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10-18-2006, 08:25 PM
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#1
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Guest
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Hi All....Another Question re TM's.....
I've been busy lately, so haven't had a whole lot of time to post. I recently joined a subscription site thru Yahoo for Trailmanor owners, and have been reading a slew of emails as they come in. One thing I notice is lots of individuals are looking to buy used versus new.....many say that TM's do not hold their value, etc. Others say that perspective owners have sticker shock when they go to the dealer. First, if one locates a used TM, does the factory warranty transfer? If not, is there any other type of coverage protection? Second, what are the advantages and/or disadvantages to buying used versus new? I know that the dealer price does not necessarily have to be the manufacturer price (I saw the model listed on E-Bay), but my impression is that there seems to be a lot of hulabaloo against buying a new model. Can one compare buying a trailer the same way a car is purchased? Thanks in advance. Hope I didn't unload a mouthful.....
Shirley
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10-18-2006, 08:51 PM
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#2
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Site Sponsor
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Santa Cruz County, CA
Posts: 2,405
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We've only bought one new car in our lives as a married couple (and we're both over 50, married 29 years in February). We recognize the fact that cars, RV's, etc. depreciate A LOT in the first few years that you own them. We were looking to buy a Honda Accord 5 years ago, but we couldn't find a decent used one with low miles, so we bought new for less than what any of the used ones cost that we could find. So, buying new was more economical than buying used.
I never even considered buying a new TM. I just didn't want to spend that much on a trailer when there are other things that we still want to buy, like a tractor (still looking for that, too, just haven't made it a priority yet). If you shop and are willing to drive and wait for a while, you can probably find a good used one. The one we bought was 7 years old when we bought it, and it didn't even look like it had been used more than 10 times (if that). I know we got lucky, but there are good used ones out there. So many people buy them brand new and then they decide that they don't like to camp, someone's health changes suddenly, they want something bigger, etc., etc.
As far as I know, I just re-read my warranty, and it doesn't transfer to new owners. However, my TM model is now 10 years old, so maybe someone with a newer warranty can chime in here.
I really like our older TM and feel that it is built very well, with a lot of attention to detail, using good materials. We have absolutely no regrets, and I think that we could probably sell it right now for very close to what we paid for it three years ago.
If we had money to burn, then yes, it would be great to have a brand new one, so it looked a little newer, and had a few more gizmos, but for the difference in the price, I'm perfectly happy with ours. The insurance is less, the yearly licensing fees are less, and we're just as warm and cozy in ours as someone with a brand new one, and plus, NO PAYMENTS!
__________________
'97 2720 & '01 Chevy Silverado 1500 4x4
2011 & 2017 Prii, 10'x18' & 10'x9' Tents
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10-18-2006, 09:04 PM
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#3
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Guest
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I justified the price for a new TM as:
DW wanted a brand new toilet and wanted the blue color scheme that the local dealer did not stock.
We intend to use it 8+ times per year for at least 10 years. After we retire will will get something bigger and the two kids can fight over it.
I normally keep my cars and trucks for at least 15 years, so buying used doesn't really save me a lot of money.
If you plan on selling it within something substantially less than 10 years then you certainly can save money buy purchasing used.
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10-19-2006, 05:56 PM
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#4
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Guest
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I looked at both new and used. I was leaning towards buying new. I wanted a 3023 or larger. My wife did not want to spend the money for that size and insisted we get a 2720SL. I happened across a used 2005 3124KS for less than I could buy a new 2006 2619 and we bought it. Glad we did, because I got the larger one I wanted. My wife got the living room she wanted. We got the king bed that lets you you go to the bathroom at night without having to crawl over the spouse. The added storage is great also. We still have cabinets with nothing in them.
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10-19-2006, 10:45 PM
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#5
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Guest
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Doug W,
My wife and I had an almost identical experience. The new ones are pretty pricey and I started searchig the forum for used TMs. We found a 2004 3124KS in Texas near where our daughter and son-in-law live. We struck a deal, drove out to Texas from California, bought the trailer, visited our kids and pulled it home. We love the space. Things have a way of working themselves out.
Dan
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10-20-2006, 03:10 AM
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#6
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Guest
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another reason some buy new
One other reason some buy new vice used is the desire to get exactly the options you want.
If you plan on doing a lot of dry camping and want to have the 40Gal potable water storage tank instead of the standard 20 gal you will most likely have to order it that way from the factory although I suppose in some models you could order the tank and back fit it on your own but not sure all of the mounting hardware is accessible any more once the unit if put together.
If you just gotta have the new flat screen TV mounted on the bathroom wall and your significant other insists that you can't have the wires showing doing it yourself becomes very problematic and the factory install meets both criteria.
One of these days I will hopefully be in the postion to get something the way I want it and not care about the price but until then I can be happy for those who can.
Bill
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10-20-2006, 12:01 PM
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#7
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Guest
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We just figured if we were going to keep it forever, we wanted a brand new, spotlessly clean unit. In the middle of all this, we thought about going to a 5th wheel and then reconsidered, figuring that as we get older we would rather continue to tow something so easy and economical. So, until we get a new tow vehicle, maybe in 2008, our beloved TM is covered in our driveway and we gaze longingly at it through the kitchen window. In the meantime, we are building up equity in it and reading this forum and brainstorming all the places we will see and things we will do when we retire. Well, I really got off the topic -- sorry! But, we got everything we wanted in our brand new TM and are glad we made that choice. Queeniereads aka Judi
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