SoCal newbie!

[pink toaster]

We're on the hunt for our first RV. We've been soaking in all the information we can find. I can hardly wait for October and the RV show! (So much easier to look at RVs there than on a lot with the shady salesmen!)

We have champagne taste on beer budget so this is going to be quite the escapade!

[Gavenger]

Welcome!


Im with you on that one. I want to get out an be RVing now, but I will probably not find anything before the Pomona show. Gonna try and do it in 2 days this year, Used lot first day and then go look at the New stuff the next day (if necessary).

[tankcj]

Originally Posted by pink toaster

We're on the hunt for our first RV. We've been soaking in all the information we can find. I can hardly wait for October and the RV show! (So much easier to look at RVs there than on a lot with the shady salesmen!)

We have champagne taste on beer budget so this is going to be quite the escapade!

Have you been to Dennis Dillon RV in Westminster? I went in there to buy some accessories (twice now and it was cheaper than I could get on Amazon) and looked around and only once did I get approached by a salesman. I told him I was just looking and he showed me a few coaches and didn't ask me for my number or ask me to talk to his sales manager. Very laid back and not pushy at all. Although I am not in the market for a new coach, their discounts off of MSRP seemed to be pretty good too.

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined us!

Hope you find the perfect rig for your needs!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[Scarab0088]

...and best luck

[vsheetz]

Welcome!

[Mike and Cha]

What are you looking for and whereabouts do you live in SoCal...there are some good dealers around (new and used)that will give you the space to look but be available to answer questions. There are some great dealers I could recommend depending on where you live and what you are in the market for.The Pomona Show is good to go to but I wouldn't wait until then to start looking. We spent about two years looking, it doesn't have to take that long but we ended up with a MH we love at a great price.

Do your research here, and then go out and look at as many as you can, and you will start to see what people are talking about when it comes to quality, floorplans, and functional use. Just be aware that some of the lower end models where the price seems great, by spending a little more money you can get a much better RV, which will be more economical in the end. Good luck and remember looking for one is half the fun, of buying one.

[pink toaster]

We're in the desert but we've traveled to a few dealerships. (Giant, Mike Thompson, Holland and another place in Corona.) We lucked out one weekend a while back and one of the dealers in Corona was having one of their faux RV shows so we got to wander around and look to our heart's content. The place in... Temecula, I think? had a guy going through all of them with us, then we got stuck with the high pressure, trying to talk us into buy talk from the "other guy" at the end... UGH!

We haven't been to Denis Dillon, that would be a bit of drive, but if they have quite a bit of inventory, we could make a day trip out of it!

I want something small and pretty, but roomy and functional!! I don't mind used as long as it's CLEAN and pretty (I don't want grandma's décor!) Seriously, I just can't get past the décor of soooooo many of the used ones I see online (Well, in reality, I don't really love the décor of 90% of the new ones! Who designs these things? Even the Newmar is not really my décor style!)

I'm (we're) all over the place on what we like! I absolutely LOVE the Newmar 27 (both floorplans but especially the one with just the couch... better TV placement and more counter space!). SOOOO much in a small footprint and obviously we're aware of their reputation for quality. But I/we really want to keep it WELL below $100,000 for our first rig.

We also love the Jayco Alantes (31L or 31V) which is really longer than I want but I'm not crazy about the shorter ones floorplans.

We've looked at ACE, Flair and FR3 and can see a HUGE difference in fit and finish between those and the Alante (and Newmar).

We've been scouring RVtrader looking at used but haven't found too much (OK... found a used Allegro Breeze that we both love! haha!)

We are mostly leaning toward an A for storage and because we have no need for the overcab bunk. (I don't even care for it being in the ones like ACE, Flair, Alante, etc. just added weight with no useful purpose for us!)

OH... and we both LOVE the Winnebago Prism. (Ya ya... I know: overcab bunk! haha)

SEE! ALL.OVER.THE.PLACE!


I think we're going to head out and look at some this weekend. It's been a few months since we've looked at any in person..... and it's hard to tell a lot from pictures!

[Mike and Cha]

If you are seriously considering used, I would go check out RV Ready in Temecula. He specializes in refurbishing used MH's and has some really nice MH's at a decent price. I am a buying new kind of guy, and as you can see a Newmar fan. We love our Newmar and wouldn't hesitate to buy another one. Give Tom Lindstrom of Tom Lindstrom RV Inc. a call. He is located in Moorpark, but will definitely be worth the drive. He has a Baystar that would fit into your budget and will beat Holland/Mike Thompson in price and after the sale service.

I personally don't care for either Mike Thompson's or Holland RV as I have not had good experiences at either one. Tom's shop is small, he is the owner and only person you will deal with when it comes to price or if you order one. He is a very honest ethical guy and will cut right to the chase when it comes to price. You will be very pleased with how he conducts business. I have referred at least 10 people to him, and all who bought Newmars, bought from Tom, and have let me know how much they appreciated dealing with him. Several of them have been from out of state too, so it's definitely worth the trip.

Good Luck, keep us posted, remember you get what you pay for and paying a little more on the front end will save you money and frustration down the road. If you go see Tom tell him I sent you( and I'm not related to him or don't get anything out of it).

[pink toaster]

Ya.... we wouldn't buy from Holland either! We decided after stopping there that if we did eventually decide on a Newmar that we'd find another dealership! Not a fan! (Although they are the ones that first showed us the BSS that I fell in love with!) I've read on here about Tom Lindstom and it all has been good!

Ideally we'd buy new, but I'm not opposed to used, IF it's the right one at the right price! So far we've been researching mainly new, mostly entry level with a few nicer ones (i.e. Bay Star Sport, used Tiffin) thrown in the mix. There have only been a few used that have popped up on RV trader that I'd consider.

I'll keep RV Ready in mind, as we'd be heading somewhere near that direction for our looking at some point!

[ByeTheWay]

Welcome to the Group!! This group works because of it’s vast knowledge.

We are Smarter than I

[Mike and Cha]

We looked used and eventually gave up as we couldn't find one that we really wanted or was kept in the kind of condition that we keep our stuff in. We are really glad we went new, and even happier that we went with Newmar. Don't listen to all the naysayers who say to buy used as they have all the bugs worked out, and you don't take a hit on the depreciation. First of all you can buy used and still have issues to deal with but no warranty to fall back on. If you buy a high end quality MH, you won't have all the bugs to work out like they state. And depreciation is way over rated and over stated by those who buy used, I guess to make them feel better. There are some good deals out there but they usually go quick. We have actually been offered as much as we paid for ours if we wanted to move up to a diesel pusher, with a good discount on the new one, But we love ours and have no plans to get another one right now.

We have had only a few adjustments needed that were done while we waited for the MH, and took it home the same day. Newmar puts the same attention to detail in all their MH's as they do the top of the line Diesel MH's they build. The fit and finish was much better than all the others we looked at, and has proven itself, as we have had no issues to deal with other than the few adjustments.

Tom has several Baystars in stock, just look on his website, I think he even has the model you are looking for. You can either email him or call him and he will give you a price over the phone/internet. You won't be disappointed, and will be pleasantly surprised how easy he makes it to buy a MH. We had absolutely NO buyers remorse buying from Tom and it was a very pleasant experience.

[Mike and Cha]

I forgot to mention that when looking at the MSRP prices on new MH's, you can pretty much depend on a 25% +/- discount off the MSRP, depending on what it has. This would put several that I've seen in Tom's stock within your price range. Some of the bigger dealers will go less on the discount only because they have a huge overhead to deal with. It really pays to do your research and shop around when buying MH's.

[Bob P.]

Good luck in your search and like Mike and Cha said "It really pays to do your research and shop around when buying MH's."

And welcome to the forum, I'm new too.