Known issues for 2007 Newmar Ventana

Mainuh · May 12, 2015

Hey gang,

Retiring early in Jauary 2016 and we've have been planning to buy a used class A DP probably early 2016 and FT by fall. Living in Maine, there's no decent dealers of class A within 100 miles so hard to look for decent used class A's. We made a trip to AZ in march rented an RV and looked at many units out there and I figured that's what we'll end up doing next Feb or so. But last weekend, low and behold here's a 2007 Newmar Ventana 3935, 330HP Cummins in front of a local garage with a for sale sign on it (5 miles from my house!). The woman is in SC, (supposedly coming north within the next week) her husband died unexpectedly, and her brother (Bob) lives up here and showed it to me at the garage (the garage has no interest in the sale, only a friend of the Bob allowing him to park there for the exposure). I had kind of been looking at the Dutch Star or Kountry Star in the used Newmar line for the side radiator, HP and perhaps amenities. Also considering the Tiffin Phaeton or bus and perhaps Monaco. So I hadn't been looking too much at the Ventana. So I got to see it once with the Bob showing it. He had to pull it up to the garage and plug in as there wasn't enough in the batteries to run the slides since it had been sitting (not sure that's good). I went over again with the wife when the slides were out so she could see the floor plan. Opposing slides in the living area are nice, seems like you could square dance in there. But a few things popped up that make me very nervous. They had said it was re-painted by Newmar, but further conversation with Bob revealed the roof had been replaced and the wall skin, which must have necessitated the repainting. This says "water damage" to me and I have to wonder if it got into the floors or anything else may have been damaged and not surfaced yet. The electric stairs would not deploy, and supposedly had just been fixed by Lazy Days in Fla. A new motor is supposed to be coming to fix them. They apparently had a cat who liked to sit on the right shoulder of the driver and sometimes left shoulder of passenger so the otherwise pristine leather is badly clawed in those areas and would need to be recovered. (And NO it doesn't smell like cat!) In the rear battery slide out, the batteries look fairly new, but there's a lot of chalky corrosion on the sides and bottom of the tray (why wouldn't you clean that up when you replaced them?). The engine and generator both sound ok and Gen only has 58 hours. For some reason, the original leveling jacks were replaced with an Atwood system and looking in at the one behind the right front wheel, there seems to be some fluid weeping on it. There are a few things in the basement that come with it and a blue ox tow bar and brake mechanism for toad, wheel covers, some hoses and washing supplies and other small miscellaneous items. This unit as just under 58K miles. Slide seals look good.

I did get a copy of the original delivery/MSRP sheet with all the options listed and when I plug that all in to NADA, I get $104,600 Avg retail and $86,800 low retail. Bob says she wants $98K and is pretty firm on that. But my thoughts on that is dealer retail usually includes a 30 day warranty where you could go stay at a nearby campground, try everything out for a week or two and go back with a little punch list of items for them to resolve if there were any issues. But buying private like this, it's "as is where is" and anything that happens after I drive it off is my problem (and my wallet). I'd be inclined to offer $80K, maybe $85K but thinking if she's really firm on price she may just be insulted as this is undoubtedly an emotional sale given the circumstance. I'm also not sure how good her technical knowledge of the rig is and if she'd even be able to show me all the features and how to run everything as perhaps her husband did most of the setup and breakdown. She had the rig driven up here from Lazy Days in Fla and paid a driver to do it... Not sure why she didn't just sell it down there. To compare with this one, on RVT there's an 07 Ventana 3933 dealer listing with 33K, MCD upgrade, new batteries and tires for $99,900 asking, 08 Ventana 55K 350HP, 8K gen, 2 piece W/D for $99,900 (dealer), and an 06 Kountry Star 34K, 350HP for $89,900 (AZ dealer).

I searched on Newmar Ventana roof problems and recalls but didn't find too much. Anyone have any thoughts or relevant info, I'd be interested to hear. My gut right now says "walk away". It's certainly not a "beater" and has been cared for, but enough little issues to make me very nervous. I saved some pics of it here.

Zulu · May 12, 2015

The repainting could have been bad fiberglass sidewalls. Plus, Ventana is the bottom of the Newmar DP food chain, and I also don't care for Kountry Stars, but that's me.

You'd be better served by going to a Newmar-only forum, like the Yahoo Groups.

IMHO, stick with your original preferences -- Dutch Star or the one I don't like.

2gypsies · May 13, 2015

iRV2.com also has a very active Newmar group.

Mainuh · May 13, 2015

iRV2.com also has a very active Newmar group.

I posted in there as well, thanks.

Kirk W · May 13, 2015

While I'm not familiar with that particular model of Newmar coach, they have an excellent reputation but any used RV needs to be professionally inspected to be sure what it is now. After 8 years, even the very best constructed RV could be a problem due to abuse or neglect so do not overlook that. The other thing that I'd point out is that no dealer will ever consider the optional equipment in the evaluation of what they give for trade-in on a used RV. While the added options may well cause an RV to sell better than if ignored, you need to go back to NADA and run the price without any options and look at it again. You may have inflated it far too much.

Mariner · May 13, 2015

Trust your gut. The last thing you want to happen is the shoulda, woulda, coulda syndrome to rear it's ugly head. There are so many great used units available to jump at one just because it's close to home. I also agree that you should look at the Dutch Stars. Some Phaeton years had a major wet bay problem, but if it's been fixed it would be another one to look at. AND MAINTENENCE records are paramount. It doesn't matter what coach it is, if it hasn't been taken care of, all you'll end up with is a money pit. And AZ. is a pretty good place to look, but FL. is too, along with TX. Just start surfing the different web sites. www.pplmotorhomes.com is a good one to see motorhomes, what's being asked for them, and what they've actually sold for. The search can be frustrating but also well worth while.

Jimalberta · May 13, 2015

No way I would buy this unit...too many known issues and you dont know about otheres that WILL show up once you own it. I would look for a unit from the desert.....no rust , no water issues.

Mainuh · May 13, 2015

While I'm not familiar with that particular model of Newmar coach, they have an excellent reputation but any used RV needs to be professionally inspected to be sure what it is now. After 8 years, even the very best constructed RV could be a problem due to abuse or neglect so do not overlook that. The other thing that I'd point out is that no dealer will ever consider the optional equipment in the evaluation of what they give for trade-in on a used RV. While the added options may well cause an RV to sell better than if ignored, you need to go back to NADA and run the price without any options and look at it again. You may have inflated it far too much.

Hi Kirk,

Good point on the trade value. Although her plan is to sell outright. I still don't understand why she paid a hefty fee to have it driven from Fla to Maine unless she intended to use it then changed her mind. Oddly enough there weren't a ton of additions for the optional stuff. With the options listed on the build/MSRP sheet, I got $104,600 Avg retail and $86,800 low retail. And without any of those calculated i get: $83,100 low retail and $100,100 Avg retail. So I hadn't overinflated by a landslide... But again, sometimes there's some short warranty or recourse to have a dealer fix minor things you find right off and with a private sale, you own all issues once you drive off the lot. I had thought of offering $75-80K but I think there's enough reasons to just walk away at this point and let someone else have it. Looking at the PPL site Mariner suggested above (just as an example) I found a Kountry Star model with side radiator, more HP, and 2K less miles for $92,495. Even includes a Blue Ox tow bar and brake Buddy. Now if that were only 5 miles from my house! :-)

Mainuh · May 13, 2015

Trust your gut. The last thing you want to happen is the shoulda, woulda, coulda syndrome to rear it's ugly head. There are so many great used units available to jump at one just because it's close to home. I also agree that you should look at the Dutch Stars. Some Phaeton years had a major wet bay problem, but if it's been fixed it would be another one to look at. AND MAINTENENCE records are paramount. It doesn't matter what coach it is, if it hasn't been taken care of, all you'll end up with is a money pit. And AZ. is a pretty good place to look, but FL. is too, along with TX. Just start surfing the different web sites. www.pplmotorhomes.com is a good one to see motorhomes, what's being asked for them, and what they've actually sold for. The search can be frustrating but also well worth while.

Mariner,

Have you actually purchased from PPL ? I'd like to hear from those who have how things went before and after the sale. They do seem to have some interesting units at competitive prices.

2gypsies · May 13, 2015

We didn't purchase from PPL but we sold our Newmar Dutch Star through them in one month's time. It was an easy experience. We had them do a complete detailing in and out - they didn't charge us for it. After looking at it sparkle online we wondered why we were selling it! A couple flew in from Florida to buy it. It was relayed to us that he really appreciated all the documentation of servicing we had done and that it was such a clean unit.

While at PPL we got a chance to really watch their operation. Many, many lookers came in. The receptionist gave them a list of units available with a map of where to find each one. The place is big. A salesperson does not accompany lookers so there's no pressure. If they have questions on a particular unit they will help them. It is not a typical sales facility. It's consignment.

For us, they recommended a price but we set our own. The transaction went very smoothly.

I will say there are some really nice ones there and some junk - just like you'd find at any used sales place or from private owners. Some people don't even have them cleaned. Ours was our home and we definitely took care of it.

Mariner · May 14, 2015

Mariner,

Have you actually purchased from PPL ? I'd like to hear from those who have how things went before and after the sale. They do seem to have some interesting units at competitive prices.

Nope. But they have a pretty good reputation, and always a varied selection. I'm thinking of using them when we sell next year.

Terra-Yacht · May 16, 2015

Hello Don,

I am a new member and noticed your post about a 2007 Newmar Ventana. I am an original owner of a 2007 Ventana 3933 and can say that I have had no issues with the roof (Newmar membrane roof) or with leaks or anything else for that matter. During a factory visit, I asked about the roof on our Ventana versus a fiberglas roof and they told me they prefer the membrane. It isn't rubber and seems to be bullet proof and UV impervious. It has remained smooth and easy to clean and maintain. I store my coach indoors, but I nonetheless go up on the roof once a year and check all the fittings and caulking on the roof and fill in any sign of the calling drying/cracking. The roof itself shows no signs of cracking or deterioration. So, I would say that if the coach you saw had the problems it apparently had, it wasn't maintained well and/or it was damaged in some way causing a fairly serious leak with in turn damaged the side wall.

Now the other reason I am contacting you is that I am about to trade my 2007 Ventana in for a new Ventana and thought I would mention this in case you would be interested in considering my coach. As I've indicated, it has been stored inside, detailed every year, serviced annually by a highly recommended Newmar dealership, there have been no pets or smoking in the coach and I have had some customization done to it to make it more comfortable. The main thing I did was to remove the love seat which I thought was pretty useless and replaced it with a Euro recliner with ottoman and a side cabinet made in Nappanee to match the interior cabinetry. The cabinet provides additional counter space and storage space and has a small electric fireplace in it that can operate with or without two levels of heat. It is great to take the chill off a cool evening without needing to run the heat pumps or furnace. I also added Bose speakers with sub for the dash radio and a Bose 321 system for the TV and for just listening to music. All three TVs (living, bed and outside) have been replace with HD flat screen TVs and the coach has an automatic satellite dish. I also have a good extended warranty (ExtraRide) that runs through January 2016 so if you were to find any issues that needed to be fixed, the warranty should cover it less a $100 deductible. Those are a few highlights. If you would like to learn more I think you should be able to obtain my contact information from the member list, but if you can't, respond here with a way for me to contact you. Thanks, Don (Terra-Yacht)