Gas vs diesels

$ vs $$$$$$$$

dubdub07 wrote:
I would agree. Ours is 4 years old and has 20k on the clock. I paid over $210K for it new and would be lucky to get $175K for it today.....

I say real lucky, in fact, as most private sales, sales to dealers and consignment sales, that I've seen and personally experienced, go for under NADA low retail.

I would agree. Ours is 4 years old and has 20k on the clock. I paid over $210K for it new and would be lucky to get $175K for it today.....

Kayteg1 wrote:

DrewE wrote:
For the vast majority of motorhomes, the relative longevity of the engine is irrelevant. ..

Maybe for you, but picture average Joe who buys nice and clean few years old gasser, that he uses for 3 years, keeping it in pristine condition.
Than at over 200,000 miles he wants to sell it and move to newer one.
What kind of pricing can he expect for his pristine motorhome?
All that after paying the heavy penalties in the past years at gas pumps.

If you look at actual prices of 6 to 8 year old units, both gas and diesel you will see that the depreciation on the diesels is often more than the selling price of the gas rig.

In other words, you could buy the gas unit, drive it for 8 years, then give it away and lose less money than the depreciation you'd take on the diesel.

As an example, a major FL dealer has a 2008 Monaco 40' DP for sale, 65k miles, asking $110k, that unit sold for about $250k new, the (one) owner took a $140k hit on that unit, not including financing costs if any.

The same dealer has a 2008 Winnebago 35' Adventurer, 54k miles, asking $65k, that unit sold for about $135k new, the owner then took about a $70k hit on that unit.

But notice, the $140k depreciation is MORE than what the Winnie sold for NEW.

Now I am NOT trying to say they are same quality, etc., etc. but the dollars tell the tale for the 'Average Joe'.

DrewE wrote:
Buying vehicles with an eye towards the eventual residual value has always seemed a strange idea to me

I would say just the opposite assuming you are planning on using the vehicle for 3-4 years or whatever and trading up/down to something else, residual value would be important to any smart shopper and could be taken into the equation. the only caveat I would add is those who say that it will be worth and cost $5,000 more so it is a wash do not add in the cost of financing that extra $5K for 3/4 years.
however, since I drive all of my vehicles until they basically are $500 donations to some charity, I don't care much about trade in value.
bumpy

See the topic "Tucson DP goes up in flames". I wasn't aware of it but the topic states there have been several engine fires on DP's.

DrewE wrote:
Buying vehicles with an eye towards the eventual residual value has always seemed a strange idea to me anyhow .....

Here we differ again.
I bought my Prevost conversion being 32 years old.
The odometer show 28k, but it did not have 100's k. (WHO CARES ON 1 MILLION MILES ENGINE??)
Sold it 12 years later for double the purchase price.
Obviously I did remodel it in the mean time end even making money on it was not the goal in ownership -it was considered.

Kayteg1 wrote:

DrewE wrote:
For the vast majority of motorhomes, the relative longevity of the engine is irrelevant. ..

Maybe for you, but picture average Joe who buys nice and clean few years old gasser, that he uses for 3 years, keeping it in pristine condition.
Than at over 200,000 miles he wants to sell it and move to newer one.
What kind of pricing can he expect for his pristine motorhome?
All that after paying the heavy penalties in the past years at gas pumps.

So we have a gas motorhome that's maybe 8 years old and has 200,000 miles on it? The only way I can see that being even remotely likely is if the first owner was a rental company. It averages out to 25,000 miles per year over the RV's lifetime, two or three laps around the US every year. That's a lot of travel, a lot more than typical RVs go through.

If one is an entertainer or other traveling professional who uses the RV for travel and housing, then certainly the longevity of the powertrain may be a valid consideration. For leisure use, even full-timing with no fixed abode, I stand by my estimation that the difference between the lifespan of a gas or a diesel powertrain is irrelevant. (I also find it rather impressive that this theoretical owner of an RV with 200,000 miles on it has somehow kept it in pristine condition...that's a lot of use and general wear and tear no matter how it's figured.)

As to what effect the mileage would have on the selling price of a used motorhome independent of condition, I have a hard time saying. Certainly the lower mileage unit would command a somewhat higher price. I wouldn't guess it's a tremendous difference when compared with the overall depreciation of the motorhome. Buying vehicles with an eye towards the eventual residual value has always seemed a strange idea to me anyhow (with the obvious exception of collectible vehicles purchased as investments, rather than primarily for one's own use).

Kayteg1 wrote:

DrewE wrote:
For the vast majority of motorhomes, the relative longevity of the engine is irrelevant. ..

Maybe for you, but picture average Joe who buys nice and clean few years old gasser, that he uses for 3 years, keeping it in pristine condition.
Than at over 200,000 miles he wants to sell it and move to newer one.
What kind of pricing can he expect for his pristine motorhome?
All that after paying the heavy penalties in the past years at gas pumps.

His depreciation per mile will be a lot less, that's for sure and where the highest cost of ownership is.
With having a diesel, yes the engine is still good for many more miles, but don't kid yourself, people look for and buy the lower mileage units, regardless. Besides, with all the moving parts in any coach, the engine is just one part of it.
Probably best to just disconnect the odometer and be done with it. Just kidding and even though it's been done by many. Not so easy these days, though....

DrewE wrote:
For the vast majority of motorhomes, the relative longevity of the engine is irrelevant. ..

Maybe for you, but picture average Joe who buys nice and clean few years old gasser, that he uses for 3 years, keeping it in pristine condition.
Than at over 200,000 miles he wants to sell it and move to newer one.
What kind of pricing can he expect for his pristine motorhome?
All that after paying the heavy penalties in the past years at gas pumps.