Used MH - how old is too old?

enough of this worry and fuss about the 10 year limit. if you are driving/pulling a piece of junk, the question might/will come up. for the other 99% of us here, it is a moot point.
bumpy

My RV that is over 10 years old. No parks have said anything to me about age. If one did I would move on.

mlts22 wrote:
My concern (and this is again purely my opinion) is buying a rig so old that it only gets a year or two of use before local CGs boot it due to being older than 10 years. However, in most parts of the US, this isn't really an issue, especially if someone maintains their rig.

If we were ever turned away because our rig is too old, I think I'd loose my composure and laugh in their face....and very happy to comply, and get the heck out of there FAST.

My concern (and this is again purely my opinion) is buying a rig so old that it only gets a year or two of use before local CGs boot it due to being older than 10 years. However, in most parts of the US, this isn't really an issue, especially if someone maintains their rig.

I was able to obtain financing on my 10 year old Coach House. I put down enough down payment to only finance the trade in book value. The finance officer did have to work a little harder, and I did pay a somewhat higher interest rate, but if you have good credit the loans are out there.

Veik wrote:

ron.dittmer wrote:
I believe you will have issues financing a 10 year old rig. Lenders don't want to do that for an old rig regardless of condition and even just a portion of it's true value.

Agreed, so far my credit union can only finance USED rigs that are only 5 years or newer.

You'll have to spend a more to get a newer 5 year old rig, or drop down into one you can pay cash for.

I hope you find a sweet rig you can buy outright.

BTW: sweet = one owner, indoor storage when not on trips

ron.dittmer wrote:
I believe you will have issues financing a 10 year old rig. Lenders don't want to do that for an old rig regardless of condition and even it's true value.

Agreed, so far my credit union can only finance USED rigs that are only 5 years or newer.

I believe you will have issues financing a 10 year old rig. Lenders don't want to do that for an old rig regardless of condition and even lending just a portion of it's true value.

I agree completely with Ron Dittmer. He has provided outstanding advice. Buy used to save the depreciation and buy the best construction you can afford. Yes you will have repair costs, but if you buy quality these costs will never be more than the hit you take buying new. Even new rigs have bugs that need to be worked out, but if money is not an issue, there is a strong case for buying new with a warranty.

I recently bought a 10 year old Coach House 272XL with the Ford E-450 chassis. I have a repair fund and since taking the rig on the road have found some items that need attention. Biggest item is the two slides. They work fine but some of the seals need repair or replacement before water starts getting in. This is normal as the seals are 10 years old. You will find that the slide seals are one of the trickiest parts of an RV for the manufacturers to get right. Just goes with the territory as you have an entire section moving in and out. Many people avoid slides for this very reason, but they are very nice to have to maximize space.

Beat source of impartial information can be found at www.rv.org. Kind of a Consumer Reports for RVs.

I looked at dozens of RVs over a period of two years and went for the quality. Happy hunting!

Veik wrote:

Bordercollie wrote:
With a new rig you get a factory warranty that covers both the truck and house parts for a limited period of time. If you dicker properly, you can get a deal that rivals the cost of a near-new rig and you get a warranty and fixes by the dealer's service department. There are taxes DMV fees and other expenses that
that add to the cost of a new rig. Private sellers often want unrealistically high dollars for their newish rigs to pay off loans. If you can buy for cash, you can save big on new rig. We bought our 2004 Fleetwood Tioga for 52K cash from in late 2003. Dealer's asking price was over 60K. It took some dickering. RV tires are only safe for some 5 years then sidewall cracks require replacement. Air conditioning units, fridges, water pumps, converter chargers, and house batteries may require replacement at about 10 years old. A three year old rig may be a good buy if it requires nothing, but expect cost of repairs, replacements and upgrades with any rig. If you plan to buy used, make sure you know what rig needs and get independent cost estimates before you buy.

I have a certain limit on how much cash I can do, rest will finance.

Does it make sense to finance a 10 year old rig?

If that's what will work for you, it makes sense to finance a 10yr old rig. I bought an 11 year old, relatively low mileage (32,000 mi.), voluntary repo for $7,000. I had a four year old truck and slide in truck camper at the time, with no desire to get another Class C, but it was just one of those deals I couldn't pass up. I bought it with one of those 0 interest credit card checks and rolled into a home equity loan a while later.
I never understood the thinking that buying with cash at a dealer, is to your advantage. I believe even if you finance, the dealer is going to get his money up front, and could very well make more money, if the financing is handled through them.