Based on our experience back in 2010, I would definitely also consider private sales.We were looking for a Class A in the 30-35 ft. range and had visited about 12 dealerships within about 80 miles, without finding anything we liked.
As we were losing patience and had almost given up, I saw an ad in our local weekly newspaper. The seller was about 40 miles away. We called him up and drove over to see it - an 8-year-old Georgetown 325. It was an great shape, with only 12,000 miles on the clock and 48 hours on the generator. I test-drove it for 30 minutes or so and we bought it. The owner was the original buyer from new and we couldn't find any problems or defects.
He was asking about $6K less than blue book. When I asked why, he said "that's what I owe on the original loan and we've had our money's worth". He had developed a medical condition that restricted how far away from his doctor he could travel, so they couldn't be Rver's any more. He also said "you'll need new tires immediately - they're the originals." Six new Toyos at our local Les Schwab were about $2300.
We got 4 years and 6000 miles out of it before the $4.50/gallon gas prices forced us out. If I'd waited 18 months, we'd probably still have it with today's gas prices. We took a mega-hit on value when we sold it. We just had one expensive problem during our ownership when the fridge died and it was somewhere around $1400 to replace it.
Just our experience, but there is an alternative to buying from a dealership.
Frank Damp, DW - Eileen, pet - female Labrador (10 yrs old), location Anacortes, WA, retired RVers (since Dec 2014)
