Buying an RV

[CricketSail]

Hello Everyone,

I've been dreaming about selling my house and living full time in an RV for years. Dreaming now has moved closer to realizing that for me and my two little schipperke dogs. For years I planned to liveaboard, but now that I'm looking at things realistically, I think an RV is the safer option for just a lady and her two pups.
Today was my first day out to visit RV sales. Interesting, to say the least. The first place, that just happened to stumble across on the way had a sales fellow who was particularly friendly and helpful. He spent over an hour showing me numerous rigs, answered questions, made suggestions, and seemed to be honest and knowledgeable. The second place the guy blew me off in under a minute - and with 8 pages of listed RVs for sale on the web site! Did he not take an ah, mature single woman seriously? I got that impression. The other fellow was more than happy to discuss all the engine and technical stuff with me, which most concerns me, without being condescending or astonished at my interest in engines.
When I got home I looked them both up for reviews. Although my impression differed, there were pretty bad reviews for both of them on the web. Now, I do realize that there are always those who are sour grapes ready to blame. And the fellow I liked had only a few reviews, so that's hardly a great overview (while I was there a regular renter of his was returning the rig and he seemed really pleased.)
Now I am selling my house so I have a decent amount to put down. And I have a good idea of what I want. But I will have to move quickly, and I want to have a dealer who I feel is trustworthy as I jump from a house to my RV home. Any suggestions about how to get that confidence with a dealer? Yeah, I see so many RVs for sale on Graig's list or eBay, but have, would you, trust that kind of purchase in an RV you were going to live in?

[AZGramTN]

I know just what your saying, I'm 67 and they don't take me serious or don't listen to me. I know what I want and I know what I can handle, I don't care if a 29 footer is just 3 more feet I said no bigger than 26 feet. I want to do this and have met probably 20 salemen but only 2 (one is a woman) have listened to me. So hang in there you'll find the perfect rig and we'll all meet someday on the road. Jeanine

[retiredhappy]

Just my personal opinion but I would never buy brand new - too much depreciation and many who do also have problems. As for buying used, find a knowledgeable RV repair person who will do an inspection for you particularly since you're new to RVing and not sure what to look for.

I bought my first and second (used) rigs from a dealer where i could inspect and "kick the tires". Sold my 2nd rig (30' Gulfstream Class C) on Craigs List. Actually found a great buyer after dealing with several scammers. I then bought my 3rd rig; a 1999 Roadtrek Class B van with 100,000 miles from a dealer in Albuquerque New Mexico sight unseen. I am only the second owner and they had all the maintenance records on it. A Place called vantasticvans.com. When I commited to buy and we negotiated the price he did a phone walk-thru with me that took over an hour and he described every little ding, inside and out. I paid $1,000 to have them deliver it to me in Texas and I could still have refused it then but would have lost the delivery fee. Yes, I've had to replace the frig, but I anticipated that because of the age of the van. I also replaced the AC cause I wanted a bigger BTU unit. I love my Roadtrek but its always "buyer beware"; new or used.