IAMICHABOD
Sunny So Cal
Senior Member
Joined: 12/12/2011
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
I think the 120,000 number is quite a stretch when you look at the Large National Brands like Cruise America, with the turn over on a 3 year schedule. They started in 1973 and claims to have sold about 25,000.
El Monte started in 1970 and is a smaller company but turns over its fleet every 18 to 24 months as it did in 2007, that is about another 20,000.
They also sell thru their whole sale dealers where they had 1,600 units in their sales fleet in 2010, both Class C and Class A RVs.
The company provides a complete service history along with the original manufacturer’s owner care packet with operating manuals.
That is one reason I bought from them.
Needless to say there are a lot of owners of Ex Rentals out there and most seem to be happy, or we would have heard from them I would think.
* This post was
edited 02/21/14 02:39pm by IAMICHABOD *
2006 TIOGA 26Q CHEVY 6.0 WORKHORSE VORTEC
Former El Monte RV Rental
Retired Teamster Local 692
Buying A Rental Class C
|
LuvMT
Northwest
New Member
Joined: 08/22/2013
View Profile
 Offline
|
Mocoondo wrote:KristinU wrote:Schooner wrote:
One of the rental companies claims to have sold 120,000 former rentals and if there were problems specific to them, it would be showing up.
Very true. Lots of opinions out there on "I'd never buy a previous rental" but few owners, which I believe is why IAMICHABOD started this thread.
10 pages long and I don't recall reading any posts saying they were hosed and wished they hadn't bought one. I'm sure they're out there, but unhappy owners are out there with brand spanking new units as well.
You will generally find that most of the people who talk negatively about retired rental units have never owned one and therefore have no clue about what they speak of.
You will rarely hear someone say, 'I bought this ex-rental unit and really got screwed. I'll never do that again.....'
All very true. Let me first say I am not affiliated with Cruise America in any way. I am just a working American who wanted a newer RV for the summer trips for my family. I put 2000 miles a YEAR on the RV, pulling a boat or a Jeep. We have had ZERO problems. We love that it is only a few years old and thus looks and drives like new still. Ours has 150,000 miles on it. I will not say what we paid but we did talk them down from their already LOW price and considering it was near $60,000 when new I feel we got the best dollar value anywhere. Whenever I hear of someone (a friend of mine included) saying they would never buy a used rental I now feel like they are pretty ignorant and do NOT know what they are talking about. There are dealerships in my area that sell the exact same RV's, but with less miles, for TENS OF THOUSANDS more, and they are pre-owned as well! Even if I were to have to replace the 1)engine, 2)transmission, 3)rear axle, as well as rebuild the frontend (latter of which had just been done on mine including ball joints), I would still be THOUSANDS of dollars ahead of the guy who spent 30 grand or more on his same unit. BUT, the chances of all that happening are slim to none. You see, by the time I am done with this RV, I will have put maybe 20000 miles on it. E series chassis routinely go to 300000 miles without issue. I will have a whopping 170000 miles on it when it is time to get rid of it. I will ask a few thousand dollars and go buy another Cruise America RV. The same guy who spent $35000 on the same unit will have maybe 60000 miles his, and it will be just as rotted as mine. Only I am out a fraction of what he is. Am I worried about the miles? Not in the least. Cruise America will not sell complete junk (if they have a unit like this they just sell it for scrap or part it out). They sell decent to very nice units that all come with warranties. Those of us buying these 5 year old units, and that only use them as "recreation" vehicles and not full-timing, are probably the smartest purchasers out there. That said, if my only purchase was for an RV so I could live and travel in it FULLTIME, I would buy new. After all, it IS your home and starting out with something half used up is not smart. However, if you put so few miles a year on a motor vehicle that mother nature will take its toll before mechanical wear and tear ever will, then used Cruise America units are THEE best value, period. Of course, that is the opinion of someone who finally bought one after buying used RV's off of Craigslist for years. ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/wink.gif "wink") I know there will always be those out there that would not pay one red cent for a used rental ANYTHING. That is fine with me, it keeps costs down!
|
donrebyct
Little Rk
Full Member
Joined: 05/20/2013
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
I'm wondering what type of additional maintenance may be required on a retired rental, especially one of the high mileage units from Cruise America (currently minimum of 120K miles).
I would assume the unit would have new or very good tires, any known problems fixed on the truck and/or camper, etc. But, I'm thinking about things like hoses and serpentine belts. Are these normally replaced by the seller?
I have a 94 Falcon class B on a Dodge with about 90K miles. It runs good, for the most part. But, to prep it for our planned trip to Alaska this summer, I've been advised to change all of the hoses, serpentine belt, give it a complete lube job, and a bunch of other things. This is in addition to stuff already fixed on the truck: new front brakes (after caliper freeze coming down a mountain), new shocks, new tires, and now a new battery. The coach is another story.
I don't want to get into another RV that will nickel and dime me to death before or during my long trip.
Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions.
Don in AR
|
gotsmart
a bit too late though
Senior Member
Joined: 02/20/2012
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
donrebyct wrote:I'm wondering what type of additional maintenance may be required on a retired rental, especially one of the high mileage units from Cruise America (currently minimum of 120K miles).
I would assume the unit would have new or very good tires, any known problems fixed on the truck and/or camper, etc. But, I'm thinking about things like hoses and serpentine belts. Are these normally replaced by the seller? To my knowledge the answer is: if it is a safety issue then it is serviced, otherwise no.
....
Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions.
Don in AR
When I bought my Cruise America rental in 2011 I was told by the salesperson that CA puts new tires on the RV when it is taken out of the rental fleet and put up for sale. My tire are dated 2010.
Expect to do the 100,000 mile maintenance service, and then some. Here is a link to a post of mine the contains several links to the work that I had done on the motorhome. Some of the links include price information.
On 9 May 2013 I had the all 10 spark plugs and all 10 plug boots replaced for about $350 USD. Note: this did not include the coil packs - which are about $75 each. Coil packs only need to be replaced as they fail. Here is a link about the spark plugs.
2005 Cruise America 28R (Four Winds 28R) on a 2004 Ford E450 SD 6.8L V10 4R100
2009 smart fortwo Passion with Roadmaster "Falcon 2" towbar & tail light kit - pictures
|
Mocoondo
Chicago, IL
Senior Member
Joined: 02/23/2010
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
donrebyct wrote:I'm wondering what type of additional maintenance may be required on a retired rental, especially one of the high mileage units from Cruise America (currently minimum of 120K miles).
I would assume the unit would have new or very good tires, any known problems fixed on the truck and/or camper, etc. But, I'm thinking about things like hoses and serpentine belts. Are these normally replaced by the seller?
Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions.
Don in AR
I would just continue on with the manufacturers recommended maintenance schedule and address mechanical issues as they arise. High mileage does not mean prone to defects.
|
|
|
LuvMT
Northwest
New Member
Joined: 08/22/2013
View Profile
Offline
|
When we picked ours up we were provided a 3 page list of the items that were reconditioned/replaced during the refurbishment. I double-checked and it appears accurate. I was also lucky enough to receive the repair order records, showing among other things, a complete frontend rebuild (tie rod ends, ball joints, etc). This had been done just two weeks prior during refurbishment also, and showed $800 worth of work from a Ford dealer. There was nothing wrong with the RV when we got it, and it drove great. There was a complete set of BRAND NEW tires on it also, and they were top name brand, not cheapy knockoffs like car dealers put on. I have yet to find anything wrong with it.
As I do with ALL of my used vehicles that I purchase because I cannot be certain what the previous owner did, I took it in and had ALL fluids and filters changed out. I also did the serpentine belt as it appeared original and it is the last thing you want coming off. Sure, you can carry a spare, but I challenge you to replace one on the side of a dusty road in less than a day minimum. They are a royal pain to get to in the E series to say the least. I have not yet done a "tuneup" as it runs great now and if it gets to a point that it isn't running efficient due to worn plugs/wires etc to a point that it is an issue, you will usually get the check engine light to tell you to start replacing things.
I do not like to brag too much about the deals Cruise seems to give on RV's that just a couple of years ago MSRP'd at 4 times what I paid, because if EVERYONE bought their RV's the deals would not be near as good as they are now. But I do cringe when I see people drive off a dealer lot in the same basic rig as mine but have paid $20000 plus more than I did. When you talk to them they say "at least mine wasn't abused by a bunch of renters, that is why I dished out 10's of thousands more." I always wonder how they know the previous owners of the rigs they bought didn't do the same. And WHAT kind of private party refurbishes the rig and puts all new tires and other parts on it prior to trading it? NONE.
|
donrebyct
Little Rk
Full Member
Joined: 05/20/2013
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
Hi Again,
Would any of you owners take a retired rental class C off the dealer lot and drive to Alaska? I'm wondering if it would be feasible and practical, and if I could have the confidence to do this. I'm thinking about, if I bought one, to fly in with necessary personal items and other supplies, and hit the road to Alaska.
Also, what are your impressions, thoughts, and comments about your dealer? I'm thinking mainly of the big three, Cruise America, El Monte, and Camping World.
It sounds as if most, if not all of you, have confidence in the condition of your vehicles. Maybe my thought to pick up and hit the road would be feasible.
Don
|
Mocoondo
Chicago, IL
Senior Member
Joined: 02/23/2010
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
donrebyct wrote:Hi Again,
Would any of you owners take a retired rental class C off the dealer lot and drive to Alaska?
Why would you be concerned driving to Alaska? It's not like you are going to the moon. Chances are, your RV has already been there.
|
Mich F
Plantation, Fl
Senior Member
Joined: 04/18/2004
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
You could just as likely (perhaps more likely) have problems dropping in to a dealers lot and heading out on a long (or any length) trip with a brand new motor home.
To me it makes more sense picking whatever you want and go on a few short test runs/trips to test everything out, before heading out on any long excursions.
2014 Itasca Spirit 31K Class C
2016 Mazda CX5 on Acme tow dolly- 4 trips ~ 5,800 mi
Now 2017 RWD F150 with a drive shaft disconnect
|
John / Angela
World Travelers.
Senior Member
Joined: 02/18/2003
View Profile
Offline
|
We bought an ex-rental. Seems to me it had around 60 to 80K on it. (Can't remember exactly as it was 7 years ago. It now has 180K and going strong. No real problems. It was nicely equipted but no thermal windows and no awning. We have since added everything from flatscreen to awning, inverter, a whack of solar, aluminum wheels, upgraded the suspension b;ah blah. Peeled all the decals off. Painted the bottom in grey rock guard. I like it naked. ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/smile.gif "smile") Who needs decals. Should be good for another 10 or 12 years.
![[image]](http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3697/9448265340_77b4761f50.jpg)
2003 Revolution 40C Class A. Electric smart car as a Toad on a smart car trailer
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but rather by the moments that take our breath away.
|
|
|
|
