Buying an RV... How long has it been on the lot?

goducks10 wrote:
The longer it sits on the lot the cheaper it will be to buy.

I would not agree with that. Few people on this forum report paying less than the so-called RV wholesale dealers that sell more customer orders than from lots.

Anyway, date of manufacture is on the sticker posted which has been required since mid 2000s. Older than that, you may find some other non-standard labels. That's the best you can do to narrow down a date. The model year can be decoded from the VIN, but model years can be quite arbitrary.

Earl E wrote:

TucsonJim wrote:
If you look at the tire placard on the driver's side that shows the tire loading, it will show the date of manufacture.

Of course the tires could have been sitting at manufacturer's plant for sometime before being put on the trailer. I don't think that would really let you know how long it had been on the lot. But I wouldn't worry about it, anyway. If you like it, buy it.

Didn't say look at the tires. Look at the placard. Cause I thought same as you. Then I went. Oh wait.

When we were browsing used units at the local Camping World, the sales guy (new to the business) showed us the arrival inspection report for the 2004 unit we were interested in. The report showed what they found upon inspection and what they did (or didn't) replace - but what was most interesting to us was how long the unit had been sitting on their lot - over a year! (I found out later they have some used units they've had for 2+ years!!)

We managed to score a pretty good deal (at least, a price we were VERY happy with) on that unit. Hard to know if age-on-lot was a factor in their decision to accept, but it certainly influenced our negotiation process.

I forgot to add in it was a used RV. Any tips with that? I think car fax might have something.

Mine had sat on lot for a while, as it is a 2011 and I bought it during the fall as the 2012's were coming out. One thing I negotiated was a roof cleaning and treatment the following spring. I figured it would need it, and I am not getting on the roof.

Oakman wrote:

alexmmamm wrote:
I am soon to buy an RV but before I do, I want to know if there is a way to know how long it has been on the lot? Anybody have a way?
Thank you!

The red arrow points to where you find the date of manufacture.

Very easy to tell when rig was built. It may have sit on the mfg lot for awhile waiting for a driver to take to dealer.

Ron3rd wrote:
Why worry about it? If you like the rig and like the price buy it.

That's what I was thinking.
I think mine may have been on the lot a while or even in a RV show.
But I don't really care either way - it was in perfect shape and was exactly what we wanted.

SoundGuy wrote:

goducks10 wrote:
The longer it sits on the lot the cheaper it will be to buy.

Not necessarily ... the dealer still has to cover his original costs and for many dealers any unsold unit represents accruing interest costs that also have to be covered. Personally, I'd only be concerned if it was a unit with tenting that had been left on the lot month after month before being sold ... with a travel trailer, 5th, etc I don't see it makes any difference at all whether the unit has been sitting on the lot a month or 6 months, 'cause if it's not there it would be sitting on someone's driveway or storage lot, etc anyway.

Harder to sell a 2015's when 2016's are sitting right next to it. At least in my book anyway.

One thing about knowing how long a rig has been sitting on a lot - it gives you some idea of the condition of the batteries. Typically, the batteries are allowed to burn down to nothing, being recharged once in a while. The batteries in our current rig were toast when we purchased. It had been sitting on the lot for 7 months. But we did get a great deal on it - the new models were shipping and it was the end of summer.

goducks10 wrote:
The longer it sits on the lot the cheaper it will be to buy.

Not necessarily ... the dealer still has to cover his original costs and for many dealers any unsold unit represents accruing interest costs that also have to be covered. Personally, I'd only be concerned if it was a unit with tenting that had been left on the lot month after month before being sold ... with a travel trailer, 5th, etc I don't see it makes any difference at all whether the unit has been sitting on the lot a month or 6 months, 'cause if it's not there it would be sitting on someone's driveway or storage lot, etc anyway.