something I had never experienced before... was quite entertaining...

Began making repairs right away... we got it in late January... wife wanted to make the maiden voyage on our anniversary in mid May... we made it! I worked day and night... we made it to Fall Creek Falls on our anniversary and had a blast! Ran good, drove good, everything worked... Was so worth it... have been improving it and enjoying it since... could have done much better if I wouldn't have been so naive... but it has been fun and my wife and children love it and that makes all the difference to me...

Two things I didn't catch when inspecting...

1. They cut a whole in a luggage compartment trying to get to the fuel pump and failed... no big deal... I got to drop the tank and replace the fuel pump at a campground in GA. ha ha... good times...

2. The rear ac didn't cool... I caught that... I crawled every inch of the roof and didn't notice they had replaced the ac covers... turns out the rear ac had been smashed by a tree limb at some point... ha ha... ripped the cap tube out of the evap coil, broke the suction line out of the evap coil... bent the compressor back... the whole thing was a mess... took me 12 hours to rebuild it... "to get through the weekend"... will still freeze you to death after three years...

The list of repairs is comical... the reward of using it and enjoying it after so much hard work has been tremendous...

[winniman]

I have bought two class A motorhomes and quite a few camper trailers. All I can say is people LIE LIE LIE. You could get lucky, but I have driven four hours on several occasions to look at mhs, only to find stuff broken that I specifically asked about on the phone. Dont do it. If you cant get there yourself, hire an independent inspector to look at it for you. You wont regret it. Every single thing that is wrong costs thousands of dollars each.

[Forkyfork]

Originally Posted by winniman

I have bought two class A motorhomes and quite a few camper trailers. All I can say is people LIE LIE LIE. You could get lucky, but I have driven four hours on several occasions to look at mhs, only to find stuff broken that I specifically asked about on the phone. Dont do it. If you cant get there yourself, hire an independent inspector to look at it for you. You wont regret it. Every single thing that is wrong costs thousands of dollars each.

Thats the same experience I had. I had to bite my tongue and not just tear into the sellers for being complete idiots. Some of them hope you wont figure out the problems some just have no idea the floor of their slide is gone or the walls are so delaminated and rotted its a tear down.

You pay for the repairs in money or effort. If you have to fix stuff thats fine but dont pay for the thing as if it was working. These whack jobs think they should get full value out of their rig when its worth at least $10,000 less because they were negligent.

The worst was the guy with the monaco. Drove 3 hours one way. Nice floor plan, should have been a decent rig. He said it was awesome and how it never leaked an how you can tell on that type of ceiling if its leaked and blah blah. It was trashed sides and roof rotted the slide was gone. Smelled horrible. He bragged about how he ran a garage restoring vehicles. Yeah the monaco was just his b***h. He didnt care. He went to take care of something and his wife said he gets a new one every year so he doesnt have to do any maintenance. In her mind she was bragging.

[SandySand]

Hi Wright, 2 years ago we bought a Winnebago Voyage 2005 33ft, from an online auction. Had it delivered, figured if it could make it from Idaho to Florida, it would be ok. She had a few bumps, and bruises, but the engine was perfect. New tires, fluid changes, and a good cleaning, and we went to Alaska! Put 28,000 plus miles on her, without a moments problem.

[TMan59]

We sold our Monaco to a very nice couple who bought it sight unseen. Many pictures had been sent, and a basic inspection was performed.
I didn't know they had their bank send the check to ours the day before they got here.
I told them "there are thousands of rv's for sale and maybe 10 are what you see in the pictures.
You bought one of those 10.
Please, never do that again!"

[Fredpaul]

I found the coach I was looking for at a dealer 650 miles from home. After several conversations and photos I was satisfied that the seller was being truthful. Negotiated price and confirmed deal only, providing all was as stated. Drove to the dealer inspected the vehicle and all was as stated. Actually I was more impressed with the coach upon seeing in person. Very satisfied I received a fair deal and the coach was inside where I could spend the time to familiarize myself with the unit since it was 20 degrees outside. Drove the coach 1600 miles almost immediately with virtually no problems. Would do it again with certain individuals.

[Coral]

I’m in this process now! Buying a coach in Florida gave deposit based on pictures. I did my due diligence with Spartan and Newmar customer service. Chassis and engine still have warranty remaining and most recalls have been done except for 2 recalls: ball joint recall Spartan and slide motor torque bolts Newmar. We fly down next week for the inspections and to close. I hope everything goes well. We found the coach on RV trader and the coach is at a dealer on consignment. The only thing I’m nervous about is the buyer is way upside down and has to pony up a lot of money to walk away.

[Rusty Kramer]

I did not read the entire post so maybe this has been mentioned.

Have someone you know that is experience go with you to help (an experienced coach owner that does their own work on their coach). pay them to get the help.

Make a detailed inspection list before you go.(someone needs to know what needs to be on the list) ( Maybe someone here on IRV2 has a thorough inspection list for you?) You may be too excited and or too tired to do this on your own. When ever i go buy a major purchase it wears me out. If it is not a huge distance go back home and make decisions. not on the spot.

There will be something that needs attention or will need attention soon with any purchase.

Just personal experience as a newer buyer less than 1 year.