Fiesta Former Rental?

TheWanderers wrote:
Soren, I NADA'd it out and it has a low retail value of 60k. That includes the high mileage deduction. I know I can buy it at 45k and maybe better. So it's still on my short list.

Oddly enough, I get $47,198.00 with a deduct for mileage. Unless the values are that location specific, I can't see how you got up to 60K? Hopefully you are not adding ANY options when you do your value calculations????

We originally planned on buying a used gas MH in the -02-05 year range. Having been up and down the east coast shopping, I can tell you that 60K will get you that rig with 1/5th of the miles and wear and tear. Remember, once this thing is yours and the ODO rolls past 100K, it's about unsellable, unless you want to take a 20-25K hit. Take a look at the completed sales on Ebay auctions to see what high mile rigs are really worth. I think you will find that any high mile gas rig, is a pretty poor "investment", once you throw in a prior rental history, there is no way that I would pay anywhere near 45K for it. Hey it's your money, the company has a solid reputation for maintaining and documenting their fleet, and if you don't care about resale, go for it. OTOH, if you change your mind in a year or two, plan on taking a hair cut for about 1/2 of your "investment"

TheWanderers wrote:
Oh and Bumpy, it's not about ego, the full body paint (and gel coat) It's about being *****in' and I want it, ha ha. I want to love it on the outside and not just the inside.

as I said, drop down to mexico and get a cheap paint job there if it will widen your search.
bumpy

TheWanderers wrote:
Soren, I NADA'd it out and it has a low retail value of 60k. That includes the high mileage deduction. I know I can buy it at 45k and maybe better. So it's still on my short list.

Be sure as your starting comparison you did not add NADA values for non-standard options. The market typically does not include those values at trade-in time.

But, your available used rig market is limited somewhat by the bunk bed search. So all solicited opinions are trumped by your opinion as the only one that counts.

Buy one and have some fun....

Oh and Bumpy, it's not about ego, the full body paint (and gel coat) It's about being *****in' and I want it, ha ha. I want to love it on the outside and not just the inside.

Soren, I NADA'd it out and it has a low retail value of 60k. That includes the high mileage deduction. I know I can buy it at 45k and maybe better. So it's still on my short list.

winnietrey wrote:
I recently rented a car in the UK. Put about 2K miles on it. It was a hard 2k on that car. I in no way was trying to abuse it. But found it difficult to drive on the wrong side of the road. As a result I hit more pot holes, Had a lot more quick starts and harder brakes, than I would have on my own car here at Home.

I was thinking while driving it, boy I sure would not want to buy this car after 100 drivers like me. I don't care how much maintance they do to it. Those were hard miles.

I think this would also apply in the MH world. Probably more so

If you spend enough time in our national parks you run into hundreds of euro tourists in rentals. I have helped countless folks out when it comes to just about every aspect of using their rental rigs. You are correct is assuming that, even unintentionally, these rigs get hammered pretty hard. I have seen a lot of amazing things like dumping the black tank, fire hose style. Rinsing the hose out by swabbing it out with the fresh water hose at the dump station, then immediately pushing the same hose end into the fresh water fill opening. Yea, I dry heaved a bit on that one.

Another interesting thought that probably never comes up when buying a used class C is. "Is this rig still together from the factory, or did you put a new cut-away under the box" We rented a class C a few years back. The Ford portion of the rig was three years old, in nearly new shape, with a massive amount of mileage. The camper portion was obviously a heck of a lot older, and far more worn that the truck. Either the original truck wore out, or it was totaled, but it was clearly a swap job. This unit will eventually end up being resold, and somebody will end up with a stunningly tired outfit.

Bumpyroad wrote:
soren I largely agree with you except I consider the life expectancy of my vehicles to be largely based on mileage, the wearing out of mechanical parts, so I highly value low mileage on any motorized vehicle I buy.
Now I fully realize that those with worn out hulks with 150,000 miles on them have a different view than I do.
bumpy

I wholeheartedly agree. The issue in my last post is strictly based on the fraudulent "Bump" that the guides give for "low" miles. If I'm looking to determine low retail for an eight year old coach, with 35K miles on it, the guide may add 7% to the total for low mileage. Bottom line is that the majority of units I viewed seemed to have 3-5K miles per year on them. So, IMHO, adding a few grand to the value based on the fact that it has typical mileage on it doesn't add up.

I actually laughed at a salesman from Lazy Days a few weeks ago, when he used the guide to play that game. We go into a newer gas rig with a massive amount of miles on it, and he says, "well it's not like a car, these things are meant to be used, so it's better to find one like this, than one that was just parked". A day later he calls to discuss another unit that was overpriced by $25K. So, I'm trying to get him to give me a straight answer as to why I should pay 25K more than this thing is worth? Well, $11K is a bump for the incredibly low miles. LOL, all you can really do is end the conversation politely, why try to reason with a snake?

I recently rented a car in the UK. Put about 2K miles on it. It was a hard 2k on that car. I in no way was trying to abuse it. But found it difficult to drive on the wrong side of the road. As a result I hit more pot holes, Had a lot more quick starts and harder brakes, than I would have on my own car here at Home.

I was thinking while driving it, boy I sure would not want to buy this car after 100 drivers like me. I don't care how much maintance they do to it. Those were hard miles.

I think this would also apply in the MH world. Probably more so

soren I largely agree with you except I consider the life expectancy of my vehicles to be largely based on mileage, the wearing out of mechanical parts, so I highly value low mileage on any motorized vehicle I buy.
Now I fully realize that those with worn out hulks with 150,000 miles on them have a different view than I do.
bumpy

TheWanderers wrote:
Thanks everyone for the great feedback!! One clarification on the price though - I am seeing a lot of talk about 45-50k being high, but you have to remember that I am looking for an A class, no more than 6 yrs old and at least 33-35 ft. With bunk beds and full body paint. When I do a search I never find all those parameters unless I go with El Monte. Even if I try to live without full body paint, it's still only a few units to chose from. I really want the bunks for my girl, the paint for me and the length for us all. Again, thank you all for the fantastic input!! Keep it coming!

AH! I think we have spotted a clue here. I just bought a slightly older Diesel Pusher. Now I spent months searching, and looked at a few hundred of them, so I hopefully learned a little bit about the hunt. You are limiting your options in this case based on using search parameters that fit your budget. First of all, dealer retail is a fantasy, based on a hoping for a clueless mope stumbling in for a good screwing, nothing to do with you, or what you are going to be paying! You WILL find a much better deal than a well flogged rental, if you have the discipline to do battle with the dealers and not cave in until you get what you want.

First you need to determine the real value of the rigs in your search parameters. Determine what brand, models, and years work for you, then get on the NADA site to determine the LOW retail for these units. This isn't low retail after you entered a bunch of options or added a fake, BS value for "low mileage" etc..... just enter the year, make and model and hit continue to go to the values page. Now your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to find a gently used coach, in great condition, with a reasonable number of miles (in this case 30-50K would be my comfort zone). You need to make it clear that you will be buying such a rig with four new tires, a complete set of maintenance records, a complete inspection by an independent mechanic, a short term dealer supplied warranty (100% dealer pay, NOT 50/50%)and that you will be paying low retail for the unit. Believe me, it is done like this every day of the week. The salesman may tell you that you are crazy, that he can't go to the GM with a crazy low ball offer like this..........and you can't expect to pay that price, that is for a coach that needs extensive "reconditioning" blah, blah ,blah....Don't even respond to the silliness. Just stick to your guns.

Bottom line is that you can, and will, find a great rig in your price range. It takes a lot of effort, and a strong belief that YOU know what a fair price is for the rig you want. Don't fall for all the stories about how wonderful a heavily used rental is going to be. I've been in this game for a very long time. I have been in many locations along the "rental trail" where these things earn their keep. They are used predominately by foreign tourist, and "newbies" who haven't got a clue. Some are very conscientious , some are absolutely brutal on the equipment. They get abused, smashed and used hard. Given your relatively high budget, you need to protect your investment by finding a rig that has plenty of evidence that it was lightly used by a caring owner, or two. Good luck, this whole process can be extremely stressful, but well worth the effort.