Gale Hawkins wrote: It sounds interesting to me for a project. We started with a 1993 gasser in 2007 for $7995.
The extra $10K should get you through the first two years as was posted per our experience.
What would $35K buy you today if you had the cash?
Remember after you have $35K in it the insurance pay out is still going to be its real value of $15K or less if someone totals it.
My 88 Coachmen didn't cost me 10k in the eight years I've had it. If this one owner coach has been well cared for, stored indoors, and is s clean as he says I really don't think I'll have to spend ten grand in the next two years, let alone twenty.
Gale Hawkins wrote: It sounds interesting to me for a project. We started with a 1993 gasser in 2007 for $7995.
The extra $10K should get you through the first two years as was posted per our experience.
What would $35K buy you today if you had the cash?
Remember after you have $35K in it the insurance pay out is still going to be its real value of $15K or less if someone totals it.
My 88 Coachmen didn't cost me 10k in the eight years I've had it. If this one owner coach has been well cared for, stored indoors, and is s clean as he says I really don't think I'll have to spend ten grand in the next two years, let alone twenty.
I agree with you. If felt that way in 2007 too.
Looks like you got a bad deal. Sorry to hear that.
Gale Hawkins wrote: It sounds interesting to me for a project. We started with a 1993 gasser in 2007 for $7995.
The extra $10K should get you through the first two years as was posted per our experience.
What would $35K buy you today if you had the cash?
Remember after you have $35K in it the insurance pay out is still going to be its real value of $15K or less if someone totals it.
My 88 Coachmen didn't cost me 10k in the eight years I've had it. If this one owner coach has been well cared for, stored indoors, and is s clean as he says I really don't think I'll have to spend ten grand in the next two years, let alone twenty.
I agree with you. If felt that way in 2007 too.
Looks like you got a bad deal. Sorry to hear that.
I do not follow you.
We got a good deal on a great MH. Just did an 8000 mile cross country in 31 days. It ran fine and got up to 9 MPG (still hard to believe). The 10 year old front air bags did fail and we also had to change the oil too.
Gale Hawkins wrote: It sounds interesting to me for a project. We started with a 1993 gasser in 2007 for $7995.
The extra $10K should get you through the first two years as was posted per our experience.
What would $35K buy you today if you had the cash?
Remember after you have $35K in it the insurance pay out is still going to be its real value of $15K or less if someone totals it.
My 88 Coachmen didn't cost me 10k in the eight years I've had it. If this one owner coach has been well cared for, stored indoors, and is s clean as he says I really don't think I'll have to spend ten grand in the next two years, let alone twenty.
I agree with you. If felt that way in 2007 too.
Looks like you got a bad deal. Sorry to hear that.
I do not follow you.
We got a good deal on a great MH. Just did an 8000 mile cross country in 31 days. It ran fine and got up to 9 MPG (still hard to believe). The 10 year old front air bags did fail and we also had to change the oil too.
Well if you had to sink another 10k into it in the first two years that doesn't sound like a good deal to me. I bought my gasser for 12k and spent less than 4k on it in eight years and 35k miles. Maybe I'm misreading your post but it seems to me you're implying that I should expect to sink a further 20k in this motorhome...I'm not sure where you came up with that 35k figure...but my experience with buying used vehicles, including motorhomes, has been nothing like that.
Teleman you are mixing gas and diesel rig talk. Dale, Traveling said something about $10K and I agreed it could over the first two years. Keep in mind diesel repairs typically run a lot more than for gas stuff. I did not post what we have spent over six years on upgrading/rebuilding systems.
What kind of diesel rig do you think you could come up with for $35K was my question?
Gale Hawkins wrote: Teleman you are mixing gas and diesel rig talk. Dale, Traveling said something about $10K and I agreed it could over the first two years. Keep in mind diesel repairs typically run a lot more than for gas stuff. I did not post what we have spent over six years on upgrading/rebuilding systems.
What kind of diesel rig do you think you could come up with for $35K was my question?
Look at the classifieds for what you can get for 35k. I don't get where you're going with this thread. I simply don't anticipate dropping another 20k into the motorhome I buy, because I will be careful to get one from someone who has cared for it and maintained it. A DP that costs 35k is still an older model and possibly it will need more money put into it if it was not as well cared for, stored indoors, etc. And I know diesels are more expensive to maintain.
What I really wanted here was some input on the make, model, chassis, drivetrain, etc.
Most of those 230 HP motors have lack of power when towing a car or truck in the mountainous country! Outside of the power issue sounds like a good deal to me!
Step back a minute and take a deep breath. I'm just saying budget $10K just in case. It's probably an excellent buy but I'm working off a worst case scenario based on a few lines of text. For any used coach that is no longer covered by a OEM warranty I would say the same thing. If you don't need it for repairs then $5K will see a lot of miles of fuel burned and campground fees each year.
There are a number of costs and fees associated with ownership that are not considered when looking at a coach and having a RV budget will eliminate the hardship. How much will the DMV hit you up for? With a gasser will it pass smog checks? How much is the yearly state and local taxes? Some are known some are not but if you have the funds set aside it will not be as painful when the bill comes.
Get the coach inspected and make the owner a reasonable offer. If they won't bargain and are holding firm on the price you have two choices. Pay them what they want and go camping or walk away. Each coach is unique and each owner is even more unique. Myself I would want something about 10 years younger but others would jump on the coach and be very happy.
Good luck with your decision and if you buy we do expect you to post images.
2006 Hurricane 31D aka 'Moby' the Whale
FCC(SW) US Navy Retired 1980-2003
Stella my Navigator
Bogart the All American RV Dog
and
Cocoui waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge
Dale.Traveling wrote: Step back a minute and take a deep breath. I'm just saying budget $10K just in case. It's probably an excellent buy but I'm working off a worst case scenario based on a few lines of text. For any used coach that is no longer covered by a OEM warranty I would say the same thing. If you don't need it for repairs then $5K will see a lot of miles of fuel burned and campground fees each year.
There are a number of costs and fees associated with ownership that are not considered when looking at a coach and having a RV budget will eliminate the hardship. How much will the DMV hit you up for? With a gasser will it pass smog checks? How much is the yearly state and local taxes? Some are known some are not but if you have the funds set aside it will not be as painful when the bill comes.
Get the coach inspected and make the owner a reasonable offer. If they won't bargain and are holding firm on the price you have two choices. Pay them what they want and go camping or walk away. Each coach is unique and each owner is even more unique. Myself I would want something about 10 years younger but others would jump on the coach and be very happy.
Good luck with your decision and if you buy we do expect you to post images.
Reading my posts it should be clear this is my first DP but not my first motorhome, so I'm familiar with the costs of registering, insuring, fueling, repairing, etc. I've been scouring the classifieds for a few months and checking eBay's completed listings to try and get a sense of the real market value of DPs that are within my budget. Unfortunately my budget precludes a unit 10 years newer so I have to find an older coach that has been well cared for and hopefully with low mileage. This one caught my eye due to the fact that it's a single owner low mileage coach that has always been garaged and advertised as very clean in and out, and only $15000.
One question I have is will I get better fuel mileage with the 230hp engine than a 300hp in a coach like this? I'm not planning to tow at this point and it looks like we're not going to see gas prices come down any time soon.
The 230 HP Cummins is a fine engine and will get you down the road smartly. Coupled to the 6 speed trans it will get you up the hills too.
You'll get around 10-10.5 MPG if driven 65 MPH and under.
And if you want that little engine to preform better there are low cost upgrades.
The engine and trans, if serviced properly,are bullet proof.
I have 135K miles on mine and it runs great.
HTH
Skip
1996 32' Monaco Windsor DP
Cummins 5.9L 230+ HP
5 Airbags in front- 4 in back
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