Sell as is or repair

[pipefitter]

I'm not sure what to do. I would like to sell my 97 MH to move to a 5th wheel the problem is the unit needs water heater, generator runs no power deeper then just breaker or something easy. The big issue is the roof last fall we had small stain on the ceiling on inspection found soft spots. One front one near the rear. So the question is do I repair and sell trying to recover the expense or do I list the problems and sell as handyman special. Thanks for your opinion.

[Triker56]

Handyman special. At 1/2 NAPA low retail.

[luckyd]

You do not says what the MH is. Gas, diesel, size, etc.
Check prices in your area of equivalent coach and decide from there.
It would depend on how much you can do yourself or if you need
to hire a "tech".

[Hit_the_Rhod]

2nd on make, model, etc. A high end Motor Home would probably be worth repairing. You will get you money out of it on resale, a low end, probably not. . . .

[pipefitter]

Newmar mountain air diesel runs and drives great high mileage 108K

[jacwjames]

You could try selling as is and see if you get interest. If the rest of the coach is in decent condition you might get someone capable of fixing these items.

If after a while you get no takers you could fix the items and try to recover the cost.

Water heater cost ~$600 plus labor, I changed mine, not hard. A handy man could take care of this.

Generator sounds like it could be the main board. One option would be to get someone to diagnose and then if is the board search for a used one, might get lucky and get it fixed for less the $1000. Also look for a used replacement but the cost of these could be up to $5K.

The roof leak is more of a concern because the soft spots will be hard to fix without a complete tear off and repair. I assume this is a rubber roof, if so it could cost $$$$ to fix and this isn't as easy of repair. Not a typical do it your self type of project.

[chunker]

When selling you are looking for the largest audience. With a handy-man special, many maybe most, don't have the imagination skills or knowledge of what is involved and take off running. As stated the roof repair is the major issue and my recommendation is see what a repair would cost and have that done. If you still want the handy-man route, include that written estimate to a prospective buyer so they have something to work with.

Sort of like starting the repair on a crash damaged older vehicle, when you get into it you likely find other damage, rust, etc., and then are stuck with a much higher project than expected. If you can contract or perform the repairs for less than the 50% of value and sell at normal retail you will come out ahead. If selling as-is expect to really get beat up and unless lucky with the right person, have it a long time. In the mean time, put a tarp on the roof.

EDIT; For a big diesel, that's not high mileage, up there but not really high as long as maintenance has been performed and has been documented.

[hypoxia]

My vote is "as is". Everything you listed including the roof is repairable by any competent handyman, IMHO.


Replacing an EPDM roof is no big deal, just time consuming. In reality the roof leak is probably at the end cap or one of the vent holes which is an easy fix. If it is a cut then eternabond will fix it.

[mojoracing]

I would repair it. To me, water damage is the kiss of death. At this point, I'm not sure its a matter of trying to recoup the money, its a maintenance issue and maintenance is a cost of ownership. Repairing it will definitely bring a higher sale price, just not sure if you will recoup the cost of the repairs. It will definitely sell quicker if it is repaired.

[Skripo]

If it were me, I would look up the Nada value of your coach and compare against actual market selling prices for a similar coach from dealers. This will give you your best estimate of what it is worth. Comparing against 'asking' prices from private sellers delusional about what their coach is worth is a big waste of time.

Now assume you can spend $1000 to fix the small items so that the only remaining issue is the roof. Handy or budget shoppers ***might*** swallow the roof but not a litany of issues.

Get to the bottom of the roof issue and repair cost. If the repair cost is less than what you would lose, then do it.

Your best bet is to shop for a new fifth wheel and spring the trade on the dealer when you negotiated your best price.

They have a repair shop and their cost will be lower than yours.

[GypsyYears]

Originally Posted by jacwjames

You could try selling as is and see if you get interest. If the rest of the coach is in decent condition you might get someone capable of fixing these items.

If after a while you get no takers you could fix the items and try to recover the cost.

Water heater cost ~$600 plus labor, I changed mine, not hard. A handy man could take care of this.

Generator sounds like it could be the main board. One option would be to get someone to diagnose and then if is the board search for a used one, might get lucky and get it fixed for less the $1000. Also look for a used replacement but the cost of these could be up to $5K.

The roof leak is more of a concern because the soft spots will be hard to fix without a complete tear off and repair. I assume this is a rubber roof, if so it could cost $$$$ to fix and this isn't as easy of repair. Not a typical do it your self type of project.

Hit it on the head.

[mel s]

Originally Posted by pipefitter

I'm not sure what to do. I would like to sell my 97 MH to move to a 5th wheel the problem is the unit needs water heater, generator runs no power deeper then just breaker or something easy. The big issue is the roof last fall we had small stain on the ceiling on inspection found soft spots. One front one near the rear. So the question is do I repair and sell trying to recover the expense or do I list the problems and sell as handyman special. Thanks for your opinion.

pipefitter
IMO there is no right, (or wrong), answer to that question.

That is a dilemma/choice I have faced numerous times over the last 5-6 years...(40,000 - 50.000 miles).
Every time something needed fixing I repaired it with the intention of selling my coach.
However every time a needed repair/replacement is completed I realize it is to great a coach to get rid of.

Mel
'96 Safari, 148k miles (with everything working correctly).

[Hit_the_Rhod]

Originally Posted by pipefitter

Newmar mountain air diesel runs and drives great high mileage 108K

To mirror what someone else posted. 108k is NOT high mileage for a diesel. These engines were designed to run for 200k with only normal maintenance, then some scheduled maintenance at 200k, than easily another 200k if you keep up on the maintenance!

First and foremost, you need to get the coach under cover and prevent any more water from getting in. Buy a dehumidifier and put in the coach. A good one will run less than $200.00, and will have a fitting so you can run the condensate hose outside, plug it in, turn it on high, and let her run. Figure out where the water is coming in from, fix the leak. That doesn't solve your problem, but it prevents more water from causing MORE damage. Either sell as is at that point, being honest with the buyers, or dig into the water damage, fix it, THEN and ONLY THEN look into the hot water heater and generator problems. They are potentially your largest out of pocket expenses assuming you can do the roof and water damage repair yourself. Good luck, by the way, got any pictures, or more info on the coach? You have to be careful about "selling" on the discussion pages, there is a classified section for that, but if you list more information to the thread asking for information on what is needed for repairs, someone may contact you that wants a project! Post as many pics as you can of the roof, interior damage, condition of coach, etc!

[peterson]

Originally Posted by Hit_the_Rhod

To mirror what someone else posted. 108k is NOT high mileage for a diesel. These engines were designed to run for 200k with only normal maintenance, then some scheduled maintenance at 200k, than easily another 200k if you keep up on the maintenance!

First and foremost, you need to get the coach under cover and prevent any more water from getting in. Buy a dehumidifier and put in the coach. A good one will run less than $200.00, and will have a fitting so you can run the condensate hose outside, plug it in, turn it on high, and let her run. Figure out where the water is coming in from, fix the leak. That doesn't solve your problem, but it prevents more water from causing MORE damage. Either sell as is at that point, being honest with the buyers, or dig into the water damage, fix it, THEN and ONLY THEN look into the hot water heater and generator problems. They are potentially your largest out of pocket expenses assuming you can do the roof and water damage repair yourself. Good luck, by the way, got any pictures, or more info on the coach? You have to be careful about "selling" on the discussion pages, there is a classified section for that, but if you list more information to the thread asking for information on what is needed for repairs, someone may contact you that wants a project! Post as many pics as you can of the roof, interior damage, condition of coach, etc!

Agree - 108K is not high mileage for a diesel.

However, 108K IS high mileage for motorhome. It's been through a lot of shake and shudder.