How old is too old?

[Dachristianman]

http://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2001-Fleetwood-Discovery-36T-114510758

Thoughts? Looks like low miles. Tires are 6 yo Bridgestones. Is that price about right or a little on the high end for a 2001? Also, how does a Fleetwood compare to a Tiffin or other higher-end model?

Tom

[ncrowley]

No, it is not too old. The question is: how well was it maintained and do they have the records to show it was maintained? Pay more for one that has been well cared for.

[Passin_Thru]

I'm the same way about tires. Make them knock off for the price of new Bridgestone or Michelins. They can run $400/ea.I like the ceramic beads for balancing also.

[Dachristianman]

Great input. Thanks to everyone.

Tom

[wolfe10]

jwmII wrote:
Never pay high book for anything on wheels. Start by offering below low book and work from there.

While I don't disagree with the "work from there" I guess I have a different perspective.

I do a lot of mechanical inspections on coaches. I would MUCH rather see someone pay high book for a well cared for, well maintained coach that think they got a bargain by paying a low price for a neglected (VERY common) or abused one.

Certainly, this excludes those looking to buy cheap, make them "look right" and resell them.

Said another way, if you are buying a coach to keep for awhile, get a good one unless you are very handy and have set aside a lot more $$ than you think it will take to bring one back to the kind of condition where you can trust and enjoy it.

[jwmII]

Never pay high book for anything on wheels. Start by offering below low book and work from there.

[frankdamp]

Tom:

Here's a data point. We owned an '02 Georgetown 32-footer for the last 4 years. It had 12,000 miles on it when we bought it from the original owners. We used it for three seasons and put an additional 6000 miles on it. It was on an F53 chassis with the V-10 and had a 5.5 KVA Onan generator which had 48 hours on it when we bought it an about 70 when we sold it.

We hadn't used it at all in the 2014 season, except as auxiliary sleeping quarters when family cam over from the UK and Japan, so we decided to give up the lifestyle. It sold for just under $24,000 with a local consignment dealer.

[catkins]

You will likely need new tires very soon. 7 years is the time most say to replace tores due to cracking and drying regardless of tread or lack of wear. If the MH has been used and not sitting, all may be well. IF it has been sitting you can have issues with dry seals and gaskets and more. May need new fluids and filters all around. If you have the budget to repair, might be a good deal. Just be careful as looks can be deceiving.........

[John_S_]

I have a 2001 foretravel with 169K on it and I will keep it till it dies. I have done a full remodel on the inside. If you have an older Highline coach it is better ro remodel them then get the newer coaches. I have everything a brand new coach has coming off the line and a better build too as you stated.

[timstein]

That is an interesting question. I have a 98 Monaco Windsor 36' I have a picture on my profile. I purchased it in 2006 for 83,000. I overpaid but had just sold my home and had to get out. Bought this in February from a private party and they also had a loan they had to settle up.

I'm living in my unit right now. I've lived in it for two years straight and recently just the summers and I winter in Palm Springs in an apartment. I have different issues but am still wondering if I should stick with this by putting money into it or get something else.

The Monaco brand is gone but realize that they had different quality levels. They had that semi monocoque which in my opinion makes them like a tank and I'm not worried about my or my passengers safety. If that is a concern to you. These models also have that 8 airbags which I really like. These models are also pushing maximum weight limits of 25,000 pounds.

Not knowing what is important to you in a motorhome let me tell you some issues in a 15 year old unit. The roof will need to be done. My double pane windows are failing which is their design life. The old Onan generators don't match up IMO to the Honda 3000. Tires need to be replaced. Batteries are most likely inadequate and new ones needed. I took out the fancy window treatments. Ice maker and convection oven quit so I took them out. I put a big flat panel on the dash. I've repaired each appliance with new circuit boards and replaced the water pump but otherwise plumbing has worked good. I use a grinder/macerator and that is the only way to go. I hate the furnace noise as I have to double the volume on the TV. It needs to go in the basement or use two smaller units. It does put out the heat though. Right now I have to take out the Norcold and clean the flue and burner, orifice before summer.

IMO all DPs back then had the same features and in fact it seems nothing new has really come along. I would like to take this unit and design it my way, with in reason and a budget. For example I hate the little showers they put in these. I have come to the conclusion that my unit was built to look nice rather than being practical and efficient even if being used for vacations. My cabinets are beautiful to this day but what a waste of space and some of the drawers are a joke. They're only good for woman's panties. Oh well.

Remodeling one of these means buying it at the engine, transmission, chassis price which is what? $20,000?

[stew47]

You will need to budget for tires next year. Lol I pushed my luck and won't do that again.

[imgoin4it]

Must have had some up grades with auto sat antenna, new tv's and mcd shades.

[jplante4]

Clickable

Clickable

It looks like it was well maintained. The interior is especially clean. My only concern is a front entry with that head banger TV.

If the coach is well maintained, the age really doesn't matter. It's averaged about 2500 miles a year. If it's evenly spread out then it hasn't really sat idle much.

I found that private sellers on RVT, RV Trader and Craigs List tend to be overpriced.

[darsben]

He is priced above NADA average retail

http://www.nadaguides.com/RVs/2001/Discovery-by-Fleetwood/M-36T-300hp/3007824/Values