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Debating whether to drive the 5 1/2 hours


BR46

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Found a motorhome that I'm interested in buying but.....it's on the other side of the pond. It's a few years older than I would like but it's low miles. It has almost everything that we are looking for in a motorhome but unless I'm driving that trip with the cash in hand and not knowing if it's a shure thing it would be a lot of running back and forth. 

How far would you go just to look at a vehicle?

Wo46 suggested that we take bicycles across on the ferry and drive the motorhome back. 

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3 minutes ago, BR46 said:

Found a motorhome that I'm interested in buying but.....it's on the other side of the pond. It's a few years older than I would like but it's low miles. It has almost everything that we are looking for in a motorhome but unless I'm driving that trip with the cash in hand and not knowing if it's a shure thing it would be a lot of running back and forth. 

How far would you go just to look at a vehicle?

Wo46 suggested that we take bicycles across on the ferry and drive the motorhome back. 

It might be tough to time this market, but I bet the market swings back towards buyers soon.  If it isn't what you want - especially at the price - I'd cautiously suggest holding out for the one you want.  But for that RV, does age matter much or are the features a bigger deal?  Ie older but low miles might not matter especially if newer but higher mileage or fewer features is the alternative. 

But, as far as a "road trip that can also be a scouting trip", that's not so bad.  If you DON'T buy, though, the bikes might not be a great idea.

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2 minutes ago, BR46 said:

It's more the features and layout than age. Our current motorhome has a few issues and we are still planning on going to Monterey California next month. 

You can fix most mechanical issues, right?  If the price is right and the features what you want, it seems reasonable.  I think prices will come down and inventory will go up, but that doesn't mean a better RV will come available (and you will be aware that it does).

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Shoot 5 1/2 hours is only 20 miles away in SoCal! 😂

Seriously though I don’t think I’d go that far for a motor home unless there were just nothing available within a 2 hour drive.

When I bought my Mazda I had to go about 30 minutes away even though there were several Mazda dealers closer. It was worth it to me but I wouldn’t have driven much farther to save a few grand. 

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13 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

You can fix most mechanical issues, right?  If the price is right and the features what you want, it seems reasonable.  I think prices will come down and inventory will go up, but that doesn't mean a better RV will come available (and you will be aware that it does).

We ran this motorhome up to 198,000 miles and it seems like every trip that we take something happens. 

I told Wo46 that when we go to California that we are going to bring the title along because we might have to rent a U-Haul for the drive home. 

 

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1 hour ago, BR46 said:

Found a motorhome that I'm interested in buying but.....it's on the other side of the pond. It's a few years older than I would like but it's low miles. It has almost everything that we are looking for in a motorhome but unless I'm driving that trip with the cash in hand and not knowing if it's a shure thing it would be a lot of running back and forth. 

How far would you go just to look at a vehicle?

Wo46 suggested that we take bicycles across on the ferry and drive the motorhome back. 

You should listen to her.  She knows what she is talking about.

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14 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

Shoot 5 1/2 hours is only 20 miles away in SoCal! 😂

Seriously though I don’t think I’d go that far for a motor home unless there were just nothing available within a 2 hour drive.

When I bought my Mazda I had to go about 30 minutes away even though there were several Mazda dealers closer. It was worth it to me but I wouldn’t have driven much farther to save a few grand. 

Yep.  Or about a quarter of the  way across the state in Texas

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It would depend on how much I wanted the motorhome and how good the price is.

My BiL talked a friend into dropping his $1200 price in half for a nice trailer with a potty, sleeps four, sink and water, stove and seats.  It's one of those that folds down into a low, rectangular deal you hitch to a truck and then you wind it open when you want to set it up.  He's got a 13" TV in it.

He spent several hundred, mostly on new tires, to get it into decent shape and often uses it for one-two day fishing trips, so it's been well worth it.

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37 minutes ago, smudge said:

I say do it. What else ya got to do, ya retired bastard. 

Hell, I buy my trucks from a dealership in Grand Rapids...6 hours away. 

The motorhome is from a private seller in Grand Rapids and I would like to see it before I would buy it. 

It would probably be easier if we were buying it thru a dealership then a private party. 

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16 hours ago, BR46 said:

Found a motorhome that I'm interested in buying but.....it's on the other side of the pond. It's a few years older than I would like but it's low miles. It has almost everything that we are looking for in a motorhome but unless I'm driving that trip with the cash in hand and not knowing if it's a shure thing it would be a lot of running back and forth. 

How far would you go just to look at a vehicle?

Wo46 suggested that we take bicycles across on the ferry and drive the motorhome back. 

I have always thought that it would be a super dope thing to buy a car sight unseen off the facebooks or ebay and the fly out and drive home.  Preferably in Montana or someplace scenic that you have to drive a few days to get home. 

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4 hours ago, Parr8hed said:

I have always thought that it would be a super dope thing to buy a car sight unseen off the facebooks or ebay and the fly out and drive home.  Preferably in Montana or someplace scenic that you have to drive a few days to get home. 

I think my neighbor thought that too :D  He bought a 90s M3 off eBay (from NJ, maybe), and picked it up and drove it home.  I was outside when he arrived grinning ear to ear.  Over the next few months, the grin was replaced by a grimace, but I think, in the end, eBay took his side and he was able to get his money back.

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54 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

I think my neighbor thought that too :D  He bought a 90s M3 off eBay (from NJ, maybe), and picked it up and drove it home.  I was outside when he arrived grinning ear to ear.  Over the next few months, the grin was replaced by a grimace, but I think, in the end, eBay took his side and he was able to get his money back.

Yea, always a chance you take.  

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