Flying out tomorrow. Do you remember picking up your Rig?

[Ocean_Mist]

I mean literally what am I doing? I go to meet the seller and the wife and I'm not sure what to expect. We had good times and lots of arguing when it came to inspection items and price

Oh well I'll think about it on the plane. On to more important things

I wanted to thank many of the folks here for helping us thru phone, text, email, PM and posts!

I won't mention names because I don't want you implicated if I get caught... You know get caught speeding down the interstate in our new-to-us 525hp 40' Rocket...lol

Really, I am privileged to be a part of a great community of folks from all walks who sincerely care about helping others.

So,chime in to tell me about picking up your first or second or third, RV

[C20]

We picked ours up from the Winnebago dealer in forest city Ia. In Jan. It was on consignment from the president of Winnebago. Nice clean unit 3 years old and only 8k on it. Did our PDI and found some minor things they fixed. Left when it was snowing and drove into a full fledged blizzard. White knuckled it for about 4 hours and stopped at a casino and spent the night. Got to 6 degrees that night and wind blowing like crazy. Never got over about 65. It was an adventure!!

[hypoxia]

Mr.Mark wrote:
Hypoxia, does your Signature by chance have black front seats and dash? Green cloth sofa's?

No, it has the Buff color driver seats and dash.

However.....since you have a Prevost....perhaps you will need a place to stay in the desert SW and then you never know what I will end up with!!!:B

[Mr_Mark1]

hypoxia wrote:
My last 3 RV's were sitting in my back yard when my friends who owned them made me deals I couldn't refuse. This was over a ten year period. Delivery was as easy as moving it from their spot to my spot.

Since I don't know anyone with a Prevost I think it will be a while before another change.

Hypoxia, does your Signature by chance have black front seats and dash? Green cloth sofa's?

Friends sold their '07 Noble III in 2011 or 2012.

You have a monster engine in that coach!

Safe travels,
MM.

[wa8yxm]

Not me but my next site neighbor.... (I drove to the store for mine) They flew into Las Vegas, picked up their New Class C.. parked next to me (no problem there) Went to dinner at a local Casino, Pulled into the parking structure (I'd never do that with my "A") and found that though the ceiling was high enough the pipe that has the clearance painted on it hangs lower.. The RV had the Winegard Flying Saucer TV antenna, The pipe went under the antenna, ripped it off then flew up a bit and landed on the bathroom roof vent, Smashing it.

And the sticker was still in the window and they had yet to figure out which key went to which lock....

Well.. I have done a few boners myself, but not that one.

[Snomas]

I flew to Maine (from Colorado) to pickup my DS in 04. It was 2 yrs old w/ warranty. I had a problem on the Ohio Turnpike broke the right mirror off hitting a post on a pay toll. Had a shifting pattern in Indianapolis and had to leave it w/ Spartan. Flew home and went back and picked it up a week later. I called it a trip from hell. But love the DS and am still driving it after 100K miles and 30K of repairs later.

[hypoxia]

My last 3 RV's were sitting in my back yard when my friends who owned them made me deals I couldn't refuse. This was over a ten year period. Delivery was as easy as moving it from their spot to my spot.

Since I don't know anyone with a Prevost I think it will be a while before another change.

[T18skyguy]

BigSkyBob wrote:
Yeah I recall picking up my new, custom ordered rig, at Guarantee RV in Junction City. It was parked on a red carpet with a tech ready to do the 20 minute walk through to explain all the on board systems inside and outside. This cost me an additional $800 that I didn't request. The DW had wanted an internal vacuum but it wasn't installed so she was upset. I had demanded the ISL 400 be equipped with a 2 stage engine compression brake but it had a Jacobs exhaust brake instead. The salesman stated they were one in the same and no big deal. When we signed the papers it was stated the coach would be filled with propane and diesel but when we about to leave I noticed the fuel gauge was on 1/4 full. I brought this to the attention of my salesman and he said they don't fill fuel tanks anymore. So, yeah, I recall my first new coach buying experience, vividly.

We know them well in our area. Nuff said.

[mike_brez]

Soooo are you flying or driving back?

[gsf35099]

We have been fortunate with all our RV buys and our 1st gas class A & 2nd DP class A purchases were great. Both were new to us rigs.
Bought our 1st 98 Fleetwood Southwind from a dealer in Phoenix through pics & DW & I flew out and drove back. Being really familiar with RV's from previous 20 years of having pop-up, TT, & Cab-over really helped. Drove home over the next few days and only issue was learning not to hit tree limbs on right side getting out of Pheonix. LOL.
6 months later we had confirmed we loved the class A style and bought the rig in sig from the Tuscon area & paid to have it inspected and delivered. Best $1,200 I ever spent. :). The inspector was a 3rd party I hired out of Montana ($350 of the 1200 & that included his flight) and validated the pics I had seen, plus he called me and said he would buy it if i didn't. I asked him if he would put that in writing and he sent me a notorized letter the next day saying exactly that.
1 1/2 weeks later the RV pulled into the drive.
We absolutely love the Astoria that we have had now for 8 1/2 years. Keep it garaged & with the few upgrades I've done, really have no desire to ever replace her. :).

[tropical36]

BigSkyBob wrote:
Yeah I recall picking up my new, custom ordered rig, at Guarantee RV in Junction City. It was parked on a red carpet with a tech ready to do the 20 minute walk through to explain all the on board systems inside and outside. This cost me an additional $800 that I didn't request. The DW had wanted an internal vacuum but it wasn't installed so she was upset. I had demanded the ISL 400 be equipped with a 2 stage engine compression brake but it had a Jacobs exhaust brake instead. The salesman stated they were one in the same and no big deal. When we signed the papers it was stated the coach would be filled with propane and diesel but when we about to leave I noticed the fuel gauge was on 1/4 full. I brought this to the attention of my salesman and he said they don't fill fuel tanks anymore. So, yeah, I recall my first new coach buying experience, vividly.

Most go in this direction, new or used.
First mistake is for the selling dealer, doing the PDI and much like getting yourself a Fox to guard your chicken house.
Either that, or if you're sufficient at this yourself, camp out nearby for a week and visit everyday, while they're supposedly taking care of business. Even then, they will sneak something by you and after all, you are dealing with professionals you know.
Above all, pay the lowest possible price and preferably well under low book, to cover these misfortunes and whether immediately or down the road a bit. It seems to go without saying, that you will find things, immediately upon your arrival home, that weren't previously there.

[Mile_High]

Here's wishing you a great and smooth PDI! I remember waking up at a hotel in Durango to start a 9:00 PDI on a 5er several years ago, and the Dealer called to say we were going to have to wait until the sun warmed up the 5er because all of the doors and slides were froze shut after washing it the night before. Kind of funny in retrospect. We did the PDI and drive it home with -7 temps outside that night.

I can't think of any I've had that went well in retrospect. Anxiety, glossy eyes, and typical Dealer double talk and in the end you take whatever nonsense they are talking. Our last one at CW was horrid. Fortunately we never have to go back.

[smlranger]

I guess we were just lucky with our two used DP purchase experiences. The first, a 2002 Winnebago Journey, was purchased from a dealer in Rockford, Ill in 2005 after over the phone and internet negotiations. Lots of photos sent and a promise from the dealer that if it was not as represented, I could walk away. We drove in our old '97 Adventurer from Virginia to Rockford in the middle of February, praying that it would not snow. The one owner used Journey was as represented and the dealer had it cleaned, serviced and ready to go. They helped us move our stuff from the Adventurer to the Journey and fixed one item we found, a broken fog light lens. Dealer gave 90 day bumper to bumper warranty. We kept the coach 8 years with few issues.

Traded the Journey for the Allure in 2013 at Tom Johnson's in NC. They did a thorough PDI, new tires, fixed a few things, let us stay in RV park nearby on their dime, and fixed a couple of additional items we found with no hesitation.

Both were good experiences.

[Winnipeg]

Our second new unit was a 5ver. I had a bad cold on the day of delivery and I was already familiar (I thought) with how typical RV stuff worked. Plus, they made me wait a long time before doing the PDI. I was not very interested. I missed some obvious problems (like the generator would shut down after a few minutes). It was a pain to eventually get things fixed under warranty. The problems were discovered when I owned it, so I was responsible for coordinating the repairs. The dealer was 2 hours from home, so drop-off and pick-up both needed a day off from work.

For our next unit (traded the 5ver for motorhome), I did things different. I scheduled delivery in the morning (took the day off), just prior to final signing I told them I wanted to go look at it by myself, AND, I will likely be a few hours doing it. They were surprised, but couldn't say no. I spent the next few hours with my check-lists, meters, small tools, etc. and checked as much as I could. I found several small items, but no show-stoppers. They had to fix them before I took ownership.

My theory was that I would spend the entire day playing and investigating the new toy. Why not do that while someone else owns it? Half of my discoveries were just newbie lack of understanding, but I found that they were very keen on explaining and doing small fixes while I held the check in my pocket.

My point is, don't rush to hand over the cash. You are going to spend at least a day getting familiar with your new toy, why not do that before you actually own it? If a seller doesn't want you to spend time looking, maybe it is not the right deal.

[Executive45]

I remember thinking that check had way too many zeroes on it!!! :B...Dennis