Having some discussion with the Mrs, and now some of my own internal "struggles" if you will on a potential purchase we have made (of course its only on "hold" until I get get it driven etc.), but here is my dilemma....I found what I believe to be a good deal on a used machine (2008) but it is 7 years old. While I will purchase extended warranty to cover appliances etc., even power train, it is still 7 years old. It certainly does not look it mind you, near new if you ask me, but on paper...its 7 years old. So in 5 years, what's it going to be worth, now its 12 years old, assume things will all still be working, but has it lost a ton of value.She thinks I should buy new, trouble is, to get what we want new, is like another $40-50K. While I realize it has "new" warranty, powertrain etc., it will still depreciate significantly. If I want to spend around the same money, or even a bit more going from used to new, I frankly get a much lower quality unit.So I am torn....do I spend $70K on a 2008 vs 100K on a "new" machine, that is NO where near the same quality...its just new. I really only need this machine to last us 5-7 years, at which time we plan to upgrade to the "retirement" version if you will.I am sure I am not the only one to ask himself this question. I am confidnet that spending the money on the used as I say is good value, and in 5 years it will still have some value, mind you, not nearly as high as it is today of course.thanks for reading.

The average RV user puts around 5000 miles per YEAR on their coach. That means that IF you are average, you may put 25,000 to 35,000 miles on in the next 5-7 years. Do you think the used 2008 RV will make it another 25-35,000 miles, with minimal care? ProbablyNow if you bought a new coach, what do you think it will be worth in 5-7 years with 25-35,000 miles?Do the math and then see if it is really important to drive a new RV vrs a used RV that will probably suit your needs just fine. Most of us buy our RV's with zero expectation of getting anything back when we sell it. It is all about the journey and pleasure that we get from it. I used the example before of a trip the wife and I took down to Machu Picchu, Peru for several weeks. For us it was a fantastic trip and the thousands that we spent was gone. There was no recovery or trade-in value for that trip and we would do it again in a heartbeat.

I asked a similiar question a while back.$100,000 to spend

It kinda depends on the situation.Personally I always lean towards the USED version if the concept is resale value. Yes, the used one may drop $5-10k after those 3-5 years but the new one will drop that after 1 hour of leaving the dealership.. tough to bounce back from that.I'm more of a fix it myself than warranty guy for various reasons so other than power train I tend to lean away from any add-on warranties anyway. Makes MY decision on new/used a little different than those that believe in or invest in additional warranties. My best advice? You can't win either way but you have to be comfortable with your DECISION and the PRODUCT. If it's what you want today, then buy "it" and enjoy "it". Don't start buyers remorse before you even get into it.Exciting times really. :)

All depends on how long you are going to keep the coach.Buy a brand new one and watch the depreciation flood your mind as you pull off the lot. If you are only going to keep it a few years you will be upside down on it whether you have a loan or paid cash. Because if you paid cash you won't get even close to what you paid for it when you go to sell it. And if there is a loan involved that amount gets heaped on top of the next one you buy with a loan and then talk about being double upside down on that one.I like to pay cash for a nice used one 'bought right' so whenever I am done with it I usually get back what I paid for it. JMHO on how I use my RV money! :C

OktsCamp, I like buying new. We bought our previous coach (2008 Monaco Dynasty) in March of 2007.We paid 78% of the MSRP on a special ordered unit. We drove it for 69,750 miles over 7.5 yrs. We got back 49% of our investment which I thought wasn't too bad. So, the depreciation wasn't awful.Run the numbers and see what works for you.Good luck,MM.

Looking for advice....used vs new | Good Sam Community

42 Replies

tropical36
Explorer
Feb 14, 2015
ct78barnes wrote:
When we where looking the 2 to 4 year old coaches had basement heaters and Work horse chases . Nothing wrong with them just not made any more .So after looking for 2 years we ordered or Winnebago just the way we wanted it. This was 4 years ago and waited till May of 2011 to get it. The first year was a night mare with slide motors going out , TV rear monitor and manny things that should have been caught before it was delivered. Also if you go new make sure the dealer is close by. Ours was 100 miles one way. We are making payments and we have a 7 year plan so we have 3 more years to go then I will retire and up grade to a DP. This is our 3rd coach the first two where used . After 4 years going through this ordeal the next coach will be used . A nice 2 year old will do .I can relate to another poster as keeping it clean and show room new. My coach is full body paint and has 20 coats of wax on it and I do all the oil changes two. It has the Ford motor and we have put 20,000 miles on it in 4 years. We live in Ohio and store it in side for the winters so for 6 months it is under our fair ground Grand stands .This is the hardest part for me not being able to use it year round. We have a pad beside our drive way for the coach and can park it there year round if we wanted to. Some places will not let you park your rv at your home .Our house is paid off so our coach is our only debit. So it is our summer home that we can move .Do not get me wrong it is nice to get new as you are the only one who has lived in it. But if you have a loan on it it is hard to keep it above water . We are not upside down yet but it will happen I am sure . But make sure you do your home work because you will have it for 7 to 10 years .It is hard to give you advise because there are advantages to new and use.Only you can make this choice. Hope this helps

Having said all that, have you ever attempted to calculate your cost per mile, so far and most sure you'll find that the depreciation factor is a huge contributor.
Meanwhile there are many threads on these forums about MPG and even suggestions offered on how to increase this by a smidgen. Those that have even chosen to let their rig sit, rather than use it, when fuel prices are at their highest.
ct78barnes
Explorer
Feb 14, 2015
When we where looking the 2 to 4 year old coaches had basement heaters and Work horse chases . Nothing wrong with them just not made any more .So after looking for 2 years we ordered or Winnebago just the way we wanted it. This was 4 years ago and waited till May of 2011 to get it. The first year was a night mare with slide motors going out , TV rear monitor and manny things that should have been caught before it was delivered. Also if you go new make sure the dealer is close by. Ours was 100 miles one way. We are making payments and we have a 7 year plan so we have 3 more years to go then I will retire and up grade to a DP. This is our 3rd coach the first two where used . After 4 years going through this ordeal the next coach will be used . A nice 2 year old will do .I can relate to another poster as keeping it clean and show room new. My coach is full body paint and has 20 coats of wax on it and I do all the oil changes two. It has the Ford motor and we have put 20,000 miles on it in 4 years. We live in Ohio and store it in side for the winters so for 6 months it is under our fair ground Grand stands .This is the hardest part for me not being able to use it year round. We have a pad beside our drive way for the coach and can park it there year round if we wanted to. Some places will not let you park your rv at your home .Our house is paid off so our coach is our only debit. So it is our summer home that we can move .Do not get me wrong it is nice to get new as you are the only one who has lived in it. But if you have a loan on it it is hard to keep it above water . We are not upside down yet but it will happen I am sure . But make sure you do your home work because you will have it for 7 to 10 years .It is hard to give you advise because there are advantages to new and use.Only you can make this choice. Hope this helps
TriumphGuy
Explorer
Feb 13, 2015
time_to_go_now wrote:
We have owned two new TT, then bought a used Jayco class C, then a new Tiffin we have now. I spent many a sleepless night worrying about new vs. used.

Take care of that QBA I might be looking someday for one :)

I'm glad this thread has gone along well. Sometimes these discussions go nuts.

We all have different situations and I'm glad there are new buyers out there so I can buy from them a few years later. Just about necessary on a single income...
OktsCamp
Explorer
Feb 13, 2015
I very much appreciate all of the feedback, very very helpful indeed. My DW and I have agreed that the unit we found fits us the best and has all of the things we want. While we don't consider it top of the line, its certainly of significantly higher quality than something that I can get new for 20-30K more...(not to mentioned 6-8 feet longer and a 3rd slide, but whos counting). Tomorrow is the test drive, then days following will be inspections and inspections and more inspections. Let's hope the next post I have is a pic of our new unit. thanks again.
tropical36
Explorer
Feb 13, 2015
doxiemom11 wrote:
I would much rather have a higher quality used, then a lower quality new.

I agree and while good quality and engineering continues to remain, newness, with poor quality and engineering diminishes rapidly.
doxiemom11
Explorer II
Feb 13, 2015
I would much rather have a higher quality used, then a lower quality new.
Fifty4F100
Explorer
Feb 13, 2015
My $.02.

1) my career choice 40 years ago precludes me from buying new. I haven't had a new car since 1991. Learned I couldn't afford the depreciation in the 1st year. If I can't stomach buying a $30k car, I'm certainly not going to drop $100k+ on a coach. Didn't pay too much more for the 2000 sqft house I'm sitting in!

2) I disagree that most coaches are used that much except in certain retirement cases (read: full-time). Most working families only use their RV's maybe 2 weeks out of the year and a handful of weekend trips. Some 6 y/o RV's are barely used. Some only want what they owe. They financed 10 years to be able to afford it and look at it sitting sometimes for the past couple of years without moving. Now I know a motorhome sitting for a couple of years is much worse than logging 30000 miles.

3) if money is no object, buy new. Order what you want and wait for it to be built. In my life money is the #1 object and I have to stay within those limits.

If your graduating highschool this year and reading this: get a good college degree. You'll appreciate it in your late 50's!
Fifty4F100
Explorer
Feb 13, 2015
time_to_go_now wrote:
We have owned two new TT, then bought a used Jayco class C, then a new Tiffin we have now. I spent many a sleepless night worrying about new vs. used.

Before we bought the new Tiffin, we actually agreed to buy a used DP in AZ for $60k. We sold our Jayco class C to our friends for $30k. We throw in another $30k and we have a nice upgrade Pay cash. No payment! We drove to AZ, did a thorough PDI. Spent a day getting the dealer to fix all the little things. Wrote the check and headed for home. About 150 miles away, we needed to turn on the headlights. The entire dash went crazy! Gauges went nuts, headlights on and off, windshield wipers going on by themselves, radio blaring. Turn off headlights, everything was fine. We turned around. headed back to the dealer. Slept in their parking lot. They came in the next day surprised to see us. They put two guys on it trying to track down the electrical issue. Come nightfall, they still had not determined the problem. Owner of the dealer offered us our money back. We took it and headed back home. He even gave us an extra $500 to help cover our travel expenses! We found out a week later, after a ton of time spent checking, it was a bad ground on the radio!

Now, my DW just wants our old Jayco back and be done! We call our friends just to see what they are up to, and they have sold their old RV and are now happy with ours! My wife is now wondering what are we going to do? We have all kinds of camping plans for the summer and no rig to camp in! I told her I had a new rig that would fit us perfectly, but it was going to be expensive! She said she didn't care! Go buy it!

We did. Very happy with the Tiffin. But, we have a payment! So, not really sure what the best route is. But, I know when we got up into the $110k range, I drove myself nuts with the questions, "is this the best rig I can get for $110k???" This sure would buy a nice DP just a couple years old!

It really depends on your specific situation.

Don't know who's chimed in on this one yet. I would go back to buy from the dealer in AZ. Seems like a good guy trying to be honest and that's very rare these days. Especially if you liked the coach!
Bumpyroad
Explorer
Feb 13, 2015
Mr.Mark wrote:
As they say in the car business, there is a butt for every seat. Same thing for RV's. I wouldn't buy used as I like new and will deal with the few 'adjustments' as needed under warranty.

I like the new smell, new appliances, new batteries, new tires, new awnings, etc. No one will keep a coach as clean as I do. And, I will know exactly how the coach was taken care of and driven.

Different strokes for different folks.
MM.

my sentiments exactly
bumpy
Mr_Mark1
Explorer
Feb 13, 2015
As they say in the car business, there is a butt for every seat. Same thing for RV's. I wouldn't buy used as I like new and will deal with the few 'adjustments' as needed under warranty.

I like the new smell, new appliances, new batteries, new tires, new awnings, etc. No one will keep a coach as clean as I do. And, I will know exactly how the coach was taken care of and driven.

Different strokes for different folks.
MM.