[Rodger]

Paul,

The mid to late 90’s was about as good at you could get with the XL’s. I had 4 of them and all but one was very simple and straight forward as far as complexity goes. Parliament is still in business, servicing coaches and is one of our Advertisers. You’ll probably hear from Bill Bunch, he has about the same year as you’re considering and knows Parliament inside and out.

I don’t know of anyone having insurance problems. Even though you’ve done your homework, your should really think about a PDI if you get serious. You didn’t mention where the coach is located, but Prevost would be your best bet.

[Archived]

it’s actually in Brookfield Vermont. About 30 tp 40 minutes from me.

[Archived]

Paul, Parliament re-joined with Coach Worx last fall and most of the key people who designed, built and serviced those coaches are there. Moreover Rick May and Ben Cummings are two of the most knowledgeable guys in the buisness. Insurance is not a problem, just agree on the value. Mileage is fine for that year coach. To tire up about 45000. Try and do a PDI per Jon’s recommendations(can be found in archived threads). Good luck.

[Dean]

Generally speaking you are buying two products. You are buying a 1997 Prevost chassis and you are buying a Parliament conversion.

If you scan the posts you are going to find both to be relatively trouble free. The last models of the XL chassis were the most economical to drive with the 12.7 non-EGR Series sixty and the well proven chassis just does not have any weak points.

The Parliament conversions have rarely been the topic of service problems. They were not built in the large numbers of other conversions, but they were built by the Mitchell family that had a lot of expertise in conversions. Like others have said previously service is available, but equally important I don’t think there were any prorietary or complex systems that would make any service or repairs difficult or expensive.

If the coach has the independent front suspension I would make certain the entire front end got an inspection because that was the early IFS and if the bushings are bad it is an expensive fix. I would also get an Allison dealer to hook up the computer and give the transmission a check. That vintage had transmissions that have had unusual clutch plate wear and if the clutches are near the end of life you will be facing some big expense.

Other than those two items I would do a normal detailed pre-buy inspection.

[Sherry]

I bought a 1997 with 180000 miles on it . It was in good shape I put about 30000 dollars into it . There are lots of things to look at aqua hot , alignment , air bags, shocks ,air bellows ,toilet, gen airbags, just some of the things to look at there is more starter change fluids and belts hope this helps

[Archived]

Paul, I found out that there’s the
PDI (pre delivery inspection) procedure and then there’s the DPI. You want
Prevost to perform a DPI- “Detailed Mechanical Inspection for Used Vehicle”
with them running the Codes on both the engine and the transmission. Also, I would
get an Oil Analysis done to check for any contaminates. What I did was to use Jon’s
check-list (posted on this site) adding my own issues and questions to it and
then had Prevost do the DPI. I was able to fine a great coach and knew exactly
what I was getting (or very close) before writing out the big check… well big for me anyway!
Good luck with your purchase reading this site is the second best thing that you
can do…the first thing is to listen to your gut.

Fred

[Archived]

Oil Analysis tests are cheap, so sure do one. Unfortunately, a good report is not too meaningful. If the oil was recently changed the test will likely have good results. If you know for sure how many miles are on the current oil change, the results may be more meaningful. Except for bad readings, oil analysis are for detecting trends. Again, they are cheap, so go ahead. Just don’t bank on good findings being of much meaning.

[Archived]

The only thing I would consider telling in a single oil analysis is if it shows evidence of coolant. I would also get concerned if there were off the charts amounts of some of the metals, but when you start getting those indicators you are likely already sensing the engine is dealing with issues. If the coach hasn’t had recent use iron might be high from surface rust on the cylinder walls.

As Gil suggests the trends are what you look for and one analysis is not going to show them.

[Jerry]

We have been down this oil analysis road many times before. There are a couple of company’s out there preaching this however as Jon suggests, what you look for is a trend. Need to have a baseline to make the test valid. There are a number of things that can skew the results as well, run the analysis on oil that say has 5 hours on it since oil change, results not valid, even if it has sat in the engine for a year or more. There are more.

The private labs want the analysis to begin with a new engine and there are specific rules for collecting a valid sample, not at the beginning, not at the end of the drain. When an engine is brand new it will make some metal as it runs in, then it stabilizes. What a regular analysis will due is to show what kinds of metal are in the oil; thats half the equation. Is it an oil pump, a bearing, a ring…………….

For years we have cut the oil filters, removed the outer case and then using a sheet rock knife cut the element away from the metal…stretch it out over a garbage can and wait 12 hours then hold the thing up to the sun and look for metal…cheap and efficient…..a magnet helps you identify any findings.

Remember a certain amount of dissolved metal is considered normal as bearing and other parts wear, big chunks of steel or brass indicate things far more serious……

Now for tires, the date code is when they were made, not installed. Michelin makes the 315’s in Spain and it is common to have a tire installed that may already be two years old. I have a close friend, a tire dealer, who goes to all of the schools and training and it is the date of installation when the clock starts…….not the date of manufacture. Even then it depends on how well the tire was maintained, a one year old tire could be shot if operated under inflated and allowed to sit unprotected in the sun, while a tire that is eight years since manufacture, properly maintained could be just fine.

[Rodger]

Correct, the clock starts on the day of installation, however if the tire is 10 years from the date code regardless of when installed all tire companies treat it as junk.

[Archived]

I would reject any tire still being manufactured that was more 3-4 months old. I have purchased Michelin XA2 Energy tires 3 times over the last 2+ years. Never has these 315s been more than 2 months old. All have been made in the US. I have 2 315s I need to replace and will before my next trip. They are 8 year old made in France 315s.

I did replaces a couple discontinued XA1 tires and they were just over a year old. Being discontinued, I was okay with the dates. What choice did I really have?

Regardless of how a tire is stored, it will begin to age. The aging may be slow, but it will age.

[Archived]

Hi there, sorry for the delay was in Vegas with Ron Bergeron without comp. Like Tom said I have a 97 XL Parliament and they were actually built by Ed Cristeanio the original owner of Parliament before the Mitchels bought the company. Have no fear you have complete support from the heart and soul of they know it inside and out. I have made big changes inside our bus, had all the interior panels down for color change got to see how every thing was built and laid out. All I can say is Ed over built everything even the cabinets are finished on the wall side, the vitracore work is truly old school with fit and finish that rivals anybodys. The weight is balanced side to side on all wheel positions and the weights given you plenty of capicity on all axles with a total in the 46000 range. The weakest link in the electrical was the inverters Ed used but the one your looking at has been changed mine too have a 4000 Trace. I do most of my on work and know the coach well so any thing you might need please give me a call 803-238-9281 or message, do love to talk these buses up. O yea Ed did the at least the 97 conversion 96 shell thing and was a very low volume converter my coach # is 95-006, and he did a very colorful bus that really stand out in a croud back when they were fun and bright you will never mistake my bus for somebody else unlike all the earth tones of today. Well hope I have swayed you to make the plunge and if I can help Please don’t hesitate to call, Bill

[Archived]

I have purchased 3 coaches from Parliament. The support has been outstanding and I would not hesitate at all. The systems they use are very straight forward. Give Ben or Rick a call before you buy the coach they will be happy to help you in any way.

[needtocamp]

Well Jane & I just returned from a trip to go see the coach in person. The coach itself is visually clean and nice and is something that we could both see us in.

Now we have to start getting our arms around the details.

the coach has OTR Air which is Parliament installed which is disconnected and does not work. It has drivers air and 3 roof airs. The belts for the OTR are not on and the pulley on the compressor is loose from the housing. Hasn’t worked in a long time. All other airs work. Comments to making it operational.

New inverters have been changed to Outback power tech. Pure sine wave output. New 8d house batteries 01/10. New genset battery 3/11. New coach batteries 4/12.

manual zip d awnings, manual window shades,

Needs new rubber all the way, Currently has 315’s, what’s the purpose of 365’s and would they fit on this coach and would I want 315 or 365.

The refridgerator is original and works fine. What concerns /cautions should I have.

New front shocks, aqua hot rebuilt recently, tag airbag replaced.

This coach has one potable water tank 140 gallons, one waste tank 140 gallons, with macerator pump discharge and regular discharge? fuel tank 168 gallons.

generator mounted on rubber bushings but not air bags with steel fork lift pockets for removal. 1586 hrs. Service at 100 hour intervals

Coach is Prevost # T5956, Parliament # 96016, is there information that I can get on the coach based on these numbers.

The engine and generator are very clean and show no sign of fluid leakage, and do not show as to be just cleaned up.

The coach seems to hold air well and the owner said it does, rear nor greens replaced. Both.

Prevost service location of choice was Tennessee.

It does have a blender thing mounted in the kitchen counter top, what have people done with that in the counter.

What is the best way to create a value for this, I suspect I have to look at it 2 ways 1) Prevost chassis 2) parliament conversion. If I look at coaches online I see 100k to 200k asking, then how to you define the difference between asking and SOLD. Asking is 129k.

Right now the coach is sitting in grass low to the ground, that’s not good. I can say that this 40′ coach can get down back woods dirt roads based on where it is located, these folks bought a house in the back country in Vt. after spending 7 years touring. Now fighting an unfortunate cancer diagnosis. Super People, which is becoming evident of Prevost People.

Do most people register in their home state, or do a lot of people do Montana type LLC things.

The simplicity of this coach in comparison to newer coaches is recognized as a good thing for this newbie, we can get in at this level and be very comfortable and enjoy it and not feel overwhelmed and potentially exposed not knowing.

[Archived]

Paul,

I do not intend to rain on your parade but you described enough issues to make me want to walk away.

As a new owner you are going to be chasing problems for a long time because your description of what did not work is already longer than I would want to see on a coach, but you can bet you do not know the half of what is going to be needing attention. It is likely the owner does not even know all of the work you may have ahead of you.

Let’s start with the AC system. It needs to work. You absolutely need to have all house environmental systems working and that alone could run into serious money. Are you willing to risk the cost of the repairs will be cheap? You already know the coach is going to need thousands of dollars worth of tires. When you get the coach perfect that is when you need to think about changing tire sizes, but right now stick with 315. I do not see any reason to even consider 365 tires, ever.

You don’t indicate if you did a complete inspection, such as running all systems such as all AC units, the generator, the Aqua-Hot, etc. You do not indicate if you drove the coach and if you determined if the the engine, transmission, IFS, etc are working well, or if the coach needs a full maintenance. If the owner cannot show you historical maintenance logs, receipts or records of some sort you have to assume you are going to face that expense.

But the most troubling thing to me was the list of things that got repaired. If nothing else makes me want to step away it is changing one valve or air bag at a time on a coach of that vintage. Unless there are records to prove all the others on the coach are relatively new I will suggest the maintenance on that coach was bare minimum. Assume all the parts are of the same age, and if one failed and needed to be replaced, would it not follow all others are approaching their end of life?

When buying a coach be a cynic. If you could find as much as you did in need of questioning or repair, think about what you haven’t yet learned. As a new owner do not buy a project. Buy a coach. I realize it is a harsh evaluation but at the stated price I cannot offer encoiuragement.