I'm in the market for a 16' used scamp with the side dinette and shower / toilet. People talk about finding one that is well maintained, what does that mean? Also, it seems that keeping it covered when not in use is advisable, or parking it under an awning, or storing in a garage. What if it is not from the rust belt and was left out in the elements, say California or Arizona? What about those rivets, do they need to be regularly checked? How should the ideal seller respond when asked to tell you if the vehicle has been well maintained? What about one that has had a dog as one of its campers?
Of course I'd like to buy new but my budget can't afford that, so used it will be. And, I don't want to travel further than about 750 miles to buy the egg.
As you can see there are lots of questions to answer, points to ponder. I'd love to hear your experiences and opinions on this.
Steve
I hope that you're tracking the 2005 16' layout #6 on E-bay, expiring at 2:05pm CST, Feb 4. From the description, it's loaded with everything that I'd want. Bad news for me - it's in Oaija CA and I'm in MN. Bid is at $8,200, 39 bidders, reserve not met.
MarilynB
Yes, I have and I've talked to the lady on the phone. We just don't see eye to eye on things. A few days ago she said her reserve was $12,900. I told her I didn't think she could get that much for it and offered to drive to Ojai (200 miles one way) to check the trailer. I told her if I liked it the highest I would pay would be $11,000. The auction closed at $10,500 today and we talked again. She will rerun the aucton with the same reserve through a company called National Trailer in Nebraska.
Her and her husband are in their 80's and they are very set on $12,900. I've talked to her for about an hour altogether and there are some concerns that I have: She doesn't know about her trailers maintenance, the A/C, the heater, and, the refrigerator have not been run in four years, so they need to be serviced. They would boondock and put ice in the refrig. She says the tires and battery are fine, but I wouldn't bet on it. Maybe she'll come down, I just don't know; but, presently she refuses my offer of $11,000. I'll keep looking for a trailer or maybe just buy a new one from Scamp. Presently my wife is willing to go along with buying a new one. Still though I'd love to get a good buy on a nice one and hold not deplete our savings account.
Steve, What you're experiencing is pretty much what I went through last summer when I was shopping. There seems to be a scarcity of 'eggs' here in the Northeast US.
Personally, I wouldn't want something that hadn't had things used in 4 years unless I was getting a bargain price. Although we don't have a molded fiberglass and are looking, we have 8 other RVs of different types. Appliances are expensive to replace or repair so I would figure that into my budget. Tires are only considered "fine" when less than 6 or 7 years old. Also, while a refrigerator or A/C can appear to be working, unless you use a thermometer to take the temps, you don't know what the real situation is.
Cathy
Got a nice Checklist / Eva;iatopm form for a used Fiberglass RV in a PM from a forum member, awesome and thank you. I'd forgotten the lifespan length on servicable tires so that too is a good reminder to me. Patience is now the key to success.
I am certainly a newbee to this process of buying a used RV, as I've never done it before! So all help is appreciated.
DW and I talked this morning and we both are now still wanting to sustain the effort of buying used. I'll soon post a Wanted listing in the classified section here and on Fiberglass RVs.
Happy Travels to all,
Steve
Although a long shot, don't rule out dealers by checking rvtrader and rvt online since every once in awhile, I have seen units come up but they go pretty quickly. Don't forget that if it sounds to good to be true, it probably isn't since there are constant scams running on Scamps and Casitas with prices generally $2,000 to $3,500 or there abouts and Greg does a good job of posting those on the molded fiberglass 4 sale site. I do think that maybe the "Wanted" ads would be useful since that lets someone contact you rather than when they post an ad and get lots of calls and emails from people that are more "fishing" than serious. Again, good luck!
I dread having to advertise our pop-up since everyone and their cat will want it for 25% of what it is worth, they'll call and say they are coming and they won't................
Cathy
I'm in the same pickle - on a set budget looking for a good used. I live within three hours of the Scamp factory and talked with them today. They rarely get used in as trade-ins because the owners can sell higher on the open market. If I were to order tomorrow (which I can't), the Scamp wouldn't be ready until mid-May. Woe is me!
MarilynB
Another approach, we have had people stop and ask if we wanted to sell our RVs, the pop-up and the travel trailer. With the TT, it was sitting parked and they would come to the door. With the pop-up, the neighbor said he would like to know if we decided to sell it while we were still moving into the house and another man stopped when we were hooked up headed out for a weekend to see if we wanted to sell. So, people can get pretty bold when there isn't a lot available in an area.
I would check all those free newspaper classified and here, the RV park on the edge of town sometimes has 2 or 3 units of different types out front or something on the bulletin board. Shake the bushes? If you have cash, that is well worth mentioning when trying to make a deal with an individual.
Cathy
I just put a want ad on fiberglass-rv-4sale.com and craigslist-MN. Hopefully that'll shake something out of the woods. My ad is asking for a 13' w/bathroom or 16' layout #4.
The Scamp sales guy told me that they don't attend the big camping shows (one next weekend) because they don't need to advertise and that a camper ordered today wouldn't be ready for pick-up until mid-May. I'm in an egg drought here!
MarilynB
Got my fingers crossed for you!
Cathy
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