Pamelagaudreau
Member
Hi I am new to the forum and have never owned an RV. We are looking to purchase one since 3 of our sons attend college in california and we live in NH. We can't afford to visit because cost of lodging is prohibitive. We also have to travel a lot for medical procedures (for our adult disabled son), that aren't available in our state, requiring us to drive long distances daily for periods of time when he needs treatment. We have the opportunity to buy a 1993 Class c Coachman Santara for $3200. There are significant areas of water damage from leaks that were reportedly fixed ( owner had reprtedly patched ). The worst area of course is the overhead bunk area with the outside seam areas having obvious areas of open seams, rippled walls, where caulk and patches failed. It had rained last 3 days and the overhead mattress bed area is wet and lifting mattress shows patches of mold on the vinyl side of mattress. The inside walls of the over head and also the wall and large window area by couch / dining area (which is on drivers side) is still actively leaking.. walls are spongy and particle board is rotted. When the gentleman tried to show me how the shaded came down the entire unit fell out because the particle board was wet and fell apart. there are a couple of other areas where there is old water damage ( rippling walls and peeled wall paper) but the walls were dry. My problem is my family has health issues due to exposure to toxic mold years ago that damaged our immune systems so we can't tolerate leaks or mold.
The seller says we won't find any RV's under $10K without leaks and that this would be an easy fix. Other than the leaks and water damage the RV is in good shape for the age. It has 49K miles, drives well with no apparent oil leaks and the undercarriage looks in good shape considering the age. He purchased new tires a year ago. There may be a slight exhaust leak but it was not apparent during the 90 minutes it ran while we were there. Only other problem ( we know of) is the hot water tank hadn't been winterized and split so we'd have to replace that unit but I have found those on ebay for $250 and it looks like an easy change out.
SO my question is, would it be worth purchasing for the price of $3200? Is it worth it to to have to repair and replace the rotted areas inside (overhead cabin), left wall above and all around the large window by dining area, and bedroom wall (shower wall leak needs caulking). We are not handy enough to do these fixes ourselves and we don't have more than $800 cash to spend on repairs..but I have $1000 worth of work owed me by a carpenter (we barter). The seller told us the leaks could be "easily fixed" with a can of some kind of liquid seal that could be poured and spread over the top of the RV , caulking the inside shower stall, around windows, and applying some double sided seam sealer for RV's. My thoughts are that this would be too risky a purchase but the seller thinks otherwise. I am skeptical, but there aren't too many other affordable options for us. What is your advise?
The seller says we won't find any RV's under $10K without leaks and that this would be an easy fix. Other than the leaks and water damage the RV is in good shape for the age. It has 49K miles, drives well with no apparent oil leaks and the undercarriage looks in good shape considering the age. He purchased new tires a year ago. There may be a slight exhaust leak but it was not apparent during the 90 minutes it ran while we were there. Only other problem ( we know of) is the hot water tank hadn't been winterized and split so we'd have to replace that unit but I have found those on ebay for $250 and it looks like an easy change out.
SO my question is, would it be worth purchasing for the price of $3200? Is it worth it to to have to repair and replace the rotted areas inside (overhead cabin), left wall above and all around the large window by dining area, and bedroom wall (shower wall leak needs caulking). We are not handy enough to do these fixes ourselves and we don't have more than $800 cash to spend on repairs..but I have $1000 worth of work owed me by a carpenter (we barter). The seller told us the leaks could be "easily fixed" with a can of some kind of liquid seal that could be poured and spread over the top of the RV , caulking the inside shower stall, around windows, and applying some double sided seam sealer for RV's. My thoughts are that this would be too risky a purchase but the seller thinks otherwise. I am skeptical, but there aren't too many other affordable options for us. What is your advise?