[Steve]

I think you will find that there are very few sales

Rv’s in general are not selling. I realize that a Prevost is a niche item but not many people are in the market with the economy down the tube . I have been looking for 4 months. Many of the units I saw for sale in January are still for sale. Prices have not dropped on any of them. But the sellers are dreamers. As bad as the market is now it will be worse in a few months

I am sure many on this forum will disagree.

[ed]

There are so many factors that influence sellers and prices that eventually will produce changes.

We all have to recognize sellers want to get as much money as possible. It is a hard pill to swallow when dealing with depreciation. We all expect our coach will retain its value longer than the next guy’s coach. Depending on coach condition, records, colors, etc. that could even be true in some cases.

But we have a new situation, similar to the economic downturn in 2007/2008. First, a lot of coaches have to be parked because of travel restrictions, so few buyers want to acquire one until they can use one. Conversely sellers are watching value drop because of depreciation while they are watching the aging of tires, air bags, batteries, etc., paying insurance premiums and maybe storage costs. Eventually those factors are going to motivate sellers to get realistic about prices.

The real influence on price adjustments is going to come from the economy. When owners are upside down and realize their coach value is less than their amount owed, and when the income those owners had stops or is diminished then the financial institutions become bus owners. That is what happened in 2007/2008 and banks will dump those repossessions in the market at cheap prices which will drag the entire market down.

Sellers can only hope that does not happen, but if it does then the prices on coaches that have been in the market a long time are going to get low prices if the owners really do want to sell.

Apart from the virus influenced economy however is a real long term threat that is going to chill the entire market. Insurance costs have gone through the roof, and in some cases insurance is not available. Pay attention to that threat because my guess is if we get through the virus influenced market prices I suspect insurance is going to damage the entire market, and maybe even the sale of new coaches.

[al]

My brother always says, “when you have the dough, they don’t say no”.

[ed]

Coaches simply are not selling. Assuming you can wait this out they should start selling again by the end of the year unless the Covid-19 does strike hard again this Fall.

We are still looking to buy but those on the market are still way over-priced.

[Fred F.]

the “market” is always defined by willing buyer and willing seller. Sometimes those are affected by bank repossessions and what not. . but thats the case. . when someone says they have been waiting and waiting and waiting to buy and they deem it “over priced” – then that means they are under the market. So I dont think you can say they are “overpriced” unless busses are moving under said price to call them that. . if they arent moving at your so called “market” price – then that means you are not in the same market. The same goes for sellers. If your price is way high – then units priced below yours will move before yours will and continue to do so. . .

But I always find it funny when people make overpriced statements because theyve been looking for a long time and cant/wont/unable to pull the trigger because of so called “overpriced” units. . Is it really the market is over priced or is it just priced higher than what you want to spend ? (and thats legitimate and nothing wrong with that).

for the record – i have no bone in this as I’m neither buying or selling. . .

[joel]

Good feedback so far, much appreciated. This hysteria has caught so many people off-guard, I don’t know what to think about the market. Typically, when times are tough that is when I look for opportunities, but this one seems different. Hopefully we will recover quickly from the shutdowns and life will return to “normal” with people traveling, working and spending money.

Thanks again for the opinions so far, I think we will just put it on the market and see what happens.

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1999 XLV X-6872,  liberty #440

[ed]

Hello all,

Just chiming in. I’ve been on the hunt for a coach since last fall. We haven’t pulled the trigger, not so much based prices, but on just not finding a coach that we feel is a better fit for us than the XL that we already have. That being said, we had put in a few offers on coaches that were originally declined. All three of those sellers have reached out to us of late to see if we would still be interested. I see a lot of coaches that have been sitting on the sales block for awhile. I’ve also seen a couple coaches fall out of contract since the sheltering started. Actually, I have a twin-diesel Bertram sport fishing boat for sale that has also fallen out of contract since this all began… and I’d probably take quite a bit less for it now than I would have a few months back.

Obviously it’s a tough time on many levels and the notion of having to sell assets at a loss is daunting and unfortunate for those that are compelled to do so.

I’m still on the hunt for a nice rivet coach and chances are I’ll get a better price on one as we move through this mess. But, that also means I’ll be getting less for mine when I go to sell…same goes for the Bertram for that matter. It’s all relative I suppose.

Good luck

[David]

My dad always told me if what you are trying to sell is not selling, you are asking too much.

The market seems to be frozen right now, or worse … in a free fall. I have sold in a downturn. It’s not a good feeling because as a seller, you never know when the market will hit bottom and turn up. The bottom always seem to take forever.

There will always be a market for our buses, we are addicted to traveling down the highway and camping first class.

But I don’t think we will ever go back to the way things were before. There are just too many things happening “behind the curtain” fighting against it.

[Harry]

What Jon said about insurance is interesting and is most likely an important factor. I also think there is a lot more info on line these days from forums, FB, YouTube etc that spell out the real costs of keeping a used out of warranty bus running/in good shape.

Like others have said, we are probably not going back to the good old days anytime soon, too many unknowns now unfortunately.

I also see most of the same coaches for sale, no big price drops yet. Like real estate some inventory is being held off the market right now and the real deals will probably be 12-18 months away.

[Tom]

Don`t get “I gotta have virus”. Just wait and watch as the prices fall you`ll find it and for heavens sake steer clear of dealers unless retail is ok.

Many prevost owners are older and don`t need $$ and can allow bus to sit and maybe some will get tired of this boat anchor or want to use $$ for something else , then you come along. It can be a job finding it , but they`re out their.

Took me over a year to find my first bus and found the guy whose business was going bankrupt and boom here I was!!