When I buy something like this used, I look for both pluses and minuses. I keep the pluses I find to myself, unless hte owner points them out to me. I do not pay for add ons, but I recognizes them as something I might want and get for free. I look for damage that I can easily repair and use that to negotiate the price. Condensation damage is bad JU JU, and functional add ons like solar and inverters are a plus. Even if some of the solar is inoperable, it is likely easy to repair. A scenario like this would be nice to run across; An owner tell you that his solar was installed by the dealer and has never worked so he quit using it (it was probably to complex to operate), you look and there is a $2000 magnum inverter charger, four solar panels and 4 nice batts amounting to about 3 grand. He already told you it does not work, he can't expect you to pay for it right? You can also turn his comment into "something expensive wrong with the electrical," Take it home and fix it and you are way ahead. A nice set of Goodyear G614 or G114s on 17.5 inch rims would definitely be an adder, the value of which might be overlooked or diminished by the owner he just might not know what he has. TowMax tires is a negative and should be discounted, basically he is selling a rig with no tires. Look for ants, and if you find them run away. The newer rigs with the styrofoam walls are a perfect place for colonies. An owner should have detailed his rig before he shows it, but don't let things like cracked external ac covers deter you as long as there is no real damage, use that as a excuse to lower the price. I doubt there is any rig around that does not have a quirk with the roof covering, either from the factory, or caused by the owner. Unless the damage is not repairable, a hole in the roof membrane is an opportunity to get a big discount from the owner, blemishes such as these are easily repairable with supplies from a RV store. Look for repairs to the roof the owner made and hold that against him. The owner knows the problems exist and either does not know how to address them or is hoping you won't find them turn, all repairable items into a discount as if they have no value. Notice all pluses and keep them to yourself. Such as premium tires. I guarantee a used RV dealer did not pay for premium tires on a trade. If you don't have a hitch try to get the hitch thrown in on the deal. You get the idea. BTW rigs that have been smoked in are a real problem, don't buy it if you can't live with it, smoke odors are a big discount and good for you if you think you can eliminate them. Smoke odor can be somewhat addressed by sponging down the whole rig with soap and water including the furniture, cleaning the ac evaporator coils, and using some smoke odor eliminator. Ozium helps too. Not complete but its my 2 cents goodluck.
Oh, one more thing, and this is kind of morbid, but snowbird country has a lot of used RVs. One of the reasons why is that momma and poppa go down to snowbird country and can't help but trade, or sell and catch an airplane back home. Or poppa has the "big one" and momma sells the rig and all you have to do is go get it. Children get greedy when it comes to selling the estate because they all are scared they are not going to get their part or they are too lazy to get the most for an RV. As long as you get the title its of little consequence to you about their family problems. But in scenarios like this look out for things that happen after the agreement, like removing the television, or any other thing that was part of the agreement. Get the owner to haul it to a title broker do a walk through and if you still want it, then go inside and let the broker do the work for you. This way you get what you pay for. People can justify anything, like last minute deal changing. You get home and find out that the $1000 dollar pin box has been changed for the original, you contact the seller and he has the courage to tell you that the Reese Airborne pin box was not part of the deal. Take pics with your cell phone.
We are looking to buy our first rv (2009 Sundance 2800 rls). Everything looks great cosmetically speaking., but what do I need to watch out for? I know the tires are not in great shape so will need a new set of those, but anything else we should look at. Are there issues with the slides, do they wear out after awhile? How do I know if the rubber roof is ok? Are there tell-tale signs for the other mechanical parts (water heater, hvac, tanks and hoses, etc)?
We really like this one and it looks to be well cared for, but we dont know what to look at when buying used. Any advice is welcomed.
Thanks!
