Never...
buy a new RV.
Don't you wish you would have bought used?
I bet you learned your lesson, didn't you?
Those are some of the things we hear when we tell people we bought a new RV.
Today we're going to talk about new versus used.
This has to be one of the most debated questions in the RV community
and today I'm going to talk about some of the pros and cons of each.
Now everyone knows when you buy a new RV it's going to be more expensive than buying the same RV used.
But there are some good things that come along with that.
For us the most important was buying an RV that was new
It really had no history from a previous owner who may
or may not have done the things that the RV needed.
Along with getting a new RV you also get a manufacturer's warranty.
That warranty can range anywhere from a year to six years depending on the RV you buy
and that warranty starts the day you take delivery with the mileage that's already on it.
Different RV companies have different fine print for their warranty
so make sure you read that clearly before you take delivery of your RV.
When you buy a new RV you can get the exact model floorplan and options that you
want even if they don't have it on dealer showroom floor.
You can special order that RV through the dealer or sometimes directly through the factory which is a big benefit of of buying new.
The two biggest downsides of buying new, price and depreciation.
You are going to pay a premium for buying a new RV over one that's one or two years old.
RV's take a big depreciation hit as soon as you drive it off the lot which is something you'll need to factor into your purchase decision.
There is no such thing as a perfect RV.
Any RV that comes off the lot is going to have issues that you're going to need to deal with.
Many people take care of these in their first year ownership typically through the factory warranty.
And it's something to consider when buying a new RV.
Like any new vehicle, when you buy an RV your insurance premium is going to be more expensive for a new RV versus one that's a few years old.
One benefit of buying new for those of you who have allergies
There have been no animals or cigarette smoke, things in the RV that can cause your allergies to flare up.
Some questions you should ask yourself when buying a new RV off of the dealership lot.
How long has that RV been sitting on the lot?
How many RV shows have they taken to?
How many people do you think have really walked through that RV?
Are their items on the RV that are broken or need to be replaced?
We've done a lot of RV shopping
and we've seen many new RV's where people have walked through and broken different things.
We've also seen RVs that have sat on the lot for a year or more.
and you can really tell that there's some deterioration that's going to need to be taken care of before the RV can be used.
These are things to consider when buying a new RV.
Let's move on to use used RV's.
The biggest benefit of buying used is the price.
You'll pay less for the RV.
You'll pay less for the insurance.
And you're not going to take as big of a hit on depreciation as you do when you buy new.
Those kinks I mentioned on a new RV have hopefully been worked out by the time you get a used RV.
But, there's no guarantee of that.
If you buy used you really have to have the unit inspected and make sure that there aren't big issues
that you're gonna have to deal with down the road.
Another benefit we see of buying used is that you don't necessarily have to buy through a dealership or the factory.
You can go with a private party sale.
A lot of people don't like having to deal with salesmen, pushy tactics
here you can meet with people, have time to look through their RV and sometimes you can get a better price.
One of the biggest downsides of buying a used RV is that RV comes with a history.
My grandmother always said...
"When you buy use you're just inheriting someone else's problems."
That is very true when it comes to an RV.
Some of the questions you should ask when buying a used RV...
Did the previous owners smoke or have pets?
Do they have all the documentation for that RV and all the modifications that have been done to it?
Is the RV still under warranty? If so, is that warranty transferable?
Same thing if they have an extended warranty, can you transfer that warranty over to yourself?
What other lingering problems does that RV have?
That means you're going to need to spend time and money to either go through and inspect that RV yourself
or hire a professional who can go through and do a detailed job to tell you exactly what's going to have to be resolved.
We shopped for a lot of used RV's as well.
Two common issues we saw with a lot of the used rvs we looked at...
First, being the smell inside that RV.
Sometimes there were some funky odors.
The other, water damage.
This can be a huge problem for an RV and another reason why that RV should be
either inspected by yourself or a professional who knows what they're looking for.
When we were shopping for an RV we seriously considered buying a used unit
but when we found our specific Bay Star, we bought it new because we saw it on the lot
it was the exact model, floor plan, all the options that we wanted and we weren't able to find that on the used market.
The fact that it came with a factory warranty also factored into this because we were
going to be living out of the RV for at least a year full time on the road
and we wanted to have the backing of the factory to fix any issues that might come up.
Does this video answer the age-old question of whether you should buy a new or used RV?
Absolutely not!
There are people who only by used, others who will only buy new
and its really a personal decision that's up you based on how you plan use this RV
how long you going to keep it
your financial situation
and many other factors that you need to consider before you buy an RV.
Hopefully this video has given you some tips and things to think about
when you're looking at a new or used RV.
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subscribe if you haven't already and I will see you next time.
Thanks for watching, bye!