Placed my offer, now we wait.......

[Doug427]

We agreed on a price and now we go to inspection. I went a bit higher than I wanted to, but he agreed to throw in a Roadmaster Falcon tow bar and a complete BrakeBuddy system. All in all I'm ok with this deal, and I think he is too so it's good all around. Now we'll see if the inspection throws up any red flags.

[BigSkyGuy37]

Originally Posted by Doug427

We agreed on a price and now we go to inspection. I went a bit higher than I wanted to, but he agreed to throw in a Roadmaster Falcon tow bar and a complete BrakeBuddy system. All in all I'm ok with this deal, and I think he is too so it's good all around. Now we'll see if the inspection throws up any red flags.

WOOHOO!!!

I hope it all works out for you!

[Doug427]

The inspection is set up for Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 10:00 AM. The inspector is Don Baker, down in the Austin/San Antonio area. Of course I'm hoping for a good result.

[John Jones]

I can't sleep anytime I am buying something. Hopefully you're different than I am

The deal sounds promising, I hope everything works out!

[Gary RVRoamer]

In the normal course of things those PPL selling [prices would have depreciated further in 1.5 years, but motorhome prices have been going up in the same time period, so it's probably a wash. Further, we are talking a 15 year old luxury class coach here, so it is likely down around its floor selling price, meaning depreciation ceases to be a factor and condition is everything.


All this is by way of explaining why I think your offer is on the low side, despite the flaws you described. I'd guess that coach will go for around $82k-$84k. It may be awhile before it gets even that low, though. I wouldn't even be surprised if he still owes $94k on it.

[Doug427]

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

In the normal course of things those PPL selling [prices would have depreciated further in 1.5 years, but motorhome prices have been going up in the same time period, so it's probably a wash. Further, we are talking a 15 year old luxury class coach here, so it is likely down around its floor selling price, meaning depreciation ceases to be a factor and condition is everything.


All this is by way of explaining why I think your offer is on the low side, despite the flaws you described. I'd guess that coach will go for around $82k-$84k. It may be awhile before it gets even that low, though. I wouldn't even be surprised if he still owes $94k on it.

Interesting, I had no idea that used RV prices are going up. Why is that?



My plan was to buy the highest possible quality coach in the best condition at a fair price at or near the bottom of it's depreciation cycle. I think for the most part I was able to do that. We settled on $85K including the Towmaster tow bar and the complete Brake Buddy system. I think I did OK. From what I have been able to learn, Newmar is at or near the top of the quality scale of RV's over the years. I assume that if I keep it in good shape (it'll certainly be kept in perfect and improving shape), there will always be a market for it when I'm ready to sell sometime down the road.



The coach appears to be in very good shape. I have an inspection being performed by a highly respected NRVIA certified Level 2 inspector tomorrow. If it comes up good, then we complete the deal and i own it.

[okcnewbie]

Originally Posted by Doug427

The coach appears to be in very good shape. I have an inspection being performed by a highly respected NRVIA certified Level 2 inspector tomorrow. If it comes up good, then we complete the deal and i own it.

How much is the inspection and what would be a deal breaker? I guess I'm somewhere in the middle when it comes to inspections. I don't think they're able to tell you the engine/tranny is good or bad.
An IRV2 member on here recently paid for an inspection and the frame (if I remember right) was cracked and eventually the MH was a total loss and not covered by insurance. Just playing devils advocate and I sure appreciate you keeping us informed.
Good luck with todays inspection.

[momdoc]

Good luck with the inspection!

[Hit_the_Rhod]

Waiting patiently . . . .WAITING PATIENTLY!

[Doug427]

Originally Posted by okcnewbie

How much is the inspection and what would be a deal breaker? I guess I'm somewhere in the middle when it comes to inspections. I don't think they're able to tell you the engine/tranny is good or bad.
An IRV2 member on here recently paid for an inspection and the frame (if I remember right) was cracked and eventually the MH was a total loss and not covered by insurance. Just playing devils advocate and I sure appreciate you keeping us informed.
Good luck with todays inspection.

Inspection is costing $675. He's a certified Class 2 inspector. The engine and transmission doesn't get more than a cursory inspection. If you want that done it's got to be done by someone who is a diesel mechanic, basically. Was the cracked frame caught on the inspection or did the inspector not see it and it was discovered later? As for what would be a deal breaker, I don;t know. I guess you look at the list of things that were found and make that determination at that point. I should have results tonight.

[okcnewbie]

Originally Posted by Doug427

Inspection is costing $675. He's a certified Class 2 inspector. The engine and transmission doesn't get more than a cursory inspection. If you want that done it's got to be done by someone who is a diesel mechanic, basically. Was the cracked frame caught on the inspection or did the inspector not see it and it was discovered later? As for what would be a deal breaker, I don;t know. I guess you look at the list of things that were found and make that determination at that point. I should have results tonight.

I've already sent an email to our local Class 2 inspector asking for prices and what he inspects.
I think I'll try and find a freightliner mech that does RV inspections (if I can)
If your inspection can get the seller to even lower 300-400 than I think it would be worth it.
How did the test drive go?

I was confusing two different threads. One is someone that had an inspection and still ended up with previous leak damage that totaled the MH. (Selling for salvage) Post 8. Later thread by Gigtime verifies.
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/3rd-...ns-444093.html

The second thread was a HR ambassador owner with the cracked frame. Insurance didn't cover anything. Owners decided to leave RV'ing.
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/big-...-462700-2.html

[BobGed]

Originally Posted by Doug427

Inspection is costing $675. He's a certified Class 2 inspector. The engine and transmission doesn't get more than a cursory inspection. If you want that done it's got to be done by someone who is a diesel mechanic, basically. Was the cracked frame caught on the inspection or did the inspector not see it and it was discovered later? As for what would be a deal breaker, I don;t know. I guess you look at the list of things that were found and make that determination at that point. I should have results tonight.

I would suggest getting the engine, trans and generator fluids tested. I personally wouldn't purchase a used coach without those results.

[BillJinOR]

Originally Posted by BobGed

I would suggest getting the engine, trans and generator fluids tested. I personally wouldn't purchase a used coach without those results.

Assuming the fluids weren’t just changed ( suspicious) I’d make this the first thing before the other inspection. Big ticket Engine and transmission repairs are much more unseen and critical ... Rv Inspections are great if you can’t be there or are are new to rv’s ,or not mechanical . Keep in mind , if you read the small print, if something is discovered wrong later that the inspector didn’t see or catch you still have no recourse .... to bad so sad. Your buying a non binding opinion. Fluid test on used fluid can reveal a lot. While I realize the inspector isn’t a diesel mechanic, I’m surprised the inspector doesn’t offer fluid reports.

[Doug427]

GaryRVRoamer posted this in response to a similar question on another thread. To me and my way of thinking, it sums it all up succinctly. You may think otherwise:


"The practical answer is that a diesel pusher chassis is very robust, so the concern is relatively mild. Sure, you would like to know as much as you can about it, but if it runs well and drives OK, the chassis mechanicals are probably fine. You are going to spend a bunch of money on bring maintenance up to date anyway, e.g. fluid & filter changes, so figure $1000 or so in your plans.

As a practical matter, it's hard for a mechanic to evaluate the internal condition of an Allison tranny or Cummins engine without tearing into it. There is just no way to guess if a $5000 injector pump is going to fail next week! If there are clunks when steering or hesitation when shifting, you can probably spot that yourself (or the RV inspector can). You could ask for oil & tranny fluid analysis, but that doesn't show much if the fluids were changed lately. Besides, fluid analysis is more a matter of comparing for trends from year to year than an absolute OK/Not_OK.


In the absence of any overt symptoms, my chassis focus would be on batteries, fluid & air leaks, and whatever maintenance history I could find.

There are a lot of things that can be wrong in a movable house with multiple power systems, a self-contained waste plant, a bunch of appliances and roof & windows subject to a lot of stress every time it moves. You & I can easily see that fabric you mentioned, but most buyers lack experience/skill at recognizing signs of water leaks, faulty power systems, and marginal appliances. Inspectors aren't cheap and it takes a lot of time to give everything even a cursory look, so most buyers have to decide how much money to spend trying to feel good about their purchase. Choose what gives you the most peace of mind."


At some point you have to pull the trigger. You can have 3 inspectors look at it, two chassis inspectors, drive it from TX to Yellowstone and back..... none of that will likely mater is the seller is good at hiding what's really wrong with it. At some point you do REASONABLE due diligence, and trust your life long learned instinct about the coach and the seller. Can you get beaten by buying a used coach? Absolutely. That's just one reason that you're paying (in my case) less than 25% of what the new buyer paid when new.



I'm not the only buyer out there for this coach. Fluid test results take a week to 10 days to get back. Do I have the seller just sit and wait while I get a thorough house inspection, wait a week or so for the chassis guy to come (they're usually not available immediately when you call them) then have him wait yet another week to 10 days for fluid inspection results to come back in? No chassis inspection worth a darn will be done at a RV park, the RV will have to be at a proper facility to get a really good look at it, so now we're talking about driving it somewhere, who knows how far away that will be. Who drives it there? Who pays for that? How long will it take to arrange that?



No seller is going to do that unless they have no other action, no other inquiries at all on the sale, which in itself would present yet another problem - why no action?


It's not quite as simple as "inspect everything possible". That sounds good on paper (or on screen with electrons), however it's significantly more difficult to arrange all that, and of course gets very expensive as well.



At some point you have to realize it's a used coach, and there is risk. You can't eliminate all risk. Do the best you can, trust the inspections you can get, evaluate the coach and the seller as best you can, and pull the trigger if all signs look positive.



YMMV.