Buying Newmar

[Alx]

Hi all, we sold our Monaco MH (gas) last September and have missed our RV since :( We have now been looking at a Newmar Baystar 3012 model, 2013 and so far it looks really good but we are wondering if Newmar owners could share some thoughts/information that we might be looking for or asking the dealership etc. From what we have heard so far and read, the Newmar is an upper end in the Class A status. It has 40,000 miles on it with new tires added, also a Banks exhaust system which we were told would increase power/gas mileage and is quite a value???

Thanks for any assistance here folks!

Alex and Cyndi

[Mike and Cha]

Newmar makes a great MH and if we were ever to buy another it would be a Newmar. The only thing I would consider is looking at the Canyon Star, or a little newer Baystar. That year Baystar came with the smaller 19.5 tires. When we were buying that is one of the reasons we went with the Canyon Star, it was on a bigger chassis, with the 22.5 tires, had more CCC, and seemed to ride much better. I think in 2015 they started using a larger chassis on the Baystar, with the 22.5 tires.

The Baystars have some really nice floorplans, many which would have worked for us, but I'm really happy that we went with the Canyon Star and bigger chassis.

[knightstorm]

If you can find a 2016 model or later it will have the 6 speed transmission as well.

[Renipladlo]

When we went looking, we looked at Winnebago, and Newmar. Won't consider any tiffin product, each one we went into had at least 5 defects. Stay away from THOR, good chassis, bad construction. We looked at Newmar, and pulled out drawers, looked under things, opened all the outside storage/access doors and everything was CLEAN, no left over construction debris or anything, could find no obvious defects. One salesman (who will remain unnamed) said on average, the THOR comes in with as many as 95 defects, and the Newmar may have as many as 5. Vast difference. Winnebago makes a good MH, but they don't have enough towing capacity in the small diesels, so we went to Newmar once we found out they have shorter rear engine models. Tried several gas engine coaches, the engine noise drove the better half out the door, she said if she had to listen to that, she would stay home. Nuff Said.

[Alx]

Thanks so much for the replies to our enquirers. Test drove today and admit the larger tires would be nice although it was pretty sweet, not a lot of sway which was quite apparent in comparison to our older one. There are just a couple things that don’t feel quite right; the storage compartments for water and sewer had limited access as the doors swing up but because they are located under the slide they don’t lift all the way up so it makes for a bit of a challenge doing hook ups. Is this a common placement for the Newmar? loved the easy access of our Monaco as the doors swung out, were large and I could access everything quite easily. The other item were the recliners, loved that there wasn’t a little couch but very comfy wall-away recliners but no seat belts. Actually this unit only sleeps 2 which is fine for us but should we think about resale?

Overall, we agree with Newmar owners..... top notch construction and attention to detail.

[hewebb]

We shopped for almost a year before we made a purchase. My criteria changed during the search. We ended up with a longer coach with a diesel pusher engine. I am no expert but found that the Newmar seems to have a better ride than most. The longer ones ride better. I believe there is less movement in wind and passing trucks. The diesel pusher is more comfortable driving and a lot quieter. The construction seems to be a step above most. We had a limited budget so ended up with an older coach to get the Newmar DP. So far I am glad.
Good luck shopping.

[lonfu]

I have both, Newmar and Itasca. The engineering on the newmar leaves a bit to be desired. I seem to run into these "I can't believe they did that like that" moments more with the Newmar than the Itasca.... Finish, I believe is what you are talking about. I"d say the two of them are about the same. Expect to have problems to take care of on both brands. Both companies have excellent post manufacture inspections but moho's are very complicated machines so not every single one gets caught. The only way to find them is to use the coach. Like a boat, the maiden voyage is always a "find the problems" trip. No matter how many times you walk through a coach, you will not find all the problems until you actually use it. My Newmar has window snakes, my Itasca doesn't. My Newmar has uninsulated pipes in the basement, my Itasca runs their pipes through the floor. My Newmar has a huge propane tank, my Itasca less than 1/2 the size. Both companies use cheap drawer slides.... I can go on and on about this stuff.... So, my suggestion is for you to find a floor plan that you like and get started on your "customization" to meet your "wants". Assembly line moho's are like all products, if you want perfect buy a Provost, but you pay a million dollars for it.....

Depreciation???? hahahaha..... are you kidding??? expect 40% the first year and 10% per year until you hit 15%, then the price stablizes..... Sheeple always feel safer buying from a dealer because of the catastrophic failure issue....Think about it, a one year warranty on a machine that should last 50 years????

Last part of advice.... If you can't do the work on your moho yourself, buy the best and longest coverage extended warranty that you can afford. You will have to fix it... The question is "who" will pay for the repairs..... Just because it is new, doesn't mean it won't need to be repaired...

Good luck..

[Mike and Cha]

Alx…..I'm not sure what the above poster is talking about or what year MH's he is referring to, but when we were looking, to us the Newmars had an obvious quality above the gas MH's in the similar price point. We have not had any of the issues he is referring to nor does ours have anything I would consider cheap in the cabinetry ect. We have used ours for 5 years now and everything works as well as the day we bought it.

We have had two minor issues with our MH, both which were fixed at our dealership while we waited for the MH. One was after the warranty was up, at no cost to us. It has never had to have been left at the dealership for repairs, and really had very few minor "kinks" to work out. It is best if you are able to fix things yourself as being what it is things will wear/break over time, but nothing has happened that wasn't a quick fix, or something I couldn't easily do myself.

In my opinion/experience the depreciation is over stated, in fact just last year I was offered about $15,000 less than what I paid for it new. When I bought the MH new, I actually paid less than a few used ones that had the same equipment(or less) than I had seen at other RV sales lots. Any MH will depreciate, but you are not buying it as an Money investment, but an Investment in your lifestyle. I think that when people quote depreciation numbers they are either doing it off the high end/high priced MH's, or off the original MSRP. When you buy new you can usually negotiate a 25-30% discount off MSRP, so you can't count that as part of the depreciation. Depreciation is also going to factor in what you actually paid for it, the economy when you sell, what the new ones are selling for, and importantly how well you maintain the MH. Also if you buy a sought after floorplan that will factor in.


As to the bay doors, I know the Canyon Star is a little taller than the Baystar which gives you more headroom inside the MH and a little bigger storage bays. All my storage bay doors open out, like what you are looking for. I'm not sure but I think that may be something they changed on the newer Baystars, along with the bigger tires. So I would look at some of the newer Baystars before you make a decision, if the storage bay doors are an issue.

Good luck in your search, I would look at some newer ones before you make your final decision, so you get what you really want. Find the floorplan that works best for you in your price range. It's been my experience(at least with our year model) that the Newmar quality hasn't disappointed me. We have heard many horror stories from fellow campers who bought other brands to save a few dollars, but not any from people who have bought a Newmar. There may be some that have stories to tell as there is always the exception, but in our experience it has not been the norm. Good Luck

[dmholt]

We bought a 2012 Bay Star 2901 about a year ago. It's about 30' long and has the smaller 19.5" tires. So far, I have found the handling to be OK, but I've never driven a MH with the larger tires, so I don't have anything to compare it with. I did do the cheap handling fix and had the front end aligned, and both of those helped the handling. Then I installed a Roadmaster Steering Stabilizer, and that helped some more. Now it's pretty comfortable driving on most roads, and I don't get pushed around too much when big trucks pass me.

As far as access to the wet and electrical bays are concerned, our bay doors open fully because our bedroom slide is on the opposite (passenger) side, so you might look for that design in whatever you purchase. I'm sure a newer coach or a Canyon Star would be nice, but I'm really quite happy with my "old" Bay Star.

[MikeD1]

Our 2017 Baystar has the 22.5 wheels and side opening bay doors. I think the access is quite good overall, even under the full wall slide . . . gotta be a little careful, easy to wack your head under there if not paying attention.

We bought it new and between the Newmar factory and Freedom RV in Tucson got all the 1st year warranty stuff taken care of very well. We love the layout, comfort, quality, looks. The interior feels more like a quality little condo vs. most RVs that just seem cheap. We bought it with the plan that we'd be living in it approx. 1/2 the year and did that for a year very comfortably. A big change in our life means it's up for sale, but darn! I doubt I would ever want a MH from a different manufacturer.

[Dan McMartin]

You can't go wrong with a Newmar. We've had ours for about 16 months. We love it. We live full time and as was said above, it doesn't feel like your typical gas motorhome. We call ours a mini Dutch Star.

We are on a 24k chassis (an upgrade from 22K) and 22.5 inch tires. I often drive with one hand. I was afraid after hearing all the horror stories but ours drives like a dream.

As far as used, can't much speak to that. However, make them put in new, off the shelf batteries, golf cart batteries preferably, and as part of the deal. I doubt most dealers keep their used inventory's batteries charged up and they'll likely be dead.

[Alx]

Thanks again everyone, love the conversations and information, it is so helpful. We are very impressed with the Newmar. Looked at a 2011 today with 4500 miles on it and is like brand new. One thing we have noticed with the slides on the 2 we looked as is how slow they are when bringing them in, is there a reason for this?
Cyndi

[scbwr]

We've had our 2012 Bay Star 3302 for almost a year now and we love it. So, re some of your points:
1. Storage bay doors: The doors located under the slideouts are a bit of a pain. But, I've pretty much organized my storage so the stuff I use while set up are in the compartments not under slideouts. Swing out doors would be nice....but they can also be blocked by fixed objects (water faucet, power post, etc.).
2. If I could have found a Canyon Star for close to the same price, I would have liked having the larger tires and higher cargo capacity. But, we are fine with the Bay Star and are starting to get more aggressive with the "get rid of it if you haven't used it" approach to what we carry.
3. My rig came with the Summo Springs and rear track bar. I added a 5 Star Tune and that really improved how the transmission handles in tow haul mode. One of the most important things I learned was to use tow haul mode and that a tap on the brake pedal will result in another down shift.
4. I'm about to have a Roadmaster steering stabilizer installed. The rig handles pretty well, especially after replacing the original tires, adjusting tire pressure and having the front end aligned. But, I'm hoping the stabilizer will reduce semi push and handling when you have to edge over to the shoulder.
5. Slide out operation is slow....but you have to look at the design of it. To me, it's really well built and I haven't read of slide out problems on the Newmar gas motorhomes.
6. The Bay Star is well insulated. Our rig stays warm and toasty in cold temps and if you use the LP furnace, the water tank and lines stay above freezing.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Newmar. And, their service dept. is very helpful if you have questions.

Good luck in your search and I hope you're a happy Newmar owner soon!

[StephNHarper]

We are awaiting the delivery of our first RV and we decided on the 2019 Bay Star 3226. We spent over a year looking at multiple brands and designs and layouts and the Newmar quality and comfort was a big step above all the others. I tried to be consistent and give each model a fair shot but when it came time to actually look at the models we preferred, the decision was super easy. We wanted a king size bed, 22.5 tires, outdoor entertainment, and a few other items. We have also been very satisfied with the specials and ordering process. I appreciate their thoroughness with details and believe they want their customers to be exceptionally satisfied. We will confirm the final process after pickup but I am positive that process will be amazing too.