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Coach disappointment
Stopped by in Phoenix today to check out an 01 XLII coach we had seen and liked from the pictures and info we saw on the net. Turned out it was a bit of a disappointment. The Amana refrigerator was not working (perhaps not a surprise?), the dishwasher the same, and the worst part, the roof ACs did a miserable job of cooling the coach. The coach was warm when we arrived and even though it could only run two ACs due to power limitation–only had 30A available, it should have done better. You literally had to stand under the AC discharge to get any cool air. There was no ducting at all, just a straight down discharge. The coach had OTR AC, but that doesn’t help when you are parked. The tires were 9 years old, at least two fogged windows, and frankly it didn’t appear the previous owner did much to keep up with maintenance. I also noticed some delamination on the driver’s side–not sure if that would be much of an issue. Too, bad–we were prepared to fall in love, but did not happen. Our superficial look probably identified $20k in repairs, and who knows how much more once it was given a thorough look. We have sort of taken a liking to Marathon–this was SOB not to be named to protect the guilty:).
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24 Replies
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This is just an opinion based on my limited experiences in looking at coaches and reading forums.
As a coach ages it needs repairs as a result of the aging process. The owner of a coach that needs repairs learns quickly that those repairs cost the same as they would on a much newer coach. When a coach was worth $500,000 repairs that cost $20,000 are viewed as reasonable. But if the coach is worth $150,000 the same repairs appear to be far more than can be justified so until the owner decides to trade or sell the coach maintenance and repairs likely get deferred.
If you found $20,000 in repairs in the house and without looking real hard, try to imagine how many dollars of repairs would be needed if you looked hard at the chassis. The chassis is the first thing to be ignored because the cosmetics and flat screen TVs are seemingly more important.
What is really sad to me is the number of coaches whose maintenance is ignored as they age, which impacts the value of all our coaches. If the average older coach requires some money to bring it into good shape the selling price is going to reflect that. When the selling price is low all owners of the same vintage suffer because the marketplace assumes all coaches are worth the low value regardless of condition. It is almost an Olympic sport to pay very little for a coach regardless of condition.
Buyer’s beware.
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Too bad P&M,
Didn’t you mention they had an XL as well? If so, what were your thoughts on that one?
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P & M,
If there is any comfort to bus shopping and spending time and money finding a bus, most of us have been packed away by sellers with what they think are cream puff buses.
I did a road trip looking at 3- H3’s on one adventure. Michigan, Indy and Nashville.
Then a fly trip to California for 2 which were real disappointments. One seller had convinced me his bus is “road ready”. I was so P*** after that I just walked away shaking my head. He ( owners son )had really convinced me on the phone with conversation and then e-mail of pictures how perfect it was. The problem was most systems fail to work as designed.
It’s so frustrating but part of the hunt. Bus #6 at Marathon- Coberg was the one but my wallet was about $3K lighter getting to bus #6.
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T & C,
We were going to look at a 1998 XL, but when we got to the address in Phoenix, it was in an industrial park that had a big hump at the entry. Our coach probably would have gotten stuck trying to go over the hump, so I gave up on that coach–don’t see where they could have gotten a 45 foot Prevost in there, so we went on our way. After Jon mentioned the XL has single pane windows, I think we’ll go with an XLII, although an H3 is not off the table yet. We have been wanting double pane windows for heat and sound insulation, but I guess it is a double-edged sword; both XLII’s we have looked at had at least one fogged window. Marathon said about $1,500 each to fix, although my Country Coach web sites have mentioned some cheaper options. Fogged wondows and cosmetic issues don’t bother me as much as mechanical issues anyway, unless they are bad.A & M,
You must have bought your coach last year from Marathon–I still have the pictures of your coach in my Prevost data file. Beautiful coach–we really like the paint jobs like yours on the older coaches. How was the experience buying from Marathon, and how has the coach worked out for you? I do like the looks of the H3, but still have to resolve the driver’s seat issue. -
I’ll opinionate here……..(new word for Webster)
Unless you can buy a new ‘made to order’ coach, and therefore must buy within budget?
I have only 2 negatives for our H3………..it’s tall and limits anything I want to put on the roof…….and…….the aforementioned drivers cockpit.
At 75 years and 6’3″………it’s like a Disney ride to enter and exit the driver’s area. Very comfy once you get there, plus it does get easier with practice.
Most of my bruises and swelling have all but disappeared already…..;>)
{Humor, y’all!}
The more I upgrade/ fix/ repair, the more I’m liking her……….can’t afford a one shot ‘zero out’, but divided into smaller chunks we will get it there.
Gotta plan a trip or two to see this Jeff guy I hear about……….
1 vote for the H3 here.
Happy Wednesday above ground, y’all………..Ol’Ben
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This current bus is our second purchase from Marathon – Coberg. My experience is beyond all expectations. Our 2000 H3 was a trade in so Marathon owned it. A PDI is done by their staff which ID’s the issues. On my visit spending 2 days looking at everything made another list.
Nego on everything we made a deal. There is not one single reservation about buying another Marathon through there program.
Coach included a 6 month bumper to bumper warranty which is very comforting buying a bus 15 years old. I want to be fair with a short explanation of this 6 month warranty.
There are repairs and there is routine maintenance. For example , we talk on PC about air bags suggested replacement at 10 years. That’s where warranty gets a little fine line. Fixing air leaks was not any problem what so ever. Air bags are not leaking so this is a maintenance issue if the owner prefers to leave them as is, your call. We choose to zero out all air bags and Norgren valves on our dollar.
We also decided to take advantage (our dollar) of there other services removing all carpet.,new salon floor including steps, new custom mattress which fits under window ledge and has radius corners a perfect fit as we do not have slides. Picked out a carpet for bedroom which Mary Ellen saw used in a new bus.
With help from Alan in there design department added new accent items, new lamps, pulling everything together.
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P&M, Keep in mind that the “cheaper” options on fogged windows only apply to the flat ones. On older busses you will run into fogged or even etched windows. Any H is likely to have fogged or etched drivers, passenger door and or trapazoids. If they are not fogged or etched in any fashion, and the bus is more than 12+ yrs old, they have likely been replaced. On an H the driver or passenger window replacements are fairly reasonable. The trapazoids are not. Geo.
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P&M,
We haven’t taken an XL off our list yet. We saw a PC member’s ’99 Liberty, no slides, in May and we thought was was extremely well put together … my wife especially loved it.
However, I’m not so convinced we can survive with no slides full-timing, so we’re doing a factory tour next month down at Featherlite to look at both the H-3 and XLII. No, we’re not buying new, but my wife can see both models in person to attempt to narrow our search to an XL/XLII or H-3. I also love seeing what’s “under-the-skin” in doing a factory tour, especially since I’ve never done a Prevost factory tour and I look forward to their seeing their monocoque chassis.
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Al & M,
I think replacing airbags at 10 years is over and beyond. Three of our four airbags (lost one bag due to a disintegrating tire) are 21 years old, and are fine–just had them inspected. Zeroing out sounds good, but I’m more of a 5 percenter–some things are not worth fixing. A good example is the electric dump valves–to me they are silly. You drag out your sewer hose, put it on the drain connection, put it in the sewer connection, and then I have the terrible chore of pulling two handles with my bare (or hopefully gloved) hands. How terrible! But then I just have to put the hose away and rinse out the high-proginous material from the hose and connections. I will surely be happy when I get a mechanized valve and won’t have to go through the pain of pulling those handles agan. -
T & C,
The XLVs are nice. We ran into a nice couple in El Paso last month that had a ’99 XLV that by all indications was very well taken care of. He was getting ready to sell it and at a very good price.
I would recommend finding dealers close to you and getting eyes on as many coaches as you can. Lot of difference in condition, but also floor plans. Pictures tell some story, but sometimes the coach look better in person (I guess the opposite could be true). The coach we test drove at Marathon looked drab in pictures, but seeing it in person had us almost buying it! Trying out things like the different ACs is also important. We have gone around on which AC system works best for us. We like the quiet of cruise airs, but a little worried about the maintenance repair cost vs. roof ACs. We are kind od coming around to Jon’s view on OTR AC, although that is also a higher M&R system, but may well be worth it. DW like to have the coach where we could hang meat in it! -
Tim & Cindy wrote: “No, we’re not buying new, but my wife can see both models in person to attempt to narrow our search to an XL/XLII or H-3. ”
Put the Tampa All Prevost Show during January 2016 on your list. You will see 40 to 42 coaches on display and get a really good perspective of what appeals to you and what doesn’t. Parliament is close by. After searching Craigslist and the various RV for sale web sites you should be able to see another seven to ten coaches between Naples, Orlando, Gainesville, The Villages … all a reasonable drive from Tampa.
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Airbags from 2000 H3 14 years old…date codes on bags match year of bus. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
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Great call D&C,
We plan to be in Florida from January thru early April specifically to locate, purchase, and ensure operation of Prevost is up to PAR, before heading out for builds in FL & NM with HH-CAV.
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Tim,
Don’t plan on leaving Florida early April. Mid April or later is better, especially since you will be a full timer. I-75 is a parking lot North bound starting April 1. Seem ALL snowbirds leave Florida on April 1. I owned a 154 site RV park and every lot was full on the night of March 31. On the night of April 1, maybe 20 sites still had coaches in them.
Relax for a couple of weeks and see what it is like to actually be able to drive on Florida’s roads and streets without all the cars with blue hair and eyes looking out below the steering wheel rim with the left turn signal blinking. You may find that you actually like Florida…8 months out of the year.
Fred
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Per,
You will be leaning, leaking air or worse with bags that old on a Prevost, regardless of what some salesman tells you.
Also, delamination you noticed on that XLII is a huge deal, but nothing that can’t be fixed for about 30K.
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