Need help/info on 2011 Jayco Melbourne 28F

I agree, condition means so much. Salty sea air and winter salt spray is so very hard on everything metal from hardware to the chassis frame. High humidity is next up. Sun is another culprit. If you can find one stored indoors all it's life, pay extra for it because the payback will be huge. Climate controlled all the time, the rig will be in "like-new" condition.....like a well preserved exotic car.

we looked at and were going to purchase about the same year model back in '13. Price then was about what they are asking now. Know where the unit came from, as the one we looked at was from the NE and a lot of the external compartments had a lot of corrosion in them and on the locks. Frame also had rust as well as stuff under hood. Another dealer said that units from NE and actually from south suffer the same condition! The wife did like the layout, I liked the electric seats, dealer balked at fixing the compartments and stuff so we passed it on. Like many there is limited external storage, has a nice big box on back but its not very deep so looks can be deceiving. There is a '14 Winnebago aspect out here that I just saw and its only $60 I think it was maybe a little less 16000 miles. So look around, maybe travel a little for a good deal. But $57K is apparently on the high side of things.

Owinsmom, I understand what you are saying regarding NADA or Blue Book values.
Dealers do not use them to determine a value for themselves, they use what's called a dealers Black Book to determine values.
What happens is people try to trade them in and get so low balled they yell "YIKES" and then try to sell them privately for more money. As rv age, the value is determined by condition and that's what yo need to base the price on . RV's are not investments, depreciation value is horrible.

As said, there are 'too many bad ones' being unloaded right now and very well might be dried out and unloaded . Living in S.C. , unfortunately you are probably well aware of this. Part of my family lives in S.C. I hope you stayed safe and remain safe.

a 2011 unit has 7/8 yrs of age on it, regardless of miles. With that age and 24k miles says this unit probably sat for long periods of time, not being used which isn't always a good thing especially if rodents decide to nest somewhere and do intermittent electrical damage.

Things begin to break down over time and is also true in the rv world. The 5 year mark seems to be the magic point where issues begin to rise, generally speaking.
If you have to pay out of pocket to an rv mechanic, you are talking over $100.00 plus (i've heard some places are up to $175.00) an hour and those hours turn into days and sometimes weeks to make a repair. I had one drag on for 6 months, all apart, while taking up a bay in the shop. Thank goodness that was between the repair shop and the rv mfg. under a warranty repair.
If you are new to this, I would hire someone to do an inspection of any rv you plan to buy . IMO, it could be money well spent. They know how and what to look for.

Given this is the end of the RVing season for much of the country, you should be getting a better deal than NADA. I would offer $49,000.

Also, you need to look for flood and other water damage considering the recent flooding in your state.

Your state DMV might also require a Natural Disaster Disclosure Statement form like we have here in Illinois. Our DMV has a list of zip codes throughout the country with a Natural Disaster history. I have to get THIS FORM signed and notarized by the seller from such a zip code to get my title processed and plates purchased in Illinois. This happened to me twice now for cars I purchased in Missouri and Texas.

bobndot wrote:
Is it like this one in the below link , 2013 for $55k ? If so, the price is below $57k plus a later model.
If a dealer was selling that 2011 to you, his selling price might take into consideration that he would be responsible to warranty it for at least 30 days. Therefore a private seller who does not have to warranty it should reflect that in his asking price. $57k sounds a little high to me. Just my opinion.

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2013-Jayco-Melbourne-28F-5002915820

It is a private party. My thoughts are, they put the model/year in the NADA site, added the low mileage, and that's how they came up with the price.

$95,850 base price
$42,400 low retail
$51,050 average retail

Is it like this one in the below link , 2013 for $55k ? If so, the price is below $57k plus a later model.
If a dealer was selling that 2011 to you, his selling price might take into consideration that he would be responsible to warranty it for at least 30 days. Therefore a private seller who does not have to warranty it should reflect that in his asking price. $57k sounds a little high to me. Just my opinion.

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2013-Jayco-Melbourne-28F-5002915820

Maintenance records? And nothing beats a pro inspection.