Buy New or Used

[Steve S]

Hello,

Seeking pros and cons of buying a new or used RV. Any and all input is appreciated.

[stateboy]

I would think the used market might be more favorable. Everything I'm reading on the forum suggests that manufacturers can't make them quick enough. Hence, dealers are rather stingy on bargaining. That doesn't mean you can't find one that's going to be a good deal if you hunt. The recent rise in gas prices may prompt those new to the venture of camping to bail out quicker than they expected, prompting an onslaught of newer used campers to finally hit the market.

[Steve S]

Thanks for your input. I am having problems dealing with the dealers. Mainly price and availability.

[atlantaM3]

If I had to do it over - I would go used. There initial cost should be much more favorable. That said, has a large dependency on if the prior owner maintained the unit appropriately.

Many times, used it better as the initial buyer had to deal with all the delivery quality issues, so most of the 'stupid stuff' is dealt with, but that isnt always the case. Any used unit should have a PDI that is just as detailed as a new unit to evaluate for water issues, etc. due to lack of maintenance.

[Steve S]

Thanks for your input.

[wiscampsin]

Buying new you get a warranty, and you can factory order getting exactly what you want but you'll have to wait. Buying used you don't take the depreciation hit but you have to take whatever is out there.

[RedHorse1]

Used: cheaper, in theory the initial problems are solved, you don’t have to feel guilty about the first scratches you cause.
New: it’s new, 2 yr warranty, you get to cause the first scratches.

The 2 units we’ve had were both purchased new.

[Steve S]

Thanks for your input. Both great point of views

[Canuck Express]

I bought used private sale (2019 model in 2020) in Feb. just before covid-19 became an issue. JAYFEATHER 24RL. It was my first travel trailer. It worked out well. Initial quality issues were handled by the 1st owner and everything worked when I got it. I focused on upgrades (got most ideas from this forum) and have handled all the maintenance, brake/fix items myself. After 9, 1 week trips and our first 3 week trip I think it is now set up the way I want it. On a $30k new trailer I figured I have saved $10k on the purchase and put about $2k in upgrades to set it up the way I want it.

[Steve S]

Excellent point. Thanks

[ChiToones]

I bought my first trailer new. Traded it in for my current used trailer. I liked buying used because of the better price and that the initial build defects had been fixed.

If you can wait, I think that you should be able to get a good deal on any RV once the covid scare is over. Some of the people who bought RV's recently will like camping and will continue to do so. However, many will not like camping and will return to flying/hotels when they feel it's safe. That will result in a lot of slightly used units on the market. The lower demand will also bring prices down on new units.

[Steve S]

Rod and Pam,

Thanks for your insight. I agree totally with waiting but it might b awhile until demand starts to drop. Hopefully sooner then later.

[RichCarter]

Originally Posted by Steve S

Hello,
Seeking pros and cons of buying a new or used RV. Any and all input is appreciated.

I had the same choice to make when buying our TT last year. The new camper market was very pricey and used campers were scarce and also expensive. You buy something used, you buy someone else's problems. I figured if it was fairly new, maybe two or three years old, the risk would be low. An exhaustive search of used campers showed that people were asking almost as much for a good used camper as a new one. I shopped around online, rvtrader.com, for new campers and found exactly what we were looking for in a 1-yr leftover for a good price. I had to drive almost 600 miles to pick it up though. That's OK, we made it a road trip with stops along the way.
If you find one like we did that requires a bit of a drive to take delivery, you need to plan things out, maybe make two trips. When we took delivery, we had to assume that there would be no delivery problems, otherwise we would have had to find a hotel to stay in for the night. We had to bring everything we needed with us for the camper, towels, dishes, bedding, food, hoses, and everything we would need. For us, we just boxed up everything we took out of the old camper.
The nice thing about buying new is that you can get exactly what you want. Shop around locally for what you like and then shop online for best price. You might be able to use the offer to negotiate with your local dealer.
Another thing to consider is that some campgrounds won't allow campers in that are over 10 years old. If you buy something that's 6 years old, in five years, you'll be restricted from some campgrounds.

[Steve S]

Rich,

Thank you. Great points to think about.

[craigav]

I have purchased new and used, with my current one the only used RV I have ever purchased. I will contrast what some others have said in that my experience is that when purchasing used, you are purchasing one that the previous owner(s) have had to deal with all of the factory issues and warranty work which can be very frustrating to say the least (been there myself).

I purchased my 2010 back in ~2015 and the previous owner had maintained a list of all of the work (warranty and otherwise) done on the RV and most of the repair work was early on in the life of the RV. I have never been happier, never once have I had an issue other than minor ones that I took care of myself.

Also, some people claim that with new you get to choose what you want, however there are lots of used RV's and when you know what you want you can shop for those models only (or a list of several you like).

I (like many) have taken a $$$ beating buying new and then selling (trading for another). While mine is 10 years old now, it is still very low mileage, very well maintained, looks like new, and the best part about it is I purchased it for a steal of a deal. However, I did not purchase from a dealer, so I got the entire history of the owner who purchased it from the original buyer's wife, as unfortunately the original owner didn't get to use it much in his life and his wife didn't care to drive it. In any case, it had about 10,000 miles on it when I purchased it for less than half price of what they sold for originally. I will keep mine for a while as fortunately you can't hardly tell the difference between a 2010 and a 2020 seeing how from the outside the E450 looks the same.

Bottom line, I am now not afraid and likely will purchase used again whenever the time comes that I decide to do that. ~CA

[SloPoke]

After buying our Seneca used with 9,000 miles - that was a much better experience than our new purchases over the years.

As others said - the original owner has done all the frustrating work in getting the unit working properly (that the dealer or Jayco couldn't seem to do).

Take the $$$ you save and that should easily cover most future repairs and upgrades.

[Steve S]

Thanks Craig and Slopoke. Appreciate you taking the time to provide me your experiences and opinions.

[craigav]

Originally Posted by Steve S

Thanks Craig and Slopoke. Appreciate you taking the time to provide me your experiences and opinions.

You are very welcome, I will add a quick thought, it also depends on your budget and skillset. Many RV's that appear to be a great deal, especially those ~10 years old and older could have had poor maintenance and the number one issue (IMO) is leaks and\or delamination (I would never purchase a used RV with leaks or signs that leaks had occurred and were covered up). A poorly kept RV is no bargain at any price. On the other hand I suspect you can get twice the RV (price wise) with a used unit, when I was looking I determined that the biggest depreciation occurs during the first 3~5 years, which is still new enough to enjoy for many years to come. ~CA

[Packerbacker_TX]

Originally Posted by Steve S

Hello,

Seeking pros and cons of buying a new or used RV. Any and all input is appreciated.

We purchased our Jayco 5th wheel brand new from the dealer and we did it through Costco's referral program. Everything was custom ordered and eventually they shipped it from the midwest to the west coast where we lived at the time. The pro side is you get what you ask for and everything is new with warranty. The con side is you pay a premium for a new camper.

In retrospect, I've discovered the depreciation on RV's is pretty huge. Today's $50K trailer is tomorrow's $40K trailer. Unless you're buying an Airstream, you'll be losing money. So if you know what you're looking for and you've got cash on hand to negotiate, you can probably find a pretty sweet deal if you look hard enough.

Think about all those people that purchased new, thinking they were going to go camping every weekend like the sales guy told ya. Then you figure out it's a lot of trouble to setup/hookup/travel/etc. - not to mention logistics, fuel, storage and everything else that comes with it. So now you're more of a once a month-ish camping family that's less fond of camping than when they started. Now they're attention is on something else and they're motivated to sell.

If you know what you're looking for and can find one that's in good shape, you can probably pay HALF as much as they did. Look for someone that's stored it in covered storage. Ask for maintenance records. Find out how many miles they put on it. Why are they selling it? An honest seller will let you check it out before buying it. Give the thing a once over if you're serious. Eventually everything needs maintenance, so tires and batteries are expected. What you don't want is a leaky roof or mold issues. Odds are if they stored it in covered parking with power, it's in decent shape. If they parked it in the field behind the house out in the open, I'd be looking for rodents, bugs and leaks.

Good Luck with your decision!

[Steve S]

Thanks for your response. I am looking at both options. Unfortunately, I cannot find what I want used. Been looking everywhere. My hunt will continue.