1994 Fleetwood Flair 32 feet Diesel, Auto, $25K good deal or not ?

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thefivers

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Jan 6, 2006
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1994 Fleetwood Flair 32' Diesel Motorhome. It has 55K miles and an automatic Transmission. $25000.00. All new Tires and looks good. No Hydraulic Levelers or Awning. Do you think $25K is a good deal and if anyone has the same model or drive train what is the expected Mileage per Gallon ? Thanks

Oh, do I need to get a new drivers license ? Class A ? Is it a tough test ?

I see that NADA book value is lower but all the diesels seem to sell for more than the book, I think......
 
Need a little more info, engine size, how many speed trans, 2 a/c units? on board gen set? LP or Diesel gen? etc

While looking at new 5th wheels we had two offers of $17K on trade for our Georgie Boy. It is about the same year, more miles, smooth sides with all awnings but not hydraulic levelers either.

No special requirements for Michigan that I'm aware of.
 
As far as I know, if you have a valid auto driver's license, no other license, endorsement, or test is required. NADA prices are based on actual sales, and while a diesel may be preferred, it doesn't necessarily command a higher price. As dsl4us said, we need more details. And, mileage depends a lot on where you plan to travel. If it's all flat plains, you rmileage may be great. Rolling terrain and mountains however, exact a great toll - diesel or gas.
 
DSL4US & Karl

OSHKOSH CHASSIS.
THE POWER PLANT IS A 6.5 LITER V8 DIESEL MATED TO AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WITH OVERDRIVE AND HAS ONLY 55,000 MILES. THIS COACH DRIVES GREAT! IT HAS LOTS OF POWER AND FEELS VERY TIGHT
6300 WATT ONAN GENSET GENERATOR THAT RUNS ON LP
SOLAR BATTERY CHARGER
2 Air Conditions plus Dash Board Air
6 New Tires installed this month.

It only books for around 19K, but could you really buy one for that price ?
 
On what you added:

Plus column:
Oshkosh chassis
Onan generator
low mileage for the chassis
two roof a/cs

Minus:
6.5L Diesel, fairly big minus IMO.

Let me add some details on this opinion. First our 32' has a Cummins 190hp 5.9L Diesel and allison AT542 auto trans, 4 spd no overdrive but relatively tall 3.73 axle ratio. Our coach is rated at 18,000lb GVW, which might be about the same as that one. The Cummins came with a 300,000 mile warranty to the original owner, this is because it is a medium duty engine. The GM 6.5TD is a light duty engine designed for 1/2 ton -1 ton pickups originally for fuel economy.

Having owned half a dozen or so 6.2/6.5 GM Diesel I'm fairly familiar with them. Currently have a 2000 Chevy crewcab with 6.5 and a 1998 Dodge with 5.9L Cummins. Empty the 6.5L is faster, loaded the Dodge does a better job. The 6.5 will feel good on flat ground but will show it's down fall in the hills. The '94 will suffer from cooling system that is insufficient. In '97 GM upgraded to a dual thermostat and higher volume water pump to help with this issue and then a redesigned cooling fan. But even with those updates some still have issues pulling large campers. The it will likely have the electronic injection pump, another area that will need to be addressed for longevity and reliability.

I'll have to look to see if I can find the max GVW for the 4L80E trans. Which is what it sounds like you will have.

The 6.5TD should give a lower resale in a large coach as compared to a Cummins/Cat or IH, IMO.

You should be able to find one for that, we would have sold ours for under NADA when looking at 5'ers last summer. Seen some others for around $20K and they had the Cummins/allison setups also.

Dan
 
In my opinion $25k for that rig is a bit on the high side.  For a 1994 rig, condition is everything, but a Flair is a pretty basic model motorhome and would not usually command any sort of price premium.  You can get some really nice, older high end rigs in that price range if they have no slide outs (which is the big thing in determining retail price these days).

Yes, diesels usually sell for more than similar gas models, but there should be a separate entry in the NADA book for the diesel models, or at least a price-adder for a diesel engine. And in my experience, the NADA retail book prices are more likely to be high rather than low. 

Make them an offer that is substantially lower than their asking price. Don't be afraid to walk away if they don't make a good counter-offer - odds are they will be phoning you before you even get back home.
 
Dan puit the Onan genset in the plus column; I'd put it in the minus column. WHile Onan is a well respected name, LP gensets (according to their owners; past and present) use a LOT of propane and need to be maintained/repaired more frequently than either a diesel or gas unit.
 
I agree with Karl on the On an propane Genset. I would not consider it a plus.  Maybe not a Negative but not much of a plus either.
 
Karl, Ron,

Thanks for the clarification on the fuel type. I wasn't too sure on how the LP/Diesel debate has played out. Was commenting more on the brand of gen vs. fuel type.

For the record we have a Kohler LP unit. Don't have enough run hours on it to base fuel consumption but is still better than no generator ;D.

Dan
 
<<It only books for around 19K, but could you really buy one for that price>>

You should buy it for much LOWER...go to the library & look at the dealers Nada/Kelly blue book & offer no more than dealer wholesale price.

 
thefivers said:
DSL4US, what kind of mileage are you getting with the 5.9 cummings ? Flat & Hills

In our part of Michigan that we've taken it the terrain doesn't have lots of long large hills. When out and about we tow the 7500lb '98 Dodge/Cummins behind for a GCVW of ~23,000lbs(scaled) and average ~10mpg. Could be wrong but have been told by a few that it could see in 13-14mpg not towing anything.

Dan
 
The new tires have some additional value, perhaps even a $1000. And if the coach is overall in outstanding condition and  well maintained (records available?), that might have some extra value too, but no more than another $1000.  Offsetting that is the 6.5L GM diesel, an engine that never won any respect anywhere, even in light duty pick-ups.  It is not reknowned for either performance or durability and is no competition at all for the Cummins 5.9L.

Overall and based on your description, I would guess the coach imay be worth the $19,000 book value but I wouldn't pay more. Maybe $20K tops, if I really loved it and it was truly in outstanding condition.  In a private sale it would probably go for under $19k, but the dealer may be a less anxious seller, since he gets more traffic on his lot.

Try to avoid falling in lust with the first rig you see in your price range. It's hard, but shop around cause there are a lot of nice older rigs available.
 
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