Comparing Houses

[Chad]

When you compare two cars,say a BMW vs Kia,we all know that the BMW is far better than a Kia. How about something closer say a stock Ford Mustang vs Saleen Mustang,they are both mustangs but the salen has more power and options.Where am i going with this??

Champion homes(silvercrest,Redman), Cavco Homes(Durango,Litchfield), Palm Harbor, can anyone tell me how they would compare these homes and styles??

Im asking because i am stuck between a Champion Redman and a Cavco Durango and would like a comparison. how would you rate them??

heres mine

Silvercrest
Durango
Redman
Litchfield


thanks and have fun with this!!

[annaz]

Here's mine:
Silvercrest
Durango
Litchfield
Redman

[LJ]

My vote in quality order:

Silvercrest (head & shoulders above)
Karsten (also avail in Southwest-Arizona)
Solitaire (also in Southwest-New Mexico, high quality, limited options)
Cavco - Durango & Palm Harbor - Tempe plant (tie)
Cavco - Litchfield & Palm Harbor - Casa Grande plant (tie)
Redman

But remember options can make a lot of difference in looks and quality. A high end Redman can be every bit as nice as a lower end Durango.

[Chad]

But if a silvercrest is the BMW,Porsche,Lexus,mercedes of Fabricated homes
what is a cavco durango compared to??
Litchfield??
Redman,karsten etc??

[rmurray]

Unfortunately this is impossible to do...For instance..Champion Redman is built in many champion owned plants...All with different specs..some good..some not so good...

Same can be said about any major builder...Palm Harbor has 15 plants..all building slightly different homes..some even build more than 1 line...each with different specs and price ranges...

Worse yet..factories are always changing specs so that a home built 1 year ago might very well not be at all like one built now by the same manufacturer...

Best approach would be to decide what specs you feel are imporant..then decide on features you must have..then find manufacturers that offer these...

[Scott]

I would agree with LJ on his/her list with the exception of Solitaire. My lot is right next door to a Solitaire lot and while they do build a pretty solid home, I have had numerous people come in wanting to trade their Solitaire in for a Karsten or Champion mostly due to extremely poor service on the corporate side of the fence. I think that the care and service you get from the dealer/manufacturer are every bit as important as the quality of the home.

[Jeff]

I did a cost comparison between PH and Cavco for the same floor plan. The Cavco was about $73,600 base price and the PH was about $77,500 base price. But after adding all the structural upgrades (2x6 walls, plywood floors, 2x8 subflooring, extra insulation etc.) and other options the PH home came in about $6,000 cheaper. Cavco has as options what PH has as standard equipment.
By doing a cost comparison, you may be pleasently surprised that you could afford a better quality home. But as Mr. Murray has said many times; pick what is important to you and do your homework.
One person's experiance.
Jeff