just starting to look

Hiker_01 wrote:
1) Experience has taught me not to rely on dealer financing as it is usually not going to be the best finance deal available. Once you decide on what you want to buy and from who, work your financing separate.

Absolutely shop around for your loan. Find your best rate. And then give the dealer a chance to beat it. I have bought three new RV's from a dealer. In every case they easily beat my best rate obtained ahead of time.

When we bought our 08 monaco, used in 2010, be got a 20 year loan.
I refinanced last year, 20 again on the now 7 year old coach.
Current balance under $1000, just need to wait till Feb when I can pay it off without a penalty. You don't have to take all 20, can always pay it down quicker.

machunt wrote:
Wife and I are starting to look at our first class A. weve had travel trailers and 5th wheeels. Couple question
1) when financing what are the lengths of loans?
2) Things we should look at, or for.
3) % off msrp

You can get loans up to 20 years--go as short as you can afford to go. Like others have said, you can get upside down easily if you finance for 20 years.

You have a lot of research to do on any home you are considering. First you have to decide if you want to go gas or diesel. There's enough information to keep you busy for month just on that subject.

% off MSRP can be up to 40% if you run into a good deal at a RV show, but 25-30% is fairly easy to get.

Good luck.

afrescop wrote:
On new motorhomes terms as long as twenty years depending on lender, etc. There are some different terms for full timers.

On a long term loan you can be upside down quickly due to the rapid depreciation of RVs.

This is the truth. I personally would never finance a MH for 20 years for this reason.

Hiker_01 wrote:


3) I've learned not to pay a lot of attention to MSRP as each dealer marks MSRP and actual sales price differently.

This isn't true. MSRP is set by the manufacturer as you can see from almost any manufacturer's website. Hence "Manufacturer's suggested retail price". Not dealer suggested retail price. Dealers do have a MAP - advertised price they have to stick to which is why you some see on-line ad pricing as "too low to show".

Anyway, For new coaches - most will go 25-35% off the MSRP. Some - like Winnie usually don't budge lower than 25%, others will dig a little deeper into the 30's. That said, the ONLY way to get a dealer to dig deeper is getting the best price from a lot of other dealers and pit them against one another. RV Direct is a good starting point for a price you should drive to on a new coach, but they don't carry everything. Lazy Days is another but you will have to do the dance a bit with sales to get there.

For a used coach there is little correlation between the original MSRP and FMV (Fair market value). You will have to do different homework on a used coach. Check all the used coach ads for the model and year you are shopping for, check nada and ebay sales (not what they are selling for but what they actually sold for). You will start to arrive at a good average price. But this is contingent on the condition of the actual unit you are looking at. If you can get your hands on an NADA dealers book that shows wholesale pricing that would be an excellent tool to have. Library maybe?

2nd question is vague, just like trailer some models are better than others, or should i say manufacturers.

DW and I have been doing a lot of looking and planning and are getting close to purchasing a class A. Can't tell you what will work best for you, but here are some of what we have done.

1) Financing - Shop around. Look at what your bank, local credit unions, Good Sam, etc have to offer in terms of loans. Most banks/credit unions that offer RV loans will post rates/terms on their websites. Experience has taught me not to rely on dealer financing as it is usually not going to be the best finance deal available. Once you decide on what you want to buy and from who, work your financing separate.

2) Not sure the aim of the question. Our concerns were size (we did not want something too big to maneuver) but we also wanted specific amenities in the floor plan. Everybody has different wants/needs, so take time to look at various floor plans and decide what you must have, what you want, and what you are willing to forego.

3) I've learned not to pay a lot of attention to MSRP as each dealer marks MSRP and actual sales price differently. I spent a lot of time on RVtrader.com, shopping various makes/models/floor plans so have a pretty good idea of what is a good price versus what is not so good of a price.


Good luck

To answer your questions snowbird//// just the 2 of us. and we do plan on the road for prob 2- 3 months at a time.

Dixie, you were able to get a longterm on a used class a

The wife and I just bought a class A, Foretravel motorhome a 2007 model from Tennessee RV in Knoxville. We got a loan for twenty years at a very good rate. We looked at used instead of new and found one that had been stored more than it had been used. It had fifty four thousand miles on it and looked like new inside and out.

There are some great bargains out there if you will spend the time and look.

There are so many options, it's just a guessing game for others to post to help you. Why not really tell us your situation, retired/working/kids/grandkids/sharing/pets, toys, travel plans/camping styles/

So many choices depend on only you, so tell us more, get specific with your needs, then see what people suggest.