Considering Cyclone model 3950

Hi, My husband and I have looked and researched until we have decided on the Cyclone 3950 model. We absolutely love that it has a 1/2 bath in the garage area and beds! We have found one for a really good deal, from an individual, we have $10,000 to put down, but will get a loan for the rest, my question is, how many years should I finance it for? I don't want to owe more than it is worth in a few years, and I know they depreciate fast! What is a reasonable amount of time to owe on one? Any info would be appreciated!
Patty

Patty, you have to figure out how much you can afford a month. Do you need to get a bigger TV. How much is the insurance going to be. Do you have to store it somewhere, and how much a month. Lots of things to consider. Try going on NADA and research the prices of used models like yours. Compare that with the cost of a new unit. That might give you some idea of deprecation from new to used by year. Also finance charges are higher on used units than new. With RV industry and sales the way they are might be cheaper in the long run to buy new. New units come with a warrenty, most used do not. A good aftermarket warrenty will cost you between $1500-$2500. If you do buy, look at Good Sams roadside assistance and their warrenty package. BTW, you can write any coach off on your taxes as a 2nd home. It helps alittle at tax time. Anyway welcome to the Heartland forum. my 2cts. Bob

You might consider checking with some RV financing options. This would give you an idea of how long they would finance it and they can also give you advise on other financing issues ie length of contract, interest, amount of payments, insurance costs, extended warranty etc. I have never used them but I know Good Sam Club has a financing arm of their organization. You can find it on their website at http://www.goodsamclub.com/
Hope this helps.

we have the smaller 08 Cyclone and with the extended warranty, we pay 473./mn. It cost us around 50,000.00 when we bought it last December. The plates here in WY we found were 653.00 and the sales tax just about killed us with an extra 3000.! Keep that in mind when you finance that there are some things they may not include and you won't get an accurate amount on something like that - ask someone in the same state/city you're in about what they've paid for those taxes. The taxes is what has kept ours in the driveway all year bc we couldn't afford that and a new baby! (Yep, it was my DH's midlife crisis purchase!)

Denise

I am generally a cash person. However, I went from a 15 year book to a 20 year book when I realized that I was on my third camper in four years and probably would be upgrading again in the next three or four. So it really came down to the monthly payment which is about $500 a month on our 3950. In our case we actually traded two for one and financed an additional $14K over our combined total to begin with. It looks real expensive on paper until you look at what we got for our trades and remember what we paid to begin with.

I hope this helps - FJ

We bought the 3950 last year and love it. We are currently on our way to Tucson for three months and have two dirt bikes and a road bike in the garage. Upon arrival we will unload the bikes and use the garage as an office and second bedroom. Very nice having the extra bathroom and W/D in the garage.
Our licensing is about $300 a year and insurance is about the same. I don't have any road assist or repair plans as I can fix about anything that comes along anyway. Staying at parks with full facilities gets a little pricey at times. This year with a monthly rate in Tucson at a real nice park will cost us about $750 per month. Enjoy the 3950.

Thanks so much for your reply! Can't wait to get my Cyclone! We will use the garage mainly as a bedroom, but my son is hoping for a four-wheeler! We'll see! Have fun!

Thanks for the info, it really helps. What does your insurance cover?

You sound like my husband with trading! But we started with a pop up, then a hybrid, then a fifth wheel and traded up, so I can't complain! Thanks for your reply!

Weighed my 3950 at the Port of Entry near Boise. Weights include my 2002, Chev Duramax, single axle rear, 265s, air bags, etc. Maybe 30 gallons of water, no sewer and nothing in the garage. Front axle pickup was 4,500, drive axle was 6,900, the 3 trl axles were 14,600 for a total gross weight of 25,800.