Did You Purchase A Late Model Instead Of New Motorhome?

[spuds]

3 hours ago, MWeiner said:

never heard of Foretravel.. I stay away from off brands that are orphaned off.   

It's not an orphan - the company was bought by investors in 2005.  

it's a very high end DP.  Even more so now with the new owners.  They have decided to focus on a different market than when the Fore family owned it.

[hermanmullins]

spuds,

You need to research Foretravel. It is a very nice High end coach made in Nacogdoches Texas. A very well respected Manufacturer. 

Herman

 

[tbutler]

Our first motor home was our first RV.  We purchased a 1994 Monaco Dynasty in 2001 and went full time shortly after.  The alternator failed in the first 4000 miles. When tracking down information on the replacement we found that the previous owner had put in a cheap replacement and had re-wired the wiring to make it work.  Going back to the original alternator and rewiring cost us plenty.  So the original owner may have fixed things but were they fixed right?  After about 30,000 miles we had an exhaust valve break, destroying a cylinder, the head and the turbocharger.

So we traded for a new coach, a 2004 Monaco Windsor.  Going from a 10 year old coach to a new coach was like night and day.  The systems were much more advanced.  I told Louise that the conveniences of this coach easily added ten years to the time we could continue motor homing.  We now have 163,000 miles on that coach.  We've had some repairs, some upgrades, and some modifications.  We plan to continue that.

Recently at a rally, we took a look at a beautiful 2008 coach, just four years newer than our current coach but a much more luxurious.  It was tempting but it meant going deep into debt for a coach with many older systems.  I'm sticking with the known factor, our trusty Windsor.  In keeping our coach on the road, we're amortizing the initial depreciation.  Our purchase cost per mile is now less than $2.00.

[mweiner]

TBUTLER-  the first person I met who owned a larger motor home was someone with a Monaco... they're the king of the road.. very luxurious.

AND, I think you made a great decision stepping up 10 years in time for the 2004, but, the jump from 2004 to 2008 doesn't seem as significant and you have had great success going 163,000 miles.... good for you..

Yes, the initial depreciation is really tough... You made the right financial decision.

 

[spuds]

4 hours ago, hermanmullins said:

spuds,

You need to research Foretravel. It is a very nice High end coach made in Nacogdoches Texas. A very well respected Manufacturer. 

I think you mean MWeiner, not me.  We owned a Foretravel for 13 1/2 years.  Know all about them ;-)  We run Foreforums.

[mweiner]

Michele C. - l noticed that you have a 2017 Leisure Travel Unity- VERY NICE..

How do you like it and what's your average MPG.   

We looked at the Winnebago Navion... similar size , but, I don't think it is finished as nicely as your coach? 

[mweiner]

Spuds- yes, finally looked up Foretravel.. very nice..I guess their marketing isn't robust....

http://motorhomesoftexas.com/rvcoach/foretravel_motor_homes

[wildebill308]

18 minutes ago, MWeiner said:

Spuds- yes, finally looked up Foretravel.. very nice..I guess their marketing isn't robust....

http://motorhomesoftexas.com/rvcoach/foretravel_motor_homes

Well actually you did not look up Foretravel you looked up Motorhomes of Texas. A dealership that happens to deal in used Foretravel coaches. By the way they are about a half mile down the road from the factory. What you need to look at is http://foretravel.com/ I think they are doing ok in marketing.

Bill

[mweiner]

Bill, 

Thank you. Just looked at the site you posted...too much for me.. but, they're beautiful...

---MARK

[wayne77590]

Mark,

As a follow up to an extended service plan, I stopped at my camping center repair shop and got some printouts of my repairs for my records. I was missing some. 

From just two of the more costly ones here are then numbers. This is after my $250 deduction.   One for $2732 and the other for $6947, so in my case the insurance of an ESP has been good for me.

It's only money. My kids named the MH the "SKID" Mobile.   SKID = Spending Kids Inheritance (Dad).   My DW has been PC and just calls it "Citrus."

[wildebill308]

10 hours ago, MWeiner said:

Bill, 

Thank you. Just looked at the site you posted...too much for me.. but, they're beautiful...

---MARK

This goes to your question about buying used. Now that you have looked at new Foretravel go look at this one.

http://motorhomesoftexas.com/coachrv/foretravel/2013--ih45--45--P1266

or this one.

http://motorhomesoftexas.com/coachrv/foretravel/2008--nimbus--42Torino--C2030

Here is anouther instance of a premium coach that is available for a reasonable price now. 

http://motorhomesoftexas.com/coachrv/newell_coach/2001--newell--45--C1922

This is the Newell factory web site.  http://www.newellcoach.com/

So yes I think used is the way to go..

Bill

 

[elkhartjim]

Bill, the Newell that you're talking about was owned by Rusty Wallace and according to a friend of mine it is now sold. He called to make an offer an was told it was sold. Talk about bells and whistles, it had them all.

[wildebill308]

5 hours ago, Elkhartjim said:

Bill, the Newell that you're talking about was owned by Rusty Wallace and according to a friend of mine it is now sold. He called to make an offer an was told it was sold. Talk about bells and whistles, it had them all.

Yes but it was gone before and just showed up on the web site again a couple of weeks ago. I wonder what the storey was. I still see some issues but lots of coach for  the money. 

Bill 

[BSMEATON]

On 7/12/2017 at 9:42 PM, MWeiner said:

Did you purchase late model motor home to save money on depreciation? 

The first few years.. maybe three to five are the steepest loss of value once you drive the vehicle off the lot just like buying a new car. 

SO, what was the average age of the particular model motor home that you purchased and how long have you had it.?

Just kind of curious where you are trying to go with this thread?  Seems once we answer the questions, you take the opportunity to critique our decision based on your experiences.  Was that your intent?  I think you may have already offended a few, especially those poor Foretravel owners

[mutsrus]

We bought a 2016 this summer with only 560 miles on it. For whatever reason the couple that purchased it had some hiccup with it. I think they became afraid of driving the F53 v-10 because it had some sway in the wind. We saved a good deal on the purchase. I asked the dealer (as part of the deal) to include a warranty as I did not think the low miles were enough to identify the issues and the coach was beyond the 1 year Newmar warranty. If you look around and resist the impulse buying urge, you can save money and find a coach that fits within your budget. BTW a hellwig Sway bar, Roadmaster steering stabilizer and extension links to do the CHF the right way calmed the beast and made a good driver out of it. In the past we owned a 35' DP that we put 120,000 miles on. we bought that one used and enjoyed it for 12 years.