Would you buy an as is Newmar?

[Miramichi_cruis]

Hi All,

Wondering what your feedback would be about this Newmar that was struck by lightning. Would you consider buying it or what reservations would you have?

2014 Ventana Lightning Strike

[Two_Jayhawks]

Beautiful coach but I would want to know more about what happened. Assuming someone owned it when it took the strike did the insurance company total it? Did they trade it back to the dealer and what repairs were required?

[TomB_]

Call me a pessimist if you will, but I would have a very hard time buying anything listed as "AS IS".... :E

[jwmII]

Good idea to walk away. It is a shame that something that nice could be a problem. It looks so nice tho that someone will take the bait. If it could be bought at 50-60K It might be worth taking a chance on it. Best wishes to the people who end up with it.

[Miramichi_cruis]

Yes thanks all...was just looking at it but it is more than likely irreparable. Have moved on!

[Oilman]

Around 2009 I owned a brand new GMC pickup. With only 500 miles it was struck by lightning. The truck had absolutely no cosmetic damage, it still looked like it rolled out of the showroom.

The electrical system was another story. The radio played, the wipers wiped and the just about every thing in the car worked. Only problem was there was no key in the car and everything was in the off position.

The only way to stop it was to disconnect the battery. The insurance company did not hesitate to total the car. They were fairly certain based on past experience that even if repaired electrical gremlins would haunt this vehicle forever.

IMO it would be foolish to take a chance on that Motorhome.
There are so many others to choose from.

[Wrong_Lane]

In my defense the price was $219,900.00 when the OP posted the link.

I am an insurance adjuster and have extensive experience with lightning strikes. They are extremely destructive to electrical and electronic components. Todays power trains have complicated electronic and computer systems. The electronics are robust for normal use and exposure however are surprisingly delicate when exposed to potentially millions of volts from a lightning strike.

The ad makes it clear it was damaged from a strike so rubber tires did not protect it.

I doubt any after market warrantee supplier would touch this with a ten foot pole or the dealer would have included a warrantee in order to make this unit attractive.

To quote the dealer "However, due to the strike there are NO warranties expressed or implied" Seems pretty clear!

If you have $199,900 you want to gamble with well ---

Again with a budget like that you can buy a pretty nice coach, with a warrantee.

Note the original poster has moved on and judging by his most current posts he has found some potentially nice used units for less money.

The sale of this coach is hinging on the famous saying attributed to PT Barnum being as true today as it was decades ago.

[-Gramps-]

It is down to 199,000. Nice coach but I don't know how much the lightning hit knocked off the price if any.

[BobR]

Salvage Title? If it is, it may be difficult to insure or sell in the future.

[bigred1cav]

Same location new Newmar: http://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2015-Newmar-Ventana-4037-113114219
Tell dealer he is high offer 150 and demand a warranty his boss may say warranty not available , it is all he has to do is buy one for you,

Miramichi cruiser wrote:
Hi All,

Wondering what your feedback would be about this Newmar that was struck by lightning. Would you consider buying it or what reservations would you have?

2014 Ventana Lightning Strike

[prstlk]

One word applies RUN

[crasster]

I'm going to go against the grain JUST a bit from the general replies on the forum thus far.

I would INVESTIGATE what "refurbished" means. People have different definitions. LEAN towards bad, but still worth inquiry.

Vehicles are grounded from their tires and while lighting can affect certain things, it may not have affected as much as one may think.

"Refurbished" can have a broad range of definitions. Being from a technical background, I've heard of refurbishments of tens of millions of dollars. Why? Because of a single ball bearing failure on CPU fans. $10 part (in bulk), the rest was absolutely fine.

What is "refurbished". Does it mean it caught fire from lighting? Does it mean all the electrical blew out and wires caught fire? Did it "fry" the coach drive computer and wire harnesses?

OR Did it just damage the television, radio, and simple sensitive electronics that were not grounded to the chassis (such as the vehicle computer was fine but certain sensitive house things had to be changed). In this case, I would be comfortable if all it needed was a new converter - however, not at that price. It would have to come way down.

I would not be comfortable if it extended into vehicle components.
I would not be comfortable if the vehicle has a "salvage" title.

It's at least worth asking about. "Refurbished" in words can scare, but it may be a minimal thing and somebody worded the ad wrong. Or it could be a major thing, and "refurbished" means "gutted, rebuilt, and salvaged".

Also who did the refurbishing? The manufacturer? Again to what extent did the manufacturer refurbish?

Does *as is* now mean no factory warranty or just no warranty from the seller?

As stated vehicles "float" on tires. Was it struck with jacks down? There are many things that variate on this....

It's at least worth a phone call. Poke around with questions and approach with caution. If things seem minimal then professional inspection would be crucial. Also they'd have to negotiate down big time.

After all is said in done, if everything (minimal refurbish) did not exactly fit the standards that I wanted (price, minmal refurbishing, non-salvage title, no fires, no vehicle component damange, and only limited to converter and small house issues), I would walk away and not look back.

[Blaster_Man]

I would not even consider a coach struck by lightning. These things are electrical nightmares as they are, a lightning strike would make things even worse. I flew a twin engine turbine powered airplane that was stuck by lightning...the electronics/avionics never worked right after that happened.

[PastorCharlie]

Buy extended warranty

[JustinJohnson]

Wrong Lane wrote:
Did I read the price correctly, $219,000.00?

That's a lot of money for "as is". Basically you're buying repaired salvage. Is the title branded showing the history of the unit?

Here's a question -- Can you even insure the coach against physical damage perils, like for instance, fire damage? I suspect if you tell your broker that the unit is a 2013 "refurbished" they will have a hard time finding an insurer for it!

With that kind of budget I suspect you could find something less questionable

I think it's $199,900. The facility & condition of the RV are also good.