[Archived]

Drag, how high is up?

OK I am being a smart ass, but your question is difficult to answer. Start with the basics. All coaches of that vintage listed have asking prices. Scour the listings and see what range of prices you see. Then keep in mind they are asking prices. Most are not going to be the selling price or the value as perceived by the market.

Then the answer gets really confusing. Pictures are rarely so detailed you can see the evidence of wear and tear and minor issues like scratches or stains. You cannot get any sense of smells such as cigar smoke or what a coach owned by a cat hoarder might smell like.

Things that affect value are also not usually listed and you have to dig the information out by talking to the owner such as if all maintenance logs are available (very valuable) ages of tires and bateries, known issues or problems, etc.

Then there is certainly going to be how to value or impact to value things like miles, colors, and features.

Finally I think how you intend to use and keep the coach comes into play. You will not value the same coach the same way depending on if you tend to flip coaches or if you intend to buy for the long term. If you are going to flip a coach you want price to be very low so depreciation has less of an impact on your. But a coach you intend to keep is not only going to have to have more that meets your requirements, it also might be worth more to you because depreciation is no longer a major part of your consideration.

Good luck. Ask a lot of questions here because we have a lot of long term coach owners with a lot of buying and selling experience.

[jason]

Thanks for info I am just really confused about pricing it’s all over the place and I know I am gonna lose but I don’t want to lose a ton

[DON]

I would like to know what an experienced buyer thinks they would pay for something like this

[Bob]

I do understand that there are many variables but they re guess better than mine

[gordon]

Under $200k maybe way under. Lot of coaches out there. Lot of owners getting into 2 slides, 02’ up to pre exhaust filter.. 08’

[jason]

I am really concerned about no slides found a please don’t rip me Newell with 3 slides for same money

[Mark]

I am total newbie I have owned a newmar London aire in past so this is new territory

[jason]

You say you are going to lose but don’t want to lose a ton.

pretty cynical statement.

If you buy at a valued price and use the bus with proper maintenance you should be able to sell for a reasonable price at the end of your use. you have to put some value receive on the bus during your ownership.

I find it unusual to ask a value without giving specifics and pictures on the bus.

What is the value of 2 year old mattress? I have one to sell, what should i ask for it.

It mught make a difference if it were a Serta perfect sleeper vs a Sam’s club economy foam unit.

Not trying to be condescending just helpful.

[Archived]

How long have you owned your 1998?

[Art]

Drag, I just read all your posts above and I think I understand your concerns. Here is my spin on this looking at the big picture.

Prices are all over the place for a variety of reasons so the best you can hope for before getting specific is to use the internet listings of similar conversions of that age and model (non-slide H) to get the range. Keep firmly in mind unless you have physically seen the coaches you do not know much detail about them, especially if they are pristine and like new, or soiled and reeking of smoke.

You also won’t know how the seller has arrived at the price. A seller under financial pressure is going to either price high and hope he wins the lottery by finding a buyer willing to pay his price, or you may find a seller that just wants the coach gone and quickly, thus the low price. So you have too many variables that are going to contribute to the spread in prices.

If you do your homework and start by recognizing values not only by internet searches but by learning more about specific coaches such as actual condition, availability of maintenance records, etc. you will soon understand with a degree of accuracy what represents reasonable pricing.

This is a very limited market so we do not have Kelly Blue Book values, and to make matters worse, sellers are likely to boast of how much they sold a coach for on the high side, and buyers are likely to understate what it cost to get a coach. Often unspoken is the tens of thousands a buyer might spend after a purchase to bring all needed maintenance or repairs up to date.

And then there is depreciation. These coaches are not investments and they do not hold their value very well. Those that command higher than average prices are often exceptionally clean and well cared for, and have detailed maintenance records to reflect all maintenance and repairs so a buyer knows exactly what is being purchased. That coach is going to hold its value well and reduce the impact of depreciation.

The other side of the issue is the coach that has signs of wear and tear, and lacks any historical data relating to the needed maintenance. It will have small things not working, and it will not leap out as being well cared for.

But both coaches can be a great purchase. If the poorly maintained coach can be purchased cheap enough and if you are capable of doing your own work you can bring back some of the neglect and add value with sweat equity. Just keep in mind the parts needed for an old coach with a low value cost just as much as the parts for a much newer coach with a value well into 7 figures.

As to Newell, historically a Newell is going to sell for less than a comparable Prevost. It is possible to get a Newell with excellent features for less, but what a Newell will lack is the support offered by Prevost and the Prevost converters. We have support all over the country. That has a real value.

[George]

Drag, it might be easier to let us know certain parameters of yours. You had a MH in the past. How are you going to use it, your budget for purchase and why a Vantare? I know a pretty good amount about Vantare. You may call or txt me 941 779 5018. George

[glen]

We bought a 99 Liberty XLV in April of 2014. Tires and batteries were aged out big time. It had NO maintenance records, in spite of being essentially a one owner coach. Jeff Rowe at East Tennessee Luxury Coach said all the hoses, bags, brake chambers, etc looked original. So I told him to “zero it out” where he thought appropriate.

Tires and batteries IIRC were $10k. Jeff’s invoice for bags, brake chambers, all hoses, all fluids, and filters and a few odds and ends was another $20k. So I spent $30,000 before I drove the coach. I had that factored into my deal with the seller.

Does this coach have the original refrigerator? If so, how long will it last? Our original failed. $1,500 for a new kenmore that fit in the hole and $1,200 to do the swap (Jeff could probably do for less).

Does this coach have the original modified sine wave inverters? Or have they been updated to full sine wave? New refrigerators and computers don’t like MSW power. I think the upgrade was $3,500.

As you can see, things that impact price aren’t just age, miles, converter, chassis.

I looked at asking prices, looked at lower end of asking prices, took $5k to $15k off of that, and then tried to factor in immediate maintenance.

George is a good resource. Use him. Hope this helps.

[Archived]

Bought it 2 months ago

[Dick]

[Dick]

The reality of it all is that these things are worth EXACTLY what some buyer is willing to pay. We can’t figure out what’s going on, but the 40′ Prevost’s are selling for way more than a comparable 45′ of the same year and setup. There certainly were less 40 footer built but there seems to be a 40 foot feeding frenzy going on right now. List it for sale…..SOLD! Doesn’t seem to matter how over priced it is. I am referring to XL and not H coaches as the 40 foot H is the ugly stepchild of the Prevost world.