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Chassis Year & Conversion Year
Just a quick question to you all on your feelings about the chassis year and conversion year of your coach.
Most coaches (I think) have a chassis year one year older than your coach conversion… ours is a 2005 Liberty on a 2004 chassis.
What do you think about a 2 year difference… eg… a 2006 conversion on a 2004 chassis…how would you feel about that and would the coach have the same value to you as a 2006 on a 2005 chassis ?
I am just curious about this as I remember in our very early Prevost shopping days someone told me that a 2 year difference would not have the same value as a one year difference???
Does it affect the coach year as well or does it always go by the conversion year?
Thanks in advance.
Cheers, Diane
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3 Replies
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Our first bus was a Country Coach XL 45 w/2 HWH slides on a 1999 chassis called MSO 2001. Many late model Country Coaches have two year spread. Didn’t matter to us, nor did it reflect when we traded. The big hit was trading it in with one year ownership. Depreciation yikes! Just for driving off the lot
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I don’t think most buyers are concerned as much about the spread between the chassis and coach title year unless or until it becomes an issue.
If they did have a problem with the spread I presume they would not proceed with the purchase. The title controls the year the market sees as the coach year. If a coach has a spread of several years it could be of concern but I think most buyers will accept the year on the title as the coach age regardless of the chassis year.
There are true issues that knowledgible buyers recognize. If the spread in years is four years for example, especially if the chassis had significant changes that took place around the time shown on the title by the converter the coach may not have those features. Specifically, as an example Prevost went to a multiplex electrical system and had what are now called pinless slides around 2007. A chassis manufactured in 2005 would have neither feature, yet the coach could carry a 2008 or 2009 year on the title.
A similar problem may impact a warranty issue. I believe at one time Detroit honored the engine warranty from the date of the title, but changed their warranty coverage based on the date of engine manufacture. At best an engine is going to have a date of manufacture within the chassis model year, but it is also possible the date could be much earlier. A coach with a 4 year spread could have an engine with very little remaining engine warranty.
A lot of the coaches with greater than a one or two year spread were in the period when the economy was at its worst. I am not sure if any coaches built today will have a significant spread because very few if any spec coaches are being built.
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Often wondered about this. Had a friend buy a different make many moons ago, older coach and found out at purchase that it was titled about 5 years newer than bus was. Sold as the year when they converted it. He still bought it. Mine was purchased in the same year it was built. Heck bought mine off the Gentleman that had it built up in Wyoming with Cole Conversions. They only built a handfull. He pulled into my yard as the first stop to show me , winter of 1991, and my big goofy Black Lab run up and in when he opened the door and mud everywhere. He took it in stride. RIP Mr Myers.
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