Considering a new class C

If you haven't bought a new unit in years, you will be surprised at how much better (and more complex) they are than units in the past. Take engines. Most have the Ford 350 or 450 with a V10. They are great motors and there is someone in almost every town in the country that can work on them because they are so common and say F O R D on them.

As to price, we were ready to buy new. We researched for two years, settled on a Phoenix Cruiser 2350. Cruisers are factory direct rvs. We were planning on flying up to Chicago, getting a rental car and driving to Elkhart to make the deal. I doubt if they build fifty 2350s a year and PCs are mostly specked out for custom purchase. Would you believe, a ten month old 2350 specked out more than we were going to buy suddenly appeared on Craig's List and it was less than five miles from our house!! The seller had retired, apparently had plenty of money, and had got into motor homes. He had owned three rigs in less than 36 months, all ordered from the factory. He had decided he really wanted a diesel pusher Class A instead of a small C.

I bought it almost on the spot at a very reasonable price. We didn't have to fly to Chicago, drive to Elkhart and wait for it to be built, fly back up and drive it home. Almost two years later, the only thing we have done to it is enjoy it, buy gas for it and add 200 watts solar.

My point is we have always bought new but this taught me a lesson that you never really know what you might find. The odds of ever repeating our experience are incredibly small I realize, but the point still is there.

Paul

Purchased new in 2002. Still have it and will keep it for another 10 years. I would buy new, negotiate well, and maintain it. Used is not a bad idea but you are inheriting someone's problems. Class C offers driving dynamics similar to heavy duty van and I love the V10 engine. I do not worry about MPG, getting around 8 mpg.

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Ed and I found a size/floorplan that we really liked; and found a couple slightly-used models for sale about 100 miles south of us. But before we could go buy one, a local RV Show had us looking at the same models new from a different dealer. When a salesman approached us, we said we were planning to buy a used unit - and he offered a new one for $2000 less than used. Needless to say, we bought it on the spot....LOL!

I really appreciate these thoughtful replies. Last Christmas we pulled into the Wilmington NC KOA and I discovered a radiator leak. Lucky for me it was a very small leak on the joint where the top connector feeds into the radiator. It was that day when everything is closed tomorrow so, I didn't have many good options, or so I thought. I drove the toad down to the Auto Zone and explained my predicament to the young man behind the counter. He was a Marine just home from Afghanistan and his job in the USMC was a tank mechanic. He handed me a tube of JB Weld putty and explained exactly how to apply it. He told me that in the Marines they fixed all kinds of things with JB Weld, including cracked engine blocks because the Marines can't wait around for replacement parts. Anyway, I did what he said and it works perfectly.

My wife has some health issues and we carry our dogs, that are family, with us. If we break down out on the highway on a really hot day things could get bad for them. Of course that's always a risk with anything I do try to minimize risk as much as I can by making common sense decisions. Plus, we have aging parents that live several hours away in opposite directions. We have to have a reliable RV of some description. Then there's the issue of my wife rarely needing to stay several nights in a hospital two hours away. We feel like we cannot be without the RV, or an RV. It's a luxury and a necessity for us.

Also, I would really like to have the extra bed that a class C offers. In the class A what usually happens is my wife and three dogs take the bedroom and I sleep on the fold out sofa (and I sleep the best sleep I get all year on that thing). I'd love to have that cabover bed and stop unfolding and folding that sofa. I also like the idea of the accessibility of the engine compartment on the class C. In my class A everything in the front of the engine is really hard to get too.

I like the 454 in my RV. Despite some of the negative press I have read that thing runs great (so far) and has plenty of horsepower. No problems with pulling mountains even with the toad attached. I know that some of the early years of the Ford V10 there were some common fairly serious issues. I'd like to avoid that altogether. I spoke with a bus mechanic that said that every V10 Ford in the city fleet had some type of a coolant leak that affected the EGR valve and they all went at the same mileage, 100% of them. It was a big repair. But, I don't remember the specific year models. I know that the late model Ford 460s are awesome engines. Very few complaints.

I figure that a new(ish) unit would keep me from worry over major breakdowns for a while. I want to drive the lower 48 states and Alaska sooner rather than later. I wouldn't try that in my old rig with my wife and dogs along for the ride.

Back in late 2003 we were looking at new and used rigs. We ended up buying our Tioga 26Q for cash for around $60K after some lengthy haggling with the salesman, sales manager, and closer at a large Socal RV dealership. Buying a new rig has a few "cons", slow dealer service department fixes of factory defects and minor upgrades. There are some "pros" like new unused RV queen mattress and new smell, factory warranties on appliances, etc. and chassis.
Don't buy the extended warranty, it's full of loopholes and doesn't come into affect until housebox and chassis warranties expire. There are taxes and other expenses to buying a new rig that you may want to consider in making a decision to buy new vs nearly new as well as current market trends.

I would not ditch an RV just because of its age. We have a 1990 Winnebago Warrior. Everything works except the cruise control, and I can't get parts for that anymore. It only has 67,000 miles on it, so I'm sure it has at least that many left in it.

My advice is to get a Good Sam membership. Our RV has crapped out on us a couple of times (fuel pump relays, then fuel pump, plus we blew a heater core just as we pulled into Disney) and Good Sam has been worth every penny just form the towing costs saved.

$60K can buy a lot of gasoline and repairs if you need them.

falconbrother, if you are comparing, say a 2015 to a 2014 Class C, I think you will not find much difference in the price, however, I would suggest dropping down a couple of years, like 2012-2013, where you will see a greater price drop. Buying new, you immediately take a depreciation as soon as you drive it off the lot, and are tied down with some major payments, for many more years. I would suggest to you that you let someone else take the depreciation, and buy a slightly used motorhome.

I bought new but I had a trade in and I do not like trying to sell on my on. I had a relative that talked her husband in getting a 36 footer class A...then after taking a trip in it she gets ...I would say vertigo....she does not in my class C...but they are stuck with it ...but it has nothing to do with the class A....all in the head.

I don't like trying to figure out why someone would trade in a nearly new motorhome..and hoping it is for personal reasons and not for a motorhome problem...

and class c under the hood is alike on the ford and chevy..so servicing is the same..but after saying all that..after visiting in Abilene with my daughter and staying near Eisenhower Center..I see a lot more class A motorhomes...

It is personal preference is what it all comes down...what makes you happy

As a group ..I find r.v.ers the best...happy hunting