Should I buy????

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wondering133

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Sep 17, 2018
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I'm in no way someone with a lot of money.  I do work from home and homeschool my kids.  I'm a single mom and my income is all I have available.  I'm trying to decide whether to buy a used RV.  It's a 2011 Jamboree Sport and has been maintained well but it has 120k miles on it.  My goal was to take my kids around the country for a few months and then either sell it or use for a home-base for a year or so.  But with the high mileage and the fact that that I have heard that banks won't finance older RVs, I'm worried that I'll be out $20k and that I'll end up having to replace the engine.  I'm not sure what to do.  Does anyone have any suggestions or advice?
 
Usually the banks won't finance used if the rv is 10 yrs old or over. There are a few places that might. So a 2011 unit can be financed.
If you are concerned with the gas engine mileage would it be an option to look for something with less miles. Someone may chime in and say if the engine was properly maintained 120k miles is nothing.
But for me personally whether diesel or gas I will not buy a unit with over 90k miles just a personal preference. Good luck on your search as there are a lot of "rv" out there and buy what you will feel comfortable with, don't just "settle "
 
Welcome to the forum, this is a great place to get advice. I was excited to read your post because I'm also a single mom homeschooling my kids with a similar plan! I just bought a used class A and we are leaving July 31 of next year to go across country and return June 1 of the following year. After our trip, I also plan on selling my RV, although I would much rather keep ot and rent out my house from that point on.
 
Strictly opinion here: the 120k miles isn't awful, but its not to be ignored either.  The engine itself is probably good for 200k, but other parts that make it go are at end of life. I'm talking alternator, starter motor, water pump, a/c compressor and similar bolt-on parts that make the engine actually propel you down the road. None is hugely expensive as a part, but if you need to get towed to a shop and pay a mechanic  to diagnose and repair, you can drop significant bucks.  Not to mention breaking down on the highway with the kids.  You need money in  reserve for any extended RV travel, cause things do break. I'm concerned that your finances couldn't withstand a major repair, even if the chances of such are only moderate.

Notice we haven't even talked about the house yet. It's loaded with appliances and fairly complex plumbing and electrical systems, most of which are pricey if you cannot do the repairs yourself. RV shops charge extremely high labor rates, typically $120-$140 per hour, and they milk the hours.  Not trying to scare you off, but want you to be aware of these factors.

Just as a preparatory warning, you should also expect to lose money when you re-sell it. You might get lucky, but most people take a loss when they keep an RV less than a year. A dealer won't pay diddly for it, so it's a private sale and most such buyers are bargain hunting.

As for financing, the major lenders only do 5 years old. There are some that will do a 10 year old RV, but not every buyer or RV will qualify.

You mentioned $20k. Is that the asking price? If so, a good deal even with 120k miles.  Maybe good enough to take some risk. What length is it, and one slide or two?
 
Welcome to the Forum!

Gary, I'm seeing double?!!

I am a bit concerned about the price.  There are several models of the 2011 Jamboree Sport, and even considering the miles, NADA suggests retail value is between $38K and $42K.  If they are selling it for only $20K,  WHY??

I applaud your desire to tour the country with the kids, but I echo Gary's concerns.  From a strictly financial view, the cost of traveling in a MH vs living in a sticks and bricks home, the MH will be more expensive.  You shed home costs - rent / mortgage, home insurance, utilities, repairs, taxes and other home expenses.  Expenses for food, medical, clothing, school supplies, etc. remain.  Add MH insurance, MH fuel, campground fees, MH repairs, admission fees to attractions, souvenirs, and other travel expenses.  I fear a $1500 repair may completely disrupt your plans.  I want to see you succeed.

One other consideration not yet mentioned is the FLOOR PLAN.  It must meet all of the family needs perfectly or those little things will become a major annoyance in close quarters very quickly!!  If you have 5 straight rainy days, can you survive cooped up in the small MH?  Have you looked at any other models?  How do you know this is the perfect one for you?

Please go into this well informed.  This post is a good start.
 
Could you afford $5000 for an engine? Could you afford to just walk away from the whole thing with nothing? Can you pay cash for it?

If the answer is yes to all three we can talk further. If the answer is no to any one of them then no don't do it.  With an RV they say have a lot of money or be handy.
 
Sounds like a former rental unit? That, by itself, is something research and decide if it is something ok for you, or to avoid.
 
This sounds like an above average number of miles, entry level class C, for a below average price.  I think you could probably find a better deal on a slightly older coach, with fewer miles.

Though condition of coach aside, my concern is your talk of budget, and what you can afford.  Traveling by motorhome is not cheap, even when well maintained they break down, have flat tires, etc. 

Let me share some of my personal experience as a guideline, my current coach is what I consider a well maintained 2002 model with about 85,000 miles on it, I bought when it was  at 74,000 miles in 2016.  The previous owner had done over $3,000 worth of front end suspension work on it in March of 2015 when it was at about 56,000 miles, doing all the suggested work that was needed based on an inspection by a nationally well regarded shop (I have copies of the paperwork).  He  also had put another $7,000+ worth of parts alone that were into it since 2014, including new tires, refrigerator, carpet, seats, batteries, inverter, solar panels, tv, stereo, backup camera,...

Since buying the coach in 2016 for about $20,000 I have spent close to $10,000 on provisioning (pots, pans, bbq grill, camping chairs, sheets, towels,..), maintenance (fluid changes, 1 tire, coach and chassis batteries, signal lights), as well as  updates (TPMS, GPS, new shocks, LED lights,...)  Sure I could have trimmed that a good bit, but still somewhere between $3,500 - $5,000 would have been what I consider necessary / good preventive maintenance items (like changing the oil).  Of that about about $2,200 has went to professional shops, most recently 3 months ago I had a hydraulic hard line for the automatic parking brake fail and leave me stranded on the side of the road, shop cost associating the repair / fabricating a new line ran about $600.  This does not include other cost of ownership stuff, like insurance, roadside assistance plans, ...

On my most recent trip about a month ago I had one of the front suspension air bags that were installed in March of 2015 fail while I was 500 miles from home.  I was able to replace it myself in a campground, but it did cost me an unexpected $260 or so which included $30 spent on tools that I needed for the job, but did not have in my tool box, and $70 to next day air the part, ....  On the drive home I started hearing a  clack from the front suspension when going around sharp curves at low speed, I took it into a local trusted shop last week where they diagnosed that it now needs to have the upper and lower ball joints to be replaced on both sides, cost estimate $1,090, plus afterward it will need a front end alignment, which they can't do.  The nearest shop capable of doing a front end alignment is 50 miles away, and that will likely run another $170, plus travel expense (100 miles round trip at 9 mpg, will amount to over $30 in fuel alone). 

Not all trips are this eventful, though this last one did have its share, also on this trip the power seat control switch on the passenger seat also failed leaving my wife riding with the seat in the forward most position for most of the drive home, this was a $35 fix thanks to a used power seat switch off ebay and about an hour of my time, a bit of sheet metal on the front air scoop lost its rivets and began flapping around mid way on the trip (I know they were fine when I had looked at them 5 or 6 months ago, as I was considering drilling them out to get access to a component), another easy fix, though I did spend yet another hour in another camp ground fixing it, thankfully I had my $15 rivet gun with me, who knows what a shop would have charged if I did not have the tools and skills to fix it myself.  On top of all that the engine was making a strange sound that I have yet to identify on the drive home, which of course it stopped making before I could take it into a shop to get a professional opinion.
 
wondering133 hasn't been back sin e that initial post, so I guess we are talking to ourselves. Hope that RV works out ok for her.  Or maybe it was just a wild thought and her better judgment ultimately ruled.
 
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