Good deals on repo MH and 5th wheels Options

[Jay Carter]

Good deals can be had on repo. MHs and 5th wheels at crankyape.com The office in Georgetown Tx. is very strict and will not let you test drive or even extend the slides. However, I learned about this sight through a fellow camper who just purchased a 06 Fleetwood 40' DP. with 6K miles VERY CHEAP.

I don't work for this Comp., just giving every one a heads up that they might be able to get a "good deal" from there.

[JUGGERNAUT]

How deep was the water they sat in? Since the company won't even let you open a slide???

[Jay Carter]

How deep was the water they sat in? Since the company won't even let you open a slide???

The ones I looked at didn't show that type of damage. I assume if they were a total loss, they would have a salvage title. They did have cycles that are listed is Ins. "total loss".

[2230]

I have been watching Crankyape for years. They have storage places all over west of the Mississippi. I have bid on a few units but seems the dealers beat me out for what I wanted to pay. Most of there units are bank repo's although some look like they have been through the war.
I have a 2002 Titianum which we bought off ebay for $8500.00. So there are other good deals out there also. I like to watch Crankyape to see what units are going for.

This post has been edited by 2230: Oct 6 2009, 04:33 AM

[doglovers]

Last year my wife bought our 34' 1996 Bounder on CrankyApe for $6,500. It had 29,000 miles, satellite, levelers, and more. Everything worked! Just needed tires and house batteries. We are on our second cross-country trip. Deals are out there, and they let us go over the rig without restrictions. Steve

[Naysmitj]

Last year my wife bought our 34' 1996 Bounder on CrankyApe for $6,500. It had 29,000 miles, satellite, levelers, and more. Everything worked! Just needed tires and house batteries. We are on our second cross-country trip. Deals are out there, and they let us go over the rig without restrictions. Steve

When you said that they let you "go over the rig without restrictions", was that before or after you had won the bid?
What recourse do you have if you get there and find that the rv your bid won on is a pice of junk and not worth the price bid?

Cheers

[doglovers]

When you said that they let you "go over the rig without restrictions", was that before or after you had won the bid?
What recourse do you have if you get there and find that the rv your bid won on is a pice of junk and not worth the price bid?

Cheers

Before. All sales are final. We had a little luck, but we did get a chance to give the rig a good inspection prior to bidding. Steve

[Kirk]

. is very strict and will not let you test drive or even extend the slides.

So what happens when you buy one of these bargains and then find that the slides don't extend, or the thing can't move its self?

[HBarlow]

The ones I looked at didn't show that type of damage. I assume if they were a total loss, they would have a salvage title. They did have cycles that are listed is Ins. "total loss".

That assumption could turn out to be extremely costly. Salvage titles are sometimes issued when an insurance company buys a damaged unit from the insured party but not all states require salvage titles. I could be wrong but I don't think a lender has an obligation to do anything other than offer a repossessed unit for sale at auction.

A safe assumption to make would, in my opinion, be "buyer beware."

I'm sure it is possible to find a nice unit at an attractive price but a purchase could turn out to be a very expensive mistake. Before a unit was ultimately repossessed by a lender it could be subjected to neglect, abuse, vandalism, even theft of accessories and important components over a several month period leading up to the eventual loss of possession by the previous owner.

I wouldn't consider bidding on a unit I couldn't inspect carefully. The average banker is probably clueless about recreational vehicles and simply wants to get rid of it for cash.

[Ropeshaft]

I know of one excellent unit that went through a Cranky Ape auction. DeMartini RV in CA got it for $174,000. They offered it to me for $200,000 and I was very interested at that price but did not end up buying it. I'm not sure what DeMartini had to do to it after they bought it but I didn't see any problems with it when I viewed it. DeMartini did advertise it as a bank repo and the way I found out that it went through Cranky Ape was by putting the ID# into Google. My point is there is probably some good stuff and some junk that goes through Cranky Ape. In viewing Cranky Ape's website it does appear they make an effort to point out the flaws that they are aware of.

[Tony & Pamela]

Once upon a time long long ago when I was in the auto body trade, I rebuilt several vehicle that were total losses. Talk about buyer beware. I would make an educated estimate of the cost to repair, figure what my time was worth and then add 20% to the repair cost. With that number I would have to be able to sell the vehicle below wholesale and make the money I thought I should receive.

When buying any vehicle at an auction, figure you will be making repairs. If you worry about slides, find out what it would cost to repair in a worst case situation and put that figure in the mix. Do the same with anyother system(s).

For those who would be nervous about purchasing under that situation stay away from auctions.

By the way, I made out on most of the vehicles I repaired. I did have one however, that took me to school. That experience did not stop me from continuing to purchase totals, only more cautious.

Tony

[onemoreday]

I think I live out on the edge on most things however I would never buy a repoed unit. I think if the unit was repoed because the owner couldn't afford it then they could not afford to maintain it either. Someone may get a good deal but I would rather pay a few k more on a unit and get a history and know the owner was reasonably well off. For me there's lots of downside and very little upside.
I know it's horrendous but I've seen rigs with 50,000 miles on them that have never seen an oil change or lube job.

[DeJae]

I have a 2002 Titianum which we bought off ebay for $8500.00. So there are other good deals out there also. I like to watch Crankyape to see what units are going for.

I still don't get this part.....how does one buy a $8500 RV off of ebay sight unseen? How do you know it is a good deal. How do you know or don't know if NOTHING AT ALL WORKS?

Even paying through Paypal. There is a limit that they will give you on guarantee.

What am I missing here?

[cc]

Re-eBay: Ask the right questions (to owner/consignment cen, etc) by e-mail. Their e-mail response(s) (now in writing) is about as good a warranty as one can get. [e.g. our MH bought on e-Bay on 2-05]

[sandsys]

Sometimes you can get an RV tech to go check them out for you if all the pictures and written answers sound good. It costs a little but can save a lot if it keeps you from buying the wrong one. How much is your peace of mind worth?

Linda Sand

This post has been edited by sandsys: Nov 1 2009, 10:16 PM

[vermontchris]

I bought my MH on eBay and never paid a cent until I went and checked it out. Not only did me and the owner have numerous emails, I also googled him to check out his story & make sure he was legit, but we talked many times on the phone. We reached a gentlemen's agreement on price, I bought a one way ticket from VT to NJ and after a thorough check out gave him a bank check and drove it home. Six years later I am still driving it!

[BrianT]

I've bought several vehicles on ebay, including two rvs. That doesn't mean I paid for them with ebay, or paypal or any other online money exchange.

I did, however, check them out as best I could to see that they were real places and real people before giving them a small deposit (a few hundred dollars) of good faith money to basically say, "if you have what you say you have, I want it".

I showed up with a cashiers check for the balance, did my inspections (sometimes taking several hours), and when I was satisfied, we completed the transaction. So far, I've never walked away, but have always been prepared to do so.

Let's see... Car in LA, Truck in TX, car in FL, rv#1 in TN, rv#2 (which we're living in) in MO. Incidentally, the one we're living in right now, we checked out on a trip back home to SD. I had seen it for sale on ebay and it didn't sell. Several months later, I saw it again on ebay. Didn't sell. Finally, I called them and asked what they'd take. It was about half the price of another used one, same make & model, that I'd been watching. This was a "demonstrator" that was obviously never sold to an end user, only shuffled off to the next dealer. It still has some of it's stickers in various places advertising it's features.

Ebay is the starting point, but for me, NEVER the complete transaction... (Well, only once, for a cheap beater that only cost a few hundred bucks and was in the next town away from us... an old Ford Bronco that the son used for a battering ram for a few years until he totaled it.)

I have no issue with ebay, but you gotta use you head for something other than a hat rack if you buy vehicles there.

Brian

[Carol & Einstein]

I bought my RV on Ebay 4 years ago. Didn't pay for it until I was there in person. It was from a private party.