Cruise America Pricing (for purchase)

[TandCplusRV]

I've been cruising (pun intended) the listings for the Orlando, FL Cruise America lot and am, despite my better judgement, somewhat intrigued at the idea of purchasing one of their units. I've gone back and searched older threads, noticing that several folks here at IRV2 have purchased from them in the past. Here is my specific question that I could not find info on in old threads: Their prices are certainly low, but the units are also 6-7 years old with 150k miles on the clock. Are those rock bottom prices, or were you able to negotiate lower than asking when purchasing from Cruise America.

[TonyDi]

If you are considering a Cruise America unit. I would definitely have it thoroughly inspected. As these are most likely rental units (and we all know how renters take care of them). I would like to know the status before I made an offer. Remember they need the sale to go through so they can use the money to buy a new unit. Low ball them. You can always go up on your offer.

Good luck. Keep us posted and Happy Traiils!!

[Lindsay Richards]

These units have been ridden very hard. A new crew of untrained people have been in them every week. I would be very careful. We looked at them about 10 years ago in Orlando and I was very glad I didn't go for the low price. If you can find it, a fairly low mileage unit from a couple that has gotten too old to RV or is maybe down sizing is your best bet. Good Luck.

[Bamaman]

Even when new, I've found the Cruise America Class C units to be pretty plain and utilitarian. They're just not as attractive as most Class C's sold.

I would prefer to purchase a unit on the used retail market before going a Cruise America unit. At least you'd have a better chance of a real RV'er using the it properly vs. some yokel coming down for the Daytona 500 and running the heck out of the Class C.

And maintenance is another important issue.

[89sandman]

Another thing is you will have a very hard time trying to resale it with those kind of miles, unless you are giving it away I'd say almost impossible.

[Grey Ghost I]

Also add: I would have to paint it costing big bucks. Just not worth it.

[TQ60]

Taking another direction...

If they are wrapped not painted then peel decals off no big deal and they may do that.

If your use is weekends and the layout is good why not.

And it should have had the bugs worked out as renters do use things and also complain too so stupid things are likely to have been found and addressed.

Since it is a rental place insist on a free rental of the one you want for a few days so you can test it.

If you like you buy if something defective they fix or you walk.

They should be able to show you the life log of the unit showing all service and repairs as it is their buisiness to keep them in good shape.

Only makes sense if price is right.

[OlYeller]

I looked at rental units before we bought our RV and decided against them. I looked at Cruise America and a smaller local outfit. I have bought several rental return cars and found them to be a great way to own a nice, reliable, newer car for not a lot of money. With Cruise America I found something different. First their prices were very tempting. Second, I wasn't afraid of a V10 RV with 100K after seeing many owner units with 10,000 miles and beat up beyond belief. The fact that they provided service records and go through the coach end to end before selling it was in their favor. I also discovered that they were not very flexible on their price but they were willing to include upgrades for little to no extra cost, like an awning.

On the downside I found them to be very utilitarian. They are built to withstand use by folks who don't know anything about RVs. Therefore they come with no awning, cheap linoleum everywhere, and an overhead that has no cutout to make walking from the front seats to the rear easier. The whole RV just had a very low end appearance in fabric choices and amenities. I then found that on Craigslist, the Majestic brand RVs that owners were trying to sell lounged there for eons even though they were priced much lower than comparable years and styles. The high mileage stood out compared to most of the other similar year's RVs.

If you only have around $20K to spend and wind up buying one of these, you might come out OK but I wasn't willing to take the chance. I would probably opt for their warranty although I wouldn't on any other RV from another source. I understand that they are pretty good at standing behind their product. I have read many posts from folks who went this route and were happy at that time. Good luck!

[TandCplusRV]

Thanks for the thoughts. I'm definitely proceeding with caution, if I proceed at all. But with their Orlando shop only about 3 hours away, it can't hurt to look. ;-)

Just find the prices iffy for what they're selling, even as low as they are.

[MSHappyCampers]

Gassers with 150K miles! NO WAY!

[TonyDi]

...And those are hard milles!!

[robertsonr]

We purchased a 2009 Four Winds cruise america 25 ft RV. Even though utilitarian an being generic, it could be hard to sale. The pluses. 1. Built like a tank and the chassis had been maintained better than most private owners would do.(cruise america didn't want to have to fix these up after every renter came through. 2. Being built like a tank, you'll get custom options not offered in the 23 ft $80,000 RV's that are brand new. 3. You can add decor to help with resale. 4. The outside is a decal wrap and is removed upon purchase. It looks brand new because of the full size wrap.

Now that being said... We had ours thoroughly checked by a mechanic prior to purchase and CA paid for all the repairs. Everything can be upgraded and as long as you take very good care, our family has really enjoyed a motorhome that we could not have purchased other wise.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Other than the obvious concern about the 150k miles, I think they are worth looking at. If they meet your needs and the price is competitive, it can be a good deal. You get a rig that has been maintained on a regular basis and you get a 12/12 powertrain warranty, plus everything is guaranteed to be in working condition at delivery. You get all the owner manuals, plus the aforementioned advantages of a unwrapped exterior and some extra "bulletproof" features not found on retail production models. You get none of that is a private sale and little of it when buying from an RV dealer, so figure that as extra value.

If you look around the web you will find many people who are afraid of buying a rental rig, but few, if any, complaints from those who actually bought one.

So, if the layout and features work for you and there is enough mileage left in the rig for your expected travel distance & years, I say go for it.

The resale value is going to be affected by the high mileage - no getting around that. Figure it into your projected cost of ownership. An old Class C in working condition will always bring at least $3000, so that's probably what it will be worth when you are done with it.

[Mentor]

I once purchased one of their 25 ft models for $19K near Seattle, spent about $2K making it ours, one tire replaced due to blowout from debris on road. We drove it to all the places we could not go with our previous large coach. After 2 1/2 years I listed on Craigslist for what we had into it, $21,500 and sold it for $19K on Vancouver Island so all in all it cost us $2,500 for 2 and 1/2 years, excluding regular oil changes and fuel. It served us well and we quite enjoyed it, had no trouble at all in the nearly 20,000 miles we put on it. Would I consider one again, yes but the larger model to get away from the corner bed which was getting awkward for us elderly types.