Forum Discussion

JoeMartin's avatar
JoeMartin
Explorer
Mar 29, 2018

Should I buy 2000 coachman Mirada

My mother in law is selling her 2000 coachman Mirada 30qb. I am thinking of buying it from her but would like some advice. We took it for two days to Turner Falls in OK to see if we liked it but I notices a couple of Issues and I'm not sure how hard they would be to fix or how expensive. 1st the generator does not start. And the steps to get in do not retract like they are supposed to. She believes that both of these issues I caused by rodents chewing on the wiring underneath if that is the case might be an easy fix. Next issue For the hot water heater to come on you have to flip the switch like 15 or 20 times before you get a green light showing that it late. Also there seems to be a small leak with the plumbing around the shower. The only time I saw water under the RV was after a shower. Both tanks held water fine. Also the vents in the front that blow on the driver and passenger art working properly. I think they're stuck on defrost but it's hard to tell. On each side of the rv there is one spot that looks like it has some DE lamination starting. Nothing bad yet. The good news is it only has 23000 miles on it. And about 71 hours on the generator. We like to campaign. And would like to get an RV. We could probably get a good deal on this but not wanting to buy something that's going to be a money pit. Would anyone happen to know how much these issues would cost to get fixed. Just looking for a ballpark figure
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  • Mile_High's avatar
    Mile_High
    Explorer
    Mar 30, 2018
    midnightsadie wrote:
    one thing dad always said never buy auto,s from relatives it,ll just cause hard feelings when things go bad. p.s. dad was right.
    X2 Thats a general rule with me, although I have broken it a few times.

    I definitely wouldn't pay premium for it. If she thinks it is worth a bunch, have her put it on the market it for while and try her luck or she will always accuse you of getting it for nothing.
  • tropical36's avatar
    tropical36
    Explorer
    Mar 29, 2018
    JoeMartin wrote:
    My mother in law is selling her 2000 coachman Mirada 30qb. I am thinking of buying it from her but would like some advice. We took it for two days to Turner Falls in OK to see if we liked it but I notices a couple of Issues and I'm not sure how hard they would be to fix or how expensive. 1st the generator does not start. And the steps to get in do not retract like they are supposed to. She believes that both of these issues I caused by rodents chewing on the wiring underneath if that is the case might be an easy fix. Next issue For the hot water heater to come on you have to flip the switch like 15 or 20 times before you get a green light showing that it late. Also there seems to be a small leak with the plumbing around the shower. The only time I saw water under the RV was after a shower. Both tanks held water fine. Also the vents in the front that blow on the driver and passenger art working properly. I think they're stuck on defrost but it's hard to tell. On each side of the rv there is one spot that looks like it has some DE lamination starting. Nothing bad yet. The good news is it only has 23000 miles on it. And about 71 hours on the generator. We like to campaign. And would like to get an RV. We could probably get a good deal on this but not wanting to buy something that's going to be a money pit. Would anyone happen to know how much these issues would cost to get fixed. Just looking for a ballpark figure

    As always, it's about the money and where you should be really asking the question, so what can you get this rig for and not like another one, won't have it's own set of problems.
    I believe these coaches to be pretty entry level and just for example, we sold a top of the line 98 NationalTropical for $12500 in 2016. It was really nice overall, but did have a few things that needed taking care of.
  • azrving's avatar
    azrving
    Explorer
    Mar 29, 2018
    I wouldn't do it without pinpointing the water issues and any possible rotted floors etc. I'd also find out why it's de laminating and find all the wiring problems. If I was buying it and figuring all of that out after I own it I would be pricing it at very low value. I have looked over RV's for others with a fine tooth comb for hours and have been amazed at how close I came to missing water damage that was bad but not easily apparent yet. It's a tricky thing and can get you and can end up being a real fiasco when you open them up.

    At worst, you may need to buy a new water heater which is about $350 or $100 for a control card or it may just need to be cleaned. Things like a bad water heater or even a bad $1800 refrigerator may hurt but the real pain is finding out that your foot went through the floor or the shower is now sagging through the floor or it is rotted around the toilet etc. Ideally I want to start out with a solid rig then fix all the WH, radio, frig, batteries, converter and on and on issues. You then have a solid rig and everything works. I could start out with delam or other water issues but I want to do it at a very very low cost.

    When it comes to RV's they say either be handy or have a lot of money.
  • midnightsadie's avatar
    midnightsadie
    Explorer II
    Mar 29, 2018
    one thing dad always said never buy auto,s from relatives it,ll just cause hard feelings when things go bad. p.s. dad was right.
  • NCC-1701's avatar
    NCC-1701
    Explorer
    Mar 29, 2018
    Joe, some things sound like they might be simple...like a water heater that is not firing up. Probably needs to have a good cleaning done, which would be normal maintenance. A generator with only 71 hours on it and it's 18 years old tells me it was not exercised, as it should be, on a monthly basis.

    Two things stand out to me as something that could be major: 1) if there's water under a motorhome after someone takes a shower, there could be rot, mold, or other water damage under the floor. 2) For me personally, delaminimation is a non-starter. This means moisture has probably penetrated the walls causing the delamination, which is not an easy fix, or cheap.
  • ScottG's avatar
    ScottG
    Nomad
    Mar 29, 2018
    Personally, I would avoid a rig with that many and those kinds of issues. The damage rodents do is almost endless. The delam is another reason to stay away. There's no way to tell how much damage is associated with it.
    You just don't have to deal with those things if you shop around.
  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Mar 29, 2018
    I wouldn’t be stuck on this RV regardless of where the defroster is set. Go campaigning elsewhere. Just IMO. Oh, yes, DE lamination even with nothing bad happening yet is always a concern. Flipping a switch 15 to 20 times is nearest normal.

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