Questions On Purchasing Used Class A

[vwd]

I agree that you should concentrate on just looking at this stage. Concentrate on floor plans, storage, chassis wheelbase and weight rating. But be prepared for high pressure sales. I shopped for six months and bought a coach in Sept. and time and time again after telling a salesman we were in the preliminary stages, we were continually asked “what do we have to do to sell it to you today”. Take your time, look at lots of coaches and don’t let them pressure you.

[Eland01]

Originally Posted by beamisl

If you are coming prior to April 14th, I would welcome you here to show you some of the things you need to know.

Lynne

We actually live in Florida (Jacksonville) and would welcome the opportunity to learn from owners. If you like, you can PM me where you are located and can go from there.

Thanks

[mrsportys]

Also 22.5” tires vs 19”

[Sudsy]

Originally Posted by mrsportys

Also 22.5” tires vs 19”

The price of course and the handling requirements. Most campers with 22.5s don't even carry a spare. The torque is 450 ftlbs for a 22.5 (hard to do on the side of the road)

Sudsy

[Gary RVRoamer]

5. I have seen units on PPL’s site that seem to be reasonably priced.Do they negotiate, or are the published prices bottom line prices?I don’t have an RV to trade.

First and foremost, remember that PPL is a consignment sales agent. You don't negotiate with PPL - the price is set by the rig owner, possible with some minimum that is below the asking price. You can make an offer and PPL can accept it if within the sellers pre-determined price range, or they can refer it back to the owner if not. PPL won't accept a rig on their lot if the owner wants more than market value, so none of the asking prices are beyond reason. Whether they are good value or not is something you have to decide for yourself.

PPL cannot agree to repairs and doesn't guarantee anything - it's not their coach. They can sell you services if you want, but only the actual owner can agree to pay for anything you want fixed or done.

Someone said that some (many?) rigs at PPL are the neglected children of folks who lost interest. There is probably more than a little truth to that, but there are also rigs that were well-cared for but now the caregiver is no longer involved or able, and rigs whose owners simply don't have the time or inclination to deal with the public themselves. It's a mixed bag, to be sure.

[twogypsies]

We would recommend that you consider PPL if there's something of interest for you on their web site. It's basically 'for sale by owner' because the owner is in charge of the sale, not PPL.

As we all know some owners care for their property and some don't. You'll see some of each there. Some drop their RV off and they look like they did so on the way back from their last trip - junk still in the cabinets, etc. They won't be cleaned up at all.

Then you'll see others who you know were meticulous about the care given to their RV. Many have their RV detailed. Some, like us, even leave all the service receipts and manuals with the RV. Ours was spotless inside and out. We sold ours within a month for the price we put on it. The buyer flew in from Florida and had an inspection done on it at his cost.

We were amazed when we dropped it off at how many people were there for various reasons - some just looking, some buying and others picking up their new RV. They do a lot of business and were easy to do business with.

[Wundertaker]

It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who shop for their new RV, regardless of type based solely on "LAYOUT/FLOORPLAN"! You watch the RV shows on TV and most of the shoppers are newbies/near newbies (which I was once also) and totally fixated on the darn floorplan. I even read here many folks (supposedly experienced) who suggest to the really new newbies that they just need to go out and find a Floorplan that they like, then they're good to go!

As for me, I focus on and want to know how the darn thing is made, what it's made of, what the reputation of the manufacturer is and how the thing is put together from the Frame Up!!! For me, Quality (Ify I know), components, and manufacturing methods come in FIRST PLACE for me and Floorplan is SECOND FOR SURE!!! Once I've found a Brand and Method of build I like, then and only then do I try to find the Floorplan that works best for us. This approach has served me well over the years.

The RV industry as a whole has done an awesome job on putting GREAT SMELLING PERFUME ON SOME VERY POORLY BUILT PIGS in order to entice the "ladies" (aka..."moneykeepers") to fall in love with the "bling"!

Go to rvreviews.net and you'll see what I mean...very enlightening!!!

[m.elliott63]

I can add my input on a couple of these questions.

2. On the older models with lower mileage, I know hoses, belts and fluids should be changed.On the brands listed, how difficult would it be to DIY?I am more than mechanically inclined.If it’s not a DIY, what is the approximate cost to have this done?
I would recommend changing all of the fluids. I was given that recommendation by people on this site and have not had any problems. I mean not just oil and coolant but brake fluid, transmission fluid, and rear differential.

3. Since I will most likely have to travel, I will get an RV inspector to go over the unit.For those of you that have enlisted the aid of an inspector, how confident were you in their final assessment?
We hired a mobile RV tech to do an inspection and were fairly confident in their assessment at the time. I have found since then that some things were not diagnosed or misdiagnosed to my advantage. Some of the items they said did not work did and some were much more minor fixes that they thought, both to our advantage. It did give us some bargaining power with the dealer so money well spent.

Additionally, how long does it typically take for the oil and transmission fluid analysis to come back?

Don't have the transmission fluid analyzed just replaced. It is probaly less $ and peace of mind.

Good luck in your search and be patient, the right coach for you will speak to you!

[Isaac-1]

Gary, a couple of points about PPL, as I think I mentioned above, I visited their location in Houston while I was in town last week, picked up a couple of things from their parts store, and walked around the used RV lot. I too had always been under the impression that PPL was strictly consignment, however I found out while there that they actually own some of the RV's on the lot, as they do accept trade ins, and will from time to time offer to purchase an RV outright, vs just taking it in on consignment. As to the condition of the coaches on the lot in Houston last week, overall I was not impressed at all. Though it is important to realize that the Houston area was hit with massive flooding just 6 months ago, since then there have been large numbers of people living in RV's while their homes are being repaired. A couple of months ago I drove by a small rural subdivision in the part of east Texas hardest hit by flooding, and nearly every house had some type of RV in the driveway and piles of debris (mattresses, furniture, dry wall,..) by the curb.

Having said that, when casually looking at coaches, I found a surprising number obvious upkeep issues, such things a broken or missing entry grab handles, broken, or sagging entry steps, damaged or worn door latches. Then of course there was interior stuff that too was instantly obvious, worn/ torn seating fabric, water damaged laminate floors, ... This is by no means a complete list, but all things that can give a bad first impression.

Entry step issues were so common that I found myself testing my weight (200 pounds) on each set of steps before stepping into the coach.

This is not to say anything bad about PPL, and is more a comment on the stock they had in house that day, as they do have high turnover (I saw 3 people picking up coaches they had bought in the hour or so I was there). So maybe I just picked a bad day to drop in, for whatever reason though I walked away with 2 thoughts.

1, The paint on my 15 year old coach is comparatively not in nearly as bad of shape as I thought it was.

2, I saw nothing on that lot over 5-7 years old that I would consider buying based on its initial appearance.

[Russ Silber]

If you visit Lazy Days., contact George Hamaker
813 610 3680. Best sales person ever. Purchased 3 rvs from him. Great knowledge been in rv sales 40 years[emoji2]

[Wawideman]

Purchased in January in Texas live in Florida thought I did a good inspection all systems worked 10000 miles under 1000 hours on 8 k genny went on roof checked all cabinets walls etc for water damage did not go under the coach been treating rust with ospho for weeks do not think it has ever been recaulked just patched I have been reading this forum for months before and after purchase there is a wealth of information and knowledge spend a lot of time reading and then find your dream I am happy with my 80000.00 dp and am 1 and half years to retirement to get her ready for full time travel check everything

[G.G.]

If you visit Camping World in Dover, please just look at coaches in order to get an idea of makes/models/floor plans, etc. If you see something that works, please consider trying to find it elsewhere. We have a personal history with this dealership, and personally, I'd drive by and not even set foot there.

[Softailmike]

Originally Posted by Bahamaniac

Check the date code on the tires. Rvs tires are based on age, not mileage. 10 years and replace no matter how good they look. The rubber hardens with age.

Yup check them date codes. Bought a 02 Pace Arrow from North Trail RV, had the original Michelin tires on it.I didn't have the common sense to examine the code date untill after I bought the unit . When i asked them about it, they said tough luck, you bought as is. Then both roof ac's and the dash ac compressor along with the refrigerator went on the blink. Never again @ North Trail !

[JimmyB2]

My two cents.

Just purchased (3 weeks ago) a 2006 Holiday Rambler Admiral SE 30PDD from private owner 550 miles away..

Be patient. Use RTV.com and Rvtrader.com. The more you search the better you will get a handle on pricing for what you want. Then when it is time "to negotiate" you can say (as we did) "we like your rig but you are a little high compared to other comparables". Offered $5000 less then asking, got it for $4000 less than asking.

Also I use this visual:
<<<<<we want a class a motor home>>>>>>>>>>
<<<<we want a used motor home>>>>>>>>>>>
<<<we want a gas motor home>>>>>>>>>>>
<<<we want Ford or GM>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
<<<we want a xx length motor home>>>>>
<<<we want certain floor plan>>>>>>
<<<we want a certain year range>>>
<<we want a certain mfg / model>>

My point here is, as you narrow your choice, the chances of finding what you want "in your backyard" are slim to none. We had to broaden our range to nationwide to eventually find what we truly wanted and be willing to take an over night drive to view and then fly there later to pick up and drive home.