Fight the urge to buy an RV!

[MRUSA14]

Whaddya think of this:

https://youtu.be/OetMMJjfoV4

[R.Wold]

I dunno but I just Bought a 2016 Ventana 3427 and I am just plain stoked. I also believe I’ll have no trouble selling my cool little Bay Star when I’m ready to part with it. So all that said, I’ll now go check the link....

[Harvard]

Must see for anyone thinking of purchasing an RV.
Good promo for used units.

[PJStough]

Steve Lehto primarily practices law in the area of Lemon Laws regarding cars, and mostly wants people to know that if you buy and RV you probably dont have the same protections, and a whole lot more problems with new RVs.

[wnytaxman]

Some of his comments are warranted and some are not. For those who are buying an RV to get into the great outdoors without the “risks” of CoVid, well it isn’t necessarily so. The reason I say that is that we cancelled a major summer trip not out of fear for the virus but because many venues not being open for us to visit. Why spend a month on the road when you can’t see what you wanted to visit.

I always get a kick out of the “you can’t go wrong buying used” mantra. The odds of one buying a unit where EVERYTHING has been fixed are about equal to the odds of buying the lemon that the last guy couldn’t wait to dump. Buying any RV is a bit of a crap shoot from the standpoint of problems. We have been extraordinarily lucky with our last two units. Virtually problem free and any issues were quickly resolved by either the dealer or the factory. Are we in the exception category? Probably, but I know we are not alone in that category.

[R.Wold]

Originally Posted by wnytaxman

Some of his comments are warranted and some are not. For those who are buying an RV to get into the great outdoors without the “risks” of CoVid, well it isn’t necessarily so. The reason I say that is that we cancelled a major summer trip not out of fear for the virus but because many venues not being open for us to visit. Why spend a month on the road when you can’t see what you wanted to visit.

I always get a kick out of the “you can’t go wrong buying used” mantra. The odds of one buying a unit where EVERYTHING has been fixed are about equal to the odds of buying the lemon that the last guy couldn’t wait to dump. Buying any RV is a bit of a crap shoot from the standpoint of problems. We have been extraordinarily lucky with our last two units. Virtually problem free and any issues were quickly resolved by either the dealer or the factory. Are we in the exception category? Probably, but I know we are not alone in that category.

I agree about new vs used. I had pretty much decided to order new when the Ventana 3427 came on the market. Other than New Aire, which is all elec and a little over the top on complexity, the 2016 3427 is the only rig that suits my preferences. But in a year of looking I hadn’t seen one until now.

So I jumped on it. It came up for sale on a Monday and by Wednesday it was mine. And I think it will suit me well with a minimum of issues. But new (although at over twice the price) would have provided all that dealer and manufacturer support for correcting any deficiencies.

Fortunately I was able to review the com/net data on warranty work and got a pretty good idea of how the rig was treated and what was found during the warranty period, which is now over. I was also able to verify why the rig went up for sale, and it was for very unfortunate reasons, not dumping a lemon. But it’s not always possible to determine these things and there are a lot of benefits and preferences met with a new rig. So I don’t have a definite rule either way.

And I still haven’t watched the video.....

[Isaac-1]

I say inspect, inspect, inspect, and you can usually find a better deal on used coaches, as long as you are NOT doing as suggested in this video and shopping for 1-2 year old coaches.

[MrsChilerick]

We shopped for 2 years for a used coach before buying a new one. Did the new one have problems? Yes, but it was the one that suited our needs and assumed RVing style. After 8 summers, we traded it in on another new coach (this time diesel to fit our actual RVing style. Couldn’t find the used model we wanted.

[Fiesta48]

I buy new to avoid other people's problems, lack of servicing, the adage "it doesn't need anything", hidden problems, and trying to sell my previous vehicle (trade it in).
Ya it costs more, and new still has problems but after buying too many used bad vehicles, and now in retirement I've got more discretionary income than ever before.

[Isaac-1]

This is the problem with thinking of an RV as a vehicle, as opposed to thinking of it as a house.

[Tha_Rooster]

If nobody bought used theRv industry would be out of business. When I was shopping every used one smelled and we looked at a lot. I know when I sell cars,MH what ever there is a reason and it ain’t good.

[tommar]

I watched the video... and I have to say that what Steve discussed has some merit. An IRV member had a 2016 Newmar DS which caught on fire (engine) on his maiden voyage. It was clearly a manufacturing defect. The unit was not totaled. Newmar, Cummins, and Allison got into a huge squabble over who was responsible for the cost of repairs and the actual defect. Caught in the middle was the hapless owner. He was a fulltimer and was forced to rent a house while the squabble continued and the repairs not made. It took nearly a year for things to be settled and eventually Cummins and Newmar issued a recall on the issue... which involved rerouting fuel and tranny lines. And, there are no lemon laws. The coach was eventually repaired; I don't know if the owner was adequately compensated for all his expenses.

On the other issues, Covid-19, I think, will have enormous consequences for the RV industry. I for one, have zero interest in flying. Ditto for hotels--how can anyone be assured that the room is disinfected and that there's no virus lurking in the room? And bed bugs! But with an RV, the house goes with you. One doesn't have to utilize restaurants, rest area bathrooms so it's safe!

[MRUSA14]

Originally Posted by Tha_Rooster

If nobody bought used theRv industry would be out of business.

And if nobody bought new, there wouldn’t be any used ones!

[JpalmerCass]

Originally Posted by Tha_Rooster

When I was shopping every used one smelled and we looked at a lot.

My wife wants to be the first person who owned the black tank.