Community Forums

crmears · 10-14-2012, 07:04 AM

Most of you have looked at the motor homes on Ebay and saw some deals that seem pretty incredible. Most of you also have thought, "No way am I gonna pay 30K for a rig that I have not seen." Here is a link to what I bought:

2003 Neptune Holiday Rambler Roadmaster Rail Monocoque Motorized Home in RVs & Campers | eBay Motors

The price was $28,500 for a 2003 Neptune with about 39k miles. Did I get an incredible deal or did I just throw away most of my savings? There is certainly a lot of risk involved.

I am wondering if there is anyone in the forum who recognizes the Neptune and knows anything about it. It is a copper/brown/white color. I will be picking it up from Upper Marlboro, MD and driving back to Branson, MO on about Oct. 20th. So when you pass me broken down on the side of I66 or I64 then you can blow your air horn and yell "You should have known better!"

Logic says that if it is such a good deal someone who was local and had inspected it should have bought it.

If there is enough interest in the forum I thought that I would post here as I go through the process of picking it up and driving back to Missouri.

Any suggestions or things to do or check before I leave would be appreciated.

Jerryrigger

rex · 10-14-2012, 07:14 AM

Jerry, you also need to start reading the info at this link on IRV2:

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f24/trail...ter-54838.html

go6car · 10-14-2012, 07:20 AM

Congrats on your new rig!

You definitely want to check about the known trailing arm issue. Here's a post post that has some detail in it for you.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f24/trail...ter-54838.html

I would ask the owner if anything has already been done there. If not, definitely get an independent party to take a look at that (and do a basic all around safety check) prior to you driving anywhere. Especially look at the age of the tires too by checking the dot code stamped on the side.

There's a 'Colton RV' sticker on the side too. Might be worth giving them a call too if they've done the maintenance work on this rig so you have a baseline, in addition to what the seller may/may not have for you.

Any little stuff you can fix over time. The big stuff you want to make sure is OK so that you are safe.

Best of luck to you!

calhyatt · 10-14-2012, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crmears

Most of you have looked at the motor homes on Ebay and saw some deals that seem pretty incredible. Most of you also have thought, "No way am I gonna pay 30K for a rig that I have not seen." Here is a link to what I bought:

2003 Neptune Holiday Rambler Roadmaster Rail Monocoque Motorized Home in RVs & Campers | eBay Motors

The price was $28,500 for a 2003 Neptune with about 39k miles. Did I get an incredible deal or did I just throw away most of my savings? There is certainly a lot of risk involved.

I am wondering if there is anyone in the forum who recognizes the Neptune and knows anything about it. It is a copper/brown/white color. I will be picking it up from Upper Marlboro, MD and driving back to Branson, MO on about Oct. 20th. So when you pass me broken down on the side of I66 or I64 then you can blow your air horn and yell "You should have known better!"

Logic says that if it is such a good deal someone who was local and had inspected it should have bought it.

If there is enough interest in the forum I thought that I would post here as I go through the process of picking it up and driving back to Missouri.

Any suggestions or things to do or check before I leave would be appreciated.

Jerryrigger

Looks really nice. Have a great time. What kind of brakes are on your new unit. Looked like a regular brake pedal installed. Just wondering..

Randy1252 · 10-14-2012, 07:49 AM

I bought my MH on Ebay, sight unseen, too. I got a great deal and am perfectly satisfied with mine. I picked up mine in MD and got within 90 miles of home before I lost all the belts. The prev. owner had installed the belts and didn't get them tight enough. Right now I'm having the manifolds replaced, but it's 24 years old. I still think I got a great MH at a great price.

datrbone8 · 10-14-2012, 07:51 AM

We did the same thing a few months back. Bought a 98 Newmar DS on Ebay in Wisconsin. I flew up there and drove it home (2,200 miles). It was just as represented with no surprises. I did replace 2 tires and have oil & filters changed before leaving. I used the opportunity as a 10 day minivacation. Trip (my first time in Class A) was amazing and we've been enjoying the thing since.

We felt comfortable based upon the sellers feedback and his willingness to help us along the way. For the price you paid you probably have room to take care of any small issues that may arise

Your unit looks real nice.Good luck and enjoy

MRBB · 10-14-2012, 08:08 AM

I think ya stole it! Congrads. Welcome to the board.

crmears · 10-14-2012, 04:03 PM

I am aware of the trailing arm issues. Thanks for the reminder
jr

crmears · 10-14-2012, 04:34 PM

I know about the trailing arm problems, but thanks for mentioning it.
The brake pedal and accelerator pedal are factory on Monaco's and HR's of these years. At least the 4 that I have seen. I do not like them but they can be adjusted in and out with an electric switch.

The things that I did not mention is that I bought it from a repo company who knows almost nothing about it. They know that they drove it 30 miles and it seems to be pretty nice. But of course they admitted that they do not know much about motorhomes. The repo company is selling it for a Credit Union, or at least that is what they say.

Over the past 10 years I have bought 6 motor homes from online sources. Once from an owner and 5 times from repo or dealers. I have learned that things are seldom as they seem. Also, almost everyone misrepresents their rig. The dealers don't know their units very well and claim that everything works fine because they don't know anything different.

When a dealer says he has not seen any water leaks he means that he has not actually seen any water dripping. The stain on the headliner and the rotten yellow carpet do not meet his definition of "seeing a water leak."

A dealer once told me that the reason that the fuel gauge showed full was that he had just filled it up for me as a free bonus. Nice guy I thought. The fuel gauge was broken and I almost ran out of fuel before I stopped to fill it up about 100 miles later. Algae in diesel can cause some Monaco gauges to read full regardless of amount of fuel.

I believe that owners are much better than dealers in representing their rigs. Some owners are incredibly helpful and honest.

Thanks for your comments.
jr

LandKinaMoho · 10-14-2012, 09:38 PM

Well done! Unless the engine falls of its a steal of a deal. Keep us all posted by pictures of how you fare for the next 6 months. I flew back east to get mine drove it 3k back to Seattle. A few minor typicals , but what does one want. Life is interesting on the edge. Good for you

)

B Bob · 10-14-2012, 10:03 PM

If it has 124,000 miles on it are you OK with that? If yes, then you are fine. I have bought two motor homes used in the last 8 years. Both times the way you could tell when the seller was lying was when he was moving his mouth. Both times the sellers lied through their teeth about most everything they said.

So the title part of it with different miles on it and different States would have been a no go for me from the get go. Plus. I have been in the used machine business (printing equipment) and I can NEVER understand why anyone pays lots of money (like 30 grand) for something mechanical and does not inspect. When you inspect you get far fewer surprises.

I know what I have said is harsh but likely true.

Bruce C · 10-15-2012, 04:28 AM

Good luck with it and I hope it is as good as you hoped it would be. safe trouble free travels.

Steve N Sal · 10-15-2012, 04:40 AM

Looks like a great coach. Hope you really enjoy it. Be safe and Happy Motoring!!!

crmears · 10-15-2012, 06:20 AM

The odometer issue is not of concern to me. Dealers will lie often but they rarely would sign a false federal odometer statement. It is too easy to prove and there is harsh punishment. They also put the info in their ebay ad. So there is a huge record that they claimed the correct mileage to be 39K. Lastly, most vehicles keep the correct mileage stored in the engine control module. So the reading on the odometer is just a display of what the computer has stored in its memory. The ecm could have been changed but that would be easy to determine. Some (maybe almost all) vehicles have the VIN also stored in the ECM.

My greatest concern is that it was towed without pulling the driveshaft and the tranny is damaged. The fuel will likely be stale, maybe with algae also. Rodent damage, ruptured water heater, dry rotted tires, leaky roof ruined all the carpets, terrible rust from the salt. I should stop this train of thought before I go into panic mode.....

jr

ps So far I only put down a 2500 deposit, so I will get to inspect before I give the full payment. He stated that he would refund the deposit if the the engine and transmission did not run out to suit me. Ebay buyer protection offers some limited protection on the transaction to include titles and some other things.