Is a 10 year old Class C with only 400 miles a good idea?

[TheLooks]

You win, you crashed a plane. Can't compete with that. But my experiences with old unused equipment is the opposite of yours.

 

[edincleveland]

If the things you can see are fine, Rodents, water damage, etc. I would buy it in a heartbeat. Think about it. IF it had 30,000 miles on it you would think the seals and grease etc was fine. But that is wear and tear. I am not a proponent of such items just rotting away not moving. This might have been the case on machines from many years ago.
I would drain the oil and change the filter in the engine on the spot. Look over the rig for exterior and rodent related issues and don't worry about the drivetrain. If it has a serpentine belt I would watch it, mine is original at 119000 miles.
Biggest issue will be new batteries.
Actually, if it was parked with ethanol fuel in it, have it removed before running the engine. If he has been demoing it for people, might be to late for that but it has a filter on it.

Thank you for the responses. I may still take a look at it later this week. But I'm leaning on the side of caution because it has been sitting for 10 years. While the price being asked isn't bad, I can see spending $5k on things I believe would need to be replaced now. (It doesn't have an awning.)

 

[RTRanger]

Our first RV was a 2007 Chevy Class C we bought in 2014 that had 7500 miles on it. We never had any problems with it. No leaks, started instantly and the generator was perfect too. I was a great purchase and we sold it in 2017 for just about what we paid for it.

Then in 2017 we bought a new Class A from a dealer. When we were looking at it the first time the mice jumped out of the drawer when my wife opened it. The generator was always hard to start.

As for me, I wouldn’t hesitate buying it just because of age. How it was stored makes all the difference.

 

[Gizmo]

When we purchased our 2005 Aspect on an F450 V10 engine the seller got running and running smoothly with just a couple of minor leaks. it has been parked for about 4 years without starting under an awning. We had a few known problems like the generator wasn't running and a few other minor problems. We drove about 20 miles home without a problem. Over the next couple hundred miles the AC went out, the rear diff leaked, and several engine leaks that were too large to ignore. On the last trip, we had a shock leak. Still runs well and all the engine compression is good. My son has done 100% of the repairs and he is just a shade tree mechanic with no real mechanic experience.

 

[Bwk]

Well, I’m on the Luther side of engines sitting for a long time. engines Need to go through heat cycles To keep humidity out. When sitting for a long time cylinder walls, cams, cranks will begin to rust. When you start using the engine again the rust will act like sandpaper on your rings, bearings etc. and probably cause premature failure. I’ve personally gone through this with my first aircraft where I had an engine failure for this same reason. The same goes for the transmission. Even periodic startups don’t really help. The engine and transmission need to be at operating temp for a period of time to evaporate any moisture.

Very accurate, but we do know from one in storage that long also is it will need tires and batteries for the engine and house.
As well as an instant oil change.
What I have done in the past when I have purchased a collector car that has not been driven over time is pressurize the oil pump over a couple of days, then drain and new oil before starting.
After the first 30 mins of running, if an automatic dump the trans fluid.
Gas could be bad also.

 

[PartTimeRVer]

Thats a crazy story. Motorhomes are drove to destinations not loaded on trailers. So here in California a new motorhome comes with 2400 miles. You guys are closer to Elkhart so this guy really never used it. If the price is right including flushing and changing all fluids and storage tanks (black, grey and fresh) then you may have the deal of the century. Its definately worth a physical look. Good luck!

 

[edincleveland]

Very accurate, but we do know from one in storage that long also is it will need tires and batteries for the engine and house.
As well as an instant oil change.
What I have done in the past when I have purchased a collector car that has not been driven over time is pressurize the oil pump over a couple of days, then drain and new oil before starting.
After the first 30 mins of running, if an automatic dump the trans fluid.
Gas could be bad also.

Thanks for the input. A car collector would have a good understanding of purchasing older vehicles.