I bought a 3 year old modular - a TRUE modular, and we love it, so do our neighbors who have the same thing, minus the basement. These are no steel homes, they are lifted off the trailers with cranes and the pieces set in place, bolted and screwed together, and them finished plumbed, wired, etc. It is SUPER clean & dry, compared to a stick built - there is ZERO mold, so my eldest daughter and I immediately noticed the difference.
1725 sq ft, (3br, 2ba, ranch), well, septic tank, walk out basement - $109k complete original cost. The value has already appreciated, just like the stick builts. From the outside, or the inside, or basement, it looks just like a stick built ranch.
We think it's built better than a stick built, more solid floors, cleaner, quieter and tighter. The few problems we're nothing compared to my brother, who's building his 7th or 8th house. So far, every house he's built has had the lumber rained on, and takes months to dry out... leaving mold. Ours is a Cardinal, so is the neighbors - we're very happy with it.
My problems have been a 6 gallon pressure tank which was good for a single flush before the well pump cycled. With all the power outages we experience, that was useless - I just installed an 86 gallon, several hours worth of water without power. I also added a spin-down water filter because our well pump - pumps sand! How I'm gonna resolve this, who knows... maybe our future roof water collection system will help a bit.
None of the problems me or my neighbor experienced have anything to do with Cardinal Homes. It's the contractor that skimped where ever he could - just like he does with the stick built homes! Modular homes have really changed in the last 5 years, very nice floor plans! I'd recommend a modular over a stick built, there are more quality checks and the construction location is in a dry environment.
As far as a mobile home - (steel support frame in the basement), NO THANKS! The drywall is thin & finished like a motor home, the floors flex & creak, the doors and windows fit poorly, they seem to radiate noise through the steel beams... all the nice appliances, fireplace and wall paper doesn't improve them or bring them close to a modular or stick built.