There are 4 or 5 types of private sellers IMO

[okcnewbie]

I would probably buy from 2,3,4. Please share your experience if you'd like.
(As I typed this I realized that there are more types of sellers but I stopped at 5.)

1. Dishonest. Claim no pets, etc. Unfortunately, you can't often spot them until you go look at the MH. (Very few would buy from them knowingly.)

2. Generally honest, pays to have the MH worked on, not knowledgeable about RV.

3. Generally honest, pays to have MH worked on, very knowledgeable about RV.

4. Generally honest, diy'er. Does mosts thing himself. Knows almost everything about the RV. Proactive with preventative maintenance.

5. Generally honest, tends to only fix things that are broken. No preventative maintenance to speak of.

[momdoc]

When we sold ours we were a solid #3

[Isaac-1]

Perhaps, but there are a lot of ones that are somewhere in between. For example I bought my coach from a guy that was diligent about some types of PM, but not so much about others, he did a great job with oil changes, and chassis lubrication, but since he did not drive at night the headlights were stuck in low beam mode and several of the marker lights were burned out, ..

[winniman]

#3 is my preferred person to buy from, then 2,4,5 in that order. #1 I will not buy from. If they lie about anything, they are ruled out for possible sale. I drove 3 1/2 hours to look at a particular rv. I get there, and notice that the front corner above the driver had impact damage. The owner said he forgot to mention it in the ad, or when I talked to him on the phone. I had specifically asked if there was any damage not shown in the pictures. All the pictures were purposely taken from an angle to not show the damage to the roof. He said he had hit a tree with it, and forgot to mention it. If they lie about one thing, how much else are they lying about. These types are huge time wasters. Unfortunately, I have encountered them many times trying to buy heavy equipment. #5 types are probably a lot more common than one thinks. I would guess they are the majority of rv owners, or vehicles in general. Other than oil changes, most people think their vehicles never need serviced unless something breaks. Preventative maintenance is not on most peoples radar.

[mythplaced]

Got ours from a #3.

[okcnewbie]

Originally Posted by okcnewbie

2. Generally honest, pays to have the MH worked on, not knowledgeable about RV. .

Seller type # 2 example;

This was our experience last month.
Very nice couple that happened to be wealthy. They were selling to buy a new Newmar. They had just spent $3000 to have the MH looked at and have fluids changed. They didn't know anything about batteries or how to check them. They always stayed in nice resorts and were plugged in. When looking at their ad and comparing to brochure I figured out they didn't have a 400 hp motor. They were embarrassed and changed the ad after apologizing. Didn't know you could fuel from both sides.
I can't imagine this seller cleaning seals around the storage doors or other PM type things.
This wasn't the ideal seller but going in with my eyes open I think we would have bought this unit if we were closer to retirement.
Oddly enough we may actually buy the Toad from them if it doesn't sell with the MH.

[okcnewbie]

Originally Posted by momdoc

When we sold ours we were a solid #3

I think this is who we're all trying to buy from. If there's a way to let us know in your ad somehow I think it can help.
I suspect you had a nice garage or at least a full RV port to keep your baby from the elements. I look for this in the pics.....lol.

[puttin]

I looked at this post as myself being the seller. I think I'm #4. Our rig was bought new from a dealer so I guess they'd be closest to #1.

[okcnewbie]

Originally Posted by puttin

I looked at this post as myself being the seller. I think I'm #4. Our rig was bought new from a dealer so I guess they'd be closest to #1.

I was a #4 when we sold our Class C. I had repaired everything on that old girl and added solar as well.
I like to think that sometimes a Dealer can be something other than a #1 but I will always assume the worse.

[allenb12]

I would be 3 & 4 combined. I do what I can and what I can not I pay someone to do. Every trip I make a list of things that need to be done and what I just want done.

[winniman]

When I go to buy anything, I look at the owners yard. If it is full of torn apart vehicles, this is not the owner Im looking for. There is nothing wrong with do it yourselfers, but not all of them REALLY know what they are doing. A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing. They are more apt to jerry rig something. My ideal seller has a nice house, nice well kept yard. They know enough about the item to properly explain everything, and how to operate it. They may or may not have the knowledge to fix things themselves, but are fussy, and prefer to have things repaired by professionals. This may be due to getting older, or just no desire to work on things. The ideal seller to me is typically an older person, who can afford to maintain things properly, and have it done by professionals. The fact that they take pride of ownership shows in everything from their house and yard, to the vehicles they own. Finding one stored inside is an added bonus.

[scenic route]

We bought from a #1 ...and traveled to Texas to buy it. Dang! The PO bought and lived in it for a over a year due to hurricane damage to his house. The owner before him didn't use it much and neglected most PM. Good bones though w/37k miles and ran excellent...still does.

We now have 42.5K miles on it and we are starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel...lots of preventive maintenance, couple of major appliance replacements, much cleaning and fiddling to make it our own. We're ready for the FUN to begin!

It's our first diesel so the learning curve has been a little steep.

[timjet]

When you ask "is any thing wrong with it" do you really expect a detailed listing.
Any motor home older than 5 yrs will have some issues. Whether the seller discloses them to you is a %$#@ shoot.

If I had to spend money to travel some distance to view a coach I would vet the seller to the extent I could. I would ask questions knowing something about the RV he's selling and if I catch him in a lie, well then I would re-evaluate the decision to spend money on travel.

Regardless of the type of seller (1-5) I would have an inspection done.

I had an irv2 member offer to inspect a coach local to him but miles from my home when I was looking and getting opinions from members here on the coach I was interested in. Ultimately I bought a different coach before looking at the one the irv2 member offered to look at.

[okcnewbie]

Originally Posted by timjet

Regardless of the type of seller (1-5) I would have an inspection done.

I had an irv2 member offer to inspect a coach local to him but miles from my home when I was looking and getting opinions from members here on the coach I was interested in. Ultimately I bought a different coach before looking at the one the irv2 member offered to look at.

Personally, I think an inspection that doesn't include the drivetrain is not cost effective with every purchase. Having someone ensure that there's not major water damage, chassis cracks or damage and the engine seems well maintained would be worth the money. I always ask people that are pro inspection to share their experience, price, pdf or failures and almost no one shares anything. In theory a DP inspection could be even more important than a home inspection. Figuring out how to get the inspection and the items fixed and still get the DP is the problem. I think in many cases people get the inspection and have to move on to another MH. This would get costly. I'm still working out my plan for my first DP purchase. It will likely include some kind of inspection depending on how I feel about the sellers.

I went and looked at a local DP for an irv2.com member that lived far away. I would gladly spend and hour or two looking at a local MH for someone.