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Welcome aboard! It can be like talking motor oil with an old car guy!
It really depends on your comfort level. I have friends that as soon as their car warranty is about up, they trade it in to get a new one, as they are afraid of maintenance. I'm from the other side of the tracks. I hate costs, I hate buying new, an occasional repair is OK. Now RVs are not built like a car. They are a rolling earthquake going down the road. They always need maintenance to keep the water out.
RV shops hate working on a rig you did not buy from them. You are forced to sit, in a long long line to get repairs completed. So I tend to do my own repairs and PMs (Preventative Maintenance).
During the 1st year or 2 there will be a punch list of items that will need to be addressed, some can easily be remedied by the owner, others are more challenging. My experience, most maintenance items after 2 years is to prevent water infiltration, and those items are not covered by warranty.
The major components are the water heater, furnace, AC, frig, stove, generator (if you have one). The water heater tends to give people the most grief. They may loose a control board, or turn it on to electric with no water in the tank and burn out the heater. Control board, maybe $150, heating element a lot less. Furnace, typical issue is the sail switch, $12, access is the hard part, so it is labor costs here. Frig, again control board ($300), electric heating element, I think around $30 (a little bit of labor as you have to pull the frig, but not bad). AC rarely have I heard of one dieing. Maybe a new thermostat ($50), Heard of a motor failure ($130), A whole new AC $700-$1000. Generator, usually it is a carbonator issue caused by not using it enough($??). Stove, sparker may die, or get spider webs/nests in the flame chamber. parts are cheap, labor is easy. The prices noted are for parts not labor. RV shops tend to charge $100-$150/hour.
I never buy an extended warranty on anything. I have never needed one yet. I guess I live on the edge. To me I feel I will come out way ahead. Someday I will have to pay for something, but I am OK with that. If your not handy and do not have an emergency fund to fix things that breakdown it maybe worth it to you. Most likely once the 2 year warranty is up, the major issues will be resolved. However, these things are hand build, they're a rolling earthquake going down the road, and some campers just have more issues than others.
Good Luck and happy camping
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DISNEY LOVERS
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