Another new guy

[BinaryBob]

Hello all...
I?m excited to explore this new adventure. This looks like an active and friendly forum.
I?m 55, married for 35 years. Wife is retiring this summer from teaching. My work allows me to be gone for extended periods with cell phone and internet. Kids are grown. We live in Minnesota.  Looking for something to snowbird with for a couple of months as well as shorter summer trips. So far, narrowed it down to a used class C (24? ? 27?)  ?? Got a thousand questions.

My RV ?experience?  was an old beat up  1971 Grand Prix pop up we used every  summer with the kids. That old beast made some fun times.

Looking forward to everyones advice and experience.

 

[huntnski]

Well Bob you should get plenty of replys and advice. The class a folks will talk about smooth rides the class c folks will talk about turning radious and compactness, as for me Welcome. I'll just check in every now and then to see how the debate (advice) is coming. Regardless have fun, this forum is full of knowledgeable RVers that are very helpful and sometimes entertaining.

 

[SkyKing4AR2]

Bob,

I, too, am binary, working from my coach and full timing with all my digital connections blinking. There are any number of solutions, so you can work and go, at the same time, like I do when the bride retires! The research you do now will pay big dividends later and there is a vast bank of experience here.

Welcome to the Forum! I want to see Minnesota but it's going to have to be in a four letter month starting with a "J".

Kim

 

[BinaryBob]

Thanks!
We just went to the Minneapolis RV show. Mind Boggling. The MSRP's were all +- $100,000. Didn't matter large or small / class B or class C.  Smaller is not cheaper - often more expensive. How is the price driven on these?

 

[Kevin Means]

Thanks!
We just went to the Minneapolis RV show. Mind Boggling. The MSRP's were all +- $100,000. Didn't matter large or small / class B or class C.  Smaller is not cheaper - often more expensive. How is the price driven on these?

Hi Bob... and welcome.

Yeah, new RVs are pretty pricey, and few things I've seen depreciate as quickly and as much as a new RV. I think the answer to your question is, they are priced to selll at the highest price that the market will bear. My wife and I are about to retire (finally), and have been window-shopping for four years. We'd both REALLY like to find a one or two year old version of the coach we want, instead of buying new - primarily because of the depreciation issue, but also because all new coaches, like the kind at which we're looking, seem to have quite a few "new RV" problems (not that a slightly used one wouldn't have problems).

What we're discovering, however, is that many of the folks who took out large loans to buy their new RVs at full price, and who now want/need to sell them, owe more than what they may be worth on the used market (Athough what something "is worth" is often very subjective). It's hard for us to justify (financially) buying a two year old coach for $230,000.00 when we can buy a new one, with a full factory warranty, for $240,000.00.

So I'm with ya on the whole "pricey new coach" thing. Now we just have to figure out what makes the most sense for us (end of rant). 

Kev

 

[Lynette1]

Hi Bob:  we are new too.  Just retiring and have been looking (mostly internet) for about 4 months.  Going to our first show in a few weeks.  We are also thinking a 1 or 2 year old coach would be best if the price is right.  The advice I got from a friend who has been in the RV world for many years, is to figure out what we want, find a reliable dealer who deals in used coaches and work with him/her to find it...might take a while though.  I'll be curious what you end up with!

Lynette

 

[kjansen]

Bob:
Welcome to the forum-a great source of info.  Keep looking for used to avoid the huge loss of depreciation.  A good friend of mine in Eagan got his from a couple going thru a divorce.  Great rig, just the size you are looking for and he paid about $20,000.  They are out there, so keep watching Craig's list etc.  They will start popping up soon as this is the season in Minnesota.  We live in a great state with alot to see.  Enjoy your travels.

 

[tstumpf]

Welcome to the forum from a former Minnesotan!

After we moved from the Twin Cities to the Taylors Falls area in 2000, we found a class C listed listed by a private seller in one of the local papers. Sounded too good to be true, but went to take a look at it anyway. It was a used Conquest in mint condition! Got it for $18,000!

When we made the decision to go full-time about 3 years ago, we had quite the sticker shock! Before we began looking, we thought we'd find a nice rig for maybe 30K!  Not quite! But we did find our rig online while vacationing in Florida. Saw a very sweet deal on a class A that just happened to be on our way home. Stopped to take a look and bought it on the spot from a private seller who could no longer use it. Only had 13,000 miles on it at the time. It cost a little more than double the 30k we'd planned to spend, but like it!

We've been checking out some great snowbirding spots, so if you want any ideas, you can PM us.

-Trevor & Roni

 

[BinaryBob]

Hi Bob... and welcome.

Yeah, new RVs are pretty pricey, and few things I've seen depreciate as quickly and as much as a new RV. I think the answer to your question is, they are priced to selll at the highest price that the market will bear. My wife and I are about to retire (finally), and have been window-shopping for four years. We'd both REALLY like to find a one or two year old version of the coach we want, instead of buying new - primarily because of the depreciation issue, but also because all new coaches, like the kind at which we're looking, seem to have quite a few "new RV" problems (not that a slightly used one wouldn't have problems).

What we're discovering, however, is that many of the folks who took out large loans to buy their new RVs at full price, and who now want/need to sell them, owe more than what they may be worth on the used market (Athough what something "is worth" is often very subjective). It's hard for us to justify (financially) buying a two year old coach for $230,000.00 when we can buy a new one, with a full factory warranty, for $240,000.00.

So I'm with ya on the whole "pricey new coach" thing. Now we just have to figure out what makes the most sense for us (end of rant). 

Kev

Thanks Kevin.
I've noticed that too. A motivated dealer can sell a NEW rig for 68-72% off MSRP, which is about the same as the asking price for a lot of 1-3 year old rigs out there.

 

[winniman]

Statistics show mh's have lost 50 percent of there value by five years. That would be my target. Find one gently used with fairly low miles. Estate sales are a great place to buy one. Craiglist as well, but beware scam artists. I prefer to buy things off an older couple who are looking to upgrade. Like cars, some people always have to have new and are willing to take a loss on selling the old one.  Good luck. Also for my two cents, if you are going basically full time, I would suggest an A class.

 

[BinaryBob]

Welcome to the forum from a former Minnesotan!

After we moved from the Twin Cities to the Taylors Falls area in 2000, we found a class C listed listed by a private seller in one of the local papers. Sounded too good to be true, but went to take a look at it anyway. It was a used Conquest in mint condition! Got it for $18,000!

When we made the decision to go full-time about 3 years ago, we had quite the sticker shock! Before we began looking, we thought we'd find a nice rig for maybe 30K!  Not quite! But we did find our rig online while vacationing in Florida. Saw a very sweet deal on a class A that just happened to be on our way home. Stopped to take a look and bought it on the spot from a private seller who could no longer use it. Only had 13,000 miles on it at the time. It cost a little more than double the 30k we'd planned to spend, but like it!

We've been checking out some great snowbirding spots, so if you want any ideas, you can PM us.

-Trevor & Roni

Wow! Love Taylor Falls! Where do you hail from now? Back in the day when the kids were little, we had a huge 1971 Grand Prix popup (the Green Beast) that spent many summer weekends at Wildwood Campground. I'm not sure it's even there anymore.
I would love some snowbird tips but it's a bit early. The wife is retiring in June. (schoolteacher for 36 years). By Feb/March of 2014 we should have an RV and ready to go!

 

[tstumpf]

Oh yes, Wildwood! That park was just down the street from us.

Florida's our state of residency, which we are very much enjoying while our poor family's suffering in MN. A couple of the kids were able to break away for a bit to visit down here, but going back has been hard on them.

Looking forward to visiting them in MN this summer.

-Roni