104,000 Miles on a Class A MH. Would you buy it?

[dons2346]

Interior condition is usually an indication of how the rest of the coach has been maintained. If the interior is in excellent condition, it is a good indication that the rest of the coach has been taken care of. It would not bother me to purchase that coach.

Sure there will be belts, hoses, gaskets that will need replacement in the near future but so what.

As far as receipts, another so what. I keep receipts for a couple of years and then chuck them. I just don't have room to keep them any longer. So for those that need receipts for everything I have done t my coach, I guess you won't be buying it.

[bluegrassrv]

Low book is about $166,000. 80%, which is what a lender would be offering, is about $132,800. At $95,000 you're at about 57% of low book or 71% of loan value. If you really feel good about the care the coach has received and it's really what you want, I think money wise, it's a good deal. I think the most concerning thing when considering resale in a few years is not so much your dollar amount but finding someone that can get it financed at 12 or so years old. But don't get too discouraged because there are financial institutions that could care less about age; it's all about book value and credit scores. Of course if you find a cash buyer you're all set.

Now I'm no pro at this so take what I've said with the whole shaker.�� Good luck.

[PyrateSilly]

Originally Posted by dons2346

As far as receipts, another so what. I keep receipts for a couple of years and then chuck them. I just don't have room to keep them any longer. So for those that need receipts for everything I have done t my coach, I guess you won't be buying it.

I scan in all receipts, every single one. This way not only do I keep a copy of what and when for us but also for whom ever might want to buy it. Besides if something happens to anything, like another break in like at the S&B a few years ago, then I have all the information required by the insurance company and the IRS and that is what was taken, where it was bought, when it was bought and how much it cost. The only thing at that point for me to look up would be how much to replace what was taken.

[Tyler6357]

Nope, not for $95K, not with that many miles. It might run great now but motors don't run forever, they burn out just like any other motor vehicle. The price is too high.

[ahicks]

Receipts - if you're going to stand there and tell me the maintenance is up to date, I'm going to say show me. Without the receipts to support the talk, that's all it is - talk. Means nothing, and about what I would expect from somebody trying to sell their coach.... especially at a dealership.

[bruceisla]

Originally Posted by ahicks

Receipts - if you're going to stand there and tell me the maintenance is up to date, I'm going to say show me. Without the receipts to support the talk, that's all it is - talk. Means nothing, and about what I would expect from somebody trying to sell their coach.... especially at a dealership.

I'm shocked! .... shocked, I say!!

[docj]

Originally Posted by Tyler6357

Nope, not for $95K, not with that many miles. It might run great now but motors don't run forever, they burn out just like any other motor vehicle. The price is too high.

With all due respect this is simply wrong. As has already been noted, large block on-highway diesels built by both Cat and Cummins are designed to achieve ~750,000 miles for in-frame rebuild (not end of life).

Despite the fact that Cat had stopped marketing on-highway engines for several year they continued the program of giving you a special hat if you could prove that you had a million miles on a Cat engine. I figure I'll get my hat sometime after my 150th birthday!

[StevenNSteph]

Originally Posted by Just For Fun

My questions revolves around:
1. Resalability: Everything I buy of any sizable amount will always revolve around "Can I resell this in the next few years for anything near what I paid for it. Or, will I have significant objection and price deterioration due to having over 100,000 miles on a 2005 coach??????

I'm on my 6th coach, all of them bought used and 5 of them sold by me with close to the same philosophy. My short answer is that 100,000 miles and/or 10 years old is a key turning point in the resale value of the coach.

All of my research has shown the sweet spot for buying used (at an extremely competitive price) between 3-7 years old and selling between 5-9 years old while keeping the mileage as low as possible results in the lowest . Using this method I have made money or broke even on several coaches that I have owned. I would not expect that you can break even on this coach after several years even if you only put 3,000 miles on it.

Steven

[Steve Ownby]

There are 2 philosophies at work here. Those like me whose interest is finding a rare jewel to live in full time or at least half time while traveling 5-15k miles per year. We are looking for max quality for the buck. Resale does not enter the picture because,due to the nature of what we are buying and the volatility of that market, it's impossible to know how resale able it is. This mind set is not concerned at all by Milage but in the previous owners commitment to maintenance and the livability/drivability of that particular coach.

The other point of view is held by those doing a few vacations annually, spending a max of a couple of months total in the coach and traveling to a few destinations where they will be parked for a week or two. These folks are less interested in overall quality than in the ability to maintain value while gaining a few miles on the clock. This view point is looking for a coach that has already been hit by the big depreciation years but has not been used much and the owner is tired of and may regret the purchase. This previous owner may take a beating just to get out of the coach.

These points of view are both valid but are unlikely to be held by individuals in the same circumstance. There was a period of time starting in '09 and lasting about 18 months when it was possible to find a smoking deal on those "rare jewel" coaches and be able to resell in a couple of years an do ok but the market is much healthier now.


Steve Ownby
Full time since '07

[Old Scout]

I was about ready to fall into the trap of explaining all the virtues of buying a well maintained coach--"yada, yada, yada...." but I suspect you have all that figured out, so never mind. Only 3000 miles a year and desparate to get your money back--so dont buy a 42 ft with a 500 hp [sounds like a tag to boot]. In stead, shop around for a late model, mid-size coach with whatever floor plan it offers--for 3000 mile, it wont matter. Preferrably, find an owner/family with exiting/pending health issues and low ball them--sad but true, this happens all the time. For many of us this is a lifestyle decision, sounds like you are looking for the best way to buy a depreciating asset. Good hunting [smile]......

[DMTTRANSPORT]

Why are we talking about RE BUILDING components at 100K, The Drive train is fine, with that said, I would look more at the House components, Slides, Plumbing etc. The biggest enemy a Turbo Charger has is the engine being shut down to soon without "cooling" the turbo off...let it run at a bump idle if your not stopping for a long period of time, fueling, jumping into the store etc. I sold a Pete 8 years ago with 1.4 million miles on one Turbo, the Truck was started in the am and shut down when I was finished for the day....

[gacamp]

Originally Posted by DMTTRANSPORT

Why are we talking about RE BUILDING components at 100K, The Drive train is fine, with that said, I would look more at the House components, Slides, Plumbing etc. The biggest enemy a Turbo Charger has is the engine being shut down to soon without "cooling" the turbo off...let it run at a bump idle if your not stopping for a long period of time, fueling, jumping into the store etc. I sold a Pete 8 years ago with 1.4 million miles on one Turbo, the Truck was started in the am and shut down when I was finished for the day....

Could not agree more. I ran large farm tractors for years doing a great deal of heavy tillage work. We did a lot of work at night and you could see the turbo's glowing red after hours of full throttle work yet by always making a cool down period automatic in our shutdown procedure, I never had to have a turbo replaced or worked on.

[1ciderdog]

Originally Posted by Just For Fun

Let me preface this question/request for "your" opinion with this:
1. Yes I understand that if it looks and feels like a nice coach to me, yad, yad, yad
2. It's a diesel and at 100,000 miles it's just warming up
3. The coach also has more than 100,000 miles it. Therefore all of its systems and moving parts have also had the same amount of mileage. And yes, the owner has repaired/replaced all that has broken, etc.

What do we have here:
1. It's a 2005 42 ft Monaco Executive, Dual Slides with 500HP Cummins Turbo Diesel
2. It looks and feels like it's in pristine condition. Really!!!!!!
3. Purchase price approximately $95,000

My questions revolves around:
1. Resalability: Everything I buy of any sizable amount will always revolve around "Can I resell this in the next few years for anything near what I paid for it. Or, will I have significant objection and price deterioration due to having over 100,000 miles on a 2005 coach??????
a. We typically only do about 3,000 miles per year.
b. The thought of maybe selling in several is a safety
valve. Our current coach we bought new and have used it
and enjoyed it for the last 15 years (33,000 miles now).
2. What kind of maintenance issues will I/should I anticipate? Yes I know that everything breaks in time. But this is a lot of road time!!

What do you think???????

Not responding to your specific questions but I have over 112K miles on my RV and if I were selling I'd think someone was getting a well maintained hi mileage RV. I've kept everything up to date, haven't ignored the minor repairs. I expect to put another 8 to 10K miles on it this summer. Hate to think of the fuel cost but that's part of the entertainment expense. So if it looks good, sounds good, has history of fixes I'd think it worth buying if the floor plan meets your needs.

[AE Gary]

I guess I will put in my 2 cents worth on this. I have owned over the road trucks, the last one had 1.3 million on it (series 60 Detroit) before it was overhauled. If the previous owner had changed the antifreeze more often it would not need the overhaul, ran great no smoke. I purchased a 92 American Eagle with 203000 on it and never gave it a second thought. I drove 10K last year and no oil use and it has plenty of power (300hp) I pass the big boys on the hills. Like some of the others have stated, they are not even broke in until the get around 100K on them.