Community Forums

Kathryn · 05-27-2012, 11:22 PM

Question: reading through the various threads, it seems the general concensus is buy a good condition used MH in order to avoid the big depreciation from new. But with the Buyer's market right now, what about some of the big discounters? There are several on the internet that seem huge, with discounts as high as 25%-35% and more of MSRP. (One that has big claims is Motor Home Specialist out of TX.) I am used to buying newer model used on autos for the depreciation savings, but wouldn't this discount accomplish the same function? (Leaving it a budget issue.) And when you resell, NADA prices are based on MSRP, with a new model wouldn't that let you get your purchase price back?

Most important, has anyone had any real experience, good or bad, with a "discounter"? What say ye?

bill2011 · 05-28-2012, 03:39 AM

Kathyrn,
We bought at around 34% off MSRP but I would think that if we were going to sell we would still take a big hit on depreciation. We did not want to buy used despite the potential savings. We dealt with RV One in Orlando, a part of the RVDirect group. They have several locations. Our experience was totally positive and they were very helpful with any questions that we had. We were buying strictly on price with service after the sale not being a major issue since we do not live anywhere near a dealer. This is not to say RV One does not have good service they probably do. We just have no experience with them in that area.

Kathryn · 05-28-2012, 04:25 AM

Bill - Thanks, I Live in the Orlando area! Sent you a PM.

Gary RVRoamer · 05-28-2012, 12:14 PM

A used coach probably has to be at least 3-4 years old to offset the "discount" available one new ones from some sources. Figure in the value of a 12 month warranty on the new one too.

Personally, I prefer the used one.

bdickson · 05-28-2012, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kathryn

There are several on the internet that seem huge, with discounts as high as 25%-35% and more of MSRP. (One that has big claims is Motor Home Specialist out of TX.) Most important, has anyone had any real experience, good or bad, with a "discounter"? What say ye?

We bought our first new MH from Motor Home Specialist in Alvarado Texas. The price was so good that I flew there from Raleigh NC and drove it back. In retrospect it was a BAD decision. The second night out, 400 odd miles from the dealer, I found that furnace was not working. (We were unable to test it on the walkthrough due to the 95 degree Texas heat). When I called them, their choices were either bring it back to us or take it to a Camping World, pay the bill and we will reimburse you. It took me 5 months to get my $600 back. The other big problem was that the coach had been sitting on their lot all through the summer. The house batteries were shot, the roof was starting to deteriorate and the paint had streaks I was never able to polish out. The salesman admitted that they buy coaches by the dozen at the start of every year to get big discounts and then just let them sit until sold. I had some other warranty issues which I eventually just fixed myself since the closest Monaco delaer was in the next state and gave me the impression he didn't want to deal with me.

Since then we have bought our second coach, this time from Camping World. What a different experience! According to the labels the coach came out of the Thor factory exactly one month before I took delivery off the lot. We've had the usual warranty issues on a new MH, but every Camping World we've gone into so far have worked with us as though they sold us the coach themselves.

Bottom line, you get what you pay for at the deep discounters. Mostly, a big headache.

62_inrightlane · 05-28-2012, 12:41 PM

If new or used makes no difference to you then buy used. Doesn't matter which way you go, motorhomes are not an investment and they will go down in value. A big discount on a new unit will drive the price of the used market down. Now if you buy with a big discount and the RV industry recovers and the new discounts go away it would really help deprecation.

How hard you are hit with deprecation, on your purchase, will depend on your ability to negotate and the sellers motivation to sell.

I've not bought from Motorhome Specialists, but I did use them and their price in my negotations to buy our new motorhome.

cappelte · 05-29-2012, 08:31 AM

We have been lucky with the 2 units we have purchased. The first one was brand new unit on the dealer's lot but two years old. Full warranty and highly discounted price. Our second unit, which we just bought, was a 1 year old repo with 1200 miles. Highly discounted price but still 7 months of full warranty.

Do your homework and you can find good deals.

JimM68 · 05-29-2012, 11:06 AM

I would be scared to death of anything older than current model year for sale by a dealer as new....
Lot rot sucks....

Our knight was an 08 when we bought it from lazydays in 011 with 15k miles.

My thought was the po's had used the crap out of it and traded up, any build problems had been handled, and hopefully this was the ideal coach for me to buy at 1/2 msrp...

The past year has proven me 100% correct.

3 yo equals no lot rot.

DebbieS · 05-29-2012, 12:28 PM

Our experience with Motor Homes Specialist in Alvarado, TX was similar. You felt like "don't let the door hit you in the ass". Luckily, Monaco has been great with the warranty work, including 3 slide awnings that started tearing at the seams. We also found the advertised 2010 Dynasty that they sold us has nothing but 2009 documentation on board so it may not have been as good a deal as we thought. Will not be going to Alvarado, to buy in the future.

whem2fish · 05-29-2012, 01:00 PM

I have bought 2 from them no problem at all that said if you see something you like PM me I live 10 minutes from them I will go look for you would I buy again yes but I may have been lucky

Cat320 · 05-29-2012, 07:02 PM

If you can find a new one a year or so old, you can buy it (new with full warranty) for the same price you would buy that same unit used. One third off msrp is common.

Kathryn · 05-30-2012, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whem2fish

I have bought 2 from them no problem at all that said if you see something you like PM me I live 10 minutes from them I will go look for you would I buy again yes but I may have been lucky

Thanks! I may take you up on that.

I suspect your good experience may be a result of living so close to them. That way you are right there for any questions or shakedown problems - not 500 miles away on your way home like an out of state purchaser. Plus, they might be a little more attentive on their pre-delivery checkouts if they know you ARE right there and will be coming back to THEM with a problem, not calling long distance!

My brother lives near Houston, so I figured if I did a deal with them I would base out of his place for a few months to be close for any warranty work. I actually have received several positive reports on them and other discounters. Very encouraging!

Thx all!

tpm64 · 05-30-2012, 09:08 AM

We looked at the warranty a different way. We bought our new MH out of state at a 41% discount off of MSRP - less than any late model used one in our area. I decided up front that the warranty was only for major items. For small items (mismatched curtain etc.) I had the selling dealer ship to us and I replaced. Big items (generator and refrigerator) went to a specialist anyways, the selling dealer was never involved. Really big stuff (drivetrain or frame) has never been an issue and was my main concern originally, and that would go to Ford if needed.

I find it much more convenient to fix the little stuff myself and liked the peace of mind that the really big stuff would be covered.