Big News!

Today we put down a deposit on the motorhome we want to buy. Before I give you the details about the home...let me back up and tell you how we got to this point.

When we decided to go to Alaska we researched how much it would cost to rent an RV. We were surprised to see that it was going to cost $6-8K. It's not much cheaper if we were to fly to Alaska and rent one there...because we have plane tickets x 5 + rental costs + extra to rent sheets, towels, etc. We started looking into the price of used RVs and found that we could get a decent motorhome for $8-10K. So we though why not get one and then sell it when we get home? Certainly the difference would be a lot less than $6-8K!! So we decided we would purchase one because we can bring all our own stuff from home (sheets, towels, etc) and just be more comfortable knowing what's going on. It's really a buyer's market right now, so we decided to look for one now and then store it at Eric's dads for the winter.

We've seen several that we like, but haven't been in the position to quickly purchase one. When there are ones that are a good deal...they tend to sell fast. About 3 weeks ago we went and drove a class c motorhome about 45 mins away. A class c is one that looks like a truck/van in front and has a cab over the driver where someone can sleep. This motorhome was in decent shape, but we thought it was priced high. A few days later Eric saw a big motorhome listed here in town. The ad have very little info and when we went to take a look at it we really liked it. It was more $$ than we planned to spent, but we thought it was a good deal. After closer inspection we realized it had some electrical issues. We decided not to get it afterall and were glad we didn't put any money down on it.

Yesterday Eric found a class a rig that is similar to the one we almost bought for a little cheaper, but way nicer. I googles the guy and then called him. Everything he said on the phone matched his resume online. Turns out that he had a verbal offer, but no deposit. He said first person to get him a deposit gets it. (We ran a carfax and did some other checking to make sure this wasn't a bum deal!) So I ran up to FedEx and quickly sent off a check for $1000 for a deposit. He said someone else was sending a deposit too. Well...ours arrived today and he called to say that we get it!! I know...some of you might think we are CRAZY for deciding to buy it without seeing it. The guy is just holding our check and will return it to us when we come to see it/get it. He said if we don't want it afterall he will offer it to the next person. We'd like to go this weekend to get it (it's 2.5 hours away), but our funds won't be available in the bank until Tuesday morning. So Eric is taking off work on Tuesday, we will hit the bank when it opens, and then we are driving over to Indiana to inspect it and pick it up.

So here's the info. It's a 1994 Winnebago that originally cost over $11oK. It's 35', diesel, and very nice. It has a washer/dryer unit and 2 TVs. YES...it's bigger and more luxurious than we planned, BUT it's a good deal. We should be able to sell it after our trip for close to what we bought it for. So much better than paying $6-8K to rent one.

The bathroom sink reminds me of wheel of fortune. I'm thinking we will walk in and hear those chimes that they play when a new puzzle is reveal. Hopefully Vanna won't jump out when we someone is in the shower!! LOL!!!