Community Forums

tuffr2 · 11-29-2012, 06:44 PM

I went from central Ohio to the Tampa show. Stayed in Florida until I found a unit. Then in the spring brought it to Ohio. It was nice to stay in Florida over the winter months. Wow - the selection around the Tampa area.

CrazyKnight · 12-21-2012, 10:29 PM

1500 miles. Two trips. One weekend to look over, inspect,test drive, paperwork. One long weekend to drive it home. Saved a bunch. 18 months "old" and for over $50K less that the best price new, worth all the effort and then some. We will spend the $50K...TRAVELING !!!

Craig_R · 12-21-2012, 10:40 PM

When we were shopping for ours we were living in MA. We looked all over the northeast but everything we looked at was well used (I'm being polite here). We finally located our Beaver in the Dallas area.

I believe that when you are going to purchase something that has a 6 digit price tag, you can afford to travel a couple of thousand miles for the best deal you can find. But that's me. Your mileage may vary, as the saying goes.

distaff · 12-22-2012, 04:47 PM

After finding a suitable coach in private hands online, and using email and phone to establish that a deal could be made in our respective price ranges, I was in NYC on business so I hopped on a plane to Ft. Lauderdale, stayed overnight at a hotel, and rented a car to go and see the coach. It passed muster, so I made a deal, wrote up a sale agreement (there were a few complicating details on their side), had a law firm run a background check on the seller and review the sale agreement (you need to make sure you don't run afoul of state laws), and flew home to Calgary.

As part of the deal the seller agreed to deliver the coach at the Sweetgrass boarder crossing on the Alberta/Montana border. It all went off with only a few hitches.

How far should you go, well Calgary to Ft. Lauderdale is near to 3,000 miles. The right coach is unlikely to be next door, and these things are expensive.

Quinlan1112 · 12-22-2012, 04:57 PM

We flew a friend 850 miles to look over the Safari Ivory and drive it back if it passed his inspection. We now own it and glad we do !!

luvmydolphin · 12-23-2012, 02:15 AM

Travelled from Winnipeg Manitoba to Greenville South Carolina (about 2300 miles) to pick her up and then drove her back. Never too far when you find the right one.

srh · 12-23-2012, 05:05 AM

Bought a coach 2200 mi away with a toad on eBay, flew there w/DW and two kids. We had a few problems during the trip, but overall, it worked out nicely - loved the coach from a private party. Will do it again with some tweaks.

Iangolf · 12-23-2012, 07:42 AM

Bought our new to us in VA (1,400 miles away). To be fair we were looking for a particular year and model so you had to travel to find what you were looking for. We live outside of Houston, TX and I looked at units in FL, PA, TX, and NJ. Found ours in VA at a dealer this past March. One owner with less than 7,000 miles (2008 Win 35J).

4tfamily · 12-26-2012, 05:11 PM

I just posted this in the general section and then remembered this thread. Hope it's okay to repost here!

For those of you who have bought long distance, particularly form private sellers, how did you go about inspections, license plates, insurance, payment to seller, etc.? We're flying 1800 miles to look at and hopefully purchase a coach, and are heading straight back home (hopefully in our new to us rv) so we can start packing for our x country trip.

We're trying to figure out the logistics of doing this in the most efficient manner. Since it's not a dealer, there's a bit more to it. If the owner doesn't have the title (can't remember right now whether he does or not, as we spoke with several different owners

) how do we work that all out?

We'd like to spend as little time there as possible, though the owner promised to spend as much time as we liked showing us through the coach.

Thanks!

daveshan · 12-26-2012, 05:25 PM

Well, every case will have some different situations but what I did was carry on extensive email/phone discussions coming to an agreed on price based on satisfactory inspection.

The PO had the cash to pay off the loan so he paid the bank and got the title. I flew back and inspected the coach, we made some adjustments to price and put new tires on it, went to a branch of my bank and got him a certified check to take to his bank.

We then went to the local DMV and got his signature on the title notarized and a temp' driving permit. Getting the title notarized turned out to be vital as Colorado would NOT have let me transfer it without it.

Drove home, had the VIN verified and paid taxes and registration then enjoyed the coach.

EDIT: I had the VIN so I got insurance before I left with the understanding with my co (AAA) that I could cancel if the deal fell through. I also got a CoachNet policy just in case I had issues on the way home.

4tfamily · 12-26-2012, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveshan

We then went to the local DMV and got his signature on the title notarized and a temp' driving permit. Getting the title notarized turned out to be vital as Colorado would NOT have let me transfer it without it.

Temporary driving permit? Same as temporary plates? So the temp plates come from the state you bought it in rather than the state you're registering in?

daveshan · 12-26-2012, 05:36 PM

Yep, 30 day paper plate issued by Pennsylvania for the drive home.

EDIT: Some states let the plate go with the coach, not PA apparently, CO will give you the option of keeping or letting the plates go but I think you still need to transfer the title here and get a permit to absolve the PO of any liability.

distaff · 12-27-2012, 02:07 PM

In any private sale with a lot at stake there are a couple of things you need to make sure of:

Clear title - the owners own the vehicle outright without any leans
That the people you are dealing with are actually the owners
What is required to register the vehicle where you live
What taxes or fees must be paid at each end
When is ownership transferred to you and what do you have to do to have insurance coverage at that point
Is it insured up to the point of transfer.

Not that hard to find out usually. Call the state where you will register the vehicle or go on their website and find out what is needed to register the vehicle and what fees are due when registering. In some jurisdictions this can be a shocker. Call the state where it is being sold and ask what fees are due when the vehicle is sold and who is responsible, also ask how to determine if the vehicle has a lean against it. In most jurisdictions a bank or finance firm must register a lean on title.

Require ID from the sellers, and have them checked out. I hired a law firm in their town to look into the sellers. Cost a few hundred bucks. While you are at it, get a bill of sale written up and a sales agreement by the lawyer. Again a few hundred bucks but it spells out some things like the fact that they are selling you the unit free and clear, and any representations they have made (never in an accident, new this or that, what ever you feel is critical).

Last, make sure you have insurance coverage in place before and up to the transfer (theirs) and after (yours). if you have put down a deposit and the coach burns down before you close, you want to have the assurance that you can get the deposit back.

If you are buying a unit for a small price you may not care, but if you are forking over $100,000 or more, it pays to informed.