Buying sight unseen.

[DoC808]

Hi guys, quick question has anybody here ever purchased an RV sight unseen. Living in Hawaii I'm trying to buy a RV on the mainland. But I am apprehensive paying for it without actually driving it.

[Mr_D]

In a word NO!!

Look up user name "lloydu" and send him a PM. He lives in Hawaii and has bought a few RV's over here. I bought his stateside CR-V a couple months ago.

[DoC808]

I have been talking to this dealer for about 2 weeks now. They have sent me several videos. But it hard when I drive it. I won't get back to the mainland until the end of March and only have a week. And I cannot find the individual when I search his name.

[Mr_D]

Try this: http://www.irv2.com/forums/private.php?do=newpm&u=63039

What dealer are you working with?

[DoC808]

Zoomed in Indiana. Looking at a 2007 m230 dynamax

[reflex439]

Originally Posted by Deathoncall

Hi guys, quick question has anybody here ever purchased an RV sight unseen. Living in Hawaii I'm trying to buy a RV on the mainland. But I am apprehensive paying for it without actually driving it.

Yes, and it's not for the faint of heart! Your risk is always lower if you can see it in person, drive it, inspect it, check everywhere for leaks, problems, etc. But there are times that's not possible.

If you really can't see it in person, you have options. Hire a local RV inspector to visit the seller and drive and inspect it. Make sure you get detailed images and videos from both. Have the selling write up a full disclosure noting any dents, rust, problems, signs of leaks, etc, and guarantee that all systems will be fully operational, both the coach systems as well as the automotive. Have a written agreement that once you come to pick it up, if its not to your expectations you can walk away free and clear, with deposit refunded. I would also only deal with an established dealer with a good reputation. I wouldn't do this with a private party or small unknown dealer.

It's not fool proof, but having the sellers agreement that everything will be up to snuff, the ability to walk if you don't like, and having a knowledgeable third party inspection and report takes a lot of the risk out.

With Class B so hard to find, it can be expensive to fly all over the country checking out multiple RV's that are available.

I bought mine in this manner. Even so, I was disappointed when I first picked it up. Mostly it was anxiety from buying it sight unseen. It smelled like cleaning solvents such that I had a hard night sleeping even with all the windows open. It had been repainted. I wondered what they were covering up. There were some other minor issues that bothered me as well. The anxiety built and feed upon itself. It didn't help the I had an unsatisfactory exchange with the dealer.

I inspected it the next morning before leaving the area just in case. Everything checked out and worked as expected. Driving it home, 2,000 miles, 10 days, after each 100 miles without issues and the passing of each day, I felt much better about my purchase. 10,000 miles later, one water pump and a new set of tires, and she is a solid reliable rig with a very clean interior. 2000 Roadtrek 190P, 59K miles when I bought it. The new paint wasn't hiding anything after careful inspection, and it looks much better than most 2000's I've seen.

While I paid in full for it, I felt I had enough legal recourse if they misrepresented the RV. It would be pain to go through the courts to recover, but I felt my odds were good, and the agreements and written exchanges were legally binding just in case.

Would I buy sight unseen again. Probably not, just because of the nagging feeling you're going to get screwed. But I am more than happy with my purchase and it's well worth what I paid for it.

[DoC808]

Thank you so much. The coach I'm looking at has about 35k miles and looks great in the videos but it's coming from a dealer and I know they only show what they want too. But overall I feel they are helpful.

[reflex439]

I should have also mentioned, even more important in this situation to do y our due diligence. Mine didn't have service records, but I did get the car fax report. It showed regular maintenance for the first owner since new, a few normal repairs from the second owner. Both drove it regularly and with average mileage for a motorhome. Clear title, no accident reports, e,tc. Just something else to help protect yourself.

[DoC808]

Looks like this one fell through. Dealer doesn't want to hold it a month until I can fly there even with a deposit. I'll keep looking.

[Interblog]

We did it, and it worked out mostly well, but here are a few pointers:

(1) There's no reason to be literally "sight unseen". Do a detailed Facetime walk-through of the actual rig being sold. It's a way of weeding out scammers. Plus they can start the engine, open all the compartments for you to show you the condition of the mechanicals, etc. It's close to having your own eyeballs on it, in person.

(2) Directly check the seller's references.

(3) Get copies of the title, etc. paperwork scanned and emailed to you in advance so that you can inspect them. Be careful with sellers who might want to jump the title; i.e., eliminate the intermediate owner the seller who might be a flipper, and transfer directly from the previous owner to you - I wouldn't do that unless I had confirmed in person with the previous seller that it was his/her intention to sell and that it wasn't a stolen rig, and depending on the circumstances, I might not do it even then - really, we should be transacting solely with the actual legal rig owners.

(4) Most remote sellers are going to want money up front to secure the deal, but don't send them too much even if you are confident it's not a scam. We wired about 10% of the total as a downpayment. We never rendered full payment until the day upon which we showed up three states away to drive away with the rig. It helps to have something akin to "air miles", frequent flyer miles, because to purchase last-minute airline tickets is can be a very expensive proposition. Or free if there's a cache of Southwest Airlines miles sitting in someone's frequent flyer account. That's what my husband and I did - flew to the other state where the rig was located, and drove back to Texas the next morning.

(5) Get an independent RV inspection but don't rely on it. We had one by a reputable outfit and they screwed it up, missing every problem that our rig had. We might as well have taken several hundred bucks and flushed them down the toilet. This is just part of the risk involved with buying any rig, remotely or not.

Good luck with your venture.

[DoC808]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

In a word NO!!

Look up user name "lloydu" and send him a PM. He lives in Hawaii and has bought a few RV's over here. I bought his stateside CR-V a couple months ago.

Thank you I have been in touch with them and chatting for the last few days.