Super C Depreciation and Full-timing Annual Mileage

[asolarrv]

My final questions tonight.

I have yet to take the time myself but I am curious if anyone else has already analyzed the depreciation on the Super C's. A rule-of-thumb I have often read about buying cars & trucks is that depreciation is the worst, almost like falling off a cliff, for the first 4 - 5 years of owning a vehicle, then it kind of flattens out somewhat and then pretty much finds a plateau price-wise about 10 - 15 years old. That rule also states it is best to buy a used vehicle that is about 4 - 8 years old to minimize depreciation during your ownership. Is there any such rule-of-thumb when it comes to Super Cs?

Also, our plan is to full-time for about 5 - 8 years and then sell whichever Super C we end up buying. It would be nice to not take a "bath" when selling in 5 - 8 years, although I do realize mileage is a significant factor. And, what is an "average" mileage amount for a full-timer, understanding every family is different? 15,000 miles, 30,000 miles per year?

Thanks.

[RetiredOne]

I would say, if depreciation is your biggest concern, don't even buy one to start with.

[asolarrv]

RetiredOne, I appreciate your wisdom as it is sooooo helpful.

[Superseneca]

You are correct in your assumption that a depreciation curve exists. However the curve will very each unit due to the many variables that effect value. Such as.
Floorplan popularity
Condition inside and out
Maintenance records
Chassis / unit reputation
Diesel vs gas
Just to name a few.
Personally I purchased a unit that was 8 years old with only 25k miles. Hardly used but dated. Prepare to do some interior upgrades.
Just my opinion

[EA37TS]

We are getting ready to pull the trigger on a 2020 Entegra Accolade (cousin to the Seneca). We have put down a deposit and if the dealer works out a couple of issues we will finalize the deal.

We are trading in a Class A motorhome that we bought new approx 5 years ago. Yes there is depreciation but I will note that what may be perceived as depreciation on a new unit can be viewed as market correction if someone purchased an over priced unit to begin with. Taking into consideration the time we bought and price below MSRP we paid I am not concerned about the depreciation on my Class A.

One thing I have noticed is that on used units it also comes down to are you buying or selling to a private seller or to a dealer. On my current class A the prices for the few on the market tend to be higher with the private seller that the ones offered by a dealer. This to me is an indication someone got raked over the coals to begin with and are trying to draw in another sucker.

I personally would not begin consider something over 5 years old. There are too many things that begin to deteriorate and require replacement. Top age off with low mileage then you start getting into issues such as chassis seals and gaskets leaking due to dry rot from a lack of use. One prime example of this is tires. The estimated life of a tire is approx 7 years regardless of mileage. If you purchase a used low mileage coach that is 5 years old you are already looking at a possible 3 to 4K expense within a couple of years. And that is assuming the tires were manufactured in the same year as the coach. As someone else mentioned also factor in updating the interior to the cost equation.

One other important note is that buyers often mistake other items as depreciation. Not getting the pay off amount on a trade can also be a factor of what else was financed with the deal. Items added such as extended warranties, GAP insurance, etc... cannot be considered part of the value of a motorhome or RV and cannot be considered value lost (depreciation) over time.

Just some food for thought.

[Grumpy]

It all depends....

Our dealer always told us higher mileage was not an issue since most un driven units have more problems. We put 10,000 a yr on both our MH's. We always traded and never ended up short, but of course we used the same dealer for close to 40 years.

If you look at the KODIAK SENECA's the are still selling, in most cases, for top dollar. We only paid $105,000 for our 08 and you will still see them on the market for $60,000 to $70,000 after 11 years. Also if you check NADA or KELLEY they say mileage not applicable for diesels.

Right from NADA:

Mileage
Mileage MAY be taken into consideration for gas engine only
Enter Mileage:
(DO NOT use for diesel engines)

[Les7h]

We had not planned to buy a new Seneca but they hold value so well that it was only $7,000 more for a new one with 2 year warranty and no miles - 2-3 years old had 12,000 - 20,000 miles - today on rvtrader the spread from a 2015 with less than 14,000 miles and a 2020 is about $40,000 before any haggling- we have 50,000 miles on our 2016 and have easily gotten $40,000 dollars worth of use out of it but we spend more time in it than most people can Les

[SloPoke]

For us... we purchased a technically used Seneca, thinking that we were avoiding the very thing you are thinking you are... We got a Seneca that had never been used, but had 9k miles on it.

Finding out that the chassis warranty was never put "in-service" by the first owner gave us the benefit of a "New Chassis Warranty" but the Jayco Warranty is non-transferable.

If you are really trying to decide on a New - vs - Used Seneca... then you need to consider the changes in the SRV2 chassis vs the M2 and what that means in HP/Torque and the Allison 3k Transmission.

So don't interpret this to say that we want a new SRV2 unit... We can't get one with the FK floorplan on it... I have to have a door (egress) on each side of the kitchen/Stove/Refer for safety purposes, only the FK has that.

Stacy asked me the other day... "are you looking for something else? " I said that there is not one company that makes a model like the FK for any amount (except a custom build) and we love ours too much to trade it. But I do like the Show-Haulers on the Cascadia chassis if they could build a decent floor plan - I would consider for an 80k GCWR.

[asolarrv]

I appreciate the response.

It is nice to know I am on the right path in my decision making, I had not thought there could possibly be a small difference between a used vs new Seneca.

I am not 100% versed on the SRV2 chassis vs the M2 and what that means in HP/Torque and the Allison 3k Transmission so I will do some further research.

Thank you again.