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RE: RV Financing
That is due to the occasional thread here where someone is upside down on an RV loan and loses his job due to the economy or illness, or his finances due to divorce. Then he asks how to get out from under the loan.
Well, first I would say to that poor soul, sell your house first. Live in the RV. At least then you can pay your bills and maintain a good credit rating. But I'm sure that has been mentioned.
Second, instead of going OF TOPIC and lecturing someone that is simply asking questions or naming experiences, give some coaching about how to stay right side up on an RV loan. That is possible even if you accept taking a bath on the experience.
Third, there are good reasons to finance even if you have the ability to pay cash. People shouldn't judge those that chose to finance. If they can't help but judge, they should stay out of the conversation.
Forth, just because you chose a finance option available to you, that doesn't mean that you expect that as a 'fundamental right'.
People really do need to relax on this topic. Financing is a realistic approach to RVing and it should be open to discussion. When people go off on tangents, it tends to close the discussion which hurts the overall discussion. That's not what forum discussions are supposed to be about.
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Mr Zulu
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08/05/11 08:37pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: RV Financing
Nope- not complaining here- just stating what our local credit union's terms were.
I'm noticing a trend here. I was in another thread asking questions about financing a while back... just asking questions. Got a big lecture on entitlement attitudes. I don't know why but some people don't like conversations about financing these things.
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Mr Zulu
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08/04/11 09:55pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: How Do You Determine Price?
How are you figuring the mileage in that research table?
Anyway, just glancing over it, I was looking at motorhomes in the $20,000 to $28,000 range. Most of those on the table show those to be sold above the high NADA with only ONE selling below low NADA which bucks the tons of advice I kept getting to not pay over low NADA... some even said not over wholesale.
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Mr Zulu
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08/04/11 09:50pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: How Do You Determine Price?
If based on this data alone, NADA would be good for nothing.
The only thing I found NADA good for was to be able to know what the bank is likely to do.
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Mr Zulu
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08/04/11 02:36pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: How Do You Determine Price?
My guess is that NADA simply amortizes down over time...
That's how it looks to me. When I was looking, I kept reading about people saying they wouldn't pay anything over low retail or wholesale or whatever. That may be true if you're looking for a late model but it certainly wasn't true for the 8 or so year old units I was looking at.
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Mr Zulu
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08/04/11 12:46pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: The best thing about a "C".....
Is we camp more! Leaving after work for our 5th trip of the season and they are calling for good weather fri and sun. But sat it looks like a good chance of rain. So what, we have our nice cozy rv! Now the previous 10 years with the pop-up we probably would have canceled this trip as well as a couple earlier this spring. Because one rainy day on a 3 day weekend wouldn't have been worth the set up, tear down, get home and set up too dry out........ sure glad those days are gone!
Love our "C"
You sound like us. Exactly the reason we moved up.
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Mr Zulu
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08/04/11 07:33am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: RV Financing
Our local credit unions have really tightened up their financing. Nothing over 10 years on any RV- even motor homes. Nothing older than 2005, etc.
Does this seem unfair? Not to me. What will they have left to sell in a repo? Not much - especially after a few years. It' also a way to keep from writing low-end loans. It sounds like good business.
Nobody is complaining. Just stating experiences.
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Mr Zulu
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08/04/11 07:21am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: RV Financing
I finance with Essex through Good Sam. I didn't find any better rates when I was looking. I will say it was hard to get the loan officer to slow down and listen to my questions. Kept trying to answer me and move on before I finished the first question much less got to the second question. Also, did a poor job of keeping me informed of the process which led to some problems since I've never financed a private party sale. Those complaints aside, I'm now done with the process and have a motorhome financed on the terms I was looking for and at a comparatively low rate.
By the way, there were other places that offered similar rates and terms but when I looked into them, it was essentially Essex being offered through someone else so it didn't make any difference.
Same here with Seacoast Finance. We got a great rate but the loan officer was TOTALLY unfamiliar with New York State DMV and the fact that this state does not issue temporary plates to transport a rig. She just kept insisting that we get temp. plates. I finally sent her the link to the DMV page where it says no temp plates are issued. She seemed to understand it then. Now she keeps sending me emails asking for a copy of the title. NYS takes about 10 weeks to issue a title from an out-of-state purchase (per a conversation with them this am). So Seacoast will have to keep patient.
Otherwise....paperwork from financier was quick and they took care of checks, etc. The two credit unions we belong to couldn;t come close to the terms we got.
Actually, Essex handled all the titling and tags paperwork for me. Part of the deal. Only thing I had to do was get a Texas VIN inspection as soon as I got back in state and FedEx it to them. As far as their end goes, that part went smoothly (first VIN inspection was screwed up by the VIN inspection facility which was a minor problem but not Essex's fault).
Regarding credit unions, all the ones around here wanted to finance it like it was just any old car which wasn't good even when they were willing to finance a car that old.
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Mr Zulu
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08/03/11 08:17pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: RV Financing
I finance with Essex through Good Sam. I didn't find any better rates when I was looking. I will say it was hard to get the loan officer to slow down and listen to my questions. Kept trying to answer me and move on before I finished the first question much less got to the second question. Also, did a poor job of keeping me informed of the process which led to some problems since I've never financed a private party sale. Those complaints aside, I'm now done with the process and have a motorhome financed on the terms I was looking for and at a comparatively low rate.
By the way, there were other places that offered similar rates and terms but when I looked into them, it was essentially Essex being offered through someone else so it didn't make any difference.
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Mr Zulu
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08/03/11 06:27pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Looking for Class C with only overhead sleeper?
I saw several units like you describe while I was looking. I'd go to various motorhome manufacturer's website to look at archived brochures from prior years. That will tell you whats possible at least.
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Mr Zulu
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08/02/11 02:35pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: How Do You Determine Price?
We're in the process of looking to purchase a class C and have noticed that many asking prices are way out of line with NADA guides? Is there a better pricing guide? Is NADA accurate? Do you have a better method of determining price in this economy? We're looking at Winnebago, 2000-2005, 24 feet or so. THANKS!
We were also looking at the same year, size, and make (as well as Jamborees/Tiogas that fit that bill) and also in Texas. Not only did they all seem way out of line with NADA, the few times we found one that was within a few thousand of NADA, we'd shoot an offer within the NADA range via the email associated with their ads. Never got a reply on those and the listing was removed a day or two later. The Winnebagos were the worst.
We had much better luck when we extended our search to include the east and west coast states but even then the pickens of decent priced units were slim. We ended up lucking out on the one we bought in that I caught an online discussion about the owner selling it before he actually listed it. Got it at about low retail but had to go to California and work the deal from long distance. I feel lucky and don't think I could swing that kind of deal again. For one, we were financing and the bank worked slowly. If someone is offering cash, they're going to get it done a lot quicker.
As to your titled question. I say just determine how much you're willing to pay for such a motorhome that you're picturing in your mind. Then that's what it's worth. You'll eventually find what you're looking for, it's just a matter of how long you're willing to wait. :/
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Mr Zulu
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08/02/11 12:11pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Harsh ride over bumps
Hard to say if what you got is normal or not since we're dealing in the subjective. Rough road equals rough ride as far as I can tell anyway.
My tires are set at 65 front and 80 rear (which is the manufacturer recommended pressure). You could drop your pressure a bit on the front and it might improve a bit.
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Mr Zulu
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08/01/11 09:53pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: No toad
Just bought our motorhome recently and originally planned on getting a dolly to tow our lightweight Vibe we conveniently already had. After taking the motorhome on it's first one week trip before getting the dolly, I am wondering if we really need a dolly afterall. Breaking camp is nothing for one. Just disconnect and drive off. We actually leave our cheap chairs and stuff on our site so we don't pack up. Driving our 25 footer around town was no big deal. Never had a problem with parking (as long as you don't mind walking the length of a Wal Mart parking lot).
In addition, because we didn't have sewer at our site (but was in the park) we were breaking camp quite often anyway to dump the grey tank.
We'll probably still get our dolly because we did budget for it and I'm sure there will be times that we're glad we have it. But we won't be using it all the time even once we get it. We're already planning a weekend trip for two weeks from now and I know we wouldn't take the dolly/vibe on this trip either even if we had it available.
I say, give it a go for a while without and see what you think.
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Mr Zulu
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07/31/11 09:32pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Insulating Windows
Thanks for the reply. Looking for a way to prevent sun damage while sitting in my driveway as well as useful tool to help keep it cool when we're using it when it's REALLY hot. 110 would be rare here in Abilene but it does happen. 105 is common. Just happened to walk past a roll in Lowe's the other day and thought, "Wow, I could really use that for..." and then came here and saw I didn't think of anything new. Then googled and saw a few warnings and got worried.
I think I'll give it a go. Will avoid the velcro. For the overcab, I'll probably just depend on closed curtains to hold it in place. Considering suction cups for the rest but if you had problems with the snaps, I will probably have problems with the suction cups. May need to do reinforce with duct tape like you mentioned. Also thinking of just hanging it from the shades in some fashion.
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Mr Zulu
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07/31/11 09:18pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Which is most stable Class C on highway
We were looking for a Class C a while back...received a lot of very good information at this site...then we stopped looking...now we are more serious and are ready to buy. We now have a couple of new questions: 1. In your opinion,which is the most stable Class C on the highway,and 2. Any experience with a Four Winds. The two we were looking at before was a Winnebago and Freelander...maybe now, add the Four Winds to the mix. Looking to purchase somewhere from 2000-2005...THANKS!!!
responce to 1:
Stable on the highway, this is more about the chassis than the house though I'm sure smaller is better across the board. The fords have a reputation to being much more squirrely than the chevys. I've driven both on the same model motorhome and there is a noticeable improvement to the way the chevy handled but I woudn't say it's an earth shattering difference either. However, most people seem to prefer the Ford due to the towing capacity despite it's handling and other issues. Also, it's possible to improve the Ford's stability with aftermarket upgrades.
responce to 2:
When I was looking around at motorhomes, I wasn't impressed with Four Winds. They generally had fewer of the features I was looking for. The 23E would have been the model from Four Winds I would have been interested in and it had a flat roof and the AC wasn't ducted if I remember right and it had smaller tanks than other similar models from other manufacturers.
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Mr Zulu
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07/30/11 09:15pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Insulating Windows
Good point. I left the insulation quite loose up in the dome and vent areas so that air could still circulate. I didn't cover the full shower dome just the area past the built in light. I was more worried about the front window since the glass is tinted and that area seemed super hot when I installed the insulation--almost hot enough to burn skin. Will the insulation trap heat against the cabover window and crack it? I hope not.
I've seen a lot of posts about people adding reflectix inside their RV windows and am thinking of doing the same but I have read a few cautions about excessive heat and cracking RV windows do to use of this stuff. However, I can't find a single case anywhere where someone said this actually happened. Does anyone know of an RV window cracking due to use of reflectix on the inside of an RV window?
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Mr Zulu
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07/30/11 02:30pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: I need advice quick please
Coach builders buy chassis in bulk. Sometimes a chassis that is built one year gets house built on it with the next year make on it. Fairly normal and something to look out for if you're looking for a chassis of a particular year due to features but not something that is a deal breaker if the features are unchanged or unimportant.
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Mr Zulu
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07/29/11 09:06pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Newbie Questions On Possible Used C Purchase
I don't think all gensets are intended to run both the AC and the microwave at once. I don't even think we've tried to do that on ours yet (we're not big microwave users at home even). That said, you did good to walk away from water damage. Also, dealer should be ashamed.
I was driving down the road in my home town and noticed a small Class C on the lot of a used RV dealer with a price in the window of $20 grand and an early 2000 decade year model while I was looking for an RV. I hit the breaks and went back to look at it thinking the mileage would likely be really high and jumped right in, sat in the driver's seat and looked at the mileage... something like 20,000. I thought, man, I can't believe a dealer would price this that low. Then I noticed a bit of delamination visible from the drivers seat on the front left lower corner of the overcab. I thought, ah, here's a chance to see what water damage is like first hand. Stood up and looked back at the ceiling. Dark, DARK, water stains all over the place. Walked to the back and it was even worse.
Stepped outside and took a look and there was heavy delamination on all sides. Would have been hard to miss.
Didn't actually bother to talk to the dealer cause I was in a hurry but I can't imagine that he took that on trade in or actually bought it thinking he could sell it for $20 grand. More than likely it was on consignment. Even still, if I were that dealer, I would tell the owner that I wouldn't even try to sell a unit that far damaged for anywhere near that price. The only way that was possible would have taken dishonest practices.
This dealer also does maintenance. He won't touch mine.
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Mr Zulu
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07/29/11 06:45pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Have the Fever but Need Advice!
Going without a toad eh? Well, we originally planned on getting a dolly to tow our vibe when traveling but after our first one week trip, I'm wondering if that's really that good of a plan. We bought a small 25 footer and the grey tank is small enough that we had to dump it nearly every day. We didn't have sewer at the camp sight so we were breaking camp anyway. Now, for this trip, we didn't have our dolly yet so we were going to break camp nearly ever day anyway just to get around BUT, I couldn't help but notice that it wouldn't have mattered.
That said, breaking camp in a motorhome isn't that big of a deal. It was too windy to have the awning out on our trip so I can't attest to that part of it but the rest was simply a matter of disconnecting from shore power and plugging into our generator and disconnecting the shore water hose, then drive off. We'd leave our 'outdoor' stuff out to 'mark our territory' (it's cheap stuff).
Traveling around town wasn't that big of a deal either. We just got used to parking way out of the the places we were visiting and doing a bit of walking... like walking the length of a wal-mart parking lot which for us is no big deal.
Can't attest to the bigger units but I can say that 25' is easy to get around in.
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Mr Zulu
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07/29/11 06:32pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Purchasing from Cruise America...anyone?
"I actually moved toward trying to purchase one but then, at the last minute, the bank rejected the loan due to high mileage."
That might tell you something. Bankers, until recently were not viewed as being stupid, Mostly.
If a financial institution is unwilling to make the loan for the amount of the sale price. BEWARE
Not saying Don't, just BEWARE or at least AWARE
That notion does NOT represent why it was rejected. The bank had actually approved the motorhome based on year and MILEAGE and price initially. Then during the final review stage, it was rejected due to a banking policy that would not allow a motorhome with more than 60,000 regardless of loan to value ratio. This policy was not considered when it was initial approved apparently. After checking around, a mileage limit seemed to be pretty common but different banks figured it differently... just never heard it discussed here like I had the age limit so I wasn't looking for it.
The actual price and loan to value ratio was not a problem even when considering the mileage. It was that hard line policy that kept the loan from going through... sort of like the generic "no older than 10 years" that is common. NADA could have said $35,000 and the loan could have been $20,000 and they wouldn't have cared... no loan.
Anyway, I wouldn't say that rentals are for everyone. Better deals can be had from private sellers. I was interested in the rental because I didn't want the headache of traveling over 1000 miles to buy a motorhome (like I ended up doing and it WAS a headache) nor did I want to wait a year or more for the right motorhome to hit the market locally. BUT, now that the headache is out of the way, I have to admit I'm happier with this unit than I would have been with the rental and it was for less money (that's not to imply I wouldn't have been happy with the rental).
Just go the route you're most comfortable with and, if your financing, make sure you know what your bank's policies are. Things to watch out for that they don't always say up front are minimum loan values, maximum miles, and maximum age. If you're looking for a budget rental, you may hit one of those first two or both if you don't know what the limit is.
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Mr Zulu
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07/26/11 12:48pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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