Musings about used motorhome (rv) shopping

[Boomertx]

Just been sitting around this morning, skimming IRV2 and various on-line RV sales websites and in a fit of energy thought I'd put these thoughts down in the VERY off chance that they may help others . . . but they probably won't

1. Pictures: Really used unit sellers?? Maybe take the dirty dishes out of the sink before you post them in your $100000 used motorhome ad. No one is saying you need to "stage" the unit but your dimly lit, messy, and downright dirty unit pictures kill any enthusiasm I may have had about your "baby" that you have priced 30% over comparable units. I swear yesterday I saw a birds nest wedged into the pic of a generator on a slide out . . . as well as its being covered in enough dirt to plant grass. If this was a rare sight I wouldn't bother mentioning it but I see it over and over again. Amazingly enough, many dealer pics are just as bad. If you are a seller, big or little $$$ a little wipe down and vacuum works wonders and if you REALLY want to see how to take pics to sell a unit for significant money drop in to the MOTORHOMESOFTEXAS.COM website where they put just as much effort into the pics for a $70k unit as one for $370k. Forget the "staging" they do and note WHAT the pics are of . . . they tell a story.

2. Pricing: Hey, EVERYONE wants a deal! Buyers and sellers! I truly get that! My initial process is to browse to see if anything piques our interest. Debbie wants curbside eating/roadside kitchen so if one shows up in a pic, if a DP less than 20 years old but older than 8-10 I'll probably bite a bit deeper. One of the FIRST things I'll do is sort that model/year combo on various online sources, including NADA to see where it "fits". If you are 20% or more out of range your description and photos need to tell me why that is and all your great times or financial exingicies do NOT do that. OBTW, one thing that will turn me off almost immediately is telling me how bad other brands/units are . . . that is just lazy. Sell your unit!

Finally, to you dealers out there, telling me to "call for price" in reality means "move on, nothing to see here". I realize prices are written in sand but I'm not going to fall for the "start stupid high" gambit. The only reason why dealers don't post prices is to prevent just the type of "winnowing" that I'm trying to do and to have the initial advantage in negotiations . . . do you think we don't know that?

I'm truly not trying to offend and realize that my "way" of going about may not be for many or even most out there, but hey, this is worth exactly what you are paying for it!

Y'all have a GREAT DAY out there and be safe!!

[mr-kolby]

I totally agree with you. We just got back from a trip to look at two coaches. One was as very nice, in great shape. The second one was advertised as excellent condition. That meant lifting tile, cracked grout, paint damage etc. We politely looked everything over, even though right off the bat we knew we weren't going to touch it. We let her know later on that it wasn't what we were looking for. We didn't leave her hanging.

In the first coach the people were full timing in it, so we felt uncomfortable asking them to button it up and put it through the test drive until we were absolutely sure we were going to offer on it. We did decide to offer on it, and after negotiations we had an agreed price. The owners requested that we send them a letter of intent to purchase. We agreed and asked for the coach info so we could put the serials in the letter. Get a phone call later that the wife needed some input on the price and it's 3 days later and they have gone silent. I do see that they have now listed the coach on RVT trying to take advantage of the US dollar to Canadian dollar values.

It would have been nice to have a call from them that says hey, we've decided that we would like to have more $$.

Common courtesy should go both ways from the buyer and the seller.

[becks]

I also agree with you on all points. You have to be able to weed through a lot of dirty junk to find the right one, but they are out there.

[89sandman]

I buy a used unit almost every year. My biggest pet peeve is when people post pics from 10 years ago when they bought it and the unit looks nothing like it currently. There really needs to be some sort of guidelines of what excellent or even good condition means, PPL comes to mind, their definition of "very good" is my definition of poor. Also people take a step back from what you are taking a picture of, I don't need to see extreme close ups of your toilet seat or faucet. Take a few pics to give me a general sense of the layout of your unit, living space, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom. Then pics that show all 4 sides of the unit, one head on shot does nothing for me. And as stated above clean the thing up, although I do appreciate seeing the care you have taken in upkeep and it makes it easy for me to not waste my time looking at the rest of your add and just click the back button. Also thanx to the people who live in the unit and fail to mention that in the add. The wear and tear a lived in unit gets is a 1000 times what a regular unit gets. But over time you learn what to look for in the pics to give you a good idea if the sellers are fulltimers.

[MoCoTom]

I'm with you as to the pictures with personal trash all over the place. It's one thing to have pictures of a coach that is being lived in but completely different when crap is all over the place. I looked at a listing on Craigslist that had one picture with a bucket sitting on the floor directly under the air conditioner outlet. Now that says "BUY ME"

[rocketman 2]

Good tips. Just started looking for an RV. I'm with you on the "call for price". You just eliminated me as a prospect

[Brad W]

I like the private seller listings where they give you three or four pics and think that's good enough for a sale

Bad lighting and Flash turned on and an apparent dust storm inside the unit, those are good too

[Dutch Star Don]

First off, my idea of clean or excellent condition is much different than others. My favorite add are those that say no pets, yet you see the pet bowls on the floor in the corner. The other is non smoker and you spot ash trays in the picture.