UKexpat Speaking as one who has recently purchased one and has only had it a week, I can say my experience with Cruise America has been very positive. The El Monte folks were out of state for me, and I did not want to spend the extra time and money traveling to see their inventory, but I think both firms are similar.
I have had time to go over everything in my (new to me) motorhome which is a Four Winds Majestic 28A with a bed in the back that you can walk around. That was a major concern for my wife as she did not want a bed in the corner that either of us would have to crawl over to go to the potty at night. Also it is very hard to make beds in the corner. We had one that way before and it was a pain and my wife put her foot down in that was her main requirement.
As far as price. Well we just got ours and there were more buyers than there were rigs for sale on the CA lot. The only reason we got ours when we did is because some other folks put money down on it to hold it, but their loan fell through. So we were not in a position to bargain very aggressively, but we did get them to toss in some extras in the deal like a brand new batteries, dump hoses, and other small items. But the price was pretty much cast in stone as we were making up our mind another couple was looking over our MH and would have put money on it if we declined. In the middle of the Winter that probably would not have happened but this is the prime time folks are looking to buy one and set it up for the Summer season as we are doing.
Be prepared for the nay sayers who have never owned one or would never consider buying one of the rental units. I asked on this forum and others for responses from those who had bought a former rental MH or owned one now to list the problems they had and I never got an answer directly other than statements like " I knew a guy, or I heard about a guy who had a bad experience". I did get a couple of responses from some who had bought one and were completely happy with their purchase.
But what ever you do, go over the MH very carefully. I spent 2 days going over everything I could think of. Get a good check list off of the Internet and use it to jog your memory. If you are not mechanically inclined get a friend or hire someone to go over the unit with you before you buy. I had to put a deposit down that was refundable, and you may also. But it is worth taking you time for a purchase of many thousands of dollars.
Good luck to you and I hope you find a good MH that you can be happy with. But remember that a MH is much like a house except it is going through an earthquake type experience each time you take it out and you better expect to have to repair and replace things along the way. At least that has been my experience in the past.
