RV Inspection

[Traveler2162]

I am looking at a large coach in the midwest at a consignment dealer. Once the offer is accepted the dealer offers a RV inspection for $1299. What would be the normal price to inspect a 45 ft coach to make sure everything is working as it should?

Is this actually something I can do myself? I have surveyed large boats and know how to check things. It seems simple to me.

Put water in the tank, run it through the system, check the Aquahot heats it and heats the coach as well as the engine,
Check the slides are moving in and out appropriately,
All lights work, awnings come in and out etc.
Generator starts from all locations and will run A/C.
Check fridge gets cold.
Check that the A/Cs all work.

Basically check that every system runs as required.

It all seems very simple to me.

[MRUSA14]

Do NOT let the dealer do an inspection. That is an obvious conflict of interest.

It should be a part of the contract that the deal is subject to inspection by an INDEPENDENT inspector chosen by you, and that the inspection must be acceptable to you or you can walk from the deal with all deposit moneys returned.

Independent inspectors can be found online. Check their reviews before hiring them.

I have been down this path. My independent inspector saved me from making a big costly mistake.

[Crasher]

Even though the coach is there on consignment, the dealer wants to make the sale happen and very likely would be biased toward a sale with his inspection. I also think the fee is a bit high. It's a win win for the dealer.

[ocbizman1]

DO NOT under any circumstances use an inspection from the dealer. There are good 3rd party inspectors out there. I'm in the Vancouver/Portland area and found some inspectors offering a couple of different levels of inspection. I paid $1k for a full inspection that took the guy a full day. Testing everything in the rig. A few days later I got a comprehensive report with photos which included a one-pager up front of things that were of concern and needed to be addressed before I drove it off the lot.

Completely worth every penny I paid for that peace of mind. Also, it helps to reduce the screeching sound from the passengers seat!

Depending on your proximity to the inspector, you may have to pay for some travel time.

[OldBaldFat]

There are two types of inspection.

What the dealer is wanting $1,300 for is basically something that should be included in the price/ his commission, in my opinion. It was 30 years ago.

The PDI - Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) is a review to find if there are any obvious problems, from improperly inflated tires to the lights working. Many other points need to be checked.

Even, ESPECIALLY, new units arriving from the factory need this check. Automobile dealers in the 60's pulled the new arrived cars off the hauler - and took them straight to an alignment shop.

Brett Davis or any other reputable dealer can probably give you a list as long as your arm of problems with newly arrived rigs. The bigger, the fancier, the higher the price, the more problems that can show up.

I haven't experienced it, but I know people who have paid well north of a quarter-million for a new righ, even a custom order, and go back to the dealer and say: "The build sheet says it has XXX, and I can't find it." Sure enough, that option was never installed.

That for a used (consignment) coach. I'm not sure. I would probably pay it for a rig over 200K, 5,000 miles and over 3 years old.

It does take several man hours by a tech, or someone who knows a bit about RVs, and usually includes a nice wash and wax.

Separately, and essential for any used, and a good idea for even new rigs is an independent NRVIA or similarly certified INDEPENDENT inspector.

This will be someone with some training to back the certification. Their job is find the nagging little things, or major things, that are problems with the rig. And that is going to be over $1,300 for a largish, older motorhome. More things to check and worry about.

Some rigs, it will include taking samples of various fluids and sending them to a lab for analysis.

A dealer PDI will make sure the engine oil, and transmission fluid are full. It may or may not make sure the RIGHT oil and transmission fluid was used. And as much as I hate to say it - the traditional Full Tank of Fuel and Propane has gone from a minor expense to big bucks.

Now days a Gas Class A - 65 - 75 gallons of gasoline can easily run $250 to $300.

A full 150 gallon tank of diesel - $750 or higher. My first three automobiles did not cost that much added together. But I'm old.

[Domo]

My wife and I did our own inspection - with multi-page checklists. Took us 6 hours as "novices" we knew a bit about the appliances and all, but everything on the Class A was in different positions, etc. than any of our smaller tow-behinds.

Granted, we're good with our hands, know a bit about "homes" plumbing and electric.

We did not take oil samples or use a diesel mechanic based on maintenance records and how it ran and drove down the road.

The chronology of the offered inspection infers that 1) the deal would be accepted (like you're committed to the price and purchase) and then 2) the dealer would do the $1200 inspection possibly so they can have a bunch or repairs to add onto YOUR new MH. Hmmm... back asswards to me. And a definite conflict in interest - as well as morals.

And please remember - as a consignment dealer, it is very possible that you will be forgotten/ignored/avoided as soon as the back tires leave their parking lot. Of course there are those that are fine upstanding pillars of the community, also.

[Isaac-1]

Hire an INDEPENDENT inspector, you can use the inspector locator tool at NRVIA.org (look for a level 2 inspector), cost to inspect a large diesel pusher will be around $1,200 at the low end, depending on location, inspector, options (how many photos taken, fluid sampling, etc). A proper inspection of such a coach should take about 6 man hours of active work minimum and does not include a chassis / drive train inspection, for that you will need to take it to a diesel shop certified to work on that brand of chassis.

[Wiscampsin1]

Another vote for hiring a independent trained RV inspector. We hired a NRVIA inspector before we signed off on our MH and it was worth the $. Have everything that needs to be fixed/repaired on the report done before you sign off or you'll be at the end of the line on the dealers service dept list.

[DRM901]

My wife and I did our own inspection on our 2014 Tiffin Allegro Bus 37AP. I got an inspection list from the irv2 site, imported it into excel, and then modified it to fit our MH. We spent 8 hours - 16 hours total - going over everything. Crawled under the MH, got up on the roof, took pics of everything. Ran everything.

We ended up with 3 key items. Tiffin told me one item (rubber bushings on suspension looked worn) were ok. One item, bad chassis batteries, was taken care of by owner as part of sale. Can't remember the third item.

Over the last 2 1/2 years, I've found a few misses. Only two big ones I think I should have caught. (One AC worked when we tested them, but didn't when we picked it up. Consignment dealer tech stated that was because it was too cold. Turned out the compressor locked up. Dash AC felt like it was working & compressor was engaged, but I didn't measure the differential. Turned out it had a bad leak.)

I wish I would had done a complete fluid test. No issues came up when I did it a few months later.

If you aren't near the MH, $1,000-1,500 for a 3rd party inspection (with fluid test, which commonly is NOT included) it good money spent. If you are near it, look at the irv2 inspection list and assess your skills to complete the list.

[SandiaMan]

If you are an experienced RVer or have owned larger boats in the past it might be easy to check the house side of a class A coach if you feel you have enough experience. The chassis side is where hiring a reputable independent inspector is worth every penny. Your money, your future rig, if it was my choice I would have it inspected, the cost of the inspection can literally save you tens of thousands now and down the road if something major is or will be a problem. Good luck and hope you enjoy your rig as much as we have enjoyed RVing in ours.

[Gary RVRoamer]

The current rate for a comprehensive large Class A inspection by an independent inspector is $1000-$1200, depending on the region. As mentioned, that does not include a full chassis inspection - just that it starts, runs, and can move a few feet forward & back.


In my opinion, paying the dealer to do the same is a waste. At worst they just check the boxes on a form without doing anything. At best they generate a list of items you should pay their shop to do, e.g. oil changes or whatever, but you can be sure it won't be anything that would kill the sale. As somebody already said, a "pre-delivery inspection" is implicitly included in the sale price - they promised you a working coach, didn't they?

[Isaac-1]

As Gary says the one thing you can be guaranteed about a dealer inspection, is that they will not find any show stopper issues.

[Mudfrog]

I would be very comfortable doing my own inspection on a gasoline fired rig. However, my knowledge of DPs is almost nil so I would want to hire a good inspector to at least check out the chassis part of the rig.

As others have said, you probably need to see about hiring your own inspector. That $1299 sounds a bit high anyway.