During these uncertain COVID-19 times, maintaining safe practices and social distancing is of the utmost importance. That’s why many of those buying an RV right now may want to consider buying an RV online rather than visiting an RV lot and subjecting yourself to crowds, salesmen, and touching RVs that have seen many, many visitors. However, before you settle on buying an RV without seeing it in person, make sure you’ve looked into these three important things first.
1. Do your research
Since you’re not going to be browsing an RV lot in person, you’ll want to do quite a bit of research on your own into what kind of RV you’re looking for first in terms of size, floor plan, and other factors, like whether you want to buy new or used. Look out for listings that have video tours with detailed walk-throughs of the RV and all its different systems.
2. Check the RV’s history
If you’re buying a used RV—whether from someone off Craigslist or from a dealer—it’s important to check the RV’s history. For about $25, you can buy a detailed vehicle history report on rvchecks.com if you have the RV’s VIN for the report. The history reports will give you important information about any reported damage, issues with the RV’s title, as well as other relevant data.
Since you’re trying to do as much as possible of your transaction online, ask the owner as much about the history of the vehicle as possible as well such as the history of repairs, maintenance, and why it’s being sold.
3. Get an inspection
Just like when buying a house, you may want to get an inspection of your RV before buying.
A mechanic will charge around $150 to inspect an RV mechanical system to check for previous damage and any other mechanical issues. The National Recreational Vehicle Inspectors Association (NRVIA) is a good resource for finding Level 1 and 2 inspectors in your area.
See also: We Bought An RV During COVID-19—Here’s What It Was Like
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