Purchase of Cruise America Rental Class C

Jbrowland wrote:
No offense to any one, but if they haven't looked at or purchased one, I wouldn't take their advice too seriously. I have one and it has been amazing. I owe nothing on it. Not many can say that. Moreover, they are in better shape than most one owner, used RV's I looked at thanks to a major refurb process. These ex-rentals tend to be filled with new to newer parts inside and out thanks to frequent use.

I'll give you a little buying advice as an owner of a former CA RV. One, they won't budge much on the price but they will fix and add anything you request before the sale like tires, breaks, or anything else you find wrong with it. I had over 30 items on my list addresses quickly and without complaint and that cost them several thousand. They didn't drop the price much, but they gave me new breaks, tires, a new $390 battery, new mattresses, radio and much more. Two, don't buy the warranties. Save the money and spend it when something breaks and it will be it a new or used RV. Nature of the beast. Three, if something breaks or goes wrong within a few months of the sale then take it back and they will fix it. I did twice. Four, spend about 5 or more hours with a check list going over every detail before you leave. Most of these RV's have front end issues. Take extra time to check on that. Five, drive the heck out of it happily knowing you don't have a 50k mortgage on it. Six, enjoy the fact that most will be shocked when you pull up in an RV that has 150,000 miles and looks newer than their three year old RV. ;). Seven, read every page of the thread IAMICHABOD linked to and ignore MUCH of of but not all of the advice from people who have never driven, purchased, or looked at a refurbished RV from CA in person. I say this because before I went to look, I made some terrible assumptions about how bad they would be before going. I read yelp reviews from renters and the reviews were horrific. I assumed my experience would be the same and it wasn't. I am honestly still a little shocked by this fact and that's why I took the time to respond here. My experience was stellar. Not perfect, but better than the experience I had on new lots with slimy RV salespeople and with people listing their units online and in the paper.

Buying one of these units is not for everyone. In fact, I would say that it's only a good option for a small group of people. I would say that it tends to be a good option for cash buyers who are sick of tent camping and want a cheap RV for weekend warrior style use. First time buyers who don't want or need much.

Here in California, the used RV market barely exists. Not many sell and those who do used the hell out of theirs and want too much money for junk or are under water and want to sell their barely used RV for five bucks less than they paid. For those reasons, buying a CA RV for 19k instead of a new one for 55k or a used one for 49k may be a better option. IMHO, these CA units are good deals at 19k but once you go above 25k then maybe not so much.

That said, you live in Florida where the exact opposite is the case and the used RV market is much better so you must consider that as well.

Good luck and do your due diligence with the sale and you will be fine!

Thank you, sir, for some excellent advice with your CA experience. In perusing the many ads for used motor homes, especially Class C's, I find that most private sellers and a lot of dealers overprice them quite a bit. Some are completely ridiculous as they probably never even checked the NADA value to get an approximate value. Having already spoken at length with the CA dealership in Orlando, I do know that they completely go over these units and bring them up to standard before selling them. I don't think they would warranty them for 12 months or 12,000 miles if they did not. On top of that, the extended 5 year warranty is not very expensive. I would want the extended warranty for engine and transmission alone. If either of these systems fails it could cost many times the $1,600 price of the warranty. It's just my personal preference. People who can do their own repairs may not be interested in the extended warranty. The 19G unit is perfect for my wife and myself. Also, we do need a 2nd car. Something that small can suffice as a 2nd car. So, it fits our situation perfectly. I will use your knowledge to make sure the CA dealer takes care of everything before I roll it off the lot.