Repair costs and frequency frustration
We like our 15 year old 30 ft. Class C we've had for 7 years. Reliability has always been up and down. We had a pretty good couple of years of repair costs we could live with but now we're discourage...
Forum Discussion
I wonder whether RV repairs are treated like foreign and luxury car repairs with the assumption that RV owners are "well healed" and can afford high prices.
I believe absolutely they do. If you roll into the shop with a $40K toy they are going to assume you have the money to pay for such things.
I also drive an old RV. Ours will be 30 years old next year. It is not much to look at. It has delamination problems, a roof that once leaked and was covered over with Heng's, and more. We bought it about 10 years ago for $7500. I suppose over the years I have put $5000 in repairs into it, and 2 sets of new tires for $2000.
Would I have been further ahead of the game if I had bought a $14,000 RV from the start? Maybe. But, I didn't have $14,000.
Financially, we probably should not own an RV. But we use the heck out of it and we like it. I do as much work myself as I can - I'm up against a 24-hour driveway limit due to my HOA. But I also have a good small mechanic shop directly across from my RV storage place that does reasonable work well (most of the time).
It's almost never a good deal to buy a new vehicle - it almost always makes better financial sense to repair. The problem becomes peace of mind for reliability.
I definitely recommend Good Sam roadside assistance if you have an older RV. They have saved our bacon more than once. Also have a contingency plan every time you go somewhere.
