How many have bought sight unseen?

[Forkyfork]

I had a whole "my experience" story typed out.

Really what it really boils down to is the odds of you not completely screwing yourself over are pretty slim. Better odds getting a decent lottery scratch off. Lol

I called places, verified the info on the rig and put a deposit down. Highest was 1K typical deposit was $500. YMMV I drove 600+ miles to FL twice stayed in 3 hotels and bought food. It was part of the investment. All deposits were refundable. I drove at least 3 hours one way every other weekend looking at rigs.

While a dealer or seller may not be dishonest. They are rarely forthcoming about what needs to be done or things that technically work but need some investment for them to be working correctly. In my case I probably could have gotten away with sight unseen but lost my bargaining power of not having paid for it yet. Cash on the table for an older unit speaks loudly because most cant get financing on 13 yr old rigs.

The worst rigs i looked at were private sellers. But that is relative to location. So that isnt a way out either.

Heads up on newer used rigs. People dump them because they have so many unresolvable issues with things like slides windows leaking and stuff like that. Typically if you sell a new rig in the first years you lose thousands and are upside down. So why are they taking the loss.

I even looked at some prevost and mci conversions for fun and those needed some work.

[Wapa1]

I went up to Canada on a fishing trip. No phone or wifi for a week. When I got back to service had a message that my wife had bought a class A. Slightly used from a dealer. Flew to Socal and drove it home the following week. Lucky I guess, but no regrets.

[vsheetz]

I bought a coach at a distance. Bought it much like one would a house. Struck a deal and price with the seller and provided a deposit, sale conditional on inspections outcomes. Professional inspections (house and chassis) before I traveled. And my final acceptance inspection when I traveled. The profesdional inspections revealed a few items - some the seller corrected, others we renegotiated the price. I traveled - all was as expected. Finalized the sale and took possession.

[Sandy Swede]

Do you mean sending a non-refundable deposit on a coach you haven't seen and inspected? If so, then I ask you - how much can you afford to lose? If the offer to purchase is contingent in writing upon your satisfactory inspection (or your agent's) in your sole discretion, then you are asking an entirely different question. No to the first and maybe to the second. Personally, I have never sent money to purchase something exceeding $1k sight-unseen without the above conditions. As the great 20th Century philosopher Mister T said, "I pity the fool."

[Tobyravioli]

It seems as if we were lucky too. We have put almost 3,000 miles on it this month. No issues except our own ignorance. But we are learning fast
We did do research on why ours was sold so fast. Being from NJ we don't trust anyone. Lol. But again dealer was wonderful. All our issues were handled.

[wkenhall]

Please have it inspected by a professional. At a minimum plan to take a day inspecting, operating every system and even checking all the electrical outlets. You will be happier if you know everything works then plan to spend another $1,000 on problems

[Cover Dog]

We ordered "new" without ever seeing our coach model in person. Internet pics and videos were what we went off of. My wife has a hard time visualizing anything. In January, one month after we ordered, we were in Quartzite, AZ. and went to Mesa RV and they had one in stock.

Needless to say the wife was very pleased with our choice. 3 months later we picked up our coach.

[pplwizard]

Sight unseen new is a far different story from sight unseen used.

[FatChance]

After a lot of research, we found on RVTrader the coach we were looking for last September, a 2004 Newmar Mountain Aire 4016 400ISL/Freightliner with 89k miles, 1300 miles away in Louisiana. Learned a lot from the private seller and his extensive history of posting about it on a Newmar forum. Everything was positive, everything worked, it was used well, with full manuals and maintenance history. I drove down, got half way and turned back due to the flooding in Louisiana. A week later I set out again. The coach looked great and spent a day going through it, testing everything and getting to know the seller. We negotiated a price (settling on the final price that evening on my way home. I mailed a deposit. Once the title was available I forwarded the balance to his bank. A couple weeks later I flew down and spent the night in the coach and left for home, 1300 miles, my first time ever driving an RV, much less a 40' DP. We have been full-timing in it since. What I learned was to do your research, know exactly what you want and understand the importance of getting to know the seller which to me was as important as getting to know the coach. Other than buying 6 new tires on the way home (negotiated into the price) we have had no issues. While not sight unseen, I did invest in two and a half trips to Louisiana and closed the deal from long distance. No regrets about anything.

[Cover Dog]

Originally Posted by pplwizard

Sight unseen new is a far different story from sight unseen used.

Totally agree !

[Wright1]

Originally Posted by FatChance

After a lot of research, we found on RVTrader the coach we were looking for last September, a 2004 Newmar Mountain Aire 4016 400ISL/Freightliner with 89k miles, 1300 miles away in Louisiana. Learned a lot from the private seller and his extensive history of posting about it on a Newmar forum. Everything was positive, everything worked, it was used well, with full manuals and maintenance history. I drove down, got half way and turned back due to the flooding in Louisiana. A week later I set out again. The coach looked great and spent a day going through it, testing everything and getting to know the seller. We negotiated a price (settling on the final price that evening on my way home. I mailed a deposit. Once the title was available I forwarded the balance to his bank. A couple weeks later I flew down and spent the night in the coach and left for home, 1300 miles, my first time ever driving an RV, much less a 40' DP. We have been full-timing in it since. What I learned was to do your research, know exactly what you want and understand the importance of getting to know the seller which to me was as important as getting to know the coach. Other than buying 6 new tires on the way home (negotiated into the price) we have had no issues. While not sight unseen, I did invest in two and a half trips to Louisiana and closed the deal from long distance. No regrets about anything.

This sounds like what I am trying to do! Is try to find one from a private seller that basically getting out of RVing and hope to get someone that's honest.

[marjoa]

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

Hi ! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

I would never buy ANYTHING used sight unseen!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

X2!

[Sailor Mike]

I just brought home a repo'd 2006 Monaco LaPalma that I picked up at an online auction.
I don't regret it, but I will say there is no substitute for being there in person.
For one thing, you can't smell a picture, and as it turns out the previous "tenant" was a smoker and not very clean. To be fair, the pictures showed some of the dirt, but I wasn't prepared for the smell.
So, I have my work cut out for me. I think I got a good deal, but I have a long row to hoe.
I'll be looking to you guys for advise and assistance as this is my first Class A.

[awol50]

New, probably as long as you had personally seen the model previously.
Used? I doubt it.