I'm looking to buy a 1989 Catalina Coachmen. $5,000. Good price?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
P

pswayze

New member
Joined
Oct 4, 2011
Posts
1
Hello everyone!
I'm looking to purchase a 1989 Catalina Coachmen from my uncle for 5k. I would appreciate some help because I'm new to RVs and don't want to get stuck with a raw deal.

1989 Catalina Coachmen
Ford F-350 chassis  22'
20,000 miles
Appears to be in excellent condition
New tires

To me it sounds like a lot of money for a 1989 but it really is in great condition and spotless inside. Thoughts?

Lots of pictures at the link below. I'm having trouble embedding the images. Sorry!
http://imgur.com/ErHaT&aoO0J&KUndh&W3tUv&WY7GB&U58o9&ZpBkk&ELjhq&FFmsJ&GtELa&KLoMD&oM8zcl&2uvOr&fltjL

Edit: A quick search shows that embedding of images is disabled.
 

Attachments

  • imagejpeg_2_14.jpg
    imagejpeg_2_14.jpg
    125 KB · Views: 40
That would be a horrible deal. The NADA high retail is $2080 and the low retail is $1,730.

http://www.nadaguides.com/RVs/1989/Coachmen/M-220-CB-FORD-22/Standard-Equipment
 
It's hard to put a value on a rig that old.  It depends so much on condition and how the engine and transmission are.  You may want to have a mechanic do some testing and let you know who well the motor has lasted.  Having low Miles is nice but it can also cause some problems of it's own.  How long has it been sitting?  Keep in mind that you will certainly have to replace all tires and that isn't cheap.  You may have some negotiating points like the tires, the inspectin and the NADA values.
 
The NADA book value doesn't mean much at that age - it merely reflects typical depreciation. Condition is everything in an older rig, and in many areas they don't go much below $5000 in any condition. In other areas, $3000-$3500 is the "floor".

In that vintage I would probably be looking for a Holiday Rambler or a Winnebago Chieftain Class A if I could find one. Those were two if the better brands in that time frame and probably in the same price range.  But the Coachman Catalina was a fairly popular Class C, along with the Honey, the Fleetwood Tioga/Jamboree sisters.

It certainly looks clean and that alone usually means a premium price. Have you checked all the appliances for operation, and also the engine, transmission and the age of the tires? There is an excellent RV-buying Checklist in our RV Forum LIBRARY.
 
One of the problems with good looking tires is it may be difficult to convince a seller that "new" tires need to be replaced after so many years, making it difficult to negotiate on the matter.

@Gary - do you know of an industry related web site that might be used by a potential buyer to show a seller the need for new tires?
 
The op mentions that it has new tires but how new is new? Were they recently installed or was the unit parked after installation years ago? Check the date codes. If it has not been used regularly brake calipers, wheel cylinders and parking brake cables may be seized. Rodents may have got into the wiring. Have the unit thoroughly inspected before plunking any green down or you may end up with a bottomless money pit.
 
It is also important to check the radiator, heater core and the rest of the cooling system for damage caused by electrolysis.  Fords of this vintage were known to have this problem.

From Tioga George's blog

http://vagabonders-supreme.net/


MsTioga's engine component failures
Over the 8+ years of our travels together, MsTioga has suffered many failures of her engine components.  For example, we have had to replace several water pumps.  All of these water pumps are made of cast aluminum.  We have seen with our own eyes how these water pumps appeared to be "eaten away" inside and as a result, began to leak.

MsTioga has replaced several heater cores because they just began to leak.  Radiators too, although the present radiator appears to have a brass instead of an aluminum core..

If this new radiator cap with its magnesium sacrificial anode works for us, the low cost of maintaining this radiator cap should prove to be a marvelous investment!

Paul
 
For what it's worth, 6 years ago we sold a 1983 Coachmen for $5000. It had 100K miles on it and was in very good condition. We still see it once in awhile running around town.

Wendy
 
This MH is 22 years old. How old is the fridg? The water heater?, the air conditioner. The engine is not made by Coachmen. It's a Ford,Chevy or Dodge. Cost could go as high as $6000 to replace
Tires cost around $200 each
Fridg= $1500
Air conditioner= $$800
Water heater= $500
Black water/grey water tanks=$500 each
Heater=$500

Just something to think about.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 846 (members: 8, guests: 838)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,928
Posts
1,387,649
Members
137,676
Latest member
traxster
Back
Top Bottom