When is the best time to buy a used class C RV
When is the best time to buy a used class C RV? Also, what manufacturers are best selection for used RVs? Any years to avoid?
Forum Discussion
"Best time" is hard to nail down. If you're buying on price, the best time is when others aren't standing in line waiting for a salesperson to help them. That would mean after the season is over and before the spring buyers start lining up.
That said there is also a consideration to be given for inventory. What good is a low price on an RV you don't want? We lucked out and found our ideal coach in early September. I also discovered that most RVs for sale at that time were the ones that no one wanted during the summer rush. Dealers let their stock dwindle so they don't have to pay flooring costs over the dead time of winter.
I agree that the best time to buy is when you find the RV you want. Figure out your budget and then start looking for what is in your budget. Our search took 2 years. I found that my original budget of $20K was too low for the quality and condition we desired. It wasn't until we got to a budget of $40K that we began to find rigs in good condition with the features we wanted. The dilemma this presented was that now we were knocking on the door of new entry level rigs. We decided that a well maintained (and well inspected) used higher end RV was best for us. That was hard for me because in my mind, $20K was a lot of money and I couldn't believe the garbage that people wanted that much for it.
As for brands, you will have to decide which ones fit your requirements. The only ones I didn't consider were Leprechauns because of leaking issues that were documented here at the time we were looking.
There aren't any particular years to avoid but there are considerations that will be dictated by your budget. Carbureted VS EFI. Early V10s VS later. 4 speed transmissions VS 5 speeds.
Major concerns should be condition and no leaks. When checking tire dates be sure to check the inside duals as I found several sellers who only replaced the 4 you could see and even turned the date codes to the inside of the dual so it was difficult to see. If they were that sneaky, what else did they hide?
As I said, it took us 2 years because I was very particular about what I wanted and it took some time for me to adjust my expectations as well as to discover other things we desired.
That said there is also a consideration to be given for inventory. What good is a low price on an RV you don't want? We lucked out and found our ideal coach in early September. I also discovered that most RVs for sale at that time were the ones that no one wanted during the summer rush. Dealers let their stock dwindle so they don't have to pay flooring costs over the dead time of winter.
I agree that the best time to buy is when you find the RV you want. Figure out your budget and then start looking for what is in your budget. Our search took 2 years. I found that my original budget of $20K was too low for the quality and condition we desired. It wasn't until we got to a budget of $40K that we began to find rigs in good condition with the features we wanted. The dilemma this presented was that now we were knocking on the door of new entry level rigs. We decided that a well maintained (and well inspected) used higher end RV was best for us. That was hard for me because in my mind, $20K was a lot of money and I couldn't believe the garbage that people wanted that much for it.
As for brands, you will have to decide which ones fit your requirements. The only ones I didn't consider were Leprechauns because of leaking issues that were documented here at the time we were looking.
There aren't any particular years to avoid but there are considerations that will be dictated by your budget. Carbureted VS EFI. Early V10s VS later. 4 speed transmissions VS 5 speeds.
Major concerns should be condition and no leaks. When checking tire dates be sure to check the inside duals as I found several sellers who only replaced the 4 you could see and even turned the date codes to the inside of the dual so it was difficult to see. If they were that sneaky, what else did they hide?
As I said, it took us 2 years because I was very particular about what I wanted and it took some time for me to adjust my expectations as well as to discover other things we desired.
