New Motor Home vs Used

[Floridastorm]

I notice that a lot of folks recommend against buying new due to the initial depreciation of the unit. However, I have reviewed quite a few brand new Class C's where the asking price is equal to or even below that of NADA. Yes, there are some where the asking price is outrageous and where I would imagine extreme negotiations are in order to lower the price down to a manageable amount. But, there are still many decent priced new units. Also, with a new unit, you do get the manufacturer's warranty and where you don't inherit any prior problems. If one is intent on keeping their motor home for quite few years then I don't think that depreciation would be a pertinent concern as the older it gets the less it depreciates. Are manufacturer's warranties transferable to a new owner wherein one could purchase a motor home a couple of years old and still be initially covered? Pros and cons please.

[Hank85713]

That is true here also IF you get from a dealer to include one that is a consignment place. If its PRIVATE seller to Purchaser, NO taxes. In kalif you are taxed if you breath are you not, seems you are pretty close to them from the news.

here depends on where it was registered, if in an enviro area need emmissions to sell, if not need to get it done to license if in an enviro area t0 be licensed.

[klutchdust]

Hank85713 wrote:
no there is no tax except for what is required for license®istration IF bought from PRIVATE seller. Thats the benefit of buying used. Dealer purchase is another story.

In California you pay a tax based on what you paid for the vehicle, then license and registration fees, then you get it smogged and be sure it is California compliant and there is a sticker that says so. My Honda scooter was 49 state compliant, not California. That was fun getting a CA. title. MOST vehicles are Ca. compliant but those that modify their exhaust, chip them etc. may have issues with smog. They plug into your computer and download everything.

[Hank85713]

no there is no tax except for what is required for license&registration IF bought from PRIVATE seller. Thats the benefit of buying used. Dealer purchase is another story.

[klutchdust]

Quote"If I were to get a motor home (of any class), I'd go for new. Depreciation yes, but at least the first 2-5 years there's no repair bills to deal with. "

Where can you purchase one of those units. If it has tires or high heels you are going to have problems. :C

[DRTDEVL]

Hank85713 wrote:
We looked at new for a while and then bought used. The new was in excess of $100K when you then needed to pay sales taxes etc, license and registration were about $1800 or so. Bought the same unit USED it was a 12 we bought in 13, 4000 miles on it, 24 hrs on the genset. Paid approx $30K less and no taxes since it was a private seller. About $1200 for new tags for it. Bought a good sam extended warranty since all the 1 year warranties were up. Only thing we have used was for fuel pump R&R and over all that was only about $400 out of pocket for stuff we replaced like the OEM battery, fuel cap etc. Total bill was around 1800, with the deductable then the $400. So yes there is value in buying used and you can get aftermarket warranties. Daughter got a NEW TT and it was full of problems and it took a while to get all fixed. the sound system, the microwave, hot water tank, so NEW does not mean without issues. Yes it was covered but the downtime is what got her PO'd!

Wait, are you saying that the AZ DMV doesn't collect sales tax on used vehicle sales at the time of first registration under new ownership, or are you admitting to tax evasion?

[ron_dittmer]

We bought our motor home new for three reasons.
1) It was the only one we liked that would fit in our garage.
2) Back in 2007, there were no used ones in the marketplace.
2) Buying new special ordered, we got what we wanted and did not get what we did not want.

Our case was quite unique, otherwise I would have loved to buy a gently used, well preserved motor home to save a lot of money. But in the end, when looking back at it all, we really did fine with the special pricing offered at the time, 23% off MSRP, not bad for a special-ordered unit, made exactly the way we wanted it.

Our plan is for the motor home to last longer than us, so buying new also helped with that goal.

[jbbrick]

In my Winnebago club several have bought new units. They all have had probs with steps, slideouts, AC, and more. The dealers take forever to repair it even if they're the selling dealer. And don't even think about taking it to another dealer, they usually won't touch it unless you bought from them. I always buy used, a clean rv with all systems working. I do minor repairs myself and have never taken the last 3 to any shops for repairs. The chassis is pretty trouble free but you should be able to fix drawer slides, window shades, tv connections, etc. That stuff is always a problem new or used.

[Hank85713]

We looked at new for a while and then bought used. The new was in excess of $100K when you then needed to pay sales taxes etc, license and registration were about $1800 or so. Bought the same unit USED it was a 12 we bought in 13, 4000 miles on it, 24 hrs on the genset. Paid approx $30K less and no taxes since it was a private seller. About $1200 for new tags for it. Bought a good sam extended warranty since all the 1 year warranties were up. Only thing we have used was for fuel pump R&R and over all that was only about $400 out of pocket for stuff we replaced like the OEM battery, fuel cap etc. Total bill was around 1800, with the deductable then the $400. So yes there is value in buying used and you can get aftermarket warranties. Daughter got a NEW TT and it was full of problems and it took a while to get all fixed. the sound system, the microwave, hot water tank, so NEW does not mean without issues. Yes it was covered but the downtime is what got her PO'd!

[Gjac]

I think depreciation is a lesser concern over the time the new MH has to be taken back to the dealership for warranty repairs. There are many stories on here where people buy a new MH and it spends most of the summer in the dealerships waiting for repairs. MH's are not high volume units like cars that have production tooling and NC processes and are more dependent the skill of the worker to hand build these units so more workmanship problems occur.

[Lwiddis]

When you find the RV you love, buy it whether used or new.

[Desert_Captain]

The OP should not put so much faith in "New" unit waranties. This and other Forum's are full of horror stories about what a joke most warranties are. Either the warranty is a joke or the dealer that sold the unit has zero interest in servicing it after the sale. God help you if you buy from one dealer and expect another to provide anything close to reasonable warranty service... as you are absolutely their lowest priority.

Also, most warranties are one year only with a few manufactureres offering 2 years. The other side of the coin is that when you buy used any major defect {they quickly become apparent} has been dealt with as well as the annoying little stuff that first owners get to chase down.

I would always look for a quality unit, lighty used and well maintained {with the appropriate documentation of all required service}. Most folks don't use a new unit all that much and few, having spent a large chunk of money, are abusive of their new investment.

When you buy a rental this is often not the case. Most rentals are trashed by ignorant {not bad people, just folks that just don't know any better/or have a clue} operators. Every Class C that has ever blasted by me on the interstate doing 80 - 85 has been a rental. The overwhelming number of rental operators have never even heard of the Tow Haul mode or have any clue as to its proper operation. Consequently many, if not most of these units, have had their transmissions {and brakes} severely abused {somewhere between repeatedly overheated and outright fried}

I make a point of chatting up rental operators often sharing a few tips and firewood and am always amazed at how little instruction they received from the rental company. :S Yes the rental companies refurbish and pretty up their coaches but they cannot get rid of them fast enough after just a couple of years and there are a number of very good reasons for that.

So many first time buyers buy the wrong RV creating a huge pool of potential bargains given their desire to get into the right coach regardless of the cost. In many states {Arizona being one} there is no sales tax on private party sales.

I am on my third RV, a near new Aliner, an as new Fleetwood TT and now our Nexus Class C that I found with just 6,205 miles on it after 18 months. In all three cases I saved a ton of money and all three were trouble free. When it came time to sell the first two I recovered nearly all of my original purchse price and am now nearly 50K happy camper miles down the road after 4.5+ years with our Nexus.

Lots of ways for a buyer to go... new, used, rental and no one way is perfect but a quality rig from a motivated private party has been the best path for me. Bought our Class C from a dealer as it was exactly what we wanted and eliminated any further foolish thoughts of buying new but I sure wish I could have met the original owners... now that would have been a deal!

As always.... opinions and YMMV.

:C

[timmac]

I bought my 08 Bounder used when it was only 5 years old very low miles and about $10,000 in after market upgrades and paid almost half what a new one was and no issues as of yet, sometimes used is OK than other times its not..

Even new ones have issues, just search the forum and see..

[Mich_F]

My current MH I bought new and it was relatively cheap, for what I was getting. NADA valued it for more than I paid for it for almost 2 years. I didn't get that good a deal, so I put very little faith in their valuations. I wasn't concerned with depreciation since I planned on keeping it for a while.

My previous MH was a voluntary repo, which was in excellent condition. It was 10 years with 32,000 miles on it and I bought it for $7,000, which was considerably less than what was owed on it. Depreciation was definitely a non issue with that MH.

No can decide for you which is better, new or used.

[MobileBasset]

I agree with Ductape. The whole depreciation thing is a bit of a myth. It’s the MSRP that is the boogeyman. Get a proper price on your new unit and the legitimate depreciation is well worth the value of warrantee and ”newness”. Negotiate down to the NADA.
If, on the other hand, you get joy from doing things in the most frugal way possible and don’t mind dealing with other people’s usage then go the used route.