I have taken a leap of faith...I bought an RV off Ebay

[NHRA1256]

Hi Folks,

first time poster here...

After a few years of small travel trailers...and then big travel trailers, I have decided to go for a Class A...a 2000 Bounder gas job. I found exactly what I was looking for at the right price....So I bought it.

It is in Texas and I'm in New Jersey, So its fly and drive!

I'm a bit nervous but I have
- checked out the seller(71 rating)
- he has 98.6 positive feedback (1 negative from 2004)
- contacted the last three buyers of RV from him, they all were very pleased with their units
- checked out the address (valid dealer, no BBB complaints)
- seller name and address (valid with no shady or questionable info)
- lined up all my financing,insurance (almost done with this), and coach.net roadside service.

So I just need to plan out my road trip...WooHoo!

[NHRA1256]

Hi Folks,

first time poster here...

After a few years of small travel trailers...and then big travel trailers, I have decided to go for a Class A...a 2000 Bounder gas job. I found exactly what I was looking for at the right price....So I bought it.

It is in Texas and I'm in New Jersey, So its fly and drive!

I'm a bit nervous but I have
- checked out the seller(71 rating)
- he has 98.6 positive feedback (1 negative from 2004)
- contacted the last three buyers of RV from him, they all were very pleased with their units
- checked out the address (valid dealer, no BBB complaints)
- seller name and address (valid with no shady or questionable info)
- lined up all my financing,insurance (almost done with this), and coach.net roadside service.

So I just need to plan out my road trip...WooHoo!

[bjbkkb]

Wow! Good for you. Hope everything works out well and you have a fun drive home.

[MtnVision]

My my!! You are brave!

I shopped eBay for months looking for my dream RV. I found every kind of RV all over the country, like a kid in the proverbial candy store. My biggest fear was that after traveling across the country to pick up my selection I might be disappointed. Shopping eBay taught me a lot about different models. The standard RV dealers give only the skimpy bare necessities of information on their corporate sites. Maybe they offer a single picture... eBay makes it easy to educate potential buyers towards an informed purchase.

As luck would have it I found my RV/Truck combo in Texas also, but I just happen to live here. Everything was exactly as described on eBay!! I couldn't be more pleased. Surely you will have a similar experience.

MV

[NHRA1256]

Your right about learning about different models. I have been activley shopping for over 6 months. It's amazing to see the disparity in pricing as well. I have seen some Rv's with BUY IT NOW pricing nearly 15K higher than what an identical unit has sold for in the recent past. Also I have seen some deals that were just great...almost thought they were scams, as there are many, but they were simply sellers looking to unload asap. Also noticed RV dealers relisting and changing photos and descriptions but not pricing...

It has been a wild ride...but hopefully coming to an end soon. I have 2 small boys, Zack who is 9 and Jake who is 5, and these guys are Roller Coaster nuts. So we will be traveling to as many roller coaster parks as we can this year..ha!

I jus hope my expeience ends up as good as the other buyers. That would be perfect. I dont mind the long drive home; trying to plan it out so I can take 4-5 days to do it. I could probly make it in 3 days, but I would be dog tired...

[hondo122]

Good luck on your Bounder. Join in on the Fleetwood forum

[Kablewizard]

Congrats; on the new motorhome. I know you all will enjoy it. I am currentley in the last 12 hours of bidding on a motorcycle so I know how you feel. Being your going through a dealer I know they don't offer any warrenties on used, but I am getting the bike through a dealer and plan to be sure it is up to date on service and has a new oil change. If you ask all they can do is say no. Also ask if they have a extended warrenty.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[bjbkkb]

Does anyone know of a thread as to customer satisfaction of those who have bought an RV off of e-bay? It would probably be interesting.

[Kablewizard]

The only thing I see is you rate the sellers. So you can check them out if they have been rated before.

[Georgia Flash]

Bought my first one, a 1994 Bounder , off EBAY. It was a dealer in Houston, Best I think or Best something. Got a great buy and traded it in this year for the Bus. Got more on trade than I paid for it! Sometimes you are the bug,,,And sometimes you are the windshield.
Good job, you will like the Bounder and the trip home will be a blast.

[NAUTIQUE]

NHRA1256,
Congrats!
I bought my Landau off EBay too.
It was out near Nashville and I'm in Ma.
Wife and I kept saying "this would be crazy to buy a big ticket item like this off EBay - Unseen!"
It came down to the end and my Wife yelled "I pushed the button!" "I pushed the buy it now!".
So, next we were on to reserving Plane tickets, Rental car & Planning out the route home.
Wife and I figured, even if we had to back out once we saw it, We'd have a nice little mini-vacation.
Luckily it was nicer than expected, we spent a few days in Nashville, and had a fun trip home. We got a great deal and it was a fun adventure.
I've also bought a Ford Expedition & Jeep Wrangler off EBay. (but those ended up being close enough to take a look at ahead of time.)
EBay is great. Just know what you're looking for ahead of time and do lots of research.
Best of luck! Keep us updated and post some pics.

[bjbkkb]

Hmmm, two good experiences and no bad ones mentioned. I bet the bad ones are out there but I sure hear more good ones than bad.

[Two Bit]

It looks like you did your homework and researched the seller. That is important. We bought our F350 on ebay a few years ago. I researched the seller, the truck history, and got about 40 pictures emailed me by the seller. I flew 350 miles to Dallas to get it. The dealer drove it to the airport to get me and I let him drive it back to his office while I was a very observant passenger (listening to how it ran, shifted, ect). I then test drove it, did a top to bottom inspection, signed the papers, and drove it home 350 miles. It is a great truck.

The one bad experience I have had on ebay was for a $15 item the seller never shipped. Ebay and paypal shut him down, but I never got a refund. I guess I have made about 175 buys on ebay. Excepting the truck, all are below $100 each, most below $50 each.

[full-timer]

Welcome and congradulations on your motorhome purchase. Hope its everything you expected and more when you pick it up. Do post us of what you think of it when you drive it home and keep us posted of your travels.

Joe