Video: Don't Buy An RV

[MrNoodly]

I hope you have better luck than what's described in this video.

 

[sephson]

Quite the eye opener.

I imagine that the specific laws vary from state to state.

 

[C-Cat]

The title should have read: Never buy a brand new RV and if you buy a used RV, get it professionally checked and be prepared to make repairs!

I agree with the advice not to buy a brand new RV... the warranty is often worthless or at least useless and the depreciation is mind boggling!

 

[RoamerRV428]

pfffft, 17 mins. nope. not giving up that much time to listen to this hey, just me on this one.

but commenting on 'never buy an rv' or get a new one?

pffft, hogwash.

never do this. never do that. give up on this dream. give up on that dream because...…..omg so over it.

We have rv's for over 35 yrs. love them. would never in my life ever consider NOT owning one. bought only new ones. depreciation and all that crap means nothing to us because this RV life is OUR life and what we want to spend our money on at all times. We don't buy XYZ or ABC and only put our hard earned bucks into our RV life as we wish, desire, love and enjoy. Warranty on our new rvs have been stellar actually never had troubles with that part of buying new ever.

to each his own. forget the negative crap out there about what to do and not what to do...ugh-----purchase and live how ya like. There is good and bad with everything in this world. Decide what you love to do and have at it.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

What Roamer said ^^^
I also bought a new travel trailer and will not worry about depreciation. I have only had issues with components, not the trailer. Unfortunately, because of the few manufacturers and virtual monopolies, the components are the weak link. I am not handy/strong enough to fix stuff, so new and under warranty is the way I went. I spent more than I wanted to, but I got a trailer that makes me happy. I've been full-timing in it for a year and so far have had no complaints with the quality.

Yes, there are plenty of people who say I'm foolish, but I always have bought new cars and whatnot. But as a single woman, I've never been stuck by the side of the road with 4 kids in 110F temps. That means a lot to me. Money has never been plentiful, but my priorities are important enough that I waste it to make myself happy.
Ted

 

[RoamerRV428]

Ted I like your last line. Money here has never been plentiful either for us but one thing people like us know is the priority we have in our life and we put our bucks right to that which makes us secure in our purchases. I so get that. But you aren't wasting any money truly if it is exactly the purchase you want and need in your life, the money is spent exactly how you want your hard earned money spent! That makes it the right choice every time!

 

[Cammalu]

Ted you bought a really nice quality camper. Lance isn’t it?

 

[WalkaboutTed]

Yeah, a Lance 1685. The only components that have been problematic is the kitchen faucet and the slide motor. But they've been covered under warranty. The build is pretty tough, at least so far.
Ted

 

[ProfessorChaos]

Very infomative. Thank you.

 

[Smitty716]

If I had the money I would buy new no problem. It don’t matter who you are , Cadillac Chevy,Ford , Fleetwood , Coachmen or anyone else . You will have bad units, and you will have bad service departments. The hard part is listening to people and going to the dealers that have those good services. For every bad experience there’s just as many good. Do your research and enjoy life . It’s to short to be pissed off all the time at everything. I know from experience, let go off the bad and let the good times roll.

 

[Souleem]

Thank you guys!

I've been wondering if it might be best for me to buy a new or newer model Class B RV so that I don't worry so much about being stranded in the middle of nowhere, but I didn't want to feel suckered, and your comments relieved my anxiety!

Alma

 

[C-Cat]

Watch the video again... a new Class B will cost you close (or over) 100k and might still have problems right from the factory. By the time some of these problems manifest, you may be far from the dealer and his warranty and even if you're close, they might not fix it for weeks or months (because according to most warranties for RVs, they are under no time pressure and likely have other jobs ahead of yours). Once you drive off a dealer lot with your brand new RV, it will likely be worth 20% less than your purchase price, so let that sink in... a brand new 100k RV would be getting 80k if you'd have to resell it for any reason right after you purchased... that alone is mind boggling. Even worse if you finance it, the loan might be under water and you couldn't sell it without paying the difference. Imagine how much of repairs you could pay out of pocket to get an older RV up and running again and still not hit that kind of depreciation... here's an interesting article about this subject: https://camperreport.com/rv-depreciation-everything-possibly-want-know/

I would be looking at 5-7 year old rig (which can still be very nice if they're well kept - which higher end motorhome owners tend to do anyway), and if you find one you like, have it thoroughly checked by a mechanic and RV inspector and then putting the rest of the money (compared to a newer one) away for some repairs and maintenance down the road out of pocket will still leave you way ahead! And if you break down, you can likely find a local mechanic who will fix it much faster than the "warranty repairs" that the dealers and manufacturers promise before you buy (watch the video again and read the fine print in the paperwork of RV dealers and manufacturers)...

 

[Souleem]

Thank you C-Cat.  I will watch again and research some more.

But do new RVs actually break down?

Alma

 

[flying kurbmaster]

There are probably just as many reasons to buy an new RV as there are for not buying one. the only reason I wouldn’t buy an new RV, a new car, or a new house would be because of the off gassing, but that is also true for installing new plywood in a van. It would be important for me to let all these things sit for a couple of years to off gas.

 

[bullfrog]

I bought a 1983 Class A Barth motorhome in 2003 used that had been mechanically gone through and checked for one tenth of the purchase price. It had 85,000 miles on it. I had started researching the manufacturer (and looking for one to purchase in 2000) which was easy because there is and was a Barth owner's national club with a web site that had a ton of information as well as dates and places of get togethers. I bought mine on the recommendation of several members and knew from day 1 what I needed to check and what some of the problems I might encounter. I'm still living in it today although the motor and drive train seals and hoses are certainlly dry rotted as it has been parked for several years when replacing a roof air conditioner the installer was amazed to find the body and it's aluminum structure completely level and square He had expected to have to do repairs on such an old motor home. I would stress look for an RV that has been around long enough to have a following that maintains a club and web site. Join their club and go to their meeting and gatherings. Learn from their experiences. Buy a used one that has had some use and been well maintained and improved. You may find someone in that club that no longer uses their RV and wants to sell. You may find someone in that club like I did that collects, rebuilds and sells them. No matter what before you buy have it checked by a third party expert. It will be worth it for the knowledge you did all you could to make a good purchase. Lots of people out there waiting to take your money if you get lazy!

 

[C-Cat]

Of course a brand new drive train "might" be more reliable than an older vehicle, but then again, breakdowns of new vehicles are not unheard of and since RVs are likely not covered by most states lemon laws (as explained in the video) buying new has its own risks. But overall I agree there might be less danger of a breakdown with a new Class B. However, if there is an issue with the "house" part of the RV, then that's a totally different story (also well covered in the video).

But for the depreciation reason alone I would personally always choose a used RV (with good research and inspection), because the money saved goes a long long way to fix things and you might also be lucky and nothing to fix for a long time (though things in the house part of an RV do break from time to time - we needed a new water pump, furnace blower motor and water heater thermostat. Each time we paid around $100-$150 to a mobile RV Repair and they got it working again in minutes, so we're not really talking about big bucks or shop time here).

 

[RoamerRV428]

everyone will have an opinion on new vs. used
that fact will never change LOL

but buy what the heck you want. What you can afford with your money on what you want. ETC!

There are pros and cons with old and new buying. New buying to me, other than big depreciation, which is seen on all big luxury type toys out there in the world, is about the worst you will hit right away on it.

Buying used to me you buy other's troubles on that rig. But you can also find great used ones out there.

Do what ya want in the end.

 

[C-Cat]

There are pros and cons with old and new buying.  New buying to me, other than big depreciation, which is seen on all big luxury type toys out there in the world, is about the worst you will hit right away on it.

As mentioned in the video... there are numerous people who plunked down big cash (even hundreds of thousand of dollars) to buy a brand new RV and things didn't work or broke right away, then spend several "months" in a shop for "warranty" work and there was no recourse, no compensation for not being able to use what they purchased brand new... it's way different than cars, where you have lemon laws that will give the buyer their money back if the "expensive toy" doesn't work. Now imagine wanting to full time in such a rig...

I agree that with used RVs you may inherit some troubles (though with good independent pre-purchase inspection this issue can be greatly minimized), but fixing them with the boatload of cash you save by not buying new will still leave you with with cash leftover... heck after 4-5 years you can buy the same RV twice for the price of new... now if you have enough cash to buy a new RV twice and you like the new-RV smell (which btw. is probably also a health hazard if you live full time in it , sure, go for it! lol

 

[Smitty716]

I got a 1990 class c with 74k miles and I love it. Bought it used . They wanted $3500 for it and I gave them $2500 all i've done is reseal the roof for good measure and tuned up the generator. I believe in buying used But If I was rich I would buy new. I'm actually looking at a 2004 model I'm thinking about trading for. It has the rear bed where mine is over cap . After lung surgery climbing ladder is bothersome. The couch bed Is so uncomfortable its crazy.

 

[theNomadicHacker]

Just my two cents, but i shopped around and found a nice '91 coachman built on a Ford E350 7.5L and love it. The engine is solid, the frame is solid, the interior needed a bit of gutting and rebuilding, but it's now solid too. So even though I could (in theory) afford it, i'd never buy anything new. Much rather not spend the extra money on the status quo and refurbish/fix up something used myself. Then again, I have a degree in computer engineering, built numerous houses in my early 20s, and have been tinkering with engines for years, so it's not everyone's cup of tea.