newbie needs wisdom

vawalkers wrote:
We are looking to buy our first motorhome. Due to getting into the rv world later in life, we are not starting with a travel trailer and working our way up. Our hope is to start with a used class A. It will be 5 to 7 years before we become half-timers. Due to the nature of my job requiring working every Sunday, we will be making a couple of one week trips each year and several shorter trips each year. This will give us time to see what we would want to update on the unit before hitting the road for longer trips. So we are looking for wisdom from you veterans about buying used class A's. Our first question is. "How old is too old"? We have looked at several 2000 to 2003 Newmar Dutch Stars that seem to be better built than some of the newer models from other manufacturers. What are some of the main things to look for when buying used? we have read about pressing on walls to see if they give in spots that might indicate a leak at some point. We are trying to stay under 60k with this purchase. Any thoughts or bits of wisdom would be appreciated.

Since you are a long way away from even 1/2 timing, I would not buy anything right now. You should look to a local source where you can rent a Class A and take a week long trip. See what you like and what you don't. This will also likely be your least expensive course for the couple of trips per year until you get closer to going full time. Overall cost of ownership is very high when used very little so what appears to be a high rental cost will save you money in the long run. You will also learn so much about the coaches and what you like and don't like that when you are ready to buy you will have a very good idea of what's right for YOU!