Tricky Question: Strategy For Best Motorhome Purchase? How Long Should You Keep It???

[mweiner]

Class B's are definitely a niche product...and for us and the way we use it...just two of us, this seemed like the best value for the "engineered dollar"..... but, what about how long should you keep it?? 

This is a tricky question???   

Well,  in my opinion, the best value for your investment, would be to keep it to the wheels fall off..( metaphorically speaking) , in other words, go as far and as long as you can... there's no good resale value for really old motorhomes ...they go down fast, plateau for a while and then continue downwards and reach a base just like old cars.....

SO, is it ever a good idea to trade in ?? Probably not, unless you want a larger size rig?? AND, today a lot of people are going smaller... fuel efficiency, smaller footprint etc.. unless you're a FULL TIMER??? How many people in Class B's are really full timing??? Probably not too many! 

On the other hand, most finance companies won't finance any rig that is more than 9 years old..so, if you really need to consider selling to either trade up or get out of using it, then 9 years is the magic number otherwise, you have to find an all cash buyer......

Again, the least expensive thing is to just buy the rig that suits your requirements and drive it forever..... 

Don't know if we'll have the rig for 10 years or more, but, these are certainly considerations people need to consider when getting an RV..... knowing when to do that is difficult.... 

Of course, if you intend to purchase an RV to live in permanently and this is your house, it stands to reason that you will never sell it...it's tough to turn around a purchase like this on a newer model without a big cash infusion.... usually read as you're losing money on the deal.... just like a car.....

Do you agree or disagree????

[richard5933]

I'd never use the terms motor home and investment in the same sentence. You buy an RV because you like it, because it suits your needs, and because it fits your budget. You get rid of it when these are no longer the case.

There's no magic to these things. Some keep their rig till they rust into pieces. Others trade up every year or so. Keep a rig long enough and in good condition and maybe it'll end up having value as a rare or collector piece like the older GMC motor homes. Or maybe not. Wouldn't be my plan to buy any vehicle with an eye towards these things if it fits my needs and I can afford it.

Now, on the other hand, how you treat and maintain any vehicle while you own it will have a tremendous bearing on its ultimate value at sale. A well-maintained twenty-year-old rig will have more value at sale than a ten-year-old rig which was poorly maintained, misused, or butchered by someone trying to "upgrade" it.

If we were to ever replace our older bus conversion with something newer, our plan would be to find a 2-3 year-old model that suited our needs and budget. That way the initial depreciation hit was already taken. We'd then keep it until either it didn't meet our needs or until the maintenance costs started to exceed its value and/or replacement cost.

[mweiner]

1 hour ago, richard5933 said:

I'd never use the terms motor home and investment in the same sentence. You buy an RV because you like it, because it suits your needs, and because it fits your budget. You get rid of it when these are no longer the case.

There's no magic to these things. Some keep their rig till they rust into pieces. Others trade up every year or so. Keep a rig long enough and in good condition and maybe it'll end up having value as a rare or collector piece like the older GMC motor homes. Or maybe not. Wouldn't be my plan to buy any vehicle with an eye towards these things if it fits my needs and I can afford it.

Now, on the other hand, how you treat and maintain any vehicle while you own it will have a tremendous bearing on its ultimate value at sale. A well-maintained twenty-year-old rig will have more value at sale than a ten-year-old rig which was poorly maintained, misused, or butchered by someone trying to "upgrade" it.

If we were to ever replace our older bus conversion with something newer, our plan would be to find a 2-3 year-old model that suited our needs and budget. That way the initial depreciation hit was already taken. We'd then keep it until either it didn't meet our needs or until the maintenance costs started to exceed its value and/or replacement cost.

Richard, thank you for your reply...

I agree, maintenance is the name of the game.... 

I don't work on my cars or RV... never would even touch this except for some minor tightening of cabinet screws....etc....

I know my limitations... would rather pay for the "upgrade"and have it professionally done right... fortunately, I have a great resource for this close by...

You're absolutely correct... they are definitely NOT investments....and if you want to recover any of the value, it has to be meticulously maintained... very important...

For example, I purchased a brand new Honda Accord, drove it for almost 20 years... had almost 150,000 miles on the car....it was in  immaculate  condition, everything worked perfectly and the car was beautiful....I was able to recover my initial down payment from when I purchased the car.....

Most vehicles don't appreciate in value or become "collector's items"....

Just enjoy your rig while you have it and get as much use from it as you can...the lowest cost for owning any vehicle is the total miles driven...

If you purchase something and don't use it very much, the cost per mile is astronomical...as divided by the purchase price...

I normally keep my cars for 15 to 20 years... And, the big question will be what will last longer the coach or me! 

I suppose that if I pass the 10 years point for owning my motorhome, I might as well keep it for the longer term....

Turning over cars, motorhomes or just about anything is the most cost inefficient way to go.... dealership sells it at top dollar, you sell for less and turn around and buy again at the higher price... not a great situation....

Cheers, 

---MARK

[philrodo]

True, trading in is expensive compared to buying and owning a car or RV for the long haul. But if you want the latest technologies, you have no choice but to upgrade from time to time. 

In our case, we have a Class B Pleasure Way 2018 Lexor TS which is built on the RAM 3500 chassis, we logged some 20,000 miles in our first year of ownership. I’m don’t think we’ll put in as many miles this year, but we’re still putting thousands of miles on it. At some point, it becomes a question of, at how many miles on the odometer does it make the most sense to sell it or trade it in. The more miles on the coach the more the depreciation and the higher the repair bills. Determining the sweet spot for trading it in based on the miles shown on the odometer is the $64K question...

[manholt]

philrodo.  Welcome to the Forum!  Richard is still a member, Weiner is not.

If your Lexor is gas, then your right.  If you got a diesel, mileage is not really counted, unless it's very low...diesel needs to be run a lot.  I got 96,005 miles on mine now, but it's a half a million mile engine, so my coach will fall apart, way before the engine has major problems!

[wildebill308]

11 hours ago, philrodo said:

True, trading in is expensive compared to buying and owning a car or RV for the long haul. But if you want the latest technologies, you have no choice but to upgrade from time to time. 

In our case, we have a Class B Pleasure Way 2018 Lexor TS which is built on the RAM 3500 chassis, we logged some 20,000 miles in our first year of ownership. I’m don’t think we’ll put in as many miles this year, but we’re still putting thousands of miles on it. At some point, it becomes a question of, at how many miles on the odometer does it make the most sense to sell it or trade it in. The more miles on the coach the more the depreciation and the higher the repair bills. Determining the sweet spot for trading it in based on the miles shown on the odometer is the $64K question...

Welcome to the forum. I would think that 10 years and 100,000 miles are the big milestones. The reason is after 10 years financing becomes harder. Some people are still of the opinion that 100,000 miles is to many miles. Although the RAM 3500 chassis is good for many more miles. Those are the 2 points I would try to sell or trade before.

Bill 

[manholt]

My coach is a 2010, wish it was a 2006...Newer is not necessarily better!   

[txiceman]

There is no right time or perfect time to trade.  Remember that any RV is a declining value asset.  

Just take it and use it as much as possible and enjoy it.

Ken