Buying new vs. Pre-owned (3 years old)
I am just wondering what are the pros and cons in buying new vs pre-owned? How do you justify buying new and take all the depreciation within three years? Maybe you can shed light to me how to perceiv...
Forum Discussion
We were lucky and this is what I might suggest.
Pick out a NEW RV that you want, Model number floor plan etc.
Then visit all the RV dealers in your area, take your time, sometimes it takes months and shop for that same RV you want, two years old. I think that is the best value. Don't just visit the big dealers, check out the smaller mom and pop shops, that is where we bought ours. We got ours at a place that mainly sells travel trailers.
We decided on purchasing a new four winds 5000 back in '05, but at that time they were about 55 grand new - a bit higher for our budget back then. So we shopped around and then when we were not looking, on a lark I stopped by a used RV dealer that we happened to be passing when on an un related errand, and lo and behold there was the exact same model we wanted to buy in the spring, two years old, 3,000 miles on it, and in mint condition for 35 grand. It looked like it was just driven off the showroom floor, I would be suprised if the original owner took more than two or three trips in it. Boy did we snap that up.
If you are going to buy new I suggest you find a two year old unit. Some folks buy a RV and then get divorced or have financial problems and the get repo’ed. So not every relatively new RV has problems. Sometimes folks sell them just because they need the cash for what ever reason or only intended to buy one for a couple of years and then turn it in. Let someone else take the hit for depreciation. THe first two years is the period where the vehicle depreciates the most.
We have had our for almost 8 years now. IF you do it this way make sure you buy the extended warranty it was well worth it. About 2 years after we bought the RV we had a bad leaking propane tank I think it would have cost us around 700 bucks to fix but the extended warranty covered it all and nearly paid for itself just with that one service.
ALso, since the economy is good lately, there are a lot of folks trading in their RV's to buy new so there should be plenty of decent used units to choose from.
IF I were you I would limit myself to no more than two years old, less than 10,000 miles, the less the better. That way you will get a near mint unit if the owner took care of it, and you will get the best value. And demand at least 30 percent less the price you could have bought it two years ago - not off list price, but off the cheapest they were selling for two years ago.
Oh forgot, the best time to buy a two year old RV is in late summer or early fall. I noticed you were thinking about buying used next year. If it is a choice between buying next spring, and this fall, try to find one and buy it this fall. You will get a better deal. We took delivery on ours on Sept 1. Late enough in the summer to get a good deal but enough time to enjoy late summer early fall color tours. I think this is the best time to buy new or used, toward the end of vacation season I think this helped us get a better deal since we bought at the end of vacation season.
Be very picky as we were. When you least expect it you will find it and you will instinctively know to snap it up and you will have no reservations in doing so, after you have shopped around a lot you will know the market and will know what you want. IT's important to shop around a LOT before you buy. Shop new, and shop used. Learn your local market eventually you will know more about what is available then most RV salespeople. Take lots of notes, keep track of prices and collect brochures so you can compare new to used.
We had a TON of brochures we collected over a several year period and on our first camping trip with the RV we celebrated by putting them all in a bonfire LOL.
Pick out a NEW RV that you want, Model number floor plan etc.
Then visit all the RV dealers in your area, take your time, sometimes it takes months and shop for that same RV you want, two years old. I think that is the best value. Don't just visit the big dealers, check out the smaller mom and pop shops, that is where we bought ours. We got ours at a place that mainly sells travel trailers.
We decided on purchasing a new four winds 5000 back in '05, but at that time they were about 55 grand new - a bit higher for our budget back then. So we shopped around and then when we were not looking, on a lark I stopped by a used RV dealer that we happened to be passing when on an un related errand, and lo and behold there was the exact same model we wanted to buy in the spring, two years old, 3,000 miles on it, and in mint condition for 35 grand. It looked like it was just driven off the showroom floor, I would be suprised if the original owner took more than two or three trips in it. Boy did we snap that up.
If you are going to buy new I suggest you find a two year old unit. Some folks buy a RV and then get divorced or have financial problems and the get repo’ed. So not every relatively new RV has problems. Sometimes folks sell them just because they need the cash for what ever reason or only intended to buy one for a couple of years and then turn it in. Let someone else take the hit for depreciation. THe first two years is the period where the vehicle depreciates the most.
We have had our for almost 8 years now. IF you do it this way make sure you buy the extended warranty it was well worth it. About 2 years after we bought the RV we had a bad leaking propane tank I think it would have cost us around 700 bucks to fix but the extended warranty covered it all and nearly paid for itself just with that one service.
ALso, since the economy is good lately, there are a lot of folks trading in their RV's to buy new so there should be plenty of decent used units to choose from.
IF I were you I would limit myself to no more than two years old, less than 10,000 miles, the less the better. That way you will get a near mint unit if the owner took care of it, and you will get the best value. And demand at least 30 percent less the price you could have bought it two years ago - not off list price, but off the cheapest they were selling for two years ago.
Oh forgot, the best time to buy a two year old RV is in late summer or early fall. I noticed you were thinking about buying used next year. If it is a choice between buying next spring, and this fall, try to find one and buy it this fall. You will get a better deal. We took delivery on ours on Sept 1. Late enough in the summer to get a good deal but enough time to enjoy late summer early fall color tours. I think this is the best time to buy new or used, toward the end of vacation season I think this helped us get a better deal since we bought at the end of vacation season.
Be very picky as we were. When you least expect it you will find it and you will instinctively know to snap it up and you will have no reservations in doing so, after you have shopped around a lot you will know the market and will know what you want. IT's important to shop around a LOT before you buy. Shop new, and shop used. Learn your local market eventually you will know more about what is available then most RV salespeople. Take lots of notes, keep track of prices and collect brochures so you can compare new to used.
We had a TON of brochures we collected over a several year period and on our first camping trip with the RV we celebrated by putting them all in a bonfire LOL.
