Buying a used RV

[chateauroq]

I am thrilled to join the ranks of motorhome owner and am waiting patiently for the weather to warm up so we can use our new coach.

While I wait, I want to let others know of the outstanding experience I've had purchasing our new home.

I've been trying to convince my wife to join this lifestyle for several years now. A couple of years ago I sought a recommendation for renting from a RV dealer and they suggested El Monte. We grabbed a Class C and took off to the Black Hills with our two dogs. Had a great time and my wife softened to the idea.

I have been looking for the right RV for several years. We agreed on a certain floor plan. It so happened that El Monte was rotating their stock and had the exact home we were looking for -- a 2009 Four Winds Chateau Sport 25C. We had looked at one of these locally and agreed that it was right for us.

We found one listed with El Monte and had previous contact with them. They found one that perfectly suited our desires in Las Vegas. Our contact with Darilyn, Irene and Mike were outstanding! All of the maintenance records were available, and we had great confidence that the new home had been maintained to high standards.

They repair and replace anything that needs it, and they re-upholstered where necessary. I was skeptical but purchased the one-way airline ticket to Vegas after feeling completely comfortable I would be leaving with the home. In fact, Darilyn had told me that no one had left without their purchase before. That's testimony that they make things right.

They have been quite attentive after the sale to make sure some things were right, and to make sure we were comfortable with the sale. As I look back on it, this is the way to go because you can be confident they have maintained the coach and you have less potential of unveiling hidden defects.

Thanks to El Monte for a great rental and sales experience!

[EMD360]

One thought is that the RV came from Las Vegas, not Colorado, not Northern California--some places are just better to find a used RV than others. The market is more active, the owners less likely to be underwater.
El Monte can find RV's in other areas of the country, as well as Cruise America. You might pay a premium for the service of maintenance records and for higher mileage, but you have a reasonable expectation that you can get a few years out of the machine without major expenses--if you know to ask for batteries, tires, etc.
On the other hand, dealers do seem to think all their customers are rich and will pay over book prices with fees for delivery etc. thrown in. I don't know what to do about that. Car dealers are difficult too. I guess we can just be glad we don't have to buy everyday items like we have to buy cars--we would never get out of the grocery store.
There is a lot to be said for a sales staff that meets their promises, gives attention after the sale, and does not find reasons to charge extra before the deal is signed. Glad to hear such staff do exist somewhere.

[Jbrowland]

Welcome! I too own a former rental (Cruise America) RV with over 125k miles and am very happy! Good luck to the OP.

As for rentals being priced as high as new ones, that was not my experience. Mine cost 40k less than a new comparable model and there isn't a single thing wrong with it. It looks better than anything any private seller had to offer in my area and it was way cheaper too. They even let me spend 8 hours with the guy who gets the RV's ready for delivery. 8 hours later I had a list of 42 things I wanted replaced or addressed from mechanical to coach. They took care of everyone without complaint. That 8 hours cost them about 4k. Honestly I was shocked by how positive the experience was. Given the insanely bad reviews Cruise America gets online from their renters, I avoided the place for two years while searching for a used RV deal.

But yes, it is hard to find a good and affordable used RV anywhere and especially in California. Two types of people in California. Those who own an RV and those who want to buy an RV. Everybody here camps and no surprise given the options from Yosemite to Big Sur and the list goes on and on and on....

I had a nice experience with El Monte when I visited them. They seemed like decent folks here in LA too but there inventory was at the time small and out of my price range.

Another option is Road Bear. They sell their barely used rental RV's with about 20k miles on them for about 6-7k less than new prices.

[OFDPOS]

HockeyTownMom wrote:
Welcome! We almost bought a rental until we found a new one for a the same price they wanted for the rental. We asked if he would budge on his price, the dealer didn't respond so we got the new one. 🙂

Has been my experience as well with El Monte and a couple other Rental places. I priced them at 95K plus miles and they want $6K-$9K less then what a new one would cost.
They may throw some new tires , a mattress, and polish it up , the running gear still has 95K + miles of wear and tear.
Not trying to be a downer , but I am so fed up with trying to find a decent used RV. Not to mention a new one as well !

The used dealers act like they are the only ones that have an RV for sale and are proud of them by the 10-12K OVER book asking price for them. Then they act like they will have to turn the lights out to come off the price $500- $1K

The private sellers I've tried to deal with are upside down and want me to bale their a$$ out of it.. Or they have sat so long everything is cracked, brittle of rotten and of coarse its in perfect condition, just ask the owner!

Just today I was at a supposedly straight up RV dealer (yeah right)
The Nada booked it for $32,647. on the ave retail. Including $ for low mileage 2011 with 31K miles
Above the price it has a "Special Notes" to click on.
Which states ; copied it straight from NADA
Manufacturer note:
MOTORHOMES - Air conditioner, generator, microwave, Arctic Package, exterior accessory package, bathroom roof vent and DSI water heater are included in price.
Year note:
Prices include water filter system, carbon monoxide detector, wood refrigerator panel, upgraded fan, 22" flat panel TV with DVD, Arctic Package, outside shower, extra coach battery and upgraded mattress.

So they come out with it booked at over $40K
Every single thing listed above PLUS anything from the double sink to even the front cap on the overhead above cab at $1,395.
On top of that there were things booked out the MH didn't even have !

Earlier while I was looking over the MH the salesguy bragged about how they do a 115 point safety inspection PDI...
We look it over and I come up with 2 pages of things that would need attention IE Due Bill.. Oh he said "every bit of that would be taken care of in the 115 Safety Ins PDI".

Coarse once we get inside he starts off with the price and I notice he writes $995. just below it. I knew exactly what it was, but I played his game and asked "oh whats that for" he said "for the Safety Insp. PDI" ..
Oh so on top of booking out Standard equipment items that are included in the base book price , your also adding on $995 for me to pay your shop to do a safety inspection PDI that you so heavenly bragged about.

..Sorry for the long rant and maybe considered hijack of the thread.
I don't know maybe some have an endless amount of money or don't know/care about the scam/games these RV outfits do on people ?

chateauroq
Glad you found what you considered a deal and if your happy ,then it that's all that matters 🙂

[HockeyTownMom]

Welcome! We almost bought a rental until we found a new one for a the same price they wanted for the rental. We asked if he would budge on his price, the dealer didn't respond so we got the new one. 🙂

[RoadAbode]

Not from El Monte, but we have had RoadAbode for over ten years now. She too was a previous rental. Welcome and enjoy Going RVing!

[IAMICHABOD]

Welcome to the forum and to the ranks of the many happy owners of Ex Rentals. As you can see there are many others in the thread in my signature. If you have anything to add as times goes on please add to that thread.

I hope your new Ex Rental will give you as much trouble free miles mine has over the last few years, not one problem

[Steeljag]

Welcome!

[cgmartine]

Good for ya! I am also enjoying our 2008 Tioga 31M we purchased from El Monte, in San Bernardino. We got six new tires without asking, because the old ones were Michelins and had been recalled. Also got a new mattress, so we were good to go. Ours had 106,000 miles, but I am really impressed how smooth this V-10 Triton runs.