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.

This age old question can be narrowed down considerably, by stating a budget, quality vs newness, for dollar spent and whether your interest is for a gasser or DP. Keep in mind that going older in a DP, without a slide room lowers the cost considerably and about having the same worth as a same year gasser with a slide.
For quality first and foremost, look in the rear for a side radiator and if you can't see the engine, then keep on walking. Having said all this, $60K could buy you an 05 Rev LE 40E, like we have and don't know how you'd ever do much better and we're talking 3 slides here. It'll just take some wheeling and dealing is all.
For a good example of final sales prices, click here and scroll down ... PPL final sales