I know you all probably get these types of questions all the time, but my family and i are looking to buy a used class A. We are looking a 1996 Fleetwood Bounder 34' Chevy 454 with 25,500 miles. The asking price is only 17500 or best offer however they say it has been sitting for a year or two. They claim to have gotten in winterized and changed fluids appropriately, just trying to see if we should ...
A)Take it to get an inspection, and how much those normally run
B)IF this is a awesome deal and i'm just being picky
c)With it sitting for a while what are some things we can do before taking it on the road.
I know you all probably get these types of questions all the time, but my family and i are looking to buy a used class A. We are looking a 1996 Fleetwood Bounder 34' Chevy 454 with 25,500 miles. The asking price is only 17500 or best offer however they say it has been sitting for a year or two. They claim to have gotten in winterized and changed fluids appropriately, just trying to see if we should ...
A)Take it to get an inspection, and how much those normally run
B)IF this is a awesome deal and i'm just being picky
c)With it sitting for a while what are some things we can do before taking it on the road.
I look forward to hearing some feedback,
Inspection is an excellent idea, the price is definately on the high side by a few thousand. Those are decent rigs if they were cared for.
Good luck!
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Inspections vary by region, but $200-300 for RV only inspector. Most RV inspectors will have you seek out a separate inspector for the mechanical/chassis aspect. I would consider it, peace of mind and/or, if they find issues, you can recoup the investment by negotiating price lower.
It's been sitting a whole lot with that mileage. If you don't know what to look at have a independent shop look it over both chassis and interior/exterior for and signs of leaks or expensive repairs. It is over priced for today's market. Tires, belts, hoses, check and bleed brakes, shocks, and reseal the roof if it has not been done in the last 5 years.
past-MIdirector wrote: It's been sitting a whole lot with that mileage. If you don't know what to look at have a independent shop look it over both chassis and interior/exterior for and signs of leaks or expensive repairs. It is over priced for today's market. Tires, belts, hoses, check and bleed brakes, shocks, and reseal the roof if it has not been done in the last 5 years.
All of the above plus '96 was the first year for the Vortec engine. Make sure you have a '96 chassis and not a '95 since this is very common in the RV industry. The word Vortec is stamped on the valve covers of the engine. I had a '96 Pace Arrow and loved it until I saw the Newmar we have now. Check the dates on the tires. We RVers don't wear out a tire but let them rot from non-use. If a tire is over 6-7 years old and has been sitting it is just waiting to go on a trip and blow out. When an RV tire blows out it usually takes some part of the MH along with it. That gets very expensive. They are a lot of fun.
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It could be a nice first MH. We got a 1993 32' MH on a 1992 P30 chassis in 2007 for $8K. It had 91K miles on chassis but only 14K on new transmission and while not cheap we have up in great shape we think but for a price.
Expect to put another $3K to $5K in it over the next 3-4 years when you make an offer.
The low mileage should lead you to expect fuel and other related issues. The price is 2X of what would be idea.
ANY 15-20 old MH should be purchased expecting you will be the last one to ever pay cash to own that MH. In other words do NOT expect to be able to sell it and that a hard failure could mean it will only be good to use as a PARK model.
I am not negative but do have some personal experience with an old MH. We would not sell ours for $15K today and we do not expect an offer equal to 50% of that amount.
25,xxx miles. Pretty well loaded. 2 ac units, 2 TV's/HD converter, stove with oven, microwave, ref/freezer, hot water heater, air ride & compressor system, solar battery charger, sleeps 4-6, full bath, large rollout awning, Onan generator, rubber roof & auto step.
All those options above are normal options or standard features, except I am a bit confused on the "air ride" comment. A Chevy chassis of this year would have front air bags but I have never seen one with "air ride"
We had a 95 Bounder 34J for about 12 years. Great MH. No slides and I did not want any when we bought it because of problems of those years.
Check tires, emergency brake, airbags, roof and for exhaust manifold and water pump leaks. Also check Does frig cool on both elec and gas?
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Yeah I was thinking that it could have a lot of "personal attachment" attached to the price...they said that they bought it when their kids were traveling but now not so much and looking to sell..We are looking to buy and hit the road so i don't want a ton of surprises as soon as we hit the road...the whole ad reads as follows:
25,xxx miles. Pretty well loaded. 2 ac units, 2 TV's/HD converter, stove with oven, microwave, ref/freezer, hot water heater, air ride & compressor system, solar battery charger, sleeps 4-6, full bath, large rollout awning, Onan generator, rubber roof & auto step.
The low miles did seem like a perk but a downer at the same time..As far as the Bounders go does anyone own one from the late 90's..if so what was your experience? Should we run for the hills? lol
Welcome to the forum. Definitely get the Bounder inspected by a qualified mechanic and RV tech. As said before, it probably needs tires.
We have a 1996 Fleetwood Southwind, 454 engine. It runs great.
Your Bounder probably has the AutoPark, parking brake system. There's nothing wrong with the system, you just need to understand how it works and possible problems you could have with the parking brake.
Look for leaks. A small leak can cause a lot of damage to a RV.
Keep us updated on your progress and don't hesitate to ask questions.
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