Top Ten Mistakes RV Buyers Make

The following is Texas Trader's list of the ten most common mistakes we find buyers making when considering the purchase of an RV. Buying an RV represents a big expense for most people. Be smart. Take your time. Always make sure that you are getting the very best RV for your particular needs.

#10 - Thinking of RV Ownership as an Investment

For many owners, purchase of an RV is one of the largest expenses that will be incurred in a lifetime. Some buyers talk themselves into buying an RV as a means of saving money. Although there may be a few financial and tax advantages to RV ownership, buying an RV is definitely not an investment. Investments are stocks, bonds, IRAs, and perhaps conventional home ownership.

Buying an RV is a choice in lifestyle. It can be terrific fun. But many RV owners could travel more cheaply by car and motel. Only rarely will an RV be used often enough to beat the economics of renting a unit for occasional use. For most buyers of new RVs, factoring in depreciation will often alter the economic picture substantially. Most new RVs values depreciate over 20% the first year alone. However, for those who buy older RVs which have been well maintained, the price of entry may not be too steep. But again, as far as investments go,  you could easily do much better. RVing is a lifestyle choice. Leave the 401K alone!

#9 - "Saving" Money on an Unpopular RV

Buyers have become increasingly savvy about pricing and most know that no one pays the MSRP or average retail for an RV. However, too many buyers purchase RVs that are unpopular in order to save a few dollars. RVs that have been on the dealer's lot for months are often there for a reason. No one wants them! Right now, RVs with slide-outs are so much more popular than RVs without slides that buying anything else requires serious consideration prior to negotiation.

The same thing goes for small diesels and oversized gas pullers. Most buyers don't want them. Purchasing an unpopular RV may be the right move for a buyer who finds an RV they love and hopes to keep it forever at the right price. For those who realize that owners turn over their RVs often, buying an RV with "lot rot" is like buying into a bear market. Currently, engine sizes are increasing along with weight ratings. Double slides are common and triple slides will soon become routine. Saving at the time of purchase and losing big on the resale is bad economics. There is a vast difference between used and out-dated in the resale market!

#8 - Expecting to Get the Money Spent on Options Back at Resale

With the notable exception of slide-outs, adding options to an RV or purchasing an extended warranty usually adds little to the resale value of an RV. While these things may very well make resale faster when it comes time to sell, the return per dollar invested is very small and may not increase the selling price at all. This is especially true of options, which improve the power or handling of an RV.

Aftermarket products may make life more enjoyable for many buyers. However, some have never enjoyed much of a following and will be little more than an afterthought for the next owner. Just as with RVs, aftermarket products are constantly being improved and become outdated just as rapidly. The best reason to buy is for the convenience and pleasure that you get out of it.

#7 - Buying the Wrong Chassis or Drivetrain for the Intended Use

Unless you intend to put very few miles on an RV, it is usually best to shop the chassis first, then shop the RV. Many buyers assume that handling and power are adequate for an RV simply because someone put a box on top of two rails. However, complaints regarding handling and power dramatically outweigh complaints on the chassis or drivetrain.

The reasons for this relationship are simple. Overloaded chassis can do frightening things in the wind or when passed by trucks. RVs with tag axles can subject their drivetrains to higher degrees of stress than those for which their manufacturer intended them. Transmissions, the most common components to fail, often do so from operating at the outer limits of their ratings for too much of their duty cycle. Some manufacturers use shorter wheelbase chassis with lower weight ratings to save money. If the miles spent behind the wheel are low, the chassis or drivetrain is a trivial consideration. For those that cover distance, it should be a deciding factor in ownership.

#6 - Expecting The Dealer To Service The Chassis or Drivetrain

Only a few RV dealers have the technicians and equipment to work on the chassis and drivetrains of RVs. Most auto dealers do not have the space or desire to work on them either. Cummins and Caterpillar service centers will work on the engines, but most will not work on Allison transmissions. Very few truck stops will let RVs in the door. If they do, there is generally a surcharge for working on an RV. The going rate is currently $100 per hour or more in many locales.

If this doesn't sound like the way it works with your car, you're right. It's as if you had to have the engine of your Honda worked on at one service center, the transmission at another, the body at another, and so on. Of course it is possible to find full-service centers, but rather than driving across town as most folks are used to doing with their car, it is common to have to drive a hundred miles or more to have your RV serviced. This can be time consuming and is inconvenient. Smart shoppers ask around about local service facilities before the sale. It saves them unpleasant surprises after the sale.

#5 - Relying Only on a Salesperson's Advice for Choice of RV

It's no big secret, a salesperson's primary role is to make money for the dealership. No matter how hard the industry pushes to transform this role to that of "sales consultant," the salesperson's objective will always be to sell a potential buyer something the dealer has on the lot. A respectable salesperson will attempt to sell an RV based on the buyer's needs rather than price.  However, few salespeople will admit that there may be a better RV for the potential buyer down the road. It is simply not in the salesperson's best interest to do so.  He or she has to make a living.

Many buyers try to learn everything about and purchase an RV at the same time. This is almost always a mistake. At the very least, attempting two tasks at the same time increases the complexity of buying. The best time to learn about RVs is well before sitting down to negotiate price. Buyers who complain that they have been taken advantage of have seldom taken the time to visit dealerships, examine several RVs first hand, and to avail themselves to multiple sources of information before the sale.

#4 - Buying Someone Else's Favorite RV

RVs are as individual a choice as homes and automobiles. Research is invaluable to rule out the most problematic models or dealerships. However, simply buying an RV because a friend or other resource has had good luck with it does not necessarily mean that the buyer of its duplicate will have the same good luck.

RVs are constructed in much smaller volumes than automobiles. As a result, quality control can vary considerably. Selecting an RV based solely upon any one person's rating or opinion without a careful inspection of the individual RV is a mistake.

#3 - Believing that Everything about RVs Is on the Internet

This may be true some day, but certainly not yet. Most websites are poorly maintained and seldom updated. Presently, the industry notes that only 2% of purchases are made via the Internet. Given poor design and difficulty in obtaining information from most dealers' websites, this figure is not surprising. With the failure to post and update inventory or make timely responses to e-mail, many websites serve only as wasteful overhead expenses.

#2 - Choosing an RV Based Solely on Price

Unfortunately, many new buyers choose a dealer and an RV based primarily on price. While it is true that there are a few dollars that can be saved by a broad search, failure to give consideration to future needs for service can spell disaster down the road.

While high volume dealerships with dozens of service bays look impressive, service after the sale is virtually non-existent at some of these facilities. The time to plan for service is before buying an RV. Discovering that a typical wait for service is 2-3 months at some of the largest dealerships may make the savings at the time of purchase seem much less impressive.

#1 - Not Seeing Things Work Before Taking Delivery

When a technician inspects an RV for delivery, there is a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time. It is not surprising that some things can sometimes be overlooked. Many buyers simply assume that everything has been taken care of when they pick up an RV. This gives them the opportunity to experience frustration firsthand a few hundred miles down the road. Buyers who stay at dealer-provided facilities the night after the purchase to work the bugs out report much higher rates of satisfaction than buyers who head off into the sunset learning as they go.

Do not take delivery of an RV unless all the major systems and appliances are working properly. When you make your pre-delivery inspection, get everything noted in writing that doesn't work. Get a written promise signed by the sales manager noting everything that will be repaired by the dealership. Always assume that nothing works unless you see it with your own eyes.