Over Priced Used Motorhomes.
Have been looking for a Used Class A motor home and have come to the conclusion that Nada and Kelly Blue book are misleading with pricing of used RV's. Most people selling a used RV look at these rati...
Forum Discussion
One thing that's pretty much been missing from this discussion is that not all older MH's were created equal. Our Beaver was a luxury coach with an MSRP in the ~$400k range. Fortunately, we didn't pay anywhere near that. It has a full-body paint job in an automotive-quality finish with multiple layers of clearcoat. There are no decals. When waxed and buffed it looks as good as new and people are astounded to learn that it is 14 years old.
Mechanically, we try to keep it in top-notch condition. It has a large-block 12 liter CAT engine designed to last >750k miles before first in-frame rebuild, coupled to a heavy duty Allison 4060 transmission. With 95,000 miles on them, they are just broken in. My maintenance schedule conforms to factory recommendations and I don't cut corners because my per year mileage is low.
As for the interior we have changed most of it, except for the solid wood cabinets for which Beaver was known. The typical RV furniture has been replaced by an Ekornes Stressless sofa and recliner, some of the most comfortable seating pieces in the world. Lighting, electronics, flooring, etc have all been updated. There's a residential fridge, a new washer/dryer and microwave, etc.
If you start with a quality item and employ high quality products when you update it, there is no reason that an older MH can't have a fairly high selling price. The drive train alone on a rig like ours is worth $20-30k just as a used engine and transmission.
Mechanically, we try to keep it in top-notch condition. It has a large-block 12 liter CAT engine designed to last >750k miles before first in-frame rebuild, coupled to a heavy duty Allison 4060 transmission. With 95,000 miles on them, they are just broken in. My maintenance schedule conforms to factory recommendations and I don't cut corners because my per year mileage is low.
As for the interior we have changed most of it, except for the solid wood cabinets for which Beaver was known. The typical RV furniture has been replaced by an Ekornes Stressless sofa and recliner, some of the most comfortable seating pieces in the world. Lighting, electronics, flooring, etc have all been updated. There's a residential fridge, a new washer/dryer and microwave, etc.
If you start with a quality item and employ high quality products when you update it, there is no reason that an older MH can't have a fairly high selling price. The drive train alone on a rig like ours is worth $20-30k just as a used engine and transmission.
