Purchasing a Seneca

Oma/opa · 07-10-2018, 02:40 PM

We are currently looking to upgrade from our 31' gas class C motorhome to a Seneca, probably the TS model. We have looked an used as well as new and was wondering how much of a discount should I expect on a new Seneca. Would probably be looking at 2018 or 2017. We are going to look at a 2017 37TS tomorrow. The unit is advertised as "clearance" so I would expect a better discount than on a new 2018 since it is 2 model years old. Your thoughts/experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks

JimL · 07-10-2018, 02:42 PM

I’d expect a starting point off MSRP of around 30%

At least, that’s where mine started.....

RetiredLEO · 07-10-2018, 02:47 PM

Being a 2017 I would figure 35% off. It has taken a hit twice now being a 2017

JimL · 07-10-2018, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimL

I’d expect a starting point off MSRP of around 30%

At least, that’s where mine started.....

I should have stated mine is a 2018 (M2 Chassis)

SloPoke · 07-10-2018, 10:04 PM

We bought our '15 36FK off of a CW that was sold to us as "used". It had over 9k miles on the odometer when we looked at it before it was parked in the "for sale used" section of this particular dealer. It was not ready for the lot, it was dirty and actually looked like it was just turned in as a trade-in, but there were none of the tell-tale signs that it was actually delivered to a customer. It had all of the RV-Show paraphernalia in the cabinets still, stickers with the 2-Year Warranty on the door and the outdoor compartments had no signs that anything was in them. Something was amiss... but I thought that it "could be a good deal".

We kept the sales staff (who were reasonable and respectable) past the closing hour as we worked out a price that did not include any of the typical dealership "add this, add that, I said... cash-out the door NOW" fully knowing that they would not deliver it.

We did not know why this was an essentially brand new rig, being sold as used - CarFax and my buddy(don't ask) could not find any history on the VIN. We put a deposit down that night... on my American Express(so we could dispute the BS that CW is famous for)

We came back the next morning, to close the deal... and then all the real stuff hit the fan.. The contract we signed stated that they would honor the MFG Warranty until we took it off the lot, and then we started the PDI... but they wanted us to sign all the paperwork first. <<The fun part>>

They kept shoving the sales contract in front of us to sign, without the rest of the contract being filled in. Nothing about the Warranty was stated, they would not list the mileage correctly and had the "AS-IS" form complete. Well... it took 6 hours to get our paperwork to agree with the original contract we signed the night before, and for us to sign it. That included the "Owe to Customer" document that is typical once the PDI is completed...

So here it is we are past closing time on Day-2 of this ordeal - and nobody to represent CW on the PDI except the Salesman and the lot kid with the keys to the gate... I started the PDI on my own... Gen wont start, No AC in front, No AC in Rear. No water in tanks to test a winterized system... ALL goes on the "Owe to Customer"... I crawl on the roof, No Winegard, it's gone, so All TV's go on Owe to Customer since they have no input to verify... The salesman eventually cried Uncle and said that we would need to reschedule the next day...

After all said... they replaced to AC units, GEN Transfer switch, put a Winegard Sat on the roof and we overlooked all of the little items that I was prepared to fix on my own.

Now after we look back at this... we think it might have been damaged by a low clearance while being delivered or back/forth to the RV Shows. We have had our share of the typical Jayco quality control /design flaws / etc that we fix on our own before we use the pitiful extended warranty that we bought from CW.

Did we get a deal buying used... We know we did! Did we take a risk on this rig?? Sure we did, but saved a lot by getting our FK well under low book (Mark S. knows what we paid and we are loving every mile we have traveled, every lake we visit, every person we meet along the way

Crossingover · 07-11-2018, 12:00 PM

Welcome 'Oma/Opa' (love that -- it's our endearment titles as well with the g'kids)! You are on track with the discount to seek (at least 35%). In May of 2017 we purchased our 9K mile one owner 2016 for 40% off it's MSRP. But you'll give some of that discount back on your trade, so be mindful of that. It's initial in-service date was January 2016 and everything about it worked fine and reflected good care by it's owner (that's why you let the first owner buy them new). 10K miles on a diesel chassis is nothing. Good luck with your negotiations and check back soon with some exciting news.

GuitarDisciple · 07-15-2018, 06:22 PM

What is a"good" price for 2018 Seneca 37HJ, $160K? Or is expectation too low?

Thank you in advance!

JimL · 07-17-2018, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GuitarDisciple

What is a"good" price for 2018 Seneca 37HJ, $160K? Or is expectation too low?

Thank you in advance!

pretty subjective question. depends on several variables including options, delivery state, sales tax, etc. And, define 2018 as there was (2) chassis - the M2 or S2RV (mid 2018 or known as the 2018.5 commonly). The model is now technically a year old, as the website shows the 2019 model and I assume Jayco is taking order for them. Are you looking at a new one or used? Any new ones on dealer lots should be discounted (or will be at the end of Summer) since the 2019's are in the pipeline.

GuitarDisciple · 07-18-2018, 12:00 PM

Thanks JimL. I suppose that I could have been more explicit, point well taken. I am thinking a new 2018.5 (S2RV) for $160K should include the "Customer Value Package" and the balance of the standard equipment and delivery - right? Or is that price expectation too low? Of course, I would expect sales tax to be extra... The MSRP for the one I am looking at is $244K. So I simply discounted the MSRP about 34.5% to get to the $160K. Is that the sort of discount folks are typically seeing on these coaches?

Rustynuts · 07-18-2018, 08:12 PM

We made the deal on our 2018.5 in February so before the 2019’s were hitting the lots and we worked pretty hard with 2 dealers and we ended up getting ours for $170k which had a MSRP of $244k In all our searching I never did find a Seneca that didn’t have the customer value package....I think it’s just “feel good” wording. I would think that you could do better now that the 19’s are rolling in. We had no sales tax here in Oregon but dealer was in CA so we had to take delivery out of state in NV to avoid paying CA sales tax. Oregon did implement a sales tax on new vehicles this year but it caps at vehicles under 26k GVW (figure that one out) so we were able to avoid that tax.

JimL · 07-18-2018, 10:22 PM

170K is going to be closer to what I think you will find after discount.

SloPoke · 07-18-2018, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rustynuts

I never did find a Seneca that didn’t have the customer value package....I think it’s just “feel good” wording. I would think that you could do better now that the 19’s are rolling in. We had no sales tax here in Oregon but dealer was in CA so we had to take delivery out of state in NV to avoid paying CA sales tax.

I grew up in California... Now they have a special tax on just about everything and anything. I moved away from that state for a lot of other reasons too..., and will never buy another RV there and regret it again!

Nevada has no sales tax, but is hotter than he11 there right now. I would make the deal there and deal with the heat - it will cool down in 60 days - they are making deals right now, but will be jacking up the price soon...

ralett · 07-20-2018, 10:45 PM

We bought our 2018.5 FS in January from a California dealer for just a shade under $170K

tomden2 · 07-22-2018, 12:09 PM

I am in the process of negotiating between a used 2016 37HJ in Texas, and a new 2018 37HJ in Salt Lake. The new one is advertised as "clearance" for $160k, but after much back and forth, is now at $155k. Of course this is before tax and add-ons, and is $160k out the door. Since this is a CW dealer I hope all that is being said is true. There are many CW dealers across the states that are now advertising the $159,599 price.

Question: Are the new 2018's so much better than a 2016's that it is worth the dealer hassel, back and forth to the RV repair to work out the bugs, and increased cost?

Rustynuts · 07-22-2018, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomden2

Question: Are the new 2018's so much better than a 2016's that it is worth the dealer hassel, back and forth to the RV repair to work out the bugs, and increased cost?

That would depend, to me IF its a 2018.5 on the new S2RV chassis then I would say yes as I tow a lot and the extra HP, Allison 3000, air dryer system and most important is the has an Air Horn

SloPoke · 07-22-2018, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rustynuts

That would depend, to me IF its a 2018.5 on the new S2RV chassis then I would say yes as I tow a lot and the extra HP, Allison 3000, air dryer system and most important is the has an Air Horn

Rustynuts has a very good point worth consideration. IF you are going to be towing a heavy payload most of the time, the additional GCWR is 5,000# - that is a significant increase over the M2 chassis that is on the older models.

We are constantly running at the legal limit of 33k - but don't see any issues when doing so. If it were us doing it over again, and we did not plan on having a heavy tow behind you, then I would say - "take the savings of a M2"

Rustynuts · 07-22-2018, 05:32 PM

Make that an additional 6000lbs. My GCVW sticker says 39k

RVermont · 07-22-2018, 06:02 PM

The s2rv 2018.5 has a couple of things standard that I upgraded on my m2. The s2 comes with an air dryer for your brake system which is critical if you travel during freezing weather. The units have more horse power and better transmission and are likely to be better in mountains. They use a rear antisway bar vs the front mounted on the m2 which will need to be replaced. And finally a 100 gallons of single point filling system.

I like the bedroom layout better in the 2018ts units than the 2016. Propane stove vs induction.

Either way they are great units and you can’t really go wrong.

SloPoke · 07-22-2018, 07:08 PM

I went back to the Jayco website... it notes that the 2019 on the SR2 chassis went back to the 2500 transmission, where the 2018.5 had the 3000. What goes???

RVermont · 07-22-2018, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SloPoke

I went back to the Jayco website... it notes that the 2019 on the SR2 chassis went back to the 2500 transmission, where the 2018.5 had the 3000. What goes???

The photos of 2019 for sale show the 3000 mh trans. As I understand it they would have to change the engine as well as the 2500 can not handle 360 hp.

It is entirely possible that they will be trying to reduce the oem equipment costs as the ceo of Thor said the way that they are going to offset the tariffs is to reduce the level of luxuries across their product line.

On Cramer mad money the ceo discussed removing features from their higher end product lines.

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