In the lost money thread, a couple of posters mentioned that the worst financial decision they ever made was to buy a timeshare. And I see ads on TV for firms that you can pay to extract you from timeshare agreements.
So has anyone had any good experiences with a timeshare?
From the lost money thread, I’ll re-post my reply:
While I sure there are, I have no personal experience.
Some timeshares appreciate substantially in value because they are in a very desirable location with very limited opportunities for new construction. Some people want to go year after year to the same place for vacation for 30 years.
But on average timeshares are a losing proposition.
Sure. About a decade ago I realized that I was letting ridiculous amounts of vacation time accumulate at work and I needed to force myself not only to take time off, but also do something more than just sit at home when I did take time off. So I actually went in search of a timeshare to get myself out of the house for at least once a year.
I ended up going with Disney (DVC) as I figured Orlando had plenty for me to do for 30+ years even if I get tired of DisneyWorld itself.
I’ve been happy with it, but it was me doing initial research and then going to a large company with the intent of buying a timeshare knowing that I wasn’t doing it to “save money” or other nonsense, and not buying impulsively because some fast-talking sales guy won’t let me leave.
My son has had a pretty good experience. I’m not sure he actually uses the place he shares but he has successfully traded it for vacations at many other places. Including three times he used it at a Laurentian resort in Quebec to take us on a long weekend over Canadian Thanksgiving/Columbus Day, the latter a legal holiday in Mass.
I have a friend who recently bought the Disney Vacation Club timeshare that **dzeiger **mentioned. His family has some disposable income, and they like to travel, and they have two little kids, so they were easily sold on it. I am not sure but I think they didn’t go looking for it, they were pitched on it when they were at Disney Land, but it made sense for them. I think they were actually able to pay it off in a year or so.
What they liked most about it is that it’s not just for Disney World, Disney Land and the non-American theme parks. It offers locations all over the US and the world.
So, the setup is different than a typical timeshare because it’s not just access to one physical location. But it is somehow similar…my friend calls it his timeshare.
My sister and her husband have the same type of deal. Not with Disney; some other company (Marriott?). They use “points” or something to stay in all sorts of places. I’m not exactly sure how it works, but she says they come out ahead on cost. And they’ve taken lots of neat vacations all over the place.
So you decided to buy a DVC timeshare, but did not buy through Disney but by going to a timeshare broker that enabled you to buy from someone looking to offload theirs (at a discount to Disney)?
I went direct through Disney. Secondhand is not a huge savings, is more complicated, and Disney has slowly been making it less attractive by restricting some of the discounts and other benefits.
mom bought a thousand trails membership … it was good for the first few months but after the recruiting drive was done all the fun stuff died off and it was just another campground without much to do …
she quit paying on it and they would call her up and hassle her but they had some type of class action lawsuit and my mom was added to it and tt lost so according to ot the settlement she was misled and didn’t owe them anything anymore …
Yes, I’ve had a positive experience. Years ago with an afternoon to kill, mizpullin and I attended a sales event to get the prize. When the saleshole started the spiel I stopped him and firmly stated we weren’t buying a timeshare – not now, not ever. And he could save himself a lot of time by just giving us the clock* they’d promised so we could leave. He tossed the box on a chair and said goodbye. We had the clock in the living room for decades, until it finally gave out.
As to actually buying a timeshare, I have a few friends and relatives who’ve done so. All have eventually regretted it and had to take some sort of loss to get free of it.
*The promised prizes were something like a Mercedes, 2 weeks in Hawaii, or a clock. I knew the first two were bullshit, but figured we could get a free clock.
I’ve met people in St Martin who are vacationing cheaply thanks to timeshares. They pay for their airfare, then attend timeshare talks where the seller gives a free night’s stay in one of their properties. They repeat this daily.
I could never do this. Wake up, pack your bags, grab breakfast, then go to the beach. Around 4 o’clock, go to the next sales pitch on your list and sit for two hours. Eat a complimentary dinner, then go to your room. Repeat every day.
If you go to eBay Timeshares section and look at Sold listings you will fine quite a few sold for $1 or less.
My wife’s parents purchased a timeshare in Hawaii that allowed them to also timeshare at other properties across the US. They used it a few times in Hawaii, got sick of Hawaii, then used it a few places around the US until they got sick of flying. Then they bought a huge RV and drove everywhere. They considered the whole timeshare thing a bad deal. They sold it off at a considerable loss.
The Mrs. and I sat thru a timeshare presentation once, endured the 2 hours of hard sell to get the free dinner, then swore we’d never sit thru another one again. And so far we have not.
Ive had fantastic times in timeshares! In fact EVERY time in a timeshare has been fantastic! Although none of them were mine, sooo…yeah.
Some good friends of mine have one. 15 years or so by now.
They use it some, but they are part of a network or something where they trade their slot for time at someone else’s in a different location and time. They are very pleased with their setup.
I am one who said “Timeshare” in the bad financial decision thread.
As for enjoying the resort / travel aspects - yes, we have certainly enjoyed the resort / travel aspects. And have traded around for other desirable locations. All of that works as described. Positive experiences!
However, when you look at the upfront purchase cost, plus the annual maintenance cost, we could have had the same resort / travel experience (that we thoroughly enjoyed!) for a less money out of pocket. And we wouldn’t be pestered by unpleasant people trying to waste our time sitting through additional sales pitches.
So, it’s not like it’s a total scam by any means. It’s just not an optimal financial decision.
My Beloved and I have a membership in Worldmark, and have never regretted it. We have vacationed up and down the west coast, several resorts in Las Vegas, Leavenworth Washington, we have an upcoming trip to Virginia Beach in May, and are now planning a trip to either New Zealand or Hawaii for later in the year.
No experience with timeshares. I just posted to remark that, in the animated series “Disenchanted”, if you listen carefully you can catch the little devil creature trying to talk other characters into them.
If you don’t mind having to plan every vacation six months in advance and are content with only staying at the select properties on the list, then it may possibly be a good deal. But if that’s what you want then you don’t need to buy at the high pressure sales pitch meeting. As another said, buy it on Ebay at a tremendous discount.
Many otherwise intelligent people go to these sales pitches and swear that they are only there for the free night/Disney tickets but end up walking out of there having bought a timeshare. Those sales tactics are tried and true and they do influence people. Plus, unless you are ready to threaten to kill someone, they won’t let you walk out of there. They have comebacks for all polite refusals.