2005 Winnie Vectra purchase saga; got everything fixed ... for now at least.

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oldryder

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 8, 2017
Posts
538
Location
Avon MN
Searched ads for a DP for almost a year. Flew to FL in Jan to inspect a 2005 Winnie Vectra. It was in great shape (often mistaken for new), new Michelin tires, maintenance records, extended warranty, and verified operation of house A/C, dash A/C, reefer, furnace, slides, and awnings. Previous owner, who was a retired Air Force aviation tech, had replaced the ceiling with an extremely attractive wood paneling and trim. Bought it and arranged to fly down in April to drive it back to MN. While waiting in airport with my wife for flight down to FL got a text from the seller that he had a family emergency and would not be at the storage lot so I was on my own. Well, the reefer didn't work, house AND dash A/C didn't work and I didn't get the day of instruction I was expecting so not a great 1st day.

Drove it back to MN without incident except for the seized alternator 100 miles from home that broke the serpentine belt. Good news is I was able to pull over and shut down before the engine was allowed to get hot. State Farm covered the entire $770 towing bill. Good Sam was no help on towing and I ended up using a firm recommended by a friend that owned a trucking firm here in MN. I am not renewing my Good Sam membership.

Couldn't find anyone local to fix the house and dash A/C so decided to take it to Winnie Factory Service Center a 3-1/2 hour drive away. Had them fix a few other items and asked them to inspect the big slide. It seemed to work fine but after reading so many slide horror stories I figured it was prudent to have it looked over by experts. Unfortunately they determined it needed a $2600 repair.

Good news extended warranty on the coach covered $2600 of the bill totaling almost $7000. (Reading about extended warranties on this forum and elsewhere prepared me for all the "exclusions".) Hopefully it'll be a while before I need to fix anything else. Only bought it after a lot of research so the repairs were not a shock but just more of a disappointment since I spent a lot of effort trying to get an RV that didn't need repairs.

Now I have an RV that looks new and everything works. This forum has been a great source of info and advice. Many thanks to those that have shared their expertise.

mark in MN
 
We bought our 2005 Horizon new, basically a twin of the Vectra. It will take a while to get your Vectra settled in so I wouldn't range very far for the first few outings.
 
IMHO, this post is another validation of the sage advice given by many seasoned RVers on this and other forums; i.e., get an inspection before you buy a used RV and negotiate the price if needed to cover any problems the inspector finds. The $300 to $500 you pay is money well spent.

If you don't know of one, Google up "RV Inspectors". Here's one hit: Find An RV Inspector – NRVIA
 
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