Used Class C Puchasing Dilemma

[crey0517]

Greetings from the Texas – I’m a few months away from retiring from the Coast Guard. I've my fill of boats and cutters for a while so I thought I would try shoving off in a land yacht for a change. We're looking at a 2005 Jayco Grey Hawk with 22K miles. Owner asking around $39K for unit and is very firm with the price. Genset has approx. 700 hours, new tires, runs/drives well, no rust, no mechanical leaks, no water leaks (plumbing or coach body) and maintenance records indicate that unit was mechanically well cared for. Here is the kicker – owner had children and this thing is filthy inside; seats are worn through in several places (but not worn out per say), upholstery has magic marker stains from the kids playing, blinds are stained & dirty with a couple actually torn, carpet is filthy – the interior is not completely shot – just not what I expected from the photos I first saw. Also, there is a light scratch down the driver side along the slide-out – not dented – just a trade of paint with some bare fiberglass/aluminum showing down the length of the scratch. Original home theater system has been removed (wiring and speakers remain) but the remaining items contained in the “Customer Value Package" remaining aboard and in good working condition.

We really like the floor plan, the fact that most of the extras are still aboard and how well it drives, but the scratch and condition of the interior make us pause; are we expecting too much from an almost 7 year old coach or is it worth the price along with the elbow grease for cleaning? FYI - we have been looking for a year and this is the first thing that has really caught our eye. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[bluepill]

If the price reflects a decent discount (I'm thinking the area of $6-10K, based on your description) from what it would sell for without the defects, then why not? Just like any "fixer-upper" purchase, you save up front and then can invest the savings in repairs later. You can save more if you do it yourself.

In 2006 I bought an SUV that had kid damage to the interior and some scratches to the exterior. It was less than a year old with 15K miles on it, and we paid 9K less than the owner paid for it new. Cleaner and shampoo took care of the interior mess, and color match wax twice a year covers the exterior scratches. I'm happy to have the money in my pocket.

[born free 28]

I just did a very quick google search for a 2005 Jayco Greyhawk and pulled up several. Since you didnt mention the specific size you are looking at, I couldnt get exact comparisons.
My thoughts would be either to get an additional discount to cover the cost of cleaning/replacing what is necessary or walk away.
Gen hours are a little high, so obviously they spent quite a bit of time camping in it rather than driving.
With winter coming up there should be more units coming on the market between now and spring. Since you know the floor plan you like now and you havent retired yet, I would concentrate on finding one like that in better condition, even possibly at a better price, or a later model year.
It looks like those units sold in mid to high $ 70's when new so I would think you should be able to do better than that price wise.
I still think this is a buyer's market and you should be able to do better.
Good luck (and thanks for your service to our country!)
John

[Mr_D]

I think I'd keep looking, too much wear for that price. Was it a rental unit earlier in it's life?

[milasman]

Keep looking, better deals and nicer units out there.

[Arch Hoagland]

Keep looking.

There are a lot of very clean RV's out there.

Don't limit yourself with one brand/model.

[crey0517]

Model is a 31SS. I know a little about a lot but nothing about RV's; the learning curve is steep. Thanks for all the great advice!

[mikell]

New they seem like a nice unit but rather expensive. If your not living in it you can get another brand with the same basic layout for 1/2 the price

[born free 28]

Hi Chuck
I just saw your model on RVT.com for sale in Dallas. Its a 2007 w/ 7,000miles and sounds like its in like new condition.
Asking 50,000 , but price is "negotiable".
I bet if you take your time and shop around you can do much better than the 2005 you are looking at.
Good luck.
John

[Tom-NC]

Hi,

Keep shopping !

[JBwills]

When my wife and I started looking for a RV for her retirement we started by looking at class Cs thinking they would be a better buy but found out the class As were not only well within our budget gut were also competitively priced with the class Cs. For a couple of Thousand more I found a 1999 ft DP with 50K miles and less hours on generator then you reported by looking around. You have time you don't need to buy today so take your time and you will find the right unit for your needs.

[jimmyjnr]

I found that class c , because they have more beds , generally had more interior wear .
I think you could do better , also think you should checkout class A

[tacomaker]

I just bought a 2006 with 13,000 miles and interior is in perfect shape. Couple of scratches on the sides where the guy found the side of his shed and the pump out station but aren't too bad. I think you should keep looking or get him down another 3 or 4k to cover all the repairs you need to do.

[jimmyjnr]

Offer 30k and leave him to think it over whilst you go look at other units . It's not easy to sell an RV with trashed interior .