Is DVC really worth the money? Has anyone ever thought "I wish I never bought into it

[jarestel]

I would imagine many people have thought this over the years. Those people probably sold their points and moved on. On this board you're more likely to find happy campers who have been enjoying their DVC memberships and don't have any regrets.

 

[pmcpmc]

now we have to enjoy ourselves every year.

 

[mjkaferle5]

now we have to enjoy ourselves every year.

Excellent response!!!!!!!!!!

 

[JoeEpcotRocks]

For those of retirement age, DVC can evolve from family vacations to a warm weather escape in the winter months. We look forward to using our points to stay at Vero or Hilton Head during the winter when our kids (now 18 and 21) are out of the nest. It is far less expensive than purchasing a second home or condo, worrying about hurricanes and paying taxes, maintenance, etc. DVC takes care of all the maintenance and you are not going to find a reasonably priced condo with the beauty of Hilton Head or Vero or OKW.

For just two of us, a studio will be fine and our 420 points will go a long way. The flexibility of the point system as opposed to a fixed week (as well as the quality of accommodations) was what sold us on DVC. So, if the kids want to join us, we go to a 1 br or 2 br.

Like many previous posters, we bought 230 OKW points in 1996 after going to WDW for the three previous years. The points cost less than the three vacations had cost. We added on twice at Vero, taking advantage of special offers. Though the maintenance costs have risen, we still get far more value than the annual maintenance cost in our vacations. Florida real estate is leaping up in price and that cost will be passed on in higher prices for accommodations in other new and renovated resorts.

So, we see our DVC purchase as both a vacation option now and a retirement benefit in a few years. We're very happy with our purchase, and would still be very happy even if there was no resale value. Our guide, when we purchased initially, told us straight out not to view DVC as an investment, so the resale value is an added plus we didn't expect.

That's our plan and thoughts too. We have some "adding on" to do yet though.

 

[iankh]

I'm not sure if I did or didn't put exhaustive thinking into my purchase.

I looked at DVC back in 1995 and was very interested but did not do anything. We go down to WDW around every 12 to 18 months, and for the past several trips stayed at WL which is our favorite.

it had been about 3 years since we had been down, primarilty due to dealing with my elderly father and our not being able to go away.

I got to thinking about DVC again planning for this trip and looking at what the cost of a room would. I was shocked at the jump in 3 years. DVC started to look very attractive. I started looking at VWL resales (I had been out of the loop for so long, I didn't even know that VWL existed).

However, I have to be firm in saying that I did not approach it as an investment, rather than as a hedge and an attempt to reach some kind of stasis in our vacation costs over the next many years. Plus we were attracted that we could invite friends and family.

So the question of, is it worth it? I think it all depends on what you like and what you want to do with your money. That is a matter of personal tastes.

I very much agree with the analogy of buying a 60K car vs. a 20K car, or a house in the city vs a house in the burbs.

Is there a right or wrong? For that matter, does there have to be a right and wrong? Can't it just be?