Interstate Economics

[David M]

Here's why I bought the Airstream Interstate: My car (2007 BMW M6) that I drove to work 30 miles each way to work got 12 mpg on the freeway during rush hour. My AI got over 14 mpg on that same commute (I'm retired now). Diesel is cheaper than premium gas (3.99 vs 4.29 in So Cal as of this writing), and insurance on the AI turned out to be half that of the M6. I sold the M6 because I ended up using the AI as a daily driver - even for milk runs. It's so nice to have your own bed, bathroom, and cold drinks everywhere you go - any time you want - which is why I don't rent. And with the price of a replacement M6 being $126K (more than what I ended up paying for my 2013 AI Ext), I tell my friends that I've gone "Green". So how's that for economics
David

[David M]

Originally Posted by Bigskyrider8

Thread started by advertising troll for Cruise America.........

You're probably right. I just noticed that the OP just joined and this was his first post.
David

[73shark]

Surprised a mod hasn't deleted the post by now.

[J. Morgan]

They haven't deleted it because the OP was owned from every direction...

[xrvr]

Your medical costs alone from what you can catch from a rental would deter me. Jim

[jkinglet]

Originally Posted by Bikerbill

If we looked at costs on everything, why would we get married???? Rentals are cheaper.

Now we're talkin'!

[jack69ph]

Interesting range of responses, but most can be boiled down to "it doesn't make financial sense, but we wanted it". From the financial perspective, I find it hard to live with this much expense on a depreciating and relatively little used asset when there are obvious alternatives. If you are familiar with fractional ownership (a la Netjets), that makes a lot more financial sense to me: pay for what you use and nothing more (Warren Buffet uses Netjets even though he could obviously afford a dedicated aircraft). The privilege and convenience of owning comes with it expense which means tradeoffs versus other uses for the money. I thinking that people who had the sense to buy a relatively modest-size and economical to operate rig would have run some numbers before signing up to buy one. I did like comparison to a bass boat!

I will retire in a community which does have a complimentary RV park. I plan on approaching neighbors about a shared RV which could used on a cost-sharing basis. In fact, the house I have there now is also a vacation rental when I am not using it - defrays my expenses to the tune of $30,000/yr or so and ensures the house is cleaned and maintained on a regular schedule.

Thanks for the constructive responses!

[weirdstuff]

You're idea of an RV share is interesting and creative.

However...I'd give it almost no chance to succeed. I can see the fights now about who did what or didn't do what to the RV. Who didn't empty the tanks, who broke something on their trip and didn't tell anyone, who threw what down the toilet that's now caused a big clog, who ran down the batteries on their trip, who broke the seat swivels, who left it a mess after their trip, who gets it when...and on and on.

Sorry, I'm not one to be so negative, but an RV is NOT something I'd share or loan out or rent out.

[J. Morgan]

Economic sense is buying a used RV that doesn't look real used. This won't stop the hit but it will soften it.

But that is neither here or there, some folks like new things, and hey , if they can afford it, that is fine with me.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by jack69ph

Interesting range of responses, but most can be boiled down to "it doesn't make financial sense, but we wanted it".

I think that's true of a recreational ANYTHING. Whether it's an RV, boat, cabin, race car, airplane, motorcycle, camera, video game, DVD movie, etc. You can't put a price tag on fun.

If you really want cost-effective recreation, take up reading and visit the public library on a regular basis. That's absolutely free, as long as you return the books on time.

[73shark]

Personally I think any kind of shared ownership arrangement would be an unmitigated disaster for the reasons weirdstuff stated.

[LawChick]

Was that Aunt Edna's body in the storage compartment of the rental? If so, I bet Chevy Chase left her there on his last vacation!

[Interstate14]

In case it hasn't come up? Buy Local whenever possible! We were looking at dealers 80 miles away and out of state for specific model color etc, and of course pricing. We ended up buying local at a great price 15 miles away. We were able to establish a great relationship with the dealer and staff and empathized we would rather buy local . The little things that can go wrong and do where easy to fix and take care of. They even provide storage and washes if needed. We did not realize how important this relationship and trust with our dealer would be.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Interstate14

In case it hasn't come up? Buy Local whenever possible! We were looking at dealers 80 miles away and out of state for specific model color etc, and of course pricing. We ended up buying local at a great price 15 miles away.

I took full advantage of this while shopping for mine. I shopped around to five separate dealers, including one 80 miles away. The one that had the best price on the floorplan I wanted was 600 miles away. I asked the 80-miles-away dealer if they'd match the other's price, and they agreed, which saved me a bundle. The cost to travel 1200 miles round-trip to pick up my new Interstate would have been a lot more than the cost I paid to travel a 160-mile round trip! Especially when you consider that I still work for a living and would have needed to burn vacation time to go to the 600-miles-away dealer.

[Ron_CA]

We had to shop around in order for our local dealer to give us a good price. We also let them know that we would prefer to do business with them, but would travel if need be. In the end got a price that was the best we found and ordered to get color combo we wanted.

As far as economics, like others have said, can't put a price on fun.

[toskeysam]

We began our search, in earnest, with a dealer 300 miles away. Looked at his Roadtrek stock and Airstream stock. Then stumbled onto a local Airstream dealer that had exactly what we were looking for. They also have been in business a LONG time with many happy customers. They have been great to work with, and proactive in dealing with any issues that have arisen. Long story short.....glad we are working with a local group of people.

[c21]

Originally Posted by LawChick

Was that Aunt Edna's body in the storage compartment of the rental? If so, I bet Chevy Chase left her there on his last vacation!

I have an auxilliary GPS (Garmin) that I travel with. One of the available vehicle icons (which I use) is the family truckster from Vacation. It has Aunt Edna wrapped in a sheet on the roof and an emty dog collor on a leash tied to the bumber. Very kewl!