Need Purchase Advice

[dukeman7595]

Hello, everyone.

I have asked several questions and have been given great advice, and patience from the members. I thank you.

I am a novice to RVs in general. I purchased a 1992 Southwind w/ a 454 engine, which was in great shape as our first motorhome for $9,000. We then set off for the Grand Canyon. We made it to New Mexico approx. 700 miles from home in southwest Missouri and then had problems with the ground wires burning up. As I stated in another forum topic, I cut off the burnt ends and reconnected them and this seemed to work.

However, we were afraid to continue and turned back for home. We purchased an older coach to see if this was for us. Well, we did enjoy the trip until the wire problem. This was our first RV trip ever, and I guess you get what you pay for, although the coach did run very well aside from the problem mentioned. I think we would have been OK if we had continued, but the wife was afraid of being stranded with two dogs and a novice husband.

In any event, I would like the opinions of the members on a newer motorhome. It is a 2004 National Islander, 40 feet long with a 400 Cummins engine and has 13,900 miles and 1 owner. The seller is asking $67,000. It has slides and all the gadgets and is in good condition.

My question: Is this a good deal and what should I do to make sure? Any help would be appreciated.

Sincerely,

JOE

[hermanmullins]

Joe,

A 7 year old coach with only 13,000 miles says to me to look at the interior of the coach really well. There can be several thing that would cause there to be such low milage. Did the original owner buy the coach and then decide that RVing was not for them? Did he become ill and was not able to use the coach or did they use it to live in, winter in the south and summer in the north? If it was used to live in the interior might be worn.

Have the engine looked at by a professional.

I have always purchased pre-owned cars and RVs. Some people purchase new because they don't want someones else's problems. I look at it this way, The unit has already taken the greatest deprecation in the first 2 years and all of the bugs have been worked out under warranty. If there are any problems I can do most of the work myself and if I have problems I can't figure out I always have the Forum and Brett. Help doesn't get any better then that.

So look over the unit and have a professional check out everything.

Good Luck

[tbutler]

There was a recent post that gave information on finding the NADA values for motor homes. I suggest you give this a try as far as finding what the approximate retail value of the coach would be. That should give you one idea if this is a good deal.

As far as the mileage goes, 13,000 is virtually nothing on a diesel engine. However this indicates long periods of inactivity which can result in problems as well. We have a 2004 coach and we've got almost 100,000 miles on it. The engine has been run regularly, oil has been changed on schedule, the transmission has been serviced as required by the manufacturer, batteries are in a constant state of charge or have been replaced when they failed and when parked for the winter, fuel additive has kept the diesel in the tank fresh and ready to go in the spring. Herman's suggestion to have the engine checked over is a good one. Take the coach to a Cummins shop and have them give it a good examination. If you are not familiar with the costs of operating a diesel engine, while you are at the shop, check their prices for an oil change with filters for oil, fuel and air. Unless these services have been recently performed, you should plan on having those done once you take the coach.

If the coach has been lived in, things like the water heater, water pump, refrigerator, etc. will have lots of wear on them and may be replacement items in the near future. If the coach hasn't been lived in, it these items could be almost new but rubber parts and seals may be dried or cracked. Check to see that they all work properly before agreeing to the price or adjust the price and deal with the problem yourself. Make sure the slides work, be sure to get an owners manual with the coach. Try the leveling system to make sure it works. Check the water pump and water system for leaks. Try out each of the faucets and check drains under for leaks. Operate the toilet to verify it works and that seals will hold water in the bowl. If the coach is in a northern climate, improper winterizing could result in damage to water pipes and drains. Fully pressurize the water system and run water into the gray and black water tanks and then dump those to verify that the valves work properly and are not leaking. In short, check out all the bells and all the whistles as well.

Be sure you have information on operation of the AV systems in the coach. Turning on the TV can be a bit more of an exercise than it is at home. As the bells and whistles become more numerous, the number of remotes to operate them also becomes greater. A coach that is inactive my have corrosion problems with the electrical system so check all switches and electrical operations to verify that they are working. Unhook the coach from shore power and test the inverter to see if it operates properly. Run the air conditioners/heat pumps to see that they work well.

If the coach has been stored, find out how it was stored. Look for water stains or damage on the ceiling especially around air conditioners, vents and windows. Check inside of cabinets and the basement storage compartments for indication of mice or insects. Tires that are 7 years old are considered unserviceable due to their age and deterioration of the rubber. Since the coach is nominally 7 years old and hasn't had that many miles on it I would assume that you will be purchasing a set of tires immediately. You can check the production date of the tires by reading the date code on stamped on each tire. Use the search box at the top, right side of this page to check the tires section of this forum for more help here. If the tires are newer, they should have been stored on a solid surface. Asphalt is better than dirt, concrete is better than asphalt and wood or plastic is better than concrete. Indoors is the best storage for tires as well as the exterior condition of the coach.

One final thought. If your wife is afraid of being stranded, she may not be that comfortable with RV'ing. There are road service/towing policies that can be purchased to get you off the road. I believe most of us who have large coaches have such policies. You are purchasing a large complex machine and it will break down occasionally. If your wife can accept this as a means of dealing with being stranded, you're good to go. If having plans disrupted by an occasional breakdown and spending a day or two in the shop while on the road is going to upset her greatly, you might have to reconsider this purchase. I'd take my time, talk over her concerns and make sure you have a strategy to deal with her concerns that is acceptable to her. You know what they say, if Mama isn't happy...

[dukeman7595]

Thank you both for this great information. It has given me many things to think over and I will take your advice..

Sincerely, JOE

[fossfactor]

We purchased a motorhome this summer and are quite pleased. Ours is an 03 with some neglected maintenance. Bad Batteries, tune up new tires a few other issues. But are so pleased we made our purchase. We had our moments of what did we do? But are very pleased. Planning on going full time soon, We full timed in 5th wheel and loved it.

Enjoy your purchase ask a lot of questions like Tom mentioned.

Blue Skies

Brad and Kathy

[Saddletramp]

You can also check carfax. Make sure that it was not rebuilt.

[bbnuttmann]

Joe. In my humble opinion National Islanders are good coaches. We have two in our small rv club and the owners indicate good luck with them. If it were me I would be concerned that this coach sat for long periods without use. I would not buy this coach unless I also bought a good extended warranty policy from a good company.

[rrlowther]

Joe,

Man do I feel your pain. It sounds like a good deal but I'm not sure. How do I make sure it's a solid purchase? What do I need to check?

My Partner and I just purchased our first coach in April of this year. We asked to take it for a drive for a few hours. You know, to get it out on the highway and see how it handles etc. We were told that wasn't allowed and was assured that the coach was in good working order.

When we showed up to take delivery, we waited for nearly two hours for someone to walk us through the coach and show us how everything works. Turned out the guy assigned to do that, didn't know a thing about a diesel pusher.

Fast forward 6 months. The coach was in the shop most of that time, we upgraded the flooring, installed a tankless water heater, installed an in motion satellite dish and so on.

Our very first trip was from Denver to Phoenix, for my little brothers wedding. Well, we loaded up the coach, hooked up the toad and headed down the road. We made it a total of 30 miles before the check engine lite came on and the engine derated. We pulled over and I looked around under the coach and the oil pan was leaking like a shiv. We drove back, put it in the shop and the next day and $1,200.00 later we were back on the road. We made it all the way to Monument, Co on Tuesday, where the engine lite came back on, engine derated and we pulled over.

Our very first night in our new coach we spent boondocking behind a diesel repair shop in Colorado Springs. We then broke down on Wednesday after spending the entire day at the repair shop and then again on Thursday. We ended up abandoning the coach and driving the toad through the night in order to make it to the wedding on time.

We ended up spending just over $6K in repairs to solve the problem which ended up being the doors that cover the engine/radiator access. The design of the doors was preventing the heated air from escaping the engine cavity and causing it to over heat.

You would think this experience would sour us on the whole concept. I share all of this with you for one purpose. Spend the extra money and have someone that knows RV's from nose to tail, go through it with a fine tooth comb. Have an experienced and authorized diesel repair shop check everything on the engine and then take it to an authorized repair center for the type of transmission you have.

What ever you do, find and buy an extended warranty. Although we've had great difficulty in getting them to cover some of the things on our coach we're already ahead by $5K.

Take your time, don't be rushed and get it inspected thoroughly. It's well worth the money.

We have run into other issues with our coach, but all in all we've made three significant trips in our coach and have enjoyed every moment of it.

And for the record, if you are going to break down on the side of the road, I can't think of better circumstances to do so than in an RV!

Best of luck to you!

[-Gramps-]

Based on my experience I would say that buying that used coach isn't much more of a risk than buying a brand new one. Tom offers very good advice.

Let us know how this all turns out!

Gramps.