Are Older Low Mileage RVs A Good Buy?

by FRANK M DEPAUL
(LISLE ILL)

I HAVE SEEN C CLASS RV 1998 TO 2005 WITH LOW MILEAGE SOME AS LOW AS 20,000 MILES COULD THESE BE GOOD BUY'S OR SHOULD I STAY AWAY FROM THESE OLDIES JUST BECAUSE OF AGE.

ANSWER Greetings Frank, First let me thank you for submitting your question through our Free Ask An RV Question Page.

The answer to your question is not as simple as a Yes or No. Older RVs can be an excellent buy, or they can turn into your worst nightmare after you purchase them.

There are a lot of factors to consider when buying an older RV. One of the main ones is; how well was the RV maintained by it's current owner. Just because an RV only has only 20,000 miles on it does not mean that it has not had extraordinary wear and tear on it.

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The first thing to remember about buying a used RV, especially from a private seller is that you are buying it AS-IS. Once you own that RV, the seller is not legally obligated to fix anything. If you drive that RV for 5 minutes and the engine seizes up, you will be responsible for all the cost of the repairs.

The phrase to remember when buying a Used RV is "BUYER BEWARE". Here is a different phrase I would like to throw in "BUYER BE PREPARED". You can alleviate much of the risk of buying a used RV by performing a pre-purchase inspection.

There are companies that you can hire that will actually come out and do a thorough inspection of the RV for you. Once they complete this inspection you will be provided with a report that will tell you what problems; if any there are with the RV.


Remember, you are the one that will be paying for this inspection. The money you spend on this inspection will be well worth it and could save you a lot more money in the future if the inspector finds a major problem on the RV you are considering buying.

If you feel comfortable performing the inspection or if you have a friend that is very knowledgeable about RVs, you can save money by performing the inspection yourself.

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The bottom line is that you should not buy a used RV from a private seller until a used RV Inspection is performed.

We feel so strongly about these inspections that we have dedicated a whole section of our website to Used RV Inspections. I would suggest that you click on the links below and review the information we have provided.
Used RV Inspection, Is It Important?

Section 1: is for motorized and non motorized RVs.  It covers the guidelines for reviewing important documents about the RV, the inspection of the interior and exterior of the RV.

Section 2: is for motorized RVs and covers the guidelines for inspection of the engine and the guidelines on what to look for during a road test of the RV.

Hopefully, this will help you better determine if the Used RV you are looking at is a "Great Deal" or "Bad Deal".

If any of our visitors, would like to put in their 2 cents, they can click on the add comments link at the end of this page.

I wish you the best of luck on your RV search and Happy RVing.

RVing Al

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