RV shopping can be fun…and confusing. Here are my tops tips!
1. Get it inspected.
Seriously! Whether you’re thinking of buying from a dealer or a private owner, you need to get your prospective RV inspected!
This is more than a walk-through. This is a professional looking over the RV, top to bottom. Here’s an overview from RV Safety Inspection:
“Why get a RV Inspection? The inspection will inform you about what functions and how safe the RV is for yourself or family. If you have ever purchased a house, you get an inspection to ensure its safe and functions properly. A RV is basically a house on wheels and has very similar systems running like a house does. So get the RV inspected too.
What gets inspected? There are up to 160 points to each level of inspection. The Safety Inspection covers the basic items for safety and a few systems in the RV to evaluate their current state of function. The Essential Inspection includes the Safety Inspections and covers the most basic systems and their function. The Essential Plus Inspection includes the Safety and Essential Inspections covering all the systems in the RV. The Premier Inspection includes all inspection levels and includes the Fluid Analysis for the running systems.
When to get a RV Inspection? Most RV inspections are for used RV’s prior to purchase from a private seller or a dealer. However a new unit needs to be inspected too. A dealer may offer this and show you some functions during a walkthrough, but it’s important you know everything functions as it should. You can also get a inspection for a unit you own and want to sell as an incentive to the buyers that you ensure the unit functions.”
2. Pay attention to the buying process.
Holy crap! I so wish I would have known this before buying 2 RVs!
The last RV we bought, we signed some type of loan that put all the interest over the lifetime of the loan right UP FRONT. This means we have 10 years of interest ALREADY on our loan from the very first payment.
Now this is fine, if you are going to make minimum payments and expect it to take you 10 years. But it’s not fine if you want to pay off your loan more quickly.
We still have to pay the interest.
Pay attention. Ask questions. Walk away if there is something that makes you uncomfortable.
3. Don’t go over your budget.
Each year, they are making hundreds of thousands of new RVS. And RVs have been produced like mad for decades. You do not have to go over budget to make your RV dreams come true.
There are puh-lenty out there.
For us, our magic number was $50k.
We found a new unit that we loved, but could never find a truck we were comfortable with to tow it…for under that 50k.
But don’t feel too bad. We got our current unit and have been in it for almost 2 years. WINNING!
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Tips brought to you by personal experience and the book below!
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Check out Day 3- Are We There Yet? Happy Families and RVing Can Mix Well!
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