Please give Advice on a big decision! Long Post!

[Campncouple]

We own a 2007 Class C. With 3slides. No problem with the unit just a bit small.
We now do more near home camping rather than long stretches and stay for a wk. or two.
I found a 2002 Damon Intruder at a 2/3 hour drive to RV Sales lot. This unit on inside is just right! Roomy, clean and comfortable . A Class A, Gas Unit with 10,000 mi. Outside looks good too. This unit had not been checked by Techs yet and upon inspection we found what appeared to be debris caused by rodents all over the part of engine in cab plus all wires to outside generator were chewed into.
The Sales Mgr. And also Co. Owner Assured us this was not an uncommon find not to worry. Unit has been sitting for a time.
Should we decide to purchase unit every thing will be gone over from top to bottom and Co. Will issue a short term warranty on everything but tires, tv' sand dash air. I have done a Vin. No. Check and it came back clean. We also plan to carry unit to our own RV workshop for a 98 Pt. Going over. And purchase a 3 yr warranty. But have to purchase before the RV Co. Will release it to us for that long a drive and they are giving their own warranty for short time.

I am concerned selling our known unit ( we bought new ) for the unknown.unit that showed the rodent debris .we will get the 3 year warranty however which covers top to bottom. We do want a large RV to become more live in comfortable.
Again 10,00 miles and very clean. Answers all our interior needs.
PLEASE GIVE YOUR EXPERIENCED WISDOM AND ADVICE. WE ARE IN EARLY 70's and in good health and just want to have extended camping.
APPRECIATE ANY OPINIONS! THANK YOU SO MUCH

[RCtime]

Rodent damage, beware, My experience, My wifes 2002 VW beetle sat in garage for 6 weeks unused, rats ate wiring harness here and there. The insurance co. totaled the car. 2 harness at over $3000.00 apiece plus 40-50 hrs labor.

[2gypsies1]

I don't think you'd have a problem selling your Class C on your own or put it on consignment which we did and it sold within a month.

You won't be getting anything on a trade and your best price will be without a trade. Test it. Go to a dealer and ask how much w/o a trade. Get the price and then ask what about with a trade? Don't give him any indication of trading at first. Then you'll know how much your trade will be and come armed with what you think it's worth so you know if the trade price is good or not.

[Campncouple]

We would like to trade our 2007 C Class on a unit. So many for sale by owner makes it
Harder to sell coach by ourselves.

[Fleetwood_Coupl]

I would keep looking there are plenty of used class A's without any rodent problems that haven't been just sitting around. It took us a month to find the perfect one but its not impossible. I would try to buy from an individual vs a RV lot.

[VincentL]

Please be very careful with this problem. I live in the Tucson area and pack rats are a major problem as they love to chew wiring. Several years ago we had a class a and they chewed a hole in the propane line near the frig. It was pure luck it was discovered before any damage. Please make sure they check all the lines. Good Luck

[Campncouple]

If any of you know of a 2002 Damon Intruder would appreciate a shout out.

[Campncouple]

Thanks everyone. We are going to,pass on this unit. Like a pretty person , good looking on outside might be another story on the inside!
I do love the interior! So right for us and like new. TV cabinet on floor facing a recliner and
Wrap sofa with recliner on end. 4 door Fridge with ice maker. Nice one room contained bathroom. I have never seen a unit configured like this. Perfect for almost full timing and price was in good range. Owner agreed to trade our unit with $5100 cash back to us due to younger age of our unit. This particular RvSales company only sells used units and it is a large place. They sell and ship country wide. Reason given on not having fixed this one earlier is volume of sales merits waiting until interested party and then doing all necessary repairs.
Sure wish it had not shown this wiring damage because body and interior are like brand new. Going to keep looking.
Thanks again!

[rexlion]

I've heard it said many times that electrical problems can be the hardest thing to track down in the vehicle, and that an expensive, complete rewire is often the only way to fix it. This one sounds like it will need the expensive rewire.

So you should ask yourself, why didn't this dealership do the rewiring before they listed it for sale?? This to me is a red flag. A reputable dealer IMO should not say, if you agree to buy it we'll fix it and stand behind it. Instead I would look for a place that already took care of known issues and got the unit in tip-top running condition before putting it up for sale.

I bought a used 2008 Lexus with about 85K miles. This model usually needs a new timing belt at 90K, and many mechanics will recommend replacing the water pump at the same time just because it's right there, exposed, when doing the belt. Well, Lexus of Tulsa had already replaced the timing belt and water pump prior to advertising it for sale, even though technically it wasn't even due yet. That is first class IMO, and it let me know they weren't trying to 'cheap out' or foist some hidden problem over on me. (Carfax showed regular scheduled maintenance, too... peace of mind.)

So what I'm saying is, I'd be leery of a place that offers a Class A for sale when they know it needs wiring re-done and they haven't bothered to do it. Look, if they get you on the hook and then do a half-baked repair job on it (which I'd suspect will happen), you could have a lot of misery with it and camping days lost as techs try in vain for hours to track down where the short is located. One bit of exposed wire touching some other metal can cause constant battery drain, for example.

[BobandShaz]

midnightsadie wrote:
REMEMBER.. we told you NOT to buy this RV. its a money pit.

MORE THAN ONCE!!!! Me I would RUN. Bought a used car with rodent damage. BAD mistake never ran right it was not a good buy.

[fivejackie]

msturtz wrote:
We went from a Class C gas rig to a Class A diesel pusher. The extra space is amazing. I would not go back to a Class C coach.

Went from a Class A to a Class C. DH thought she could drive a C better than an A. She picked out a C and drove it once. After a while she didn't like the C. She found a new Class A she liked so we traded in the C for an A. Now the DH is happy, so everyone is happy.

The Class A is better for touring with the big front windshield. For camping we have more room and a lot more storage.

[Musicman]

I would also urge you not to buy this rig. It will end up costing a lot of money and work to bring back to life and up to your acceptable level of performance.
NO, NO, A THOUSAND TIMES NO !!

[RoyB]

I think all of those larger RV UNITS might be money pits - just like the big ole boats... Something always breaking down... Guess that is why there are many many TRUCK STOPS with shops scattered all across the US to keep all of them going...

Got to have deep pockets when you go big... I'd love to have a bigger unit but certainly outside of my money cash flow. Actually almost everything is outside my money cash flow hehe...It is just human nature that bigger is always better...

Just my opinion...

Roy Ken

[topflite51]

I believe I would look elsewhere for a unit. There simply is a significant number of A's for sale out there. Have seen too many vehicles with major problems simply because they sat for years. Their short term warranty probably ends the day you drive it off the lot. As to purchasing a long term 3 year warranty on a 13 y.o. unit, if one is available and affordable, probably would have so many exclusions listed that would render it useless.

[2chiefsRus]

Read the extended warranty document carefully and look for something similar to this phrase - damage to an included item is not covered if damage is due to failure of a excluded item. Basically means if the company can point to a non-covered item as the cause, they can deny coverage even on a covered item.