Late 80's Casita 16' - what's it worth?

[James Smith]

I'm not sure where to post this 'request for information'; if there's a better category please let me know.

I've found a Casita for sale on the roadside that has been sitting unused for a few years. I think it has a lot of potential to be a nice camper again. I have been wanting to find one like this to do a "sleeps 6" conversion" by adding a bunk over the double bed, but I'm not sure I'm up for all the work.

The PO did a few "mods" such as the "new" taillights instead of repairing the existing harness. ...nothing major that couldn't be undone.

About "5 years ago" the fridge, water heater, and water pump were all replaced with "new". That's about $1,000 I guess. I wasn't able to verify if they were working.

The bad news is, it's leaking. The inside is wet. The floor under the table is soft. The particle board cabinet doors and table have swollen. I don't know Casitas too well, but I'm thinking this camper is needing to be rehab'd. ...not sure how much it would cost for the materials. Carpet, adhesive, snap caps, wood doors, floor, etc.

So, as it sits, would it be too much to ask the FGRV community to shoot me a "fair" price. ...or a "too good to walk away from" price?

See the pictures for general condition and options.

[Dudley]

It probably needs new rivets and caps which will cause leaks, The soft floor could be a a pain to change out. My big concern is the axle, it looks awful low to me, check for tire rub marks in the wheel well. It will be an expensive repair. The AC unit may also be causing the leak causing the wet and soft floor. The humidity from the leaks will cause the doors to swell. New doors are not too bad to make from real wood if you have some basic tools and skill and the cost is pretty low.

I would be having a close look for mold inside the seats and cupboards.

As for price, that is sticky point, with the seller thinking its a gem and you thinking its coal! Its a tough one to give a price, the axle will be around $500-$600 , doors $100 flooring ? (depends on what you choose) tires $200(check the date of manufacture).

The main thing is how handy you are and how much time and money do you want to throw at it. The rivets are easy to do and will help seal it, then look at that AC unit for leaks.

[Civilguy]

The fiberglass-RV-4sale website posts ads and retains listings of those that were sold. Some of the prices are updated to reflect what was actually paid. I'm not sure that all of them are updated to reflect the final price.

It's a good resource that might help you and the seller reach an agreement.

(If I'm out of line posting a reference to that website here, please let me know. I plead the "forum newbie" defense.)