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Last August we bought our ’99 Marathon XLV with 151k miles with OTR from a dealer for about the same cost. As part of the deal, the dealer installed 4 new Michelin tires, upgraded the old TV to flat panels and replaced some of the accent lighting with LEDs and polished the stainless steel. Other than that I had no info on recent maintenance. The bus was in good shape with the exception of the couch upholstery.

In the first year, our major costs were: new house battery bank 6x Lifeline 4D ($3500)-should have talked to Tom, couch reupholstered, ($3000)-we did all the removal and installation work; 8 new shocks ($800 installed), aux air compressor replacement ($220), tag axle hub seal replacement ($400); OTR evacuated and recharged with 23lbs of 134a ($400) plus the usual fluid/filter changes.

We put 8,000 miles on the coach and spent about $5000 on fuel. We are very pleased with the reliability and comfort of our coach.

This was our first coach/RV, so there was a bit of a learning curve. Although we got lucky, buying another coach I’d spend much more time going through all the systems (I only spent 1/2 day) and most importantly insist on driving the coach on some steep terrain to make sure there are no cooling issues. Ours is rock solid temp-wise, but it was just pure luck.

Buses of that vintage can be a good buy if you are willing to fix some of the smaller items yourself. From what you have described, the bus needs about $12k worth of service (tires, OTR, fluids). Make sure the battery banks hold a charge. I’d not offer more than $95k.

Good luck, Gerald

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Paul, gotta agree with Jon on this one. There’s too many hints here to feel comfortable, unless you are willing and capable of doing alot of work yourself. I can guarantee that you will not be happy with a coach with only dash air and the roof tops. This brings to mind Steve Bennett’s(California Coach Co.) assertion “that it is better to pay too much for the right coach than to steal the wrong one”. You should expect to pay 150-180K for a good 98-2000 XL DPI from Prevost service center, new or almost new tires and batteries and everything working. The decision to go to a Prevo conversion is a wonderful impulse, but the decision on the particular coach should not be an impulse decision. Take your time, because choosing the right coach will bring you great amount of joy and satisfaction for a long time.

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Paul I wouldn’t walk away from that deal I would run! Rick