Why not to buy used.
I know there are MANY on her who say. NEVER buy new, always buy used RVs. Myself. I always buy new, and here is an example why. This week we were camping beside a man who had just bought a used 201...
Forum Discussion
DallasSteve wrote:Lexx wrote:DallasSteve wrote:Lexx wrote:DallasSteve wrote:
As a former CPA I must comment that depreciation is a cost of owning an RV even if you choose to ignore it to make yourself feel better. If you spend $100,000 on a motorhome and you keep it 50 years until you die you still lost the use of that $100,000 for other purposes. If you don't care about that extra $100,000, that's fine, but depreciation is still a real cost to anyone wanting to get into RVs.
Have you ever considered the opportunity cost of not living your life to the fullest? You only live once and you can't take it with you.
Yes, and that has nothing to do with the truth of my comment.
It most certainly does apply. Life is not a zero sum game IMO. How do you quantify "satisfaction" and "enjoyment". You might be a guy who loves buying used goods and get great satisfaction out of the money saved. Others may feel that they work hard for their money and want to spend on items they perceive offer them real value and they like the feeling of "new".
Is one right vs the other? It all depends on your situation. As a former CPA, surely you must have offered sound financial advice to your clients. Would you offer the same advice to a client who lots of disposable income and a secure career vs one who has lesser income and whose career may not be quite as robust? I would think not.
Not everyone wants or needs to buy used. I'm sure most people appreciate the fact that new always depreciates more relative to used. But there are other tangibles that affect the purchase decision.
As I stated, not living your life to its fullest is also a real opportunity cost. And indeed you can't take your money with you. So my advice is take a look at your own situation. If you're not sure, then talk to your financial adviser and do a lot of research.
We did just that. I'm 56 and just retired with three 6 yr old kids. I bought a brand new F450 (financed with an unsecured 2% loan so I can keep my profits in the stock market going) and then a fifth wheel for cash. We're going to spend our summers traveling with our kids, showing them North America and bonding with them to build lifetime memories. How much is that worth to me? Enough to retire early and give up many years of lost income because like I stated above, the opportunity cost of missing out on all that is too high for me.
Could we have done all that with a used trailer? Yes, but for what we were looking at there were only 2 used units available on rvtrader and they were both about 2k miles away and only about $7-8k net less than the cost of a new one. It's not worth it to me to schlep across the country to buy a used unit without a warranty that's been through who knows what.
Sorry for the long winded post.
Yep. Some people think if they talk more they become more convincing. Basically, once again, I didn't tell anybody to buy an RV or to not buy an RV. I didn't tell them to buy new or to buy used. I just pointed out that depreciation is a real cost even if they want to deny that it is a real cost. The opportunity cost of not living a full life does not negate that.
I'm not naive enough to believe my RV will not depreciate.
However my goal is to wear it out or use it until it is worth zero.
Well hopefully it won't be worth zero. But in 15 years if my 50K RV is worth $5K? or some minimal value I expect that. But I don't consider that depreciation, I consider that wear and tear to the point most of its value has been consumed through my use.
I understand the need to save and invest money . However I am not consumed with that idea. I don't need to analyze and rationalize every cent I spend.
At some point I'm OK with spending money on my vises. Be it football tickets, happy hour, lunch out or buying a new RV. I do not need to apply a bean counter mentality to every red scent I earn. Life is just too short/unpredictable for that.
Depreciation is as real of cost as you make it. You can let depreciation rule every monetary decision or you can flat out ignore it. In the end you will end up in the same place, it will not matter.
Cash or Credit the golden value rule still applies and supersedes all bean counting
Use your RV regularly and you will get full value out of it. Let it sit idle and you are wasting your money. No amortization charts required.
