New or Used?

[freestoneangler]

Just getting a sense of how many on the forum purchased their Class A new vs. used. I have never purchased any car, or RV new in my life and do not plan to do so for a Class A. With the huge depreciation these vehicles take, I have a hard time even considering new. Did you buy new or used?
Thanks,
Bill

[northmeck0255]

First one was new. Never again. Used from here on out!

[charles]

I bought a new "cheaply built gasser" double HUH. Anyway, it wa a 2011 Winnebago Vista 35F, we used it for two winters in Florida and sold it this year for exactly $7,500.00 less than we paid for it, never had a problem with it, never put a dime in it, and it was under the Winnebago warranty for the first year and still under the chassis warranty when we sold it, I don't consider that a major hit and a used one would most likely have depreciated at least that much and I would most likely have had to put money into it for something. Our travel plans have change so we now have a Class B that I did however buy used from the original owner, it was only 5 months old with 3,200 miles on it, propane was never turned on, hot water tank was still by-passed, it was used only as a driver to visit relatives, still under warranty, and it was priced way below market value as there was a death in the family and they just wanted to get rid of it. The sellers of that unit did take a big hit. Soooo, there are good deals out there on both new and used, just be careful, and this is the time to go shopping.

Nick

[HHg_in_Austin]

Cars and all three of the RVs we've bought were brand spanking new !

Hhg

[dezolen]

Seamutt wrote:
"I could have bought a new cheaply built gas unit" HUH!!!!!!!

Double HUH
We bought our new this year "cheaply" built gasser and could not be happier.
Funny manufacturer builds a similar DP with identical cabinets,fridge, appliances, flooring systems etc. and we still have $100,000 in our account.

[the_silverback]

The first one was new. The second one was used. I would buy used again.Saved lots of bucks. The MH only had 6000 miles on it.

[kjbkjb]

ncrowley wrote:
I bought used. It was what I could afford.

Now that is an honest answer.

[Seamutt]

"I could have bought a new cheaply built gas unit" HUH!!!!!!!

[kjburns]

In 2011, when I bought our 42QD, it was the floor plan that got me. Nobody else had anything I considered comparable. We were perfectly happy with our Winnebago 40TD, until I saw that 42QD online. I figured that the nearest dealer didn't have one, so the temptation wasn't that great. Then, the local dealer got one in stock and I knew I was in trouble. When I drove past their lot, I instantly recognized it. I resisted for weeks, but gave in.

Since then, almost every manufacturer has come out with a copy of it, but at the time, the Winnebago was the only game in town with that floor plan.

[emzee]

We bought both our TT's new, all our cars were bought new too. We wanted a DP and didn't want to spend an arm and a leg because we don't go away too often; so we started the search for the perfect one for us. We found someone that took immaculate care of their vehicle and it was stored under an awning with all the services up to date and manuals intact. Brand new tires and a GoodSam warranty for a year, (which we continued).

I am saying all this because I feel if you are buying used you really have to be aware of what you're getting (into). You need to know the things that must be done to keep the vehicle in good working order. I feel we were very lucky with our purchase. That isn't always the case, so be very careful of any used motohomes, too much can go wrong. After market warranty's can be just as tricky, read the big print and the small print and get any questions answered in print.

Good Luck!!

[Peralko]

We bought our first motorhome (a gasser) new. After I saw the 50% depreciation after two years, I figured a used unit is a much better deal, so we bought our DP used. Fit and finish is lightyears beyond similarly priced new units at the time, and even more so now.

[AprilWhine]

ncrowley wrote:
I bought used. It was what I could afford.

Agree. No way I could afford a new bus conversion. But if I ever win the lottery...

[Ltcspec]

We bought our Pace Arrow new in 2004 and now just purchased our New Dutch Star. We plan to keep it for years and don't care to inherit other peoples problem coaches.

[RedG]

Depends on your bank balance mostly.
I wanted a nice 40' diesel pusher. A new one is around $275 - $300k.
For my budget of a little over 100k, I could have bought a new cheaply built gas unit, or what I actually wanted in a good quality used dp. I opted for the latter. It's got everything the $300k new unit has and most people think it's new when they see it.
Now if money was no object, of course I'd go for brand spanking new.

[vjstangelo]

Good thread. We currently own a 2003 TT which we bought new. My experience with TT's was the good used ones were darn near the price of new, and the ones that would be considered a bargain were well abused.

We are currently looking for a Class A and the same seems to apply with A's: the really good A's get to within 75-80% the take home price of a new. For example, why pay $80K for a 1-2 year old A with no warranty when a new can be gotten for 100K with a fresh warranty?