Any recommendations about buying an RV. Best places, etc. If dealer or gumtree. What to look out for?
Possum3 said
11:21 AM Oct 11, 2016
Don't buy on spur of the moment - never at a caravan show - Have any RV checked by an expert mechanic - Second hand are normally better buys - If buying from a dealer remember - If they're talking they're lying.
brickies said
11:39 AM Oct 11, 2016
Very good advice Possum and also private seller are not always honest , Take your time and look around we took 6 months 9 years ago and still happy with out caravan , Have a wish list of what you want and check that list when looking at RVs
Chellbells said
02:15 PM Oct 11, 2016
Love that answer - thank you.
Tony Bev said
02:15 PM Oct 11, 2016
Same as above
We decided our budget, and then went looking
Took us six months to pick a second hand caravan, and then about twelve years later, it took us another six months to pick a second hand motorhome
Not all boxes were ticked, but we managed to adapt, to what we picked
Papou said
03:19 PM Oct 11, 2016
Possum3 wrote:
Don't buy on spur of the moment - never at a caravan show - Have any RV checked by an expert mechanic - Second hand are normally better buys - If buying from a dealer remember - If they're talking they're lying.
I'll Third that :)
montie said
07:43 AM Oct 12, 2016
Possum3 wrote:
Don't buy on spur of the moment - never at a caravan show - Have any RV checked by an expert mechanic - Second hand are normally better buys - If buying from a dealer remember - If they're talking they're lying.
Bit of a sweeping statement there Possum!
Are all buyers liars? I would never make that assumption but I have come across a few in my time!
Montie
The Belmont Bear said
09:15 AM Oct 12, 2016
Montie do you mean sellers or buyers ? We all know that salespeople make a living by selling their products so it should be no surprise when they make whatever they are selling sound better than it actually is. I wouldn't go as far as to say all salespeople are liars although there is no doubt that there are a few rogues out there who would purposefully mislead a buyer but then again that's not much different from private sellers. The only advantage I see in buying new is that you can order exactly what you want and there is a warranty period if things happen to go wrong (some better than others). In our 12 month search we weighed up a lot of options before making the final decision and the biggest part of that was the feedback that we got from others. Chellbells when you are considering a particular RV whether new or used go into the owner reviews not those posted by the manufactures but other independent sites you will get some really useful feedback especially on the after sales service.
Just a point on caravan shows if you can decide on what you want before the show you can actually negotiate a pretty good deal by buyng it then. We had already made a decision and got a further $3K off plus full annexe and other things like water filter and oven thrown in.
-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Wednesday 12th of October 2016 09:22:29 AM
Roving-Dutchy said
02:45 PM Oct 12, 2016
Have a look at dealers that exclusively sell MH's that are being disposed of by the rental companies, they are usually priced below MH's on the private market and come with a good warranty and have been regularly serviced. There is a dealer in Sydney that sells about 1000 ex Maui vans each year. You will nearly always save about half the cost of a new MH.
Cheers
David
montie said
08:04 AM Oct 13, 2016
The Belmont Bear wrote:
Montie do you mean sellers or buyers ? We all know that salespeople make a living by selling their products so it should be no surprise when they make whatever they are selling sound better than it actually is.
-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Wednesday 12th of October 2016 09:22:29 AM
Belmont Bear,
There is a saying in the car and RV industry that "buyers are liars".
I would never subscribe to that sort of generalization but I can assure you I have been told some "whoppers" in my 30 odd years in the industry. On the other hand all industries have their share of unscrupulous sales people also.
Regarding shows, there is simply no way you can get a better deal at a show than buying from the dealership. The costs to a dealer/manufacturer to participate in shows is extremely high and that extra cost has to be recovered somehow. Sales at shows in Qld recently is starting to reflect this with numbers falling heavily in recent times. All prices at shows have to be loaded to recover the cost and the buyers are beginning to realise that.
I saw a product at a show recently for $49900 which was reduced to $46900 as a "show special" with a solar pack thrown in. What a bargain!
The dealer had the same van in his yard for $44990 tow away!
Montie
oldbloke said
09:03 AM Oct 13, 2016
We got ours at the sandown show 47k we had looked at the identical van in yards from 50k to 52k. Had to squeeze then though.
montie said
08:36 PM Oct 13, 2016
oldbloke wrote:
We got ours at the sandown show 47k we had looked at the identical van in yards from 50k to 52k. Had to squeeze then though.
Old Bloke,
You did well by the sound of it and good luck with your new purchase.
How low do you reckon the dealer might have gone if put the same squeeze on at the dealership?
Enjoy your new van and happy travels...it's a great lifestyle!
Love that answer - thank you.
Same as above
We decided our budget, and then went looking
Took us six months to pick a second hand caravan, and then about twelve years later, it took us another six months to pick a second hand motorhome
Not all boxes were ticked, but we managed to adapt, to what we picked
I'll Third that :)
Bit of a sweeping statement there Possum!
Are all buyers liars? I would never make that assumption but I have come across a few in my time!
Montie
Montie do you mean sellers or buyers ? We all know that salespeople make a living by selling their products so it should be no surprise when they make whatever they are selling sound better than it actually is. I wouldn't go as far as to say all salespeople are liars although there is no doubt that there are a few rogues out there who would purposefully mislead a buyer but then again that's not much different from private sellers. The only advantage I see in buying new is that you can order exactly what you want and there is a warranty period if things happen to go wrong (some better than others). In our 12 month search we weighed up a lot of options before making the final decision and the biggest part of that was the feedback that we got from others. Chellbells when you are considering a particular RV whether new or used go into the owner reviews not those posted by the manufactures but other independent sites you will get some really useful feedback especially on the after sales service.
Just a point on caravan shows if you can decide on what you want before the show you can actually negotiate a pretty good deal by buyng it then. We had already made a decision and got a further $3K off plus full annexe and other things like water filter and oven thrown in.
-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Wednesday 12th of October 2016 09:22:29 AM
Cheers
David
Belmont Bear,
There is a saying in the car and RV industry that "buyers are liars".
I would never subscribe to that sort of generalization but I can assure you I have been told some "whoppers" in my 30 odd years in the industry. On the other hand all industries have their share of unscrupulous sales people also.
Regarding shows, there is simply no way you can get a better deal at a show than buying from the dealership. The costs to a dealer/manufacturer to participate in shows is extremely high and that extra cost has to be recovered somehow. Sales at shows in Qld recently is starting to reflect this with numbers falling heavily in recent times. All prices at shows have to be loaded to recover the cost and the buyers are beginning to realise that.
I saw a product at a show recently for $49900 which was reduced to $46900 as a "show special" with a solar pack thrown in. What a bargain!
The dealer had the same van in his yard for $44990 tow away!
Montie
Old Bloke,
You did well by the sound of it and good luck with your new purchase.
How low do you reckon the dealer might have gone if put the same squeeze on at the dealership?
Enjoy your new van and happy travels...it's a great lifestyle!
Montie