-
Cost of ownership
Well the books are done and this is what it cost to get a coach to top shape we kept track of everthing we did on my Royale for the year I owned it here it is 65,000 dollars this does not include fuel , keep in mind some stuff was done at Prevost because I was on road and could not do it , just food for thought when buying a coach that looks like a good deal there may be something’s you will have to spend money on!!!!!!!!!!!
-
20 Replies
-
Hey thanks for all the good news Peter ! I think you hit the nail on the head with that posting. Im afraid to figure mine out ,i would probably slit my throat LOL.
-
Peter,
Can you give us short high level breakdown of where the money went? I’m at $13K for my short 3 months of ownership. In a separate thread I gave a breakdown; I’ll repeat it here in a minute, as soon as I find it. Thanks!
-
The cost of ownership probably needs to be spread over time. We have certain fixed costs such as housing, tires, batteries, insurance, registration, air bags, coolant changes and transmission fluid changes. There are other things that in my opinion age out or are annual expenses.
Then we have the variables that are typically related to miles. Oil changes, fuel, lubes, and other use related expenses. The more we drive the more it costs us, but when we start amortizing the fixed expenses over the miles driven we find the more we drive the smaller the cost on a per mile basis.
In our time of coach ownership I have repaired or replaced everything at one time or another. What is difficult to include in a cost analysis is a reliable means of recognizing repairs not tied to an annual or mileage related list such as transmission or engine repairs, brakes, differential repairs, a failed refrigerator, a bad AC unit, etc. They happen, we know at some point id we onw a coach long enough we will spend money on such repairs, but we have no hard and fast rule on how to quantify the costs.
Based on my current number of annual miles driven I have been running around $1.20 to $1.50 per mile driven. That includes only actual expenses and does not reflect big surprises such as a transmission repair. It is skewed to an extent because I do all my own work, but offsetting that is I replace certain things whether they need it or not such as air bags. It will be an interesting thread to see what others are experiencing.
-
It depends if you are going to drive it into the ground or continually update the coach annually to keep it feeling it as new as possible. Unlike Jon, my interest in maintaining the coach does not extend past washing it. Therefore, all work has to be performed by a quality shop. Since purchasing the coach new I have averaged spending 20-30k per year maintaining and keeping the coach updated in terms of technology, interior, etc. This does not include fuel or travel expenses. It also does not include the cost of a total remodel last year. When you consider that a new coach depreciates 4-500k in the first 2 years of ownership spending 20-30k/year updating does not sound like a bad investment. Not an inexpensive hobby, but it sure is an enjoyable one.
-
Lets be careful here guys you are scaring away some possible owners . Hell Im scared and its wayyyyy too late for me.
-
I’m more than scared……I sure hope Coachmen still makes pickup campers. If nothing else I’ll install a set of Lifelines and aluminum wheels on the Studebaker.
-
Before everyone runs and hides thinking what Peter and Jon spend is the normal, let me give my 2 cents.
I bought a 6 year old coach with 145000 miles 10 years ago. I will admit that some years I have spent maybe 10K in 12 months. Those are the times when all tires and batteries might get changed in the same year. But in other years it is possible to keep cost in check. Annual oil, filter changes and lube job can be done for about $750. Other minor fixes and upgrades can be held to maybe $2500 a year.
Now some cost are self inflicted such as recovering a coach because you want a differnet color. Upgrading sat dish and Tv’s. Head light and tail lifht upgrades. All these things cost but are not needed only “wanted”.
Some things pop up and bite you but spaced over time they are managable. Now I do a lot of my own work and have a shop do the things I can not do or do not have the tools to do. The more you do yourself the more you can control the cost.
Bottom line I can’t prove it, but I would guess based on my budget that on average 10 to 12K a year will take care of most required maintenance and a good deal of upgrades. And if you are willing to make do with older TV and electronics and not worried about an orginall interiorlooks like, I think the cost could be kept down even more. However to be fair I don’t think it would be possible to keep a bus safe and reliable for less then 5K a year spread over the life of the coach. Some parts are just expensive. I always do safety items first and everthing else as the budget allows.
I am sure the “bus nuts” home builders can provide a lot of money saving ideas.
-
this is a great thread as I am tracking my expenses this first year. I chose to zero out my coach and replace things that MAY have not been an immediate need. Tires, batteries, air bags shocks, brakes, belts, complete chassis service, norgrens, many air valves, genny service, aqua hot service,air system service……I was at 30k the day I picked up the coach. Now we are updating the interior, electronics, lights, booth carpet (bedroom), some tile work ect….will probably be just over 20k
my budget was going to be about 5k per year for maintenance and I’m not considering fuel ect…that’s a big variable. This is interesting.
-
My cost was to get bus up to top shape I drive about 50,000 miles a year it is about 1.61 a mile to be in top shape I go to many miles to have problems , I think you could do it for about 10,000 a year sorry if I scared any body that was what I spent , I think about 20,000 a year for me would keep it in good shape once it was in top shape sorry guys that was putting just about everthing new in on the bus
-
OK all you sissies (aka Fred) you can come out from under the bed now. alls right with the world after all.
-
“This is one of the best threads” there are as many different ways of maintaining / owning your coach as there are Prevost owners. I have been a member for over 1.5 years. The guys like Peter, Jon, and Tom are as proven the guys who take maintenance to very high level. I see at least two very evident positives to that, 1) they travel in the safest way possible and have great resale value and the fact that they can create quick sales. That being said all of the input here creates very good comparison information for current and future owners, and the input is spot on.
This thread ties out to all the other post of owners about the experiences they have on a daily basis. This forum has grown into something that is going to only enhance the Prevost market place.
From the example of Mr Mark to the many new owners recently of pre owned coaches that have gotten into this lifestyle of its own.
The fact that there is no such thing as book values for Prevost makes it a little more confusing, but if you take your time, do your research, I think you can sort it out.
When I was at the POG show in January the biggest conversation point I got from people looking was how to value each coach. That unlnown was a detractor to the brand, but I also suspect it helps the brand.
Of the guys that I talked to at the show, you could tell that David had done a lot of home work and had a lot of Blue Bird experience. Now he is the proud owner who is creating the experiences of a life time.
Just insurance alone can be an experience, when you get to owning a Prevost and then want to insure it, as this forum informs you, you want to ensure you insure with a company that knows what a Prevost is, not all companies insure are positioned to insure Prevost in all states. Therefore you might not want to jump in when your circumstances could change.
-
Sheesh, you guys are scaring me and I don’t keep anything longer than 2 years. The question is what’s normal. For me, I get it all sorted out, tires, batteries, etc. and then normal becomes an annual service and odds and ends over the year. I doubt my cost after the first go around to get things right would exceed 5K annually for parts and/or repairs. I keep a detailed log of every penny spend, from purchase to sale.
I doubt it’s a whole lot more than any high end plastic and maybe less. But, I do everything I can myself, so my experience will be way different from someone who has to pay to have a bulb changed.
-
Since I do not do any work on my coach, except wash and bulbs etc, The cost has averaged about 18,000 per year for the last four years, that does not include fuel and taxes, Last year June 13 till June 14 examples 4500.00 for Carge air cooler new hoses and EGR valve, Fan Clutch 3100.00, Slide motor controller 2100.00, New Batteries 4,000.00, 3 new lower panels on the doors, This is something all H owners should check cracks at the corners, and painting same 2900.00, New computor in fridfge 700.00 crestron repair 800.00, 2 level 3 services,2000.00 so I am a little over 20,000 for last year and the coach is at Jeffs getting some upgrades and repairs and service right now and these cost will go toward the June14- June 15 year. Every coach I have owned I want it in the best shape it can be in . Since I do not do any repair work on it I have to pay, I knew this up front when I bought, I have the pleasure of going down the road knowing I have done everything I could to keep it in top shape, You are still going to have a mishap once in a while, but that is the way it is with machinery, I drive 10,000 miles a year on average, Gary
-
I was hoping that buying a ‘new-out-of-the-box’ Prevost would eliminate any extra costs except regular maintenance for at least 10 years (if we’re lucky). The warranty’s will keep us going for a while on all of the components and drive train.
We want to enjoy the coach and not have to worry about updates, norgrens, bags, tires, etc. for a while…. just drive with a big smile on our faces and a very empty wallet.
Safe travels,
Mark
-
MM and Tom hit upon two important points to consider.
First, in MM’s case he is starting from absolute zero so he knows 100% of the coach is new. With the exception of fluid changes, and until he needs to address tires and chassis batteries his only concern is to drive it and maintain it to the schedule. Within the 10 year time frame he mentions maybe he will replace some shocks or encounter a needed repair but he is correct in that he probably has at least 10 years before he starts to have to face air leaks, the leans, or maybe a slide seal. And that 10 year period of time is not an absolute. If he chases every little defect as soon as it is noticed, from a burned out light to a pesky loss of air on the aux system he may extend the “trouble free” period way beyond the 10 years that I set as a life limit on some components. We have seen posts from people who have 17 to 20 year old air bags for example.
But Tom mentioned a point everyone needs to understand. The costs being discussed for our coaches are not unlike the cost to own a high end conventional RV. I don’t know the various brands but those I have seen that are comparable in size to our coaches have all the same type engines, transmissions, air bag suspensions, and various parts that need service just like our coaches. My guess however is that since they are not designed for long life commercial service, or have the history of design evolution that comes from millions and millions of miles of customer feedback they may not be as inexpensive to maintain in the long run. I have not heard of too many 250,000 mile RVs, but that’s a low mileage Prevost.
Log in to reply.