Am I correct or not?
In my way of thinking when you purchase a motorhome, as you would a house, it's an investment. Yes, unlike a house, there will be depreciation as opposed to appreciation. If you don't live in it full ...
Forum Discussion
One part of your post stood out "are having all of the costs associated with traveling, hotels, food, car costs, etc., etc. All of these costs are lost and are not recoverable. However, with a motorhome, a percentage of your cost is recoverable "
How does owning a motorhome automatically make these costs recoverable? Recoverable means you can be reimbursed somehow. This doesn't happen simply by virtue of owning a MH. You still spend money on food, gas and campgrounds, and unless it's for business, no one is paying you back. (in which case they would anyway be it hotel or MH).
Anyway, I used to think this way and was actually my strategy for convincing DW to let me buy one.
While it is true that an RV is cheaper than hotels etc. And the trip itself is cheaper in an RV when considering Gas, campground etc, vs car and/or flying and hotel. It's a win.
But, what is not factored in this equation is the cost of the MH itself. When you take in the cost of the unit, insurance and maintenance, it tips the scales back to bad investment. it costs more for the cost of the Rv + gas + food + campground + maintenance than a whole bunch of trips conventionally. Unless you take a LOT of trips.
Factor in convenience and fun and it tips the scales back again in favor of the RV but now you start getting into the intangibles.
Based on sheer math alone, Rv is a no win game. They cost money to buy, maintain and feed. And they depreciate. It's a curve but pretty aggressive in the first 5 years. You will NOT make money "investing" in an RV. You won't. You will lose. No one is in the RV flipping game. A few may buy collectable units and rehab them for sale, but pretty sure that's different than what you are talking about. And there ain't a ton of money in that game either.
You can't really put a figure around "usage". It's intangible and trying to make it a real number gets clouded into what you would compare it to. You can get "usage" out of anything. (rental cars, hotels, restaurants, you name it). Point is, it's not a tangible figure to try and trick the analytics into being a plus side investment. I'm an analyst for a large bank. So beating numbers into submission is one thing I do well. But it's easy to shoot holes in the RV is a good investment argument.
People buy RV's for the fun, convenience and lifestyle. Plain and simple. Every single one of us will take a loss when we sell our RV. But with smiles to the gallon we all win on the memories investment. And that is why we knowingly make such a poor financial investment.
How does owning a motorhome automatically make these costs recoverable? Recoverable means you can be reimbursed somehow. This doesn't happen simply by virtue of owning a MH. You still spend money on food, gas and campgrounds, and unless it's for business, no one is paying you back. (in which case they would anyway be it hotel or MH).
Anyway, I used to think this way and was actually my strategy for convincing DW to let me buy one.
While it is true that an RV is cheaper than hotels etc. And the trip itself is cheaper in an RV when considering Gas, campground etc, vs car and/or flying and hotel. It's a win.
But, what is not factored in this equation is the cost of the MH itself. When you take in the cost of the unit, insurance and maintenance, it tips the scales back to bad investment. it costs more for the cost of the Rv + gas + food + campground + maintenance than a whole bunch of trips conventionally. Unless you take a LOT of trips.
Factor in convenience and fun and it tips the scales back again in favor of the RV but now you start getting into the intangibles.
Based on sheer math alone, Rv is a no win game. They cost money to buy, maintain and feed. And they depreciate. It's a curve but pretty aggressive in the first 5 years. You will NOT make money "investing" in an RV. You won't. You will lose. No one is in the RV flipping game. A few may buy collectable units and rehab them for sale, but pretty sure that's different than what you are talking about. And there ain't a ton of money in that game either.
You can't really put a figure around "usage". It's intangible and trying to make it a real number gets clouded into what you would compare it to. You can get "usage" out of anything. (rental cars, hotels, restaurants, you name it). Point is, it's not a tangible figure to try and trick the analytics into being a plus side investment. I'm an analyst for a large bank. So beating numbers into submission is one thing I do well. But it's easy to shoot holes in the RV is a good investment argument.
People buy RV's for the fun, convenience and lifestyle. Plain and simple. Every single one of us will take a loss when we sell our RV. But with smiles to the gallon we all win on the memories investment. And that is why we knowingly make such a poor financial investment.
