Used PU coleman 98 Sunridge??? Advice needed

[babybober]

Hello:
The local Fleetwood dealer has a 98 Sunridge in on consignment that I am going in to look at Saturday.   The floorplan (basically the same as a SunValley but with the extra cargo trunk) is a floorplan that seems to work for us (we sat in a new Sun Valley for about a 1/2 hr with the kids to check it out).  Back then most everything was standard (furnace, fridge, hot water, etc) and it does have an awning.  The question I have is what specifically should I be looking for on this unit? Those that have colemans around this age what is breaking?   I know about the dreaded ABS roof issues and I have already asked the dealer about sagging and cracking on the roof and he tells me they looked it over closely and thier is none (I will triple check).   The unit does not have AC (upstate NY) so that probebly helps.  Am I safe to assume if the unit hasn't had sagging in 9 yrs I am probbly safe?  He did tell me they changed the roof gasket on this unit a few years ago though and knows this is good.  Thus I will look closely for water damage.  In thier inspection they found 3 small holes in the canvas/screens that they will fix before the sale other then that supposedly it is in good shape except the canvas is a bit dirty.  He told me they will do a full "workup" on the unit to assure everything works out the door but thier is no "warranty" and he will include all the "standard" started kit stuff (water hoses, battery, etc.) along with a full "orientation" session (about 3 hrs? to assure I know how to use it).  In a rating of 1(junk) to 10 (new 2007 unit) he would give this PU a 6 which seems about right to me for a 9 yr old unit.    

Also, he wants $3775 for it (non-nagotiable).  When I first went in to look at units he explained that he lists selling prices on all his units complete no hidden fees,etc.   THis place is more of a country dealership.  So, NADA shows less but then again I can't seem to find anything listed selling for NADA prices either.  Is this a good value (assuming above is correct)?

THhs is my first PU and don't want to make a costly mistake but also can't afford a new unit.

THANKS IN ADVACE FOR THE REPLIES!

[Dee4j]

as far as a good deal..I don't know maybe the other PU Guru's can answer that

 but one thing to look for that was starting to happen in my old coleman is the threads were starting to rott, I guess for lack of a better term, so the stitching above the windows where it's sewn into the rubber was coming undone. if it's not bad, it's not noticable  so check all the seams

[wernstriumph]

I've got a '99 Sun Valley and my neighbor has a "98 Niagra and neither one of us has had any major problems (Both are in excellent shape). The only thing that I have is the edging around the counter tops is coming loose. Nothing a little glue can't fix. As far as the roof is concerned, we both have the ABS roof and A/C and neither one has sagged. Also my friend has a '98 Jayco Heritage with the ABS roof and A/C and his doesn't sag either. Hope this was helpful.

[Camping Coxes]

I own this same model and year you are looking at.  We bought it used about 4 years ago and paid $4500.  Have you checked the NADA guide yourself for the value, or did the dealer show you his run-up on the NADA guide.   It also comes down to, if you want a Coleman and can't find one in decent shape cheap, then you need to pay whatever they're asking to get the one you want.  I mean, value doens't keep dropping until it hits zero, so it's worth something.

We love the floorplan on this trailer.  Other than now desiring a bathroom/shower, which I didn't want when we were buying a trailer back then, it lacks nothing.  We have made some mods to make it work better for our family.  If you get the trailer, I'll be happy to share them with you, but don't want to waste space now.

Only problems we've had with our trailer are as follows:

1. The "emergency" zipper near the dinette/bunk area split at the bottom of the zipper.  We simple got the zipper guide back on, and used heavy upholstery thread to sew the bottom of the zipper together so the zipper guide could go no further.  Ironically, this happened as soon as we got it popped up after buying it.  I suspect the owners were letting the kids play in it based on another problem we had, being......

2.  The drawer under the couch area was off the track and wouldn't stay on.  After taking the drawer out, we discovered someone had evidently stood in the drawer and bent the heck out of the runner guide.  The runner guide also had nothing under it to keep it from bending in the middle, so we fixed it by putting some wood blocks under it to give it some structure to sit on.  Easy fix.

3.  We are now expereincing water getting into the front storage area.  There are cracks on the body right behind the piano hinge that holds the storage lid on.  Fortunately, DH is handy and was able to fix it (we think -- it just rained and I haven't checked it yet).

If I were going to look at this pop-up, I would check for cracking on the roof, but like you said, after nine years, defects would have shown up.  And to my understanding, the seal is the main problem, and it's been replaced already.  Check for cracking on the storage door and around that area.  I would check all zippers on all windows and check for splits on the vinyl windows.  Tears in the screen are very easy to fix, so don't worry too much about that.  Pull out all drawers and open all doors to make sure they're working.  Look for general abuse -- Is the upholstery filthy?  Are the cabinets really beat up?  I looked at one trailer that was a good deal, but the inside was extremely filthy and the outside looked like it hadn't been washed in 5 years -- I wanted a trailer that had been a little bit taken care of.

Good luck in your decision.  If you get the trailer, let me know and I'll send  you pictures of our mods.

[wavery]

Here's my personal opinion (and that's all it is) on buying a used RV from a dealer.

Most dealers don't like taking trade-ins. They offer people very little for them and usually tell the people to try to sell it themselves. If push comes to shove, they will take it on trade-in rather than lose the sale on a new unit but only if they can make a large profit.

That being said, the dealer knows little or nothing about the unit that you are buying and therefore the "No warranty". It disturbs me a little that the dealer even showed you the unit (at that price) with dirty canvas and holes.

I purchased my PU from a private party. The person that I bought it from was honest about the PU and it was immaculate inside and out. He gave me all of the service records and showed me how to operate everything on a PU that he had been using (on several trips) himself.  He was anxious to part with it because (as I stated above) the dealer told him to sell it himself and offered him peanuts on a trade-in. If you purchase your PU from a dealer, don't expect him to know a lot about it, other than (maybe) being able to set it up and it probably won't be comfortable for the person that is doing it for you.

We bought our 2002 Coleman Tahoe (with AC) in 2005 for $3500. It was in "Like new" condition and we have camped in it about 20 times. We've had no problems with it. The seller was happy and the buyer is happy.

Now, having said that, I am very mechanically inclined and can handle any problem that comes up, on my own. I have no use for any dealer services.

Often times, people think that they should buy an RV from a dealer because it makes them feel more protected. The fact is, you are not any more protected than if you purchase a unit from a private party (probably less). You just pay more. If you have a problem, after you take delivery, YOU will have to pay for the repairs. It doesn't matter who you buy it from. If you need to take it to a shop for repairs, you are the guy with the credit card.

Also, the onus is on YOU to make sure that everything works before you take delivery. A private seller is more apt (IMO) to be honest (and more knowledgeable) with you than a dealer. He will also have more time to spend with you and he will KNOW his unit and the PROPER way to set it up (hopefully). You know where the seller lives. They don't know where you live or who you are. It would be quite foolish for a private seller to be anything other than honest and up front about any and all defects that the camper may have.

If a private party mis-represents the product, you may have a better chance of collecting in court than if you try to sue a dealer. The dealer would assuredly make sure that you take the unit, "As is". A private party may give you a sales receipt that says "As is" but he may also be more copable for mis-representations than a dealer would (IMO).

[babybober]

Thanks All:
Well after much deliberation I put a deposit down on the unit today (OK, the wife said just shut up and go buy it!). I truely appreciate all the assistance. When I add up the options vs. NADA things fit, especially when you add in the "extras" the dealer is putting in. The dealer really seems to want to do things right. What sold me was the dealer pointed out at least as many things as I found that he already said would be fixed. I had been looking at the "for sale ad's" for a while without much luck. What was out there in the papers was either junk (for a reasonalbe price) or the wrong size. The three other PU dealeras in the area all we either used car salesmen or didn't want to bother with a little PU.

I probebly won't take delivery unit March or so as the dealer is willing to keep the unit till spring @ no charge if I want so that I don't need to store it.

Now just to come up with the rest of the money.  Luckily I have 30 days to pay .

Camping Coxes: I would love to see what mods you have done.  Thank so much

Wavery:  While I appreciate your responce and in many ways do agree with your statments in this case I believe I have found a trustworthy dealer (time will tell).  While I am very mechnically inclined I also didn't want to start off on a first PU with a huge to do list but also didn't want to spend the price for "new".   This was not a trade in unit but rather a consignement sale.  The unit was purchased from this dealer and service was done their so he had the service records.  I am glad you were able to find such a great deal on your unit, I guess either I did not have such good luck or wasn't willing to wait long enough to find that perfect deal.


Thanks again all and I am sure I will have a million and one more questions...

[wavery]

Thanks All:
Well after much deliberation I put a deposit down on the unit today (OK, the wife said just shut up and go buy it!). I truely appreciate all the assistance. When I add up the options vs. NADA things fit, especially when you add in the "extras" the dealer is putting in. The dealer really seems to want to do things right. What sold me was the dealer pointed out at least as many things as I found that he already said would be fixed. I had been looking at the "for sale ad's" for a while without much luck. What was out there in the papers was either junk (for a reasonalbe price) or the wrong size. The three other PU dealeras in the area all we either used car salesmen or didn't want to bother with a little PU.

I probebly won't take delivery unit March or so as the dealer is willing to keep the unit till spring @ no charge if I want so that I don't need to store it.

Now just to come up with the rest of the money.  Luckily I have 30 days to pay .

Camping Coxes: I would love to see what mods you have done.  Thank so much

Wavery:  While I appreciate your responce and in many ways do agree with your statments in this case I believe I have found a trustworthy dealer (time will tell).  While I am very mechnically inclined I also didn't want to start off on a first PU with a huge to do list but also didn't want to spend the price for "new".   This was not a trade in unit but rather a consignement sale.  The unit was purchased from this dealer and service was done their so he had the service records.  I am glad you were able to find such a great deal on your unit, I guess either I did not have such good luck or wasn't willing to wait long enough to find that perfect deal.


Thanks again all and I am sure I will have a million and one more questions...

I have heard it said, time and again (by many) that the dealer that you buy your camper from is more important than the brand of the camper and if you're happy with the price, that's all that counts. I'm glad that you found a camper AND dealer that you are happy with. Sounds like a win-win to me.

[Camping Coxes]

Camping Coxes: I would love to see what mods you have done. Thank so much
 

Next time it's popped up, I'll take some pics and send to you.  I just got a digital camera, so I've never taken pictures of the mods before.
 
We bought our camper private party.  They bought it less than a year before from a local dealer.  When they looked at it, the dealer pointed out some roof crazing that could develop into cracking and said he wouldn't let them take it off the lot until he replaced the roof.   They hadn't noticed it and would have happily gone off with the crazed (not crazy!!) roof.  While they ahd it apart, the couple decided to add an AC.  Lo and behold, almost a year later, and the wife wanted a full sized trailer, so they sold us the pop-up with a new roof and AC, and went back to the honest dealer to order their new trailer because he had been so good to them initially.
 
Moral of the story is, not all dealers are crooks.  (but I admit some can be jerks!)

[brainpause]

I have heard it said, time and again (by many) that the dealer that you buy your camper from is more important than the brand of the camper and if you're happy with the price, that's all that counts. I'm glad that you found a camper AND dealer that you are happy with. Sounds like a win-win to me.

I agree 100%. A good dealer can make a mediocre/bad camping trailer experience much better.

Camping Coxes: I would love to see what mods you have done. Thank so much

Most popup mods are fairly universal, especially the Coleman mods. Yes, some are model specific, but the world is wide open to mods! Modding your camper for YOU and your family is one of the most fun things, IMHO, about owning a camper, especially if you are mechanically inclined like you say.

Larry

[Camping Coxes]

Most popup mods are fairly universal, especially the Coleman mods. Yes, some are model specific, but the world is wide open to mods! Modding your camper for YOU and your family is one of the most fun things, IMHO, about owning a camper, especially if you are mechanically inclined like you say.
 
Larry

As far as model specific, one major one we did that I love that is specific to this year and model is to the cabinet that abutts the dinette.  It is a long, too narrow cabinet that is basically useless.  The storage under the dinette seat is large, but a pain in the rear to lift the cushions to access it.  So my DH cut a pass-through inside the cabinet so that I could put Sterilite baskets in there that slide in and out like drawers, ala the Helms Bakery truck drawers when you were a kid.  All of our dishes fit in there beautifully.  The top shelves are just the right size for those plastic shoeboxes and we use those to store our Uno cards, regular cards, notepads, coloring pencils, and anything else that fits in that category.