Am I crazy? Purchasing an older RV

[willh2o]

8) loving the comments here. Considering the same thing. Very helpful to get this kind of input.

 

[Curiosity]

I'm crazy too then,,Sunday Nov.27th  i bought a 1993 36' Fleetwood Pace Arrow Diesel Pusher,, 8.3 Cummins & Allison 6 speed with 40k miles on her. Its in great shape ,no delam, and owner recovered the seats and couch and put down an indestructible vinyl flooring ,,it needs maintenance , a through cleaning and some tlc but runs good. Hers a few pics,, see my next thread for in depth review of this rv. Did i get a good deal????

She looks great.  WOW I hope I can find something like that.  I get real nervious with anything older than 2006 and hope to find ne less than 36 feet but this one I think I would have jumped on. Best of luck. Looking forward to how she works out fory you guys.

 

[Isaac-1]

So many of these replies remind me of my own recent purchase of a 15 year old motorhome.  In my case I paid just over $20,000 for a 28 ft 2002 Safari Trek, which may sound high to some, but it is important to realize the previous owner had spend something over $7,500 in repairs and upgrades on it since he bought it in late 2014 including $2,600 worth of suspension upgrades, new carpet, new sofa and captains chairs, 400 watts worth of solar panels, and had bought a 2000 watt sine wave inverter, add to this that the owner before last added new tires and a new Dometic refrigerator and new batteries in 2014 and you can start to see why I was willing to pay a certain premium .  This was a case of the previous owner had not expected to sell it so soon, then bought a vacation house and the motorhome had to go.  Even with all this I have manged to spend nearly another thousand Dollars on numerous little things in the first month of ownership, and will probably spend another thousand or more before spring gets here getting everything just right.

 

[garyb1st]

it is important to realize the previous owner had spend something over $7,500 in repairs and upgrades on it since he bought it in late 2014 including $2,600 worth of suspension upgrades, new carpet, new sofa and captains chairs, 400 watts worth of solar panels, and had bought a 2000 watt sine wave inverter, add to this that the owner before last added new tires and a new Dometic refrigerator and new batteries in 2014 and you can start to see why I was willing to pay a certain premium .

Paying more for a well maintained coach makes sense.  Remember the old saying, pay me now or pay me later.  Being able to verify the work that was done with receipts is another plus.  Something that usually can not be done when buying from a dealer.  Having an idea of what can go wrong and what it will cost to fix it is important.  If you can't do some of the work yourself, be prepared to pay $90 - 130 an hour plus parts for repairs.  That can be a tough nut when the work is done correctly.  It's a huge bummer when you find out it was done wrong.  Been there done that.  It's all part of the learning curve.     

 

[Mile High]

I'm crazy too then,,Sunday Nov.27th  i bought a 1993 36' Fleetwood Pace Arrow Diesel Pusher,, 8.3 Cummins & Allison 6 speed with 40k miles on her. Its in great shape ,no delam, and owner recovered the seats and couch and put down an indestructible vinyl flooring ,,it needs maintenance , a through cleaning and some tlc but runs good. Hers a few pics,, see my next thread for in depth review of this rv. Did i get a good deal????

  Nice!  From the photos it looks great!

 

[German Shepherd]

She looks great.  WOW I hope I can find something like that.  I get real nervious with anything older than 2006 and hope to find ne less than 36 feet but this one I think I would have jumped on. Best of luck. Looking forward to how she works out fory you guys.

  Keep looking for a 90'ds DP Curiosity , use the craigs list nation search site , its the best for looking everywhere at once for a particular rig,, good ones are out there ,, for 1 DAY,, then they get snapped up,, the one i got had a line of people behind me ,,, on the second day while i was there handing him 13.5k on his asking price of 15k.  I found it on CL 2 hrs after he posted his ad,, i made arrangements to be there 110 miles away with the 13.5k we agreed on over the phone if all the systems worked as he described in his ad. He was a good guy as others were offering him 15k ,but he kept his word and everything works on it accept a few running lights and the steps,,,,, so i think i stole this one. One more thing , i'm the 3rd owner and it spent 20 yrs inside a garage and 4 outside with the guy i purchased it from who just so happens to be a professional diesel mechanic who serviced and pampered it. He tells me the 8.3 is one of the best diesel engines ever built and will last longer than me LOL. PS- he said to call him anytime if i had a question about the engine,, he had nothing to hide and i found an honest seller,,, and that is what you need to find,, AN HONEST SELLER !

 

[German Shepherd]

  Nice!  From the photos it looks great!

      Thank you,, the more i clean , inside and out i find it to be it better condition than i originally thought,, i waxed half of it today using a 10" orbital and a good cleaner wax and will do the other half tomorrow, i'm,beat.  The walls look like they just left the showroom floor,,,, i'm still thinking this is a dream and i'll wake up any second.I scrubbed the roof with Simple green yesterday and the Dicor on all the penetrations and seam are in excellent condition,,, all factory original ,, not one crack , nada , i couldn't believe it !            PS-i paid $13,500 for it ,, i think i stole it,, what do you more knowledgeable folks think. I have been told this Pace Arrow DP,, made for only two model years, in 93 and 94, is the best 90's era DP you can buy,,, is this true, what do you all think and what would be comparable in the 90's to it  ?????

 

[Curiosity]

What luck you have. Not only finding a gem but having a great time at it.  I hope I am so lucky.  Feel free to send me a photo or two as you go along.  Was the steps a big problem or simple repair. Any idea when will be your first trip with it?

have a great Holiday season.

 

[German Shepherd]

I haven't got to the step problem yet, i just got done waxing her and replacing light bulbs. I will need to send off the gauge cluster as the fuel gauge is not working. First trip,,, i don't know, i'll have to wait and see. First i need 4 rear tires , and 4 new 6v Trojan batteries for the coach battery bank,,and then she should be ready for a shake down cruise. Hey Curiosity where are you located, i will keep an eye out for you on a cream puff dude as Florida is loaded with RV's, just need to find the cream puffs !

 

[German Shepherd]

What luck you have. Not only finding a gem but having a great time at it.  I hope I am so lucky.  Feel free to send me a photo or two as you go along.  Was the steps a big problem or simple repair. Any idea when will be your first trip with it?

have a great Holiday season.

I think you live close by me,i'm in Stuart Fl, check your private messages. Maybe i can help you find your rig or maybe even one better. PM me and i can keep an eye out up here above West Palm as i think your in S. Fl right. Merry Christmas brother

 

[SeilerBird]

I am shopping for a used RV.  Figure to keep it between 2010 and 2016 BUT I keep finding older Class A and Cs that are older some as old as 1999 at a really inexpensive price.  Would it be insane to buy something in the 12K price as a starter RV with the knowledge it may die on the side of the road. Some look like they were will taken care of.  I say a 1999 Class C for $9000. I do plan on having a mechanic check them out.

Would you like to see why an older RV is insanity just read this thread:

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,101066.0/topicseen.html

 

[scottydl]

Would you like to see why an older RV is insanity just read this thread:

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,101066.0/topicseen.html

That shows how an older RV can be insanity, when purchased hastily and without the proper planning/inspections.  But that certainly doesn't have to be everyone's experience.

 

[dabrown]

just a quick note; bought a 90 pace arrow for 8000 good engine, trans,tires etc, super clean inside,out, buy the time i was done 5 yrs. latter new brakes, celling started comeing down, air bags, burp bottle, dash air, i use a friend certifed mech for my work, i figgure i have about 20.000 in it sick of money pit, sold for 9000    just my exp. dabrown

 

[SeilerBird]

That shows how an older RV can be insanity, when purchased hastily and without the proper planning/inspections.  But that certainly doesn't have to be everyone's experience.

Unfortunately that is the way most people buy an RV, hastily without proper inspection.

 

[NY_Dutch]

Before buying our previous '95 Coachmen Class A repo, I spent about 12 hours spread over 3 days inspecting and investigating the conditions and fixes needed. That time paid off when after we bought it at what we determined was a fair price for the condition and only went about $300 over our original repair estimate. On the other hand, we only inspected our current coach for about 15 minutes, mainly making sure the floor plan worked for us, before buying it. I should add though, that I had known and helped maintain this coach for a friend since the day it left the dealer's lot. In fact, I drove it home for him when he was still recovering from knee surgery. Either way, it all comes down to "Know what you're buying!"