CarlGeo wrote: I would NOT consider buying the coach without driving it. Further, I would definitely take it to a shop for a through check of the engine, transmission, brakes and other chassis items.
I would check all house systems to insure they work, or have someone else check EVERY system.
Do all this BEFORE making and offer OR giving the seller any money or commitments.
Good Luck
We did not go for a test drive because the seller sounded honest and it was the first MH we went inside of period.
CarlGeo wrote: I would NOT consider buying the coach without driving it. Further, I would definitely take it to a shop for a through check of the engine, transmission, brakes and other chassis items.
I would check all house systems to insure they work, or have someone else check EVERY system.
Do all this BEFORE making and offer OR giving the seller any money or commitments.
Good Luck
We did not go for a test drive because the seller sounded honest and it was the first MH we went inside of period.
How did that turn out?
Glenn in TN
04 Liberty daughters
03 Mazda 6 wish I could tow it
00 Ford Taurus wish I could tow it 4 wheels down
99 Holiday Rambler Vacationer w/05 PT Cruiser toad
CarlGeo wrote: I would NOT consider buying the coach without driving it. Further, I would definitely take it to a shop for a through check of the engine, transmission, brakes and other chassis items.
I would check all house systems to insure they work, or have someone else check EVERY system.
Do all this BEFORE making and offer OR giving the seller any money or commitments.
Good Luck
We did not go for a test drive because the seller sounded honest and it was the first MH we went inside of period.
How did that turn out?
Actually just fine and that was in 2007. It was a private seller who had owned it 10 years and changed oil, etc himself. At the time it has 91K miles on it and receipts showed a GM Goodwrench remanufactured transmission at 77k miles with an added transmission cooler and temp gauge. It shifted from park, reverse and drive as expected.
It had not been started in a few months so finding myself all alone for a change I started it up and let the engine run 30 minutes and the generator an hour this evening. The dash AC was cold, both roof AC's worked fine, let the furnace burn for 15 minutes, lit the three stove eyes and fired up the frig.
It started out at 84F in each box with air temps of 81F at 7pm by 8pm it was 64/81 in the upper/lower boxes on propane then I switched to electric and pulled shore power up on shutting down the gen that still puts our 126v no load and 114v running the larger roof AC and the frig. By 9pm the frig was 27/60F. That is with empty boxes, no external fans with the reman Amish cooling unit in a 1992 6162 Norcold
Keep in mind we drove 100 miles and got there about 20 minutes after sunset and purchased it at 10 PM on a Saturday night so driving my first MH after dark was not something I wanted to do.
Had we not put down a major deposit it would have sold on Sunday. He had it priced about 15% below low NADA retail. His wife had died of cancer three years before, his girlfriend did now like RV's and he was starting Chemo himself in two weeks after we bought it and gave him the deposit. He did not want us to know how bad he wanted it out of his yard before we traded. I was back at 10:30 am on Monday with a bank check.
The engine and transmission ran hard for 8000 miles in 31 days that included YS, Pacific and GC making the loop. Replaced the cooling unit in frig after three years, new tires, shocks and SS coils springs on front and Helwig helpers in the rear, tune-up, fluid change out, renewed the roof with Web Seal Eternabond and Liquid Rubber then made it look new with RMP3.
When buying used from a motivated seller have your money ready and the nerve to pull the trigger the first time you look at it IF it checks out. I bought it mainly because the P30 chassis checked out and was my most preferred chassis. After a lot of Rocky Mountain miles I would put it up against a new gas class A for dependability but after 109K miles/20 years I know it is not NEW.
I bought a Holiday Rambler Vacationer new in 1996, Chev chassis and we owned it for 3 years. I would buy another one without hesitation. I advised my Brother in Wisconsin to buy a 1999 Vacationer on a Ford Chassis. He has owned it now for several years and has had very little trouble besides normal maintenance. Change all the fluids, make sure the tires are less than 5 years old and get on down the road. I say go for it, they were REALLY well built for the money. I am on my 3rd Holiday Rambler and they have all been winners in my book.
Make sure you check out everything, slides, stabilizers, etc. When we bought our MH, we knew it was way underpriced as the hubby had died and they just wanted it gone. We bought a 2000 Coachmen Catalina w/a Ford V10, 60,000 miles. My hubby is a former mechanic and very handy, so we weren't too concerned about minor repairs. We made sure there were no leaks, and trusted the family was telling the truth. We did run into one stabilizer that is lazy so we have to replace the springs on it. We also had a problem w/fridge on electric shorting out, but will have that fixed when we return home as it still works great on propane. We also have a recall on fridge that has never been done so will do that as well. If you like the coach, and no major leaks, and it is a good price, buy it and enjoy. BTW--we only paid $13,000 for ours so it was a steal!!!
Owner is asking $22000 right now. It was $24000 a few years back. If I could sell the F350 we pulled the 5er with, I'd have it. It only has 35000 or so miles. It also has a full fiberglass (or so I think) roof that looks to be in excellent condition.
Fifty4F100 wrote: Owner is asking $22000 right now. It was $24000 a few years back. If I could sell the F350 we pulled the 5er with, I'd have it. It only has 35000 or so miles. It also has a full fiberglass (or so I think) roof that looks to be in excellent condition.
Times may have changed but that sounds like a high end price to me. It will require the standard $5K over the next couple years I expect. If the frig has been replaced that would be a plus.
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