Beautiful Coach - No Service Records!

[tmw188]

You missed a nice one at Parkway RV Center in Ringgold GA I just watched the video.
2001 American Eagle

https://youtu.be/_oHlXUZolk0

[irishguy]

Not a bad one for sure. Just a tad too far from western Canada.

[Fridge Defend]

Originally Posted by tmw188

Norcold refrigerator is usually a under performer to begin with especially if it’s original, has a bad history on safety if it’s a 1200 model and with it being in a slide it will probably be more of a poor performer. I would ask to have it on and cold when you go look at it.

Good advice, but we do have a solution for the safety and performance issues. I was told by an RV inspector that refrigerators are one of the things that most often is defective when folks purchase a used RV. Your RV appears to have low miles on it, so this may not be an issue?

[tmw188]

Originally Posted by irishguy

Not a bad one for sure. Just a tad too far from western Canada.

True I didn’t remember that, however it does give you a price point perhaps.

[irishguy]

Well we looked at the 2002 Eagle today. It was nice I guess but definitely not
$97,500 Canadian nice, by any stretch. It has very obvious wear, tear and aging on the inside. The exterior is pretty good and has no clear coat peeling but has some big long scratches from end to end, probably from trees. Overall it was a bit of disappointment. The owner said the tires were installed in 2021 but the date stamp shows them manufactured 52/18. They must have sat in a warehouse for a few years.
There are no service records for its 20 year history.
They are now advertising it online at $117,300 Canadian.

Tmw188 you were suspect of the 9000 miles. I have to say I am as well. I guess it could have sat there and been lived in but I was expecting it to be in better shape.
One thing though is the odometer is not in the speedo. It is a separate meter on the dash. I wonder if those dash meters can simply be changed out? It sure looks like it can.

Even with the current diesel prices there aren't scads of used motorhomes for sale in Western Canada. There are a ton of used travel trailers for sale though. Anyone predicting a big sell off of DP's this year?

[tmw188]

Originally Posted by irishguy

Well we looked at the 2002 Eagle today. It was nice I guess but definitely not

$97,500 Canadian nice, by any stretch. It has very obvious wear, tear and aging on the inside. The exterior is pretty good and has no clear coat peeling but has some big long scratches from end to end, probably from trees. Overall it was a bit of disappointment. The owner said the tires were installed in 2021 but the date stamp shows them manufactured 52/18. They must have sat in a warehouse for a few years.

There are no service records for its 20 year history.

They are now advertising it online at $117,300 Canadian.



Tmw188 you were suspect of the 9000 miles. I have to say I am as well. I guess it could have sat there and been lived in but I was expecting it to be in better shape.

One thing though is the odometer is not in the speedo. It is a separate meter on the dash. I wonder if those dash meters can simply be changed out? It sure looks like it can.



Even with the current diesel prices there aren't scads of used motorhomes for sale in Western Canada. There are a ton of used travel trailers for sale though. Anyone predicting a big sell off of DP's this year?

Don’t like the odometer situation at all? I would keep looking and yes I think there could be a sell off of DP’s maybe. I bet when the snowbirds get close to there cancellation window on heading south they may think about selling? I wish I was ready to sell because I think you would like it.

[irishguy]

Tmw188,
the odometer thing is bothersome. We won't be purchasing it unless they were to come way way down on their bottom line price. I can't see that happening. Even then that odometer issue, geeze. Too bad there's no way to verify the miles. The coach is sitting on a new concrete pad next to their house. I didn't see a drop of fluid anywhere on that pad. That's a plus.

You're lucky to have your Windsor. Sure wish we still had ours.

[imkwuzn]

Originally Posted by irishguy

Well we looked at the 2002 Eagle today. It was nice I guess but definitely not
$97,500 Canadian nice, by any stretch. It has very obvious wear, tear and aging on the inside. The exterior is pretty good and has no clear coat peeling but has some big long scratches from end to end, probably from trees. Overall it was a bit of disappointment. The owner said the tires were installed in 2021 but the date stamp shows them manufactured 52/18. They must have sat in a warehouse for a few years.
There are no service records for its 20 year history.
They are now advertising it online at $117,300 Canadian.

Tmw188 you were suspect of the 9000 miles. I have to say I am as well. I guess it could have sat there and been lived in but I was expecting it to be in better shape.
One thing though is the odometer is not in the speedo. It is a separate meter on the dash. I wonder if those dash meters can simply be changed out? It sure looks like it can.

Even with the current diesel prices there aren't scads of used motorhomes for sale in Western Canada. There are a ton of used travel trailers for sale though. Anyone predicting a big sell off of DP's this year?

This is why I personally would never purchase an RV, car or boat without seeing it in person first. Precisely why I flew to AZ, rented a car and stayed the night in a hotel before purchasing my current Endeavor from an RV dealer even though he sent me 100 photos and a full video walkthrough. Some things you just need to see for yourself.

Sorry it didn’t work out as you had hoped. I’m sure you’ll find the right one with some time and patience.

BTW, you should be able to run a Carfax on the VIN and see if there any service or mileage records. I asked the dealer to do that for mine and it verified routine service and a single owner even though there were no service records included with all the factory manuals.

That helped me make the decision to pull the trigger.

Best of luck.

[fuelish]

On the first Beaver you mentioned, for future reference, I'm not scared away from no service records. It is generally easy to tell if an owner keeps up on their equipment.

I would look sideways at the second owner who didn't keep records for 2 years. That gives me pause.

I agree with you on the older rig with 9,000 miles. Sitting around that much is really, really hard on the drivetrain. Troubles often come from unexpected sources.

I'm not the biggest fan of oil samples, one oil sample is of limited value and an argument can be made that 2 are even less useful if pulled by different people. Trend lines are where the power of oil samples lie and one sample isn't a trend and two people will pull oil from different strata. Blowby or slobber is a much better indicator of engine health.

If you find a screaming deal and can't find someone to go with you. A quick and surprisingly accurate way to assess an engine. Is to observe a cold start. Make sure it is cold as in not started for over 12 hours. If it is at all warm walk away until the next day.

Finally if you are buying an old RV expect things to break and not work from the git go. It is true of new RVs also. Just read the threads on irv2 to see the truth in that. So plan to have fun fixing them.

Happy Granfatherhood

Mike

[jacwjames]

If you have a Silverleaf VMSpc you can verify the odometer reading. Mine displays my miles, which is different then the speedo odometer, slightly more as they move the coach chassis without the dash, I think mine has ~2oo more miles.

If I was really in doubt about engine I would take it to a Cummins shop and scan the ECM for faults etc. After I bought mine the first place I took to was the Cummins shop of a service and inspection. They read the ECM and gave me a CD and printed copy of the setpoints and fault history.

[irishguy]

Mike, good info for sure. I hear ya about the constant fixing. Been down the road for years with two previous coaches.
I looked at a 2005 43' Monaco Executive. The owners are an older couple that have been full-timing in it for 7 years. They only travel with it twice per year from point A (summer site) to point B (winter site) and back. I asked about servicing and he said he has only needed to service the engine and chassis twice in 7 years as he goes by mileage not time. Oh man.

As far the mileage on the Eagle, I'm thinking it has 90,000 miles on it. I just looked at a 2000 Monaco Signature at a dealership with the same dash mounted odometer. The new salesman told me the Sig only has 7858 miles. Once again I questioned that accuracy.
Another salesman said the meter is actually reading 78583 miles.
Here's the picture of the odometer meter which shows why there can be some confusion.

The current owner of the Eagle bought it a year ago on the belief it only had less than 9000 miles. Ouch.

[darnold9999]

Originally Posted by fuelish

If you find a screaming deal and can't find someone to go with you. A quick and surprisingly accurate way to assess an engine. Is to observe a cold start. Make sure it is cold as in not started for over 12 hours. If it is at all warm walk away until the next day.

Really good advice. If I am looking at a diesel anything, I tell the seller when I am coming to see it and that I want the engine cold when I get there. If it is warm - walk away - possibly come back if there is a good reason but otherwise no. Stand by the exhaust and have someone start the engine. Color and quantity of smoke and sound are your diagnostic tools. As you say you can tell quite a bit about the condition of an engine this way.

[irishguy]

Would anyone consider a really nice 2003 Holiday Rambler 45' Navigator - 82,000 miles - 2 year old tires - $70,000 US/$90,000 Can?

This is here in Canada. The owner snowbirds the winters dry camping/boondocking in the desert.

Two big issues:
Systemic clear coat peeling
20,000 hrs on the generator

Clear coat repair $30,000 or more?
New generator - $15,000 or more?

[tmw188]

I couldn’t get pass the clear coat issues.