PPL

DanLee wrote:
...Can you trust their rating grades?...

IMO, no (unless maybe it's their top rating.)

I would not waste a good amount of time and money to get there based on their ratings. I would spend that effort locally unless you're looking for something very specific which PPL has advertised.

Now if it's a short drive for you, then no problems spending a day checking out the rig and walking around their facility. Who knows you might see something even better.

I agree, their ratings of conditions are generally higher than I would rate them. But, then again, I am very picky.

Conditions vary all over the place as you would expect for consignment units.

Same for negotiability-- PPL contacts the seller-- you work through PPL.

The good news is that they have a huge supply all in one location and without high pressure salesmen hounding you. You can look at RV's for hours without being hassled.

I've shopped PPL but have not bought from them. You negotiate with PPL as the broker, they work with owner. Prices are negotiable. When I talked with them, there is the asking price (listed) and owner has given them the lowest OBO price so negotiation can go quicker. If you ask lower, they can go back to owner to check.

Pictures can be a bit deceiving. What may look really good may not be in such a good shape, so always good to actually see it in person, which would be a rather long trip from DC. In the end, you may find something just as good but much closer.

In my experience, PPL is not the best bet for a diesel pusher, especially if you are looking for a newer, higher end rig. I had a very bad consignment experience and had the displeasure of having to be there for a few days. That gave a lot of time to look around. PPL has many, many RVs for sale, but most of them are older and in less than pristine condition. You will be incredibly lucky if you get anyone to help you look at the rigs. They will be priced semi-reasonably, but remember it will be about a 50/50 mix of rigs that people are willing to sell of a reasonable price and rigs that people have to sell because they have a loan on them and no money to pay the difference between the payoff and the value. Those rigs aren't going to be negotiable, because there is no way to pay off the loan if they don't get their price.
I agree with some other people, they do get a bit poetic in their determination of condition. Part of that is because apparently a whole bunch of people don't feel it is necessary to make their rigs showroom ready before they take it there for sale. I was amazed at how much small stuff was not taken care of which made the rigs look much worse than they probably were. Things like torn blinds, missing trim, broken hinges on cabinets, TVs removed and wires just laying (or is it lying, I never can get that one right) around.
PPL is probably a good place to shop if you are looking for a 10+ year old rig. If your tastes run 3 to 5 years old, unless you see something that actually grabs you on their website, don't waste your time and money going there on the hope something good will be there.

Their prices SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I bought my FIRST diesel pusher from them...a 40' Gulfstream Tourmaster. Notice most posters that say no have never purchased from them.

The experience was good. I found it on line, talked to a salesman about it at length, had him send me a few more pictures, specific to what I asked for and we made an appointment. I flew in from California, rented a car from Houston Hobby and drove over. The coach was cleaned and plugged in waiting for me. I took it for a test drive without the salesman or any high pressure. I then spent almost two hours going over the coach. Although some of their offerings are owned by PPL, this one was a consignment. My salesman negotiated a better price from the seller and they agreed to replace all the batteries in the rig. We spent two more days in their campground to familiarize ourselves with the coach and they fixed a couple small things that appeared. One was a louder than normal water pump so they replaced that at their cost. We then returned the rental and drove the coach back to California. They rated the coach above average and I'd say that was accurate. The interior was clean but not up to our standards so we spent some of the time in their campground shampooing the carpets and scrubbing it down. I also took the coach to a nearby quarter car wash and gave the engine, trans and cooling system a complete bath.

All in all, it was a good experience and I would not hesitate to purchase from them again. In fact, they were on our list again after the Tourmaster got stolen. We booked flights to Las Vegas, Phoenix and Houston to look at coaches. Las Vegas was a bust but we found the Dynasty in Phoenix so our search ended there without making it back to Houston.

Hope this helps...Dennis

DanLee wrote:
Is this a good place to buy a used diesel pusher? Can you trust their rating grades? Are the prices negotiable? Who do you negotiate with, PPL as the the broker or directly with owner?

thanks

Before even looking at a particular coach, forget the photos and pay attention to it's listed condition and maybe only look at the ones that are considered to be excellent, as good and very good, doesn't always get it.

I take that back,, the more i look there are some really good deals on there disregard my first post on this thread

I'm with Dennis, bought our first diesel pusher from them back in Feb. I did just what Dennis said, asked for pictures of certain things and spent a lot of time on the phone with the sales man. Had him go out and take more pics for based on what we talked about. I live about 5 hours from Houston so it wasn't a big deal to drive down. When we got there the coach was waiting on us, and it was just how explained over the phone. In better shape really... Very pleased with out service there.

If you have a particular one in mind at the Houston location I can go by there this weekend and take a good look at it for you. I can send you some pics of any flaws I find.

However I cannot inspect for mechanical condition or functionality. The batteries are disconnected.