I had a few doubters in the recent past and for those of you who wish to see proof of the $500 purchase price. I do have a few images of the Washington State registration on the old girl when I first bought her. On it, you will see the "Use Tax" which totals a whopping $44.50 and is how Washington taxes a buyer on a private party sale of a used vehicle. When I walked in to get licensed, I had the seller right there with a long list of things that need to be done to the RV in order to make her road worthy and livable. As such, the tax was not on the blue book value but on the reduced amount of the sale.
Had the coach been drivable (It hadn't moved in 8 years) and in good working order (I spent months getting her safe for the road) with nothing wrong the state would have taxed me on the $10,000 valuation which would have meant the tax would have been $860. Lucky for me with a then lean pocketbook, the price was $500 which left the tax at $44.50. If you look at the following three images you will see the registration showing the $44.50 use tax that I paid.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ljdiqxwzrcwbdnl/20140712_205323.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2l95ytqf1hecect/20140712_205335.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sn22nkk8qqaconq/AABiRcOJ4IJV-vPHWkYAvjfSa/20140712_205345.jpg
Also, by visiting the following link you will see the state of Washington sales and use tax data sheet. If you scroll down to Redmond Non-RTA you'll see that the total of both taxes is .086. The tax amount that they charged me was in fact .089 as the tax fluctuates from date and location. So, by taking the $500 selling price and multiplying it by the .089 tax that they charged me on that day you get the $45.50 I paid in "Use Tax". Anyone who can do simple math can calculate back to get the selling price this way.
http://dor.wa.gov/Docs/forms/ExcsTx/LocSalUseTx/LocalSlsUseFlyer_12_Q2_alpha.pdf
Here is what she looked like when I found her.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BxiOkJGY8WdxSkRDNV82ZWNST1E&usp=sharing
Being a disabled former Marine who couldn't then afford the $10,000 (for one in perfect running order) and then another $860 in tax and $150 in licensing fees finding the ad for the old girl for $500 was then and still is a Godsend. Truly a blessing indeed... Had I not bought her and been forced to find another motorhome for what I spent on her I would be truly miserable as most RVs in that price range are unlivable and wouldn't last me long on the road. Truly awesome to say the least...
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As far as autos for $500 goes, she's a winner. Sure, it has need of some minor repairs and the gluing of some siding to correct the delamination but even if I was to spend a few grand to fix everything I would be ahead by many thousands of dollars.
The ad that was placed on Craigslist said something like (86 motorhome that sat for 6 years and does not run, $500) Getting there I find out that the tabs were not renewed since 2004 which meant the 6 years should have been 8 and in checking the manufacturer's plate she was a 1988 and not an 86. Being a newer by two years coach meant that in Washington state that I needed to have an emissions done to get her on the road. Thankfully (amazingly), she passed with flying colors...
She has served me well and given me the ability to get out when and where I need to be with few major issues.
They bought it new in 1988 for about $55,000 ($108,734.02 today) and used it for 16 years taking one trip a year to total under 20K on the odometer. Then she sat from 2004 until when I revived her in 2012.
The only thing that would have made the deal better would have been if they had a covered carport to park her under.
If you have a bounder and need the PDFs of the repair manuals here you go. They are kinda hard to find so for sure download them for your records...
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxiOkJGY8WdxMHBQb05KT2NUekU
