explain to me

We have only put about 4K miles on our Class C since we purchased it used and got it home 1 1/2 years ago; expensive gas and our favorite places are only a few hundred or less miles away. So we just don't put too many miles on every year. Yes it would probably be cheaper to stay in a hotel or resort for the few nights that we're on the road, but having a MH gives us the freedom to do what we like to do, and when/where we want to travel.

For me, it depends on how much they are charging, what they do, and if the end price is acceptable to me.

When I bought the clipper, I balked at the $800 charge for the "full" PDI, but had them plug in the shore power so I could test the fridge. They charged me $200 on paper for that - but I pulled out the brand new $200 converter/charger in the TT I was trading in, so I wasn't really out anything.

I also had them include a clause in the contract that if I found the fridge wasn't working properly within 48 hours, that they would remove it and put in the working fridge from my TT - figured that was a good compromise for the most expensive potential issue. In the end, everything worked great with a minor fix (replaced thermocoupler in the fridge). When the charger portion of the original charger/converter stopped working much later, I used the one I pulled from the TT and saved that expense.

So, in the end, it just depends on the bottom line and your risk factor.

Mileage may or may not reflect the actual usage of the RV. Ours is an 06 model (new in 07) and has 40000 on the odometer, but has been used a minimum of 60-70 days per year. Some years long trips, some lots of short trips.
Its the owners decision, wants or needs as to what they buy for how they think they would use it. In our case, preferred to drive the bigger vehicle and tow the smaller one, as opposed to getting a TV and TT or 5er.

Ken

tpi wrote:


Also some people do camp close to home regularly. In that case you could do a lot of nights without running up much mileage.

beware the low milage coach that belonged to a boomer, they drive to the job, park till the job is done and drive to the next job, interior well used, chassis not so much. :)

Most working families only use the RV for 2 weeks per year. and seldom do long cross countries.

Our 2000 Newmar only had 8600 miles in 2009, couple bought it, then developed medical problems and placed it in storage.

I've written before about buying a class c, we've always had 5ers (3). I am shocked with the low miles on alot of these c's. It's not uncommon to see a 8 to 10 year old with 10 to 20 k miles. What goes?? Are they just to expensive to drive especially when gas was $4 a gal?? If you paid 80k for a new rig and only drove it 15k in 10 years plus ins, tabs and etc, wow!!

I see the same rigs sitting unused in the storage lot month after month. I think it's due to people with busy lives biting off more than they can use. Maybe coupled with poor RV quality which ensures they have to fix something every time they go out.

Also some people do camp close to home regularly. In that case you could do a lot of nights without running up much mileage.

I just read this Buying a used RV post where someone mentions an extra cost tacked on for that pdi or whatever. It appears he left the deal at that point.
I think a private seller who is really interested in selling and is not trying to get out from under a loan for that $80,000 unit that they hardly use, is better than facing any salespeople in an RV lot.
I just don't like someone telling me nonsense while I'm looking to buy. Even if you don't know anything you can tell that there is nonsense coming from the salesperson. At the time we were looking the lot prices were double the private seller prices. Now I see private sellers asking for almost new pricing--think that is what they still owe?

Any dealer who would want to charge me for a PDI is a dealer I would AVOID! I bought Winnie 3 years ago and have put over 26,000 miles while visiting some 23 states. Yes, I did pay over $4.00 a gallon on many occasions, but I wouldn't trade the memories for any thing. When I returned to East Texas from Montana in September I paid $2.99 for gas and thought it was a deal. Imagine how I feel having just filled up for the first time since September and paid $1.75 per gallon. Justify the costs by the memories. I'm way ahead in the memory department.