New vs. Pre owned

[mikedawson]

We (hopefully) have the best of both worlds, tomorrow we are picking up our new/used 2018 Georgetown XL 369DS, used with only 4K miles and a used price for essentualy a new rig. Supposedly bought and then one of the owners died so the other turned it in. Got a couple of great mods as well, they yanked out the booth seating and added nice red leather chairs around the dining table and also yanked out the L shaped sofa and replaced it with a very expensive and REALLY comfy electrically controlled non RV leather sofa with recline, heat and massage. Hopefully most of the other issues have been resolved if there were any and someone dying is the REAL reason it was returned after only 9 months but we got a smoking deal on it, paid just over $100K so time will tell.....12 hours till liftoff!

[AlaskaErik]

I bought my 2018 new because the used 2016 the local dealer had was $2000 more than I paid for my brand new trailer. I just had to drive an extra 100 miles to get it. The local dealer said they wouldn't warranty service a trailer bought elsewhere but that was not a consideration as I bought it in Arizona with the intention of taking it home to Alaska. The only warranty issue I've had was a bad PC board on the hot water heater and the local Alaska dealer fixed it in 15 minutes with no questions asked.

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeChuck

Unfortunately a new RV equals trouble. The workmanship and quality of the RVs coming out of the factories these days is deplorable. You would be much better off to find a good used RV and by that. You could save thousands of dollars by doing so.They used to say when you buy a used RV you are buying someone else's trouble. I'm saying that when you buy a new RV you're buying a boat load of troubles straight from the factory. A two-year-old RV is a much better buy. By then most of the warranty problems and other defects will have been addressed by the previous owners. It's not uncommon to hear of new RVs spending weeks or even months back at the dealer or worse yet, at the factory waiting for repairs. Why would anyone want to loose the use of their new RV for any part of the camping season? Forest River and other companies should be ashamed. Unfortunately they don't seem to be. SAD!

Don't forget last years models sitting on most lots !!!

[DouglasReid]

There is an old axiom, "If a service makes you happy you will tell 3 people. If it makes you unhappy, you will tell 11 people."

Unfortunately people get the idea on here that the RV industry is completely shoddy construction. The vast majority of new buyers do not suffer many serious issues.

Those that do are merely more vocal about it. That i snot to say some RVs come from the factory with poor workmanship, but most do not in my opinion.

That being said I always buy used, just to get more for less. When we were searching for a new camper we looked at a couple new units "on sale" . We decided to look at was was available in the used market. We got a camper 2 years old that was an upgrade and 6' longer than the new ones for less money.

[rlocicero]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeChuck

Unfortunately a new RV equals trouble. The workmanship and quality of the RVs coming out of the factories these days is deplorable. You would be much better off to find a good used RV and by that. You could save thousands of dollars by doing so.They used to say when you buy a used RV you are buying someone else's trouble. I'm saying that when you buy a new RV you're buying a boat load of troubles straight from the factory. A two-year-old RV is a much better buy. By then most of the warranty problems and other defects will have been addressed by the previous owners. It's not uncommon to hear of new RVs spending weeks or even months back at the dealer or worse yet, at the factory waiting for repairs. Why would anyone want to loose the use of their new RV for any part of the camping season? Forest River and other companies should be ashamed. Unfortunately they don't seem to be. SAD!

I had no problem with the quality of our new Flagstaff. The quality was better than our Sunline. Absolutely the worst TT was our Holiday Rambler. It was Junk.

[stevegotl]

Recently I had the chance to visit the Freedom Express factory in Goshen, IN. I was very impressed. The factory is new and the workers seemed very dedicated and quality oriented. Management had numerous quality control measures in place and what I saw underneath what you see, was above average. Folks have to remember these are travel trailers and motorhomes. These are not your typical house, stick built and on a foundation. They take a lot more stress then you'll probably ever give to your residential house. AND you pay much less.....Just my 2cts

[Mainframe]

I bought new 2 times and have had a home run both times, 2011 and 2016, both great rigs, very impressed with build quality and fit and finish. Minimal problems and love taking the camper out, I would be very hesitant to buy used, not interested in buying beds that have been slept in by who knows! Lol

[spock123]

We buy new but I tell people buy what you can afford. New campers have problems and used campers if only a couple of years old you have to ask yourself why did they trade so soon. Buying used you can pretty much forget any kind of warranty, especially from the manufacturer. We don’t smoke or have a dog, how can you tell if the previous owners smoked or had dogs and cat. The dealer lies even more on a used camper.

[itat]

Originally Posted by spock123

We buy new but I tell people buy what you can afford. New campers have problems and used campers if only a couple of years old you have to ask yourself why did they trade so soon. Buying used you can pretty much forget any kind of warranty, especially from the manufacturer. We don’t smoke or have a dog, how can you tell if the previous owners smoked or had dogs and cat. The dealer lies even more on a used camper.

All good advice.

Some units are traded to unload a problem. Some are traded because they just didn’t use it enough or decided they wanted something different after using it a few times.

If the previous owner smoked in the trailer or had dogs in it I’m pretty sure I or my DW would be able to smell it!

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by spock123

We buy new but I tell people buy what you can afford. New campers have problems and used campers if only a couple of years old you have to ask yourself why did they trade so soon. Buying used you can pretty much forget any kind of warranty, especially from the manufacturer. We don’t smoke or have a dog, how can you tell if the previous owners smoked or had dogs and cat. The dealer lies even more on a used camper.

We had the opportunity to talk to the previous owner of my camper prior to signing the papers.

They sold it after experiencing several blow outs on the tires, 3 on one trip.

We replaced the tires with Maxxis 8008 E rated tires and they have been completely trouble free.

They also did not like the Girrard on demand water heater. We LOVE IT!!!

To each His/Her own!

We dont really need a warranty, there is very little that can go wrong that I cannot repair myself, MUCH more quickly than a dealer can.

[67L48]

Lots of definitive statements that seem to be offered as fact, rather than opinion. Perhaps, it's just the way I'm reading it.
Nothing wrong with your observations or your opinions, but I'll offer mine, as well.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeChuck

Unfortunately a new RV equals trouble. [...]

Sometimes. Certainly not always.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeChuck

[...] The workmanship and quality of the RVs coming out of the factories these days is deplorable. [...]

Compared to a house, definitely. Compared to an RV built 5 years ago? Not sure there's a huge difference. Building materials and processes have been ultra cheap and flimsy for years.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeChuck

[...] You would be much better off to find a good used RV and by that. You could save thousands of dollars by doing so.[sic][...]

Maybe. Not where I live. Depends on the kind of shopper you are, where you buy, demand of the RV you want, and so on.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeChuck

[...] They used to say when you buy a used RV you are buying someone else's trouble. [...]

I still do, though it doesn't necessarily prevent me from buying used vehicles and RVs.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeChuck

[...]I'm saying that when you buy a new RV you're buying a boat load of troubles straight from the factory. [...]

Maybe. Some share your opinion; others don't. Not sure I believe that it's a hard and fast rule that new RV = many problems. It's why we're here -- to share different perspectives and experiences.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeChuck

[...] A two-year-old RV is a much better buy. [...]

Maybe. Not where I live. Depends on the kind of shopper you are, where you buy, demand of the RV you want, and so on.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeChuck

[...] By then most of the warranty problems and other defects will have been addressed by the previous owners. [...]

Maybe. Depends on how the 2-year old RV was used, whether that owner noticed the problems, whether the previous owner bothered to fix the problems, etc.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeChuck

[...] It's not uncommon to hear of new RVs spending weeks or even months back at the dealer or worse yet, at the factory waiting for repairs. [...]

On these and other forums, it's not rare to hear about such lemons. I'd also say that it's far from common, either.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeChuck

[...]Why would anyone want to loose the use of their new RV for any part of the camping season? Forest River and other companies should be ashamed. Unfortunately they don't seem to be. SAD! [sic][...]

Nobody would want to lose the use of their RV during camping season, but it's not clear to me that that is a necessary outcome of buying new nor a problem that can definitively be avoided by buying used.

Good luck.

[SaskCampers]

We bought 2 new TT's the first non FR was good but our VLite has been amazing for the 8 years we have owned it. We have had a few small issues but the dealer was excellent with the couple warranty items we had to deal with and the couple things since have been pretty easy to fix. We will eventually get a 5th wheel and it will be used as I do not want another loan at my age.

[dannko]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

Not going to comment on rv quality.

However when we were looking for both our trailer and our mini-motorhome, we found that the price for a new rig was about the same as a used rig. So we bought new and found the quality acceptable.

Plus most of the used rigs available in our area smelled like mold and that's a deal breaker for me.

The first thing any serious new or used, especially used buyer should do is go purchase a high quality moisture meter, then do a scan of the entire rv. Moisture level too high, move on.

That $150 spent on the meter can save you from years of hassle. Then do routine checks to make sure you don't have a small unknown leak that can haunt you.

[Sgfrye]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

Not going to comment on rv quality.

However when we were looking for both our trailer and our mini-motorhome, we found that the price for a new rig was about the same as a used rig. So we bought new and found the quality acceptable.

Plus most of the used rigs available in our area smelled like mold and that's a deal breaker for me.

X2
We bought a new 2018 TT a year ago. Zero problems 12 months later. Most used rv listings in nc were asking new prices because they were upside down on their loan. No brainer and I know everything going on with our rig bumper to bumper from day one

[russhd1997]

We went to the dealer looking for a new unit and didn't like the floor plans in the ones that we could afford. They had a 3 year old trailer that had everything that we were looking for. It was a much fancier and higher quality unit than the new ones we looked at too. It had been on the lot for awhile and they gave us a smoking deal on it. We've had it for 11 months now and the only problem we've had was a defective toilet. I turns out that Dometic had a recall on that model and we got an upgraded model for free. If you know what you are looking for and don't let your emotions get in the way you can get some good deals on good used units.

[wahoonc]

I have been messing about with RV's for over 40 years... I can ASSURE you that crappy quality has been around for a long time. It comes down to doing your due diligence. Currently it is a seller's market so they hold the cards, but you can still hold their feet to the fire by refusing to purchase something that isn't built properly.

I had a 1975 Airstream that I did a full gut and rebuild, you wouldn't believe some of the stupid stuff we found. I currently own a 2016 Coachmen Concord and other than a few minor issues it is well assembled.

Aaron

[ElKevvo]

I think one thing to consider when buying a used RV is the available warranty. We bought a used WildCat 5th wheel that was one year old when we bought it. It was like brand new, even with the plastic still on the lamp shades. Within a few months of purchase the front gray cap started chalking badly and we contacted the manufacturer for help since this is a known issue with poor gelcoat quality. They were interested in helping until they found out the 5th wheel was not purchased new by us. No regard for the age / usage amount of the unit, just that it was considered used when we bought it. So we were left on our own and it remains faded to this day.

Anyway that would be something to consider, what type of warranty is offered by the seller or available from the manufacturer. Other than the fading we are very happy with the 5th wheel!

K

[Rixtoyz]

Same here. The 2 to 3 year old used ones were very close in price to a new one so we bought new. We had a couple of very small warranty issues that the dealership dealt with right away. Now we are a year and a half into it and very happy with our purchase.

[dpetaros]

Like Jame (above) we bought a "new" dealer demo unit. Though it had never been used, the dealer did take it to RV shows. We bought it for 45% off MSRP which was way below what a one year used (of the same model) was selling for. Never had anything major to be corrected, but the unit came with the full manufacturer warranty since it had never been "owned".

Just like cars and trucks, dealers will make great deals once the new model year starts coming out. So decide if you want to choose your rig, or settle for (the options and decor) that someone else liked.

[budblack]

Bought a new 32’ Sunseeker in 2011. Absolutely no significant problems to this day. Having said that, IMHO no one without at least some mechanical ability has any business with an RV of any size. Had the awning switch fail, and had to rebuild it. Followed the directions to roll up the awning to get home before the switch rebuild. Not a Sunseeker part.