Buy A Used RV 1000 Miles Away - Best Course Of Action?

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dazzlecat

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Joined
Oct 28, 2012
Posts
11
Hello,
I am planning on buying a used RV next year. I have been reading that you should buy the RV near where you will be living in it because it's easier for the dealer to take care of any repairs. But if I buy a used one that is 4 or 5 years old, does that even matter? Will they take care of older RVs? Or I might even buy from an individual? It's all up in the air.

My plan is to move between the Austin/San Antonio area in Texas (from MN) BUT I should probably buy it here so I can inspect it before hand. But then where do I get it repaired if anything breaks (it will be a TT).

Or should I buy one down there? If I did that I would want to wait till I got down there so I could inspect it first, but then I wouldn't have a place to live.

I like the idea of buying it down there because then I wouldn't have to haul it all the way down there. Any suggestions on how to purchase one half a country away without being there to see it, and without getting totally ripped off?

thanks!

PS. I'm leaning toward the Keystone Laredos or the Hideout. Any thoughts on those for full-time living.
 
My home base is in NCal - and my last RV purchase was in Austin. It was from a Jeep dealer that owned it as his personal RV. We chatted a number of times on the phone, I viewed pictures, and asked a ton of questions until I was satisfied it was the rig and the money arrangement I wanted. However, I wanted to as a last item actually kick the tires in person, test drive it, and take it to an Austin dealer to have a bumper to bumper. As a full time RVer I felt I could on my own check out the appliances.

He actually took my rig (a Class A) as a trade so didn't have to deal with selling. When I arrived in Austin, he rented two RV sites - one for my rig and one for his. He then parked his rig beside mine, went through his rig, then gave me the keys to drive it over the weekend. I then purchased it on the following Monday.

I wound up putting about $2,000 into it - some before leaving Austin and rest after arriving back in NCal. One bummer was that Texas does not charge tax on the trade, whereas when I returned to CA, I had 20 days to pay that tax and register.

It "can" work as long as you insist on seeing it in person and having a qualified shop check the rig you're purchasing before signing any paperwork -- IMO.
 
I don't see any major reason for buying near-by, especially if buying used or from a private party. I do think, however, that you should plan on spending several days at whatever location you buy at, to make sure everything is OK before moving on. That even applies to a private "as is" sale, where you are responsible for any needed repairs. Best to get all the basics working - or at least in a known status - before heading down the road toward home.

However, I would make an exception if the buyer is time-constrained during whatever free warranty period may apply. If you do not have the luxury of driving the RV longer distances to wherever service can be done, and leaving it there, it is probably best to pick some place close enough to home to make it practical to drop the RV off at the shop.

Do NOT buy sight-unseen, no matter how many pictures and assurances you get. Give a deposit but make sure it is refundable if your "final inspection" shows issues you don't want to live with. If the seller can't live with that, keep on shopping! No picture ever shows the full story and sometimes they intentionally ignore/hide negative details.
 
Gary is correct about not buying sight unseen. I have shopped a whole bunch and I have seen some RVs that looked great in the photos but were a total disaster in person. And by a total disaster I mean the RV would probably not even start and run and it looks like something that spent twenty years in a housing project.

Personally I would never buy from a dealership again. I have read too many horror stories on this board about broken promises and lousy service after the sale. With a used RV you are basically buying it as is. The salesman might make you a lot of promises before the sale, but unless they are in writing they are not worth the paper they are printed on.
 
when i buy something from a private owner  i look at the owner as much as the product. that goes for cars , bikes , skidoo ,campers..ect  you still have to look at the product closely but you can tell by the way a persons yard and other assets are maintained how they take care of things. if their yard is junky and there is stuff stored improperly you can tell they dont take care of their things. on the other hand if everything is spotless and things all look well taken care of , this is the person i want to buy from. if someone has ran the crap out of something you might not be able to tell looking at it. thats the problem with a dealership , you dont know where it came from and they are in the business of selling so you are going to pay market value. personally i like to buy well below market value to keep a margin of error in case anything comes up that i didnt discover. most times you have to wait for the deal to come along, so if you are in a hurry to buy youre going to have to pay full price
 
From experience I can say that good deals can be found far away and if it is a reputable dealer they will give you the facts before you purchase.

I was in Alaska and bought a used 5th wheel in Tacoma WA. I found it online and looked at the pictures and felt comfortable it was something I was interested in. Never spoke on the phone with anyone there, all communication was via email. I am fortunate that I am a member of a popular photography forum with members all over the country. I made one post and a member of the forum replied that they lived less than 3 miles from the dealer and would be happy to drop by and see the unit and take some pictures. I arranged for that to happen explained a few things that I was concerned about, roof leaks, weak floor etc. And my new found friend went by and said none of those issues were evident and took some really good pictures.

I then contacted the dealer, told him we had a deal and sent a check for a big deposit with terms to pay the balance in 30 days, which I did.

It can be done, BTW - When I finally saw the trailer almost 5 months later, it was just as I expected and I have been very happy with it.

I would recommend buying it before you move so you can check it out and make sure it is ready to travel. Also, winter time is a good time to find a deal in the northern climates as people are not camping and generally try to sell during this time. Whereas in Texas it is more of a year round affair and prices tend to remain higher...

Just some thoughts, good luck

Jim

 
  I live in Texas and drove just 3 weeks ago and purchased a rig in West Palm Beach. Had been talking to the owner over 2 months. The RV was more than We had hoped for. The owner and wife demonstrated every item on the rig. This is our 2nd RV and make sure you check the floors in the bath area. The previous owner left for us a blue ox tow bar, Buddy brake system still in the box,grill,tables, and many other items. The rig was a 2010 Tiffin Phaeton with 15,000 miles on it. While we were down in the panhandle of Florida we headed to Key West for 3 days. Good luck with your search and hope you find a nice rig.
 
The phrase "due diligence" sums it all up. Do your homework and fear not.

I bought my MH on ebay. The seller had over 100 clear, in focus photos posted. It looked great, low, low miles; 42 hours on the gen, really clean, and a desireable floorplan, six model years old and located in SC, I live in MA. I called with my questions and got straight answers. Seller was a little firm on the price but did come down a bit. It was a little above what seemed to me to be an average selling price. Four 20 minute phone calls over 2 days and the questions answered and the price set. He then offered to change the ebay listing to a "buy it now" for the agreed price while I was on the phone... and then further added "If it's not exactly as I've represented it... I'll fly you home." I hit the button.
Next day I bought a one way tix to SC. He met me at the airport and drove me to the MH. Everything was running, the engine, the generator, the jacks down and slides out, all the lights inside and out, the AC was on, both TV's were competing with the stereo, and on and on. It was as represented. I asked one question "Do you have a creeper?" The underside was black, the shocks bright blue, exhaust system shiny silver, and there were still chalk/crayon marks on the rear axle from the factory! The paper work went quickly and two hours after having arrived at the airport I was on the Interstate headed north! That was 3 years and 2 months ago,  and I've been living fulltime in it ever since. I looked for two years before making this purchase. Take your time, do your homework, become educated, and be prepared to pounce when the time is right. Good luck and have fun shopping!
 
Hey Dazzle,

Great posts thus far.  Here are some thoughts to consider as well.

YES YES YES to homework, inquiries, etc.  Know what you are getting into.  Knowledge is power.

Along those lines, if you are buying used (let's say 5+ years) where did this vehicle live?  A MH from Texas that was used only for vacations might have considerable less wear and tear compared to a vehicle that was used full time in MN, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you.  But again, a vehicle that towed boats and cars all over Texas might be worn more than a vehicle that was stored properly in MN so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me.  In short, find out as much as you can about the vehicle history- what the odometer won't tell you.

I live in IN and was looking at a model in Fl.  One day I was driving from Terre Haute and passed an RV dealership with a used model very similar to the one I was looking at in Ocala, Fl.  I ended up weighing the fact that it was right in front of me probably more than I should have as I have sunk some pennies in the RV school of hard knocks for it.  In truth, I probably would have made out better from the FL deal, but it comes down to people.  Don't lower your standards because it's local.  Take your time and don't be afraid to walk away if something seems off.  No RV is perfect, all RV's will require maintenance and repairs, etc.  Being handy helps.  It is possible to buy long-distance but obviously the stories above reflect specific cases where there was trust and TONS of back and forth information/communication between buyer and seller. 

Best of luck!

 
We bought our from San Antonio TX and live in Central ILL. Yes I understand your FEARS. LOTS of questions and pictures. We must have had 150 emails and at least a dozen phone calls. They even took our 1984 as trade. We still had some issues the roof in particular. FYI delamination does not show up in pictures either. We have a solid drive train the rest of the problems were related to SITTING for several years. Found that out after seeing the title transfer paperwork.  It can be done BUT you must have patience and do your research so you will know what questions to ask. I didn't find this forum till AFTER we bought it wish I had before would have helped a lot.

The things I learned the hard way are Tires should be date checked( I bought 8 new tires after getting home they were 11 years old). Batteries should be checked for age also make sure the house has REAL deep cycle batteries we got one of the dumb ones from WallyWorld. Died on the way home and found out all the marker lights and brake lights ran off it. 100 miles from home spent night at Flying J in a thunder storm. Then 50 miles from home flat on outer dually. It took 2 hours to get that done. Make sure you can park it at home. We had driveway problems.

Rving can be one heck of an adventure!!!
 

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