worth it or not ?


C

Collabolletta

New Member
I recently bought my 2nd Rv, used of course. Our first one was old and we fixed what we could and it gave us many great times. Now that we have two dogs the small rv needed to go, so my wife and I bought a bigger one on e-bay. After picking it up we were sadly dissapointed because although we knew that this was a fixer upper, we were a little misled. It is a 1984 Allegro by Tiffin, Class A 35ft. The engine is a chevy 454, and except for the battery not staying charged (alternator I think) it seems solid. The woman we bought it from neglected to mention that the headlights did not work or most of the running and tail lights. Upon furthere inspection, I don't think any think works on the interior. It looks as if someone rewired some things and others just got left to rot. The out side is got some wear and tear but shouldn't be as big deal cause were not into what the outside looks like. We bought it for 2,000. and already put 4 new tires at 900.00 on it after the old ones fell apart on the highway. The side entry door ripped apart while we were driving along and we will have to replace that as well as a number of outside compartment doors and vent covers. There is not even an electrical cord for hookups. Is this worth getting rewired, any idea what that'll run me? Or do you all think I should dump it back on e-bay and hope someone that can fix this themselves buys it? Any help would be great, Thanks, Collabolletta :disapprove: :question:
 
R

rtz

New Member
worth it or not ?

I just sold my 1986 pace arrow 34' with 6 new tires that cost me $1000 last year - I sold it for $12,000.00 to my inlaws. If you like a lot of work I would say see what you can do with what you have. As fo the rewiring, I would guess around $1500. Good luck!
 
T

turnipbwc

New Member
worth it or not ?

If it was me it would already have been on e-bay. Put it back on e-bay and sell "as is" so no one can come back on you. List what you did so far and tell them what else you think it needs. Consider lesson learned.
turnip
 
Kirk

Kirk

Senior Member
worth it or not ?

Since you only have $3K invested so far, you really have very little if you get it operational. But I suspect that you will have some difficulty in locating a buyer if you stop now and wish to get your money back. The key to the proper answer here is you. Do you have the ability to rewire the coach, properly, yourself? I would suspect that you could do the work yourself for a few hundred dollars, if all appliances are working when it is finished, but you have no way to know what is good and what isn't with no power. If you pay to have this done, I would be amazed if you got everything working for $1500! Does it only need the 12V-dc side or is the 120V-ac also bad? If so, then the problem becomes more difficult. And you really need a good meter and some knowledge of electrical work if you plan to do the work yourself. As an electro/mechanical tech, I would only consider doing this job on an hourly rate or, I would want an hourly rate for several hours to test some things to find out exactly what it needs before I would give an estimate. How do you know if the pump is bad, or if it just has no power? And if it has no power, how do you know that it will run once power is restored? That will be true of every appliance. And where will you find new doors and such? There are salvage yards that may have them, but you are looking at a lot of money. Tiffen company does give excellent support, but a unit from 84 will be difficult to locate body parts for. And you need to realize that most RV owners do put value in the appearance of the unit so if you plan to keep it, appearance may not be important, but to sell it the appearance will be. The last issue to realize is that in 1984 there were no chassis with a gross weight of more than 16K so any RV of 35' is quite likely near or above that rating with nothing in it. It was very common at that time for new motorhomes to have no cargo capacity remaining when empty. If you are a knowledgable RVer with techical skills to do the work yourself, you could come out of this quite well. But if you must pay some tech to do the work, I really do not see how!
 
F

Fulltimin

New Member
worth it or not ?

I say "You get what you pay for". You put out 2 grand for something sight unseen and now you want to complain. I say take your loses and consider it a lesson learned the hardway.

But no you'd rather take that scrap yard on wheels and put it back on E-bay for the next unsuspecting, trusting sucker.
 
J

janicenlarry

New Member
worth it or not ?

I agree with Fulltimin. You just learned a $3K lesson. Any more money in this loser will be like pouring it down a never ending rat hole. Dont buy sight unseen or without an inspection. :8ball:
 
A

ARCHER

Senior Member
worth it or not ?

Be nice folks......we have all been there and done that. I agree with Chelse about selling it for scrap or working parts. Not right to try and dump it on someone else via eBAY. It could be a nice project to work on as time and money permits and when it is in reasonable working order and "safe" then maybe sell it or "use it". I would not spend thousands to get it up to a reasonable state, but if your a do-it-your-selfer, it might be fun to work on it. In the meantime, you could buy a Pop-Up and use it.....good luck :)
 
T

turnipbwc

New Member
worth it or not ?

Collabolletta,
I would like to know what you finally decide to do. I know it's none of my business, just curious.
turnip42
 
C Nash

C Nash

Senior Member
worth it or not ?

Collabolletta,
Really, if you are not a do it your self person and decide not to repair it you could part it out and probably make money. It can be a challence and fun project.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top