When do you inspect a used unit?

I just bought my RV from a private seller. She agreed to let me have it inspected before any money changed hands. We did agree upon price prior to the inspection. That way I knew I could afford the RV before I spent the $250 getting it inspected. She knew I was a serious buyer because I was spending the $250. If any major issues were found, then we would have gone back to deciding who was paying for what with the starting point being our agreed upon price. If we couldn't agree then we each walk away, her losing a sale and me being out the $250 inspection fee. I felt that was money well spent if it kept me from buying an RV with problems. In our case we found no serious issues and completed the sale at the agreed upon price.

paulcardoza wrote:
Private Sale or Dealership? My answer would differ based on which.

Private Sale --- I would want a full inspection before signing anything and laying out a dime. Anything that would need attention would be a price negotiation item and I would want to have it fixed myself.

Dealership --- I would want an up-front inspection for cosmetic issues, water damage, etc. These would be negotiated up front. Then there would be an agreement in writing that EVERYTHING would be functional for the final PDI. If anything was found during the PDI, the dealership would have to fix it before they received final payment.

Great answer - except......

Assuming we're talking about an RV with a "serious" asking price....

neither applies if you haven't arrived at an acceptable price - or something real close.
(Which is after *you* do your best at "inspecting" the unit)

If the you're way off on price - it's a moot issue. Move on.

If it looks like a deal - time for the "real" inspection.
Pay for an "outside or independent" inspection - like a mobile RV service. Then discuss it with the seller
(There may be some re-negotiations. It's your $, = your call).

~

Private Sale or Dealership? My answer would differ based on which.

Private Sale --- I would want a full inspection before signing anything and laying out a dime. Anything that would need attention would be a price negotiation item and I would want to have it fixed myself.

Dealership --- I would want an up-front inspection for cosmetic issues, water damage, etc. These would be negotiated up front. Then there would be an agreement in writing that EVERYTHING would be functional for the final PDI. If anything was found during the PDI, the dealership would have to fix it before they received final payment.

You can either inspect it after you buy it them complain about it for the rest of the time you own it..or inspect it before you make an offer. What if you make an offer and it is accepted, then you inspect it and find out you don't want to buy it or the price is too high..?? Why would you want to do it that way??

B.O.

Everyone has their own method, but for us, whether cars, RVs, house....We always inspect before any price-haggling or money changes hands. I want to make sure I know everything about what I'm getting into so I can negotiate best from the get-go. And I'm always prepared to walk away from a deal. Money changing hands is the point of no return...

vic46 wrote:
I don't think I could bring myself to make an offer WITHOUT physically inspecting the object, be it an RV, a house or whatever. The offer is a product of the condition of the object, as determined by the buyer, not the seller.

As a commercial Realtor (hospitality properties, primarily hotels etc) I have encountered sellers that were not prepared to provide any financial information or allow an inspection without an offer based on the sellers fantasy regarding value. Those circumstances ended my efforts immediately. Those deals are tough enough to make without a seller antagonizing a prospective buyer.

In my opinion the requirement of an offer before reasonable access is a seller's fantasy and I would run like the wind! (What you hidin boy??????????????)

In our case the deposit, was to hold the unit until we could get to it to inspect. There wasn't that they were keeping us from seeing it, it stormy spring, and we both worked and didn't want to take time off to make the drive.
The contract clearly stated we could back out for issues found during PDI. You can bet we were pressed to sign and pay, when we put down the deposit.
I gave the sales manager "That Look" and asked are you serious!

Thanks everyone for the insight.

rhagfo wrote:
We negotiated a price and put a deposit our unit only from looking pictures on CW Web site. The unit was located at a CW that was 250 miles from us. We placed the offer on a Monday, and were going to the site the next Saturday to inspect. Final payment was due upon successful PDI. We found a few issues with the unit we asked for a further reduction in price, and got the reduction, the paperwork was rewritten and we paid the balance.
We had a Cashier Check for most of the balance, and wrote a personal check for the rest.

This is great, I appreciate you sharing the experience. This is kind of how I'd imagine it going. Awesome that it turned out well. Would you expect them to have given your deposit back if you had not been able to come to final terms on further reduction? (And was there something in writing saying you would have, or was that expressed verbally?)

I don't think I could bring myself to make an offer WITHOUT physically inspecting the object, be it an RV, a house or whatever. The offer is a product of the condition of the object, as determined by the buyer, not the seller.

As a commercial Realtor (hospitality properties, primarily hotels etc) I have encountered sellers that were not prepared to provide any financial information or allow an inspection without an offer based on the sellers fantasy regarding value. Those circumstances ended my efforts immediately. Those deals are tough enough to make without a seller antagonizing a prospective buyer.

In my opinion the requirement of an offer before reasonable access is a seller's fantasy and I would run like the wind! (What you hidin boy??????????????)

We negotiated a price and put a deposit our unit only from looking pictures on CW Web site. The unit was located at a CW that was 250 miles from us. We placed the offer on a Monday, and were going to the site the next Saturday to inspect. Final payment was due upon successful PDI. We found a few issues with the unit we asked for a further reduction in price, and got the reduction, the paperwork was rewritten and we paid the balance.
We had a Cashier Check for most of the balance, and wrote a personal check for the rest.

midnightsadie wrote:
right from the begining go look at the rv and as your looking ask if you can have a inspection done? if the answers no ? time to leave.

x2