[Archived]

According to the news feed, it was stolen Tuesday (March 22nd) – only six of them for that year…

https://rv-pro.com/news/2016-newmar-nabbed-dealership-lot

June

[Kirby]

With that much money at stake the bad guys could pay a dishonest state employee enough money to get a title, or buy a wrecked unit with a title, Put new paint on it and sell it “at a loss” and still walk away with an impressive payday.

[John]

If I had $922K burning a hole in my pocket, I know what would not spend it on.

[Tim]

Well….

We peeked at the Newmar King Air when we were thinking of upgrading. They are nice but then I realized we would just be getting a regular non-DOT chassis with a bunch of fluff, I looked elsewhere.

So, the search moved onto a Newell…… that didn’t go well when I mentioned it here.

Jon told me I needed a Liberty…. so, we got a Liberty. Tom said no slides but Nancy said go with slides, so we got four slides.

Mark

[Kirby]

I hate it when she’s right…

[Archived]

OMG an admission ???

[Chas]

Precisely why Tom is looking very quietly and privately for his next coach (with slides of course!).

[Archived]

I presume $922k is the list price making the actual value about 650k with discount and probably <600k dealer cost? At any of these price points I would still put a real bus ahead of a plastic one on my shopping list.

[Archived]

Regardless of price conventional motorhomes sell and even to buyers that know about a Prevost I remain shocked every time I hear the reasons why one would be selected over a comparable priced Prevost.

I wanted 4 slides is the first reason given. Never mind the 4 slides only extend a short distance. It is the illusion of space people are buying.

I liked the design. Unless a motorhome buyer would also consider a new Prevost, a motorhome has all the latest rage in decorating so buyers that consider dollar for dollar comparisons are likely comparing a 5 or 10 year old Prevost design to a more modern offering. Never mind that most Prevost conversions have an ageless quality to their design as opposed to a current fad.

I wanted a warranty is another reason. My guess is that gives people comfort, although people with previous buying experience probably know that when they do get a new motorhome a substantial amount of time is required back at the dealer’s getting repairs.

I liked the colors. Try not to laugh too hard because every buyer, including those that buy a Prevost are swayed by the colors and decor. I have heard that reason for buying a coach a lot, yet never once have I ever heard anyone tell me they bought a motorhome because of the systems.

I was not aware I could have a Prevost for the same price. A ten year old Prevost conversion is going to look like a one year old conversion but it will be priced far less. In fact it will be priced far less than the coach that was stolen regardless of if you are measuring dealer cost or retail and it will outlast that motorhome many times over and in an accident it’s strength compared to the plastic motorhome is going to be evident.

I have heard these comments not only from people searching for a motorhome, and who end up with a conventional motorhome instead of a Prevost they were considering, I have heard this from friends who just let emotions play a larger role in the purchasing decision than they would have if they gave more thought to it.

[Rudy]

Like many other bus owners, I owned a few motorhomes before I landed on Planet Prevost. I see advantages and disadvantages to both. I think Jon’s analysis omitted two important considerations, financial resources of the owner, and available financing.

If I only had $100K to spend, and I needed to borrow most of the $100K to spend it, I probably would buy a motorhome. The motorhome probably would be gas powered, but it would be new, be under warranty, and probably have two slides, maybe more.

A $100K bus would be pretty old, have no slides, no warranty, and likely no available financing, at least at a reasonable rate. Tlhen, the bus is going to need some work, and I can’t take it to Camping World or my local RV guy. I have to go to a guy like Jeff Rowe and pay for his expertise and his $500 per quart oil.

If you bought the bus over the gasser, you would never experience the thrill of standing on the accelerator, listening to that Chevy 454 scream like your 10th grade girlfriend while you sat next to the “dog box” protruding into the driver’s cockpit, as you tried to ascend Monteagle pulling a trailer at 23 miles per hour.

By the time you reach a price point in the motorhome world where the quality becomes decent and the chassis/engine combination approaches acceptable (like upper tier Newmars), it makes more sense to buy a bus

I do miss Patty, but not the gasser. It was a 1999 Winnebago Adventurer, and she burned to the ground at the young age of eight months. RIP

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Colt….let’s be clear here about Patty. she is either BM (before Melessa) or just a name of the RV that never made its first birthday. …smile

I had one of these $922 K over priced plastic flashy King Aires in the bus barn a few years ago. After the new owner drove it to the bus barn and parked it inside it sat for 3 weeks. No start two days later, a week wait till the dealer could get someone to Peculiar MO. They found the problem and the King hit the road. Apparently no one ever did any testing after getting the main engine to start. The failure now moved to the generator with a no start condition.

The list goes on and the final straw was a slide jamed up in the out position. The life of the King was 6 months in Peculiar, MO.

[Archived]

I know it’s not just me as a Prevost owner, but every campground I’ve been at so far, and everyone I’ve talked with, believes my 15-year old is close to new. A testament to how the previous owners took care of it, but also a testament to how a Prevost holds up over time, given the owner takes care of it.

I was recently inside a 2007 four-slide Tiffin “bus” of a friend of mine. Nice Bus, but there is simply no comparison to the quality of the chassis and Marathon (or Liberty/Featherlite, etc.) finish vs. these other motorhomes. And we did the Newmar factory tour and saw the King Aire … nice, but again, what’s underneath is even more important than buying brand new.

I could have been one of those owners with the four-slides, but we’re so glad we went with our Bus!

[Archived]

Tim,

I don’t recall if you mentioned it, does your Marathon offer a slide?

I remember meeting you and Cindy ‘pre’ Prevost in Vonore. Can’t wait to see your new bus!

Mark

[Archived]

I have had a $100,000 Prevost. It was my first coach, and when I sold it that was its value.

If someone offered me an even trade for Colt’s new $100,000 motorhome, or even one with a price tag in the $200,000 range I would have turned them down.

He is correct in what he said about financing and the cost to maintain or repair older Prevost conversions, but what he omits in the discussion is his “new” motorhome loses about half its value within a year or two, and my old $100,000 conversion has almost stopped depreciation to the point where is still is worth $90,000 or so.

Maybe financing is a consideration, maybe high interest rates are going to be a factor, but I’ll bet the interest rates and cost of maintenance on the Prevost is going to be far less than the interest rate and cost of depreciation on the motor home.

[Archived]

I have friends that would love to have a Prevost, but lack the ability to pay cash and that prevents them from Prevost ownership. They must finance their Motorhome or they wouldn’t be able to enjoy the lifestyle. That’s why the plastic coaches sell, they can be finananced with an amortization of 20 years in some cases, making the payments low and allowing people to become RV owners.

So regardless of depreciation and all the judgements about ownership through financing, the fiberglass RV market thrives because it makes RV ownership possible for thousands of folks without the cash resources. I’m glad they have a motorhome, for some a Prevost may become a reality as their fianaces improve over time.

I’m one of those people and without the exposure and ownership of financed fiberglass coaches many years ago, I may have never made the leap to Prevost. The fiberglass coach ownership allowed the RV bug to bite and here I am on my 6th Prevost.