New vs. Used

[RLovell]

New to this forum, not RV'ing. Been out there since '95 camping with the fam. Kids are gone now so recently purchased a Cardinal 5th W. Did 8,000 miles, central Cal to Jasper, down the rockies and back. Super fun 6 week trip, but so many problems with the RV...ugh.

And.... I knew this going in; new has bugs. A lot of people in the industry said buy 1 or two years old. Let someone else take the hit on depreciation and factory work because all the manufacturers do quick assembly and a lot just gets missed. Well, we wanted what we wanted and we got it.

Okay, working it out now. The contact at FR is great. Hoping for the best on all the other issues. It's been at the dealer for 6 weeks now. Still no sign of life. Need a beer

[markb5900]

Originally Posted by RLovell

New to this forum, not RV'ing. Been out there since '95 camping with the fam. Kids are gone now so recently purchased a Cardinal 5th W. Did 8,000 miles, central Cal to Jasper, down the rockies and back. Super fun 6 week trip, but so many problems with the RV...ugh.

And.... I knew this going in; new has bugs. A lot of people in the industry said buy 1 or two years old. Let someone else take the hit on depreciation and factory work because all the manufacturers do quick assembly and a lot just gets missed. Well, we wanted what we wanted and we got it.

Okay, working it out now. The contact at FR is great. Hoping for the best on all the other issues. It's been at the dealer for 6 weeks now. Still no sign of life. Need a beer

Well 6 weeks without my trailer, I would be getting a beer also.
Maybe time to start calling FR or at the least the owner of the dealership and raising some "hec" with them.

[dbledan]

Wow. That stinks. We bought new as well. The DW will not do anything used and who am I to complain that I get all new toys.

I am handy but have learned a lot just the same. Only issues that I would have had to go to the dealer for were a propane hose which I did myself and the kitchen faucet which I broke with pots falling from upper cabinets and I did myself. I also have a broken shelf I had to reinforce. While the work quality was not great (rough cuts, sawdust everywhere) I have not had issues really so nothing major to complain about.

I have done many smaller changes but nothing that had to be fixed to use it.

Best of luck and hope it gets better for you!

[Wattsworld]

Welcome to the forum from Missouri. Good luck getting all your RV problems taken care of. Getting close to the end of camping season here. Lets hope they get all the problems repaired so you can enjoy next year.

[brian372lok]

Welcome to the forum, i am new here too. I bought new and have still learned a ton of things that need to be fixed/done....and it goes to the back to the factory for floor repairs in a few months.

[geeman53]

Welcome from SW Ohio .

[dustman_stx]

We always buy new because we are picky and know exactly what we want and don't really settle on options or colors. Plus, 95% of the used rigs, even 2 years old, I've ever looked at do not meet my criteria for being clean and well cared for. To my this means no pets, no smoking and housed under a shed- no offense to smokers or pet owners. And many of the bunkhouse models actually look like someone allowed their teens to have a drinking party in them every weekend- I have no idea how you tear up some of the things that I've seen torn up in one?? Plus, you very likely could be getting someone else's headache that they are trying to ditch when you buy one 1 or 2 years old. As far as yours being at the dealership- unless it is a MAJOR repair, I do all the work myself. I know it's done right and I'm not without my rig for months. This is one of the reasons I place zero value in buying locally. I've bought every new rig I've ever had from RVWholesalers in Lakeview, OH. I save a few thousand plus each time and can get parts sent to me for easy fixes. My local dealers won't allow that- they want to be able to charge for the labor on warranty work so they force you to bring it in. And as long as you get a good deal on the new one, you really don't take much of a hit versus buying new in many areas. For me to save any money locally (N Texas) over new at RVW, I have to go at least 3 years old. And then it's typically only a couple thousand. And I finance, so interest rates are higher and payments usually end up being almost the same. 1 somewhat minor issue could easily use up those savings. Plus, as I stated, I get to settle on floorplan/options and I get the joy of looking at dozens of "clean well maintained" rigs that are anything but before finding one that actually has been taken care of.

[SuicideSaints]

Welcome to the forum!

Yes, new has problems that usually have to be worked out. I just recently went through this myself but my dealer was awesome! I believe most of the time it is the dealer and not FR that makes the experience good or bad. Which I believe you are feeling right now because you say the FR contact has been great but the dealer still has the trailer.

For instance I had some issues that were pretty major but I had all repairs done within 2 weeks during peak season. Which I thought was pretty impressive given the scope of repairs that needed to be done.

Now Im happier than ever and cant wait to get back out and camp a few more times before the snow sets in.

Hope you get it all worked out!

[dwayneb236]

My wife refuses to buy anything used..

[eye95]

Originally Posted by dwayneb236

My wife refuses to buy anything used..

I take it that she is your first wife? [emoji6]

[dwayneb236]

hehe. yeah. First, last, only. I couldn't go through all this again.