There are plenty of NICE units for $8000 and less. What do I expect, I expect to see a dealer that gives a hoot.
I have seen lots of nice units including my '82 C Class I sold for about the equivalent of $6500 US. Well kept, updated, resealed, maintained and appreciated. Obviously I don't expect a $2500 unit to have this but for an $8000 asking and the conditon these units are in is a disgrace. I see it as a reflection of the quality of the dealership, if they allow******like that on their lot...
Stefan
2003 Chevy Silverado 1500HD, 3.73, 4x4, Crew Cab, 6.0L (loving it!)
2003 Layton lite 232 BH
All they want is to get you to the lot. Make the deal sound too good to be true and then they will work you oonce you show up. The key is you can't sell something if you don't get them into the sales room. If you are discussted and walk away they don't care. As long as they get enough people into the dealership to keep the sales staff busy it has done it job.
It is nothing more than marketing. And some day some sap with no RV experience adn only $3,000 to his name will buy one.
Jeff /aka: Jethro /aka: Redneck
03 F250 CC 6.0L
05 Hornet 36BHSS
Redneck wife, son & daughter
Freedom does not come free
Thanks to all that have served and to those who are actively protecting the freedom that we take for granted! Semper Fi to my friends!
Just drive up to Niagara county and tour the used units "for sale by owner". Rt. 104, 78, 31, and others have a bunch out. Also check out the swap sheets for this area too!
You'll get clean used units in good shape for a great low price.
Also, the Community-Metro paper is where we got our Coachmen 19-1/2ft for only $3k. It was kept in mint shape.
Avoid the dealers around Buffalo. The only good used dealer in all of WNY is the Meyers in Hamburg. The units are solid and in good shape, however, the prices are a wee to high for our taste.
If you're looking for new, then the Meyers in Syracuse is a better center to do business. To bad it's a haul from here.
TrailerLand RV center had a Summit mall showing last fall. The prices were alright, but nothing to drool over. The used and new units were very good.
Keep shopping around. We got our best deal used via private seller. However, you need to be smart and knowledgeable when shopping private or dealer.
Stev
2000 Dodge B1500 V6 3.9L 3.55 tow 4500 RoadMaster MKII-XF
2001 Dodge B2500 V8 5.2L 3.92 tow 8000 RoadMaster MKII-XXF
Reese AccuPower Pilot Digital Brake Controller
1982 Coachmen Cadet 19-1/2 3000-lbs
My 2 cents -- Some people want cheeeep used RV's and will get what they pay for at a dealer like this. My experience has been with a private owner that I knew would stand behind his word about the RV. Buying a used RV is stressful no matter who the seller. Will it do all that I need it to do. Size, weight, bedding, (for all my guests)& us, etc. How far am I going to pull it each year? Look and think about the unit carefully.
Ford F250 Turbo Diesel 7.3L
Coachman Catalina 33.3Ft
Two MiniSchnauzers-Nicki,Sparkie
I think you just had a good lesson in RV buying. Obviously there are good buys out there, but I have always bought new. IMHO there's no better place to start. I know people, however, who wouldn't know how to act if they bought something that wasn't a piece of junk which always required work to make it operate properly. I'm sure you have met a few of these types too. Bill
My observation.... used RV's which are clean and well kept tend to move off the lot veeeery quickly. Our used hybrid was in almost mint condition, and was sold within a couple days of having been traded in.
My retired in-laws bought one of those $8000 specials, and have been full-timing in it for a year now. They also had a list of items that they expected the dealer to fix before they took it off the lot, and the dealer made good on everything they asked for during the first 60 days. Sure, they've had to put some money into it, but it's still a far cry from the $80K they would have paid for a new Class A.
2005 Winnebago "Minnie" 31C (was a three-time Jayco owner)
1997 KarTote Dolly pulling a Honda Odyssey or Jeep Cherokee (had Ram 2500 CTD, Durango, Liberty...)
Onan Microquiet 4000, plus 130W solar and Honda EU2000i twins for backup
By the way, it isn't bait and switch if they actually have the unit that they are baiting you with. The classic definition of "Bait and switch" is when they get you in on a unit via mass/media advertising and when you are there, there is limited to no product that they advertised. In this particular case, it sounds like they had plenty of the product they were advertised, just not to the standard you desire. That isn't the so called 'bait and switch' - at least from the legal and prosecutable definition of it.
I have always bought new...and have had problems with every unit I have owned.. but that is a different thread.
Both units prior to the trailer I have now I sold on my own. I did not realize the junk people will take to the dealer to trade in. After looking at used units on the lots... I now know mine are gems and that is why they sell to the first or second person to look at them for higher than book.
I know you want to fault the dealer for not cleaning these up, but also realize somebody brought that to them like that and wanted money for it. In reality they are doing you a favor by leaving them the way they arrived. Instead of a sugarcoated turdwagon, You got to see the true condition of the unit. For 3-5k you are getting a chassis and motor... thats really about it. Things that stink can be covered for a while but once the cologne wears off it goes like this, replace carpet, replace foam, replace leather, replace panels..... on and on. Water leaks.. when does it stop. Unless you are handy and like to repair things you can be in for a lot of money by the time everything is fixed. Your better off seeing what you are in for up front.
I buy many used cars.. some from private sellers, some at auction. The only thing I look at is the oil in the engine and transmission. When things look to polished up... it makes me leary of a coverup especially in the engine compartment so I dig deeper before I fork over the cash.
None of the campers, class A, C, TT or anything over 10 years old looked good when I first started looking.
I was told 10 years is max for lifespan. A 1980's class C Ford that was pretty clean was for sale down the street last weekend. He was asking $1,900 for it. It was still there Monday.
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