Depreciation

[-Gramps-]

Here is something worth posting again from my blog here, now moved to my own blog page

Depreciation:

This subject pops up every now and then in the Internet forums, rv.net, IRV2.com, FMCA.com, where I hang about on a regular basis. It may be a post titled "Is your Class A a Money pit?" or "A motor home costs a whole lot more than you think it does!" The people who post these kinds of entries may or may not really have a problem with what a coach or any other large RV may cost. They might just be bored. It's Sunday night and the DW is watching "Real Housewives of xxx", so there is nothing better for them to do than post some sad story about how broke owning a coach is making them.

The last time I saw one of these threads, I responded to it. I said that owning a motor coach is like having kids. You make a huge financial investment, with no return, but they make lots of good memories, are good for the soul, and will greatly improve one's life if you let them.

I believe the RV lifestyle is under-appreciated by most people who are not part of it and also by some who are. Becoming a Motor Coacher has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me and my wife. Has owning one depleted my bank account? I suppose it has, but then, maybe not.

I might have put away the money that I spend each month paying for my coach. I might have put away the money I spend on trips, including gas and food and camping fees, but I doubt it. I would have spent all of my trip and fuel money on airplane tickets, hotel rooms and cruise ships, or something else. The chances are that even if I did save it, a lot of the money could still have disappeared without me spending a dime of it.

The present economic situation has poked a whole lot of holes in a lot of financial balloons. I just try to take advantage of what our coach can do for us. I may have to spend money on gas, a new water pump to replace a squirting frozen one, new wiper blades to replace frozen ones, a new water filter to replace a cracked and frozen one, but considering what our coach does for us it is worth it.

I can tell you this that minus the monthly payment, the time I have spent in Florida, which included eight nights at Disney World, didn't cost us much at all. Not when compared to what two weeks would have cost staying in fancy hotels and eating out. I wish I could have stayed there a lot longer. Responsibilities called me home.

Home is a very subjective word when you own a motor coach. Home is where my coach is. I felt quite at home in Fort Wilderness. As a matter of fact, the guard who checked us in said, "Welcome home, Mr. Parker."

It was home. A few years ago we spent New Year's Eve in Saint Augustine and the next day climbed a lighthouse. My daughter was there and my son-in-law and my grandson. My wife was there and so was Teddy Bear. I had my favorite DVDs, my favorite beer, my favorite books, some of them anyway, and the things I like to eat the most. I also had great cable TV.

At night we listened to music coming from the Disney Parks. We also heard the fireworks and, if we walked a little ways from our site, could see them, just over the tops of the trees. If we wanted to ride the monorail, we did. If we wanted to take a boat ride, we did that, too. We went to one park, and saw Cirque Du Soleil, followed by sushi at Wolfgang Pucks. We pin traded, we took Teddy to the Waggin Tails Dog Park. We basked in the 70-degree sunshine. We even had the pleasure of spending time with our friends Gary and Janis. What could be better than that?

It was wonderful. It was wonderful until we had to say good-bye. We had to say good-bye to the warmth of our surroundings, our friends and our family. We said good-bye and then made our way back north. We came back to the cold, to work and to our son, daughter and grandsons, whom we missed a lot.

It won't be long before we take our motorhome back out on the road and enjoy another great trip. We will make new friends and see new places.

So, I don't worry about "depreciation" I try to appreciate the emotional and spiritual return I get from my poor financial investment. I hope that all my fellow Coachers and RVers do the same.

Derrick
aka "Gramps" 

My Random Views

[five]

2 hours ago, -Gramps- said:

...I don't worry about "depreciation"...
Derrick
aka "Gramps" 

My Random Views

Same here, and that's the bottom line.  If I worried about depreciation, the last thing I would own is a MH.

[kaypsmith]

And we don't have to worry about who slept in the same bed in the past. Good depiction, "Gramps". Thanks for pointing it out so well.

[rsbilledwards]

I/we get it too and can hardly wait till we get this house is finished, so we can sell it and do what you are trying to do in earnest. Having, working on, upgrading an old one, driving, setting up, sitting around, fixing the coach all still appeal to me now while still younger than Herman, but I will catch up and write the checks later. It is about what appeals each of us that makes us chase the dream. Thanks to all for the friendships and those that support the lifestyle.

 

Bill Edwards

[jleamont]

Gramps, that was a great depiction! Thank you for posting that. We often get asked questions about the return on your investment, MPG etc. I didn't purchase this or the last motorhome as an investment, we purchased it for our family, to escape the day to day and enjoy each others company and the company of our friends. Brett mentioned something a while back that has stuck with me with regards to "what MPG does your house or bed get"? Every time I think of that statement I smile   that about sums it up! I can say without a doubt our motorhomes (2) we have had in the last 8 years have brought our family closer together, I can feel it and see it and I cannot put a price tag on that. Coming from a guy that worked full time and owned a small business there wasn't much time to enjoy life, the Coach changed all of that when I planned down time it made those moments much more enjoyable and connecting with our family.

We have traveled to many places we would have never thought of or probably even knew they existed. DW is into scrapbooking, the photos taken with the Coach involved is 4 to 1 from before the coach, so it worked! Yea there is a cost associated with it but our vacations before RV's were 1-2 per year, now 12-15 at a minimum some long some short, none the less great times with family and friends. I will say that my 12-15 vacations where we meet up with old friends or met new friends (that wouldn't have happened in a hotel) are less money than the two previous trips before the RV, when you add the payment into it, fuel, insurance and repairs I think its a pretty close dollar value, we just get more trips with the coach. I never liked the to and from a vacation before the coaches, now a long drive is relaxing, I can feel the stress melt away when I sit in the drivers seat. Memories exceed any traditional vacation several times over. We are members of the Disney Vacation club, we use it often, sometimes stay at Fort Wilderness sometimes their hotels, we love it there also, takes you back to when you were a kid, the CG is still one of my favorites, looking forward to another trip there soon.  

[bbnuttmann]

Depreciation is not one of the fun things you get from RVing.  I love RVing but hate wasting money.  The way you buy a coach greatly affects how much depreciation will cost you.  I went out and bought our rig at the bottom of the financial meltdown in 2009 from a formerly rich person who was near broke.  I also was very careful to get a coach that almost everyone that posted on several forums said good things about.  And I read and re-read through hundreds of listing in the RVCG information on what was a good coach and what was not.  I paid under 30% of new price on a 6 1/2 year old coach.  

So our depreciation on our rig is not so much.  People that go out today without doing their homework and buy a brand new rig from an unreliable maker might suffer lots.  

There is no substitute for learning before you buy.  There are huge huge differences in motorhomes.  

[tbutler]

The best thing we ever did was to purchase our first motor home.  We weren't just thinking outside the box, we sold the box and traveled full time for almost ten years before buying a smaller box in a warmer place.  We remain in the box only until the weather up north gets warmer and then we're back in our motor home again.  This summer we'll take our grandchildren on another series of week long trips, two at a time until all but the 2 year old have had one more motor home trip with grandpa and grandma.  We've traveled all over the US and Canada and now were looking into exploring the spots we've missed in past travels.  We have a list of places we would have liked to see but so far haven't taken the time to stop there.  Now in our second motor home, we're still adding value to our investment! 

[campcop]

3 hours ago, bbnuttmann said:

Depreciation is not one of the fun things you get from RVing.  I love RVing but hate wasting money.  The way you buy a coach greatly affects how much depreciation will cost you.  I went out and bought our rig at the bottom of the financial meltdown in 2009 from a formerly rich person who was near broke.  I also was very careful to get a coach that almost everyone that posted on several forums said good things about.  And I read and re-read through hundreds of listing in the RVCG information on what was a good coach and what was not.  I paid under 30% of new price on a 6 1/2 year old coach.  

So our depreciation on our rig is not so much.  People that go out today without doing their homework and buy a brand new rig from an unreliable maker might suffer lots.  

There is no substitute for learning before you buy.  There are huge huge differences in motorhomes.  

I hope you paid a lot under 30%. 25-30% off MSRP  is the norm for purchase price of a new MH...:(

[kaypsmith]

If I read correctly, he said 30%, not 30%off. 70% off of msrp would be a pretty good deal on a 6.5 year old coach if in good to great condition.

[campcop]

20 hours ago, kaypsmith said:

If I read correctly, he said 30%, not 30%off. 70% off of msrp would be a pretty good deal on a 6.5 year old coach if in good to great condition.

Ah yes, after re-reading the post, that is a good deal....