-
OLDER COACHES
-
I bought my old coach in November 2014, I bought it from a dealer. They told me what they did to it while it was in their possession. I then tried to get other service information from Liberty and from Prevost. I felt like a leper trying to get a kiss……..
I then I asked the dealer that I purchased from to get this information for me. The tried but I didn’t get anything as far as service records. I think it would have been easier to find Jimmy Hoffa than come up with the records.
This is where Jeff Rowe came in. After reading on the forum and listening to all the good things I had heard about Jeff Rowe at East Tennessee Luxury Coach I just could not wait to drive to Knoxville and give this guy some money! I called and made an appointment. I intended to find out what I had and what kind of shape it was in before I went any further. Jeff looked over my coach told me what I needed to replace now, and what I would need to replace in the future. It meant alot to me to find out where I stood. I have don’e almost every thing he recommended and still have more to do in the future.
So if you can’t find your records I would recommend you go see Jeff and get the real story from a trustworthy shop.
Steve
-
I also tried to get service/ work performed on the coach we purchased couple months ago, no avail due to privacy. I can care less of the owner info(history now) I just need to know what to expect next…is there anything we can do as a group to get these OEM’s in line?
-
Like everyone else I would like to get all the service history for a coach I purchased. It sounds so simple. Just have Prevost and the converter run copies of all the work orders, black out the name address, phone number and account number of the previous owner(s). Simple right?
I don’t think so. First, where do Prevost and the converter draw the line? I has to be a PITA researching the service history of every coach. Prevost can likely pull the information up by VIN. But it is likely the converter has to pull it up by their coach number. We assume that can be easily done, but it takes time even if we have the VIN and build number.
Does access to that information get limited to owners, or prospective owners? I can imagine a coach for sale getting multiple requests for that information. If a seller wants to assist a buyer in making a purchasing decision we as buyers need to look to the seller to provide that. More often than not coach log books or service records are dumped in the trash by dealers. I have had conversations with a lot of coach owners who have traded their coach and found the dealer has no interest in the coach records. The private sellers likely are able to provide more service history documentation than most dealers. This is especially true of owners who are selling a well maintained coach. They are glad to prove its history.
If there is to be a solution to the difficulty in getting service history it has to start with buyers putting pressure on dealers or sellers. If the seller gets that information from Prevost or the converter potential buyers can get copies from the seller or at least review the documentation. That is better than expecting Prevost or a converter to run copies for every tire kicker.
A seller with a well maintained coach is going to be happy to provide detailed logs that show continued service. Every buyer of my previous coaches got my extensive logs and they were able to use those to continue my maintenance program and to know what work was performed and when. I view a coach without those records as not having maintenance done in a timely manner and I will mentally adjust what I am willing to pay downward to reflect the risk of buying a coach with potential problems.
The only way this issue relating to service history is going to be resolved is for buyers to walk away from coaches without service records or to lowball the price until sellers begin to realize the value of such documentation. But the cynic in me knows that won’t happen because buyers are still more interested in the coach decor and colors than the service history. Dealers know that. They also know if they present any available service records all it does is cause the buyer to ask questions. Keep in mind that those selling a coach in almost all cases are selling the sizzle, and not the steak.
-
Prevost certainly knows that the privacy issue could be addressed by charging for staff time to redact the name, address and credit info on the records. But there is another practical reason for not turning over service records. As much as no one wants to be a party to a lawsuit, it is almost worse to be a subpoenaed witness. The witness may have to spend a ton of time gathering documents and appearing in court, with no or, at best, nominal compensation. I don’t blame Prevost for trying to stay out of fights between buyers and sellers pertaining to the condition of a coach. A service history might show, for example, a frequency of service that is not consistent with the seller’s representations. If litigation results, Prevost is likely to be subpoenaed to appear in court with the documents. They likely see the provision of service records as an invitation to the witness stand, so I can’t blame them for saying “no.”
-
Jon, their records reside in 0’s and 1’s. It would take a decent programmer an hour to write a script to strip oumidentifying information. What they are doing is giving an excuse. And you know what they say about excuses…
-
The secret to success to do what you say is to first convince whoever is in charge of things to want to do that, and then once they decide to strip out the confidential information they have to establish the policy regarding who gets the information. Tire kickers? MCI? another converter? owners?
I may not agree with the lack of access to the service history, but I can certainly see the downside to making it readily available. Did you start the day your bought your coach keeping logs of the service history on your coach? If so would you copy it for anyone that asks if you post your coach for sale? If not why not to both questions.
-
Those are valid questions, but my point is that there are NO technical hurdles in providing the information and I also don’t believe that there are any “privacy” issues. If they say there is a liability issue I wouldn’t complain, but I would still argue that I’d get the information via subpoena if the problem was serious enough. At that point I’d probably also make a case that their refusal to disclose necessary information contributed to my problem and name them as defendants.
To your other question, I’ve got the records since I purchased the bus and yes, I would give them to anyone with a need to know.
-
Prevost would not provide me service info when I was a prospective buyer but did provide the info when the dealer (not the converter) requested it. I than used Carfax to find some history. I located previous owners and wrote them (internet is a great way to find people) with my name/number. They called me and provided more background and receipts of service outside Prevost. I now have a complete history from 2001.
PLUS
I bought the bus from Lon at Florida Luxury Coach who gave me a fair deal and after sale support.
-
Prevost will provide a spread sheet with service history as long as you can provide proof you own the coach, such as a copy of the title in your name. Always has.
Are you saying they should provide that information to anyone that asks?
-
For reference, on average, how many documents would a 10-15 year coach generate? If Prevost were to simply telephonically provide me with what service was performed on the coach over the phone, I could take notes.
In purchasing a coach, what I’m trying to establish is a baseline for how much money I’ll have to put into the coach to bring it up “zero.” On a 15-year old coach, how would I know by “looking” during a PDI if the airbags are 5, 10, or 15 years old? If I see “cracking” then I definitely know they need to be replaced. But with no records, I would factor in that I need to replace them, even if the previous owner replaced them 5 years ago … which I wouldn’t know.
But I can understand that Prevost may not want to take calls from “want-to-be” owners, but I would have to know exactly how many telephones calls regarding Motorhomes would Prevost actually handle during a given year.
If I can pick your brains … Anyone have an estimate of how many used Prevosts are bought/sold during an average year?
-
I see no reason not to give that info to anyone who asks. I mean, really, who’s gonna go looking for repair items on any vehicle they don’t own or wish to own?
-
On another note closer to the original topic, didn’t the Prevost Prouds used to request Coach age on their application? I’m beginning to think about joining another organization for really opportunities, despite how the Prouds treated us in Myrtle Beach, and I really dislike the idea off going back to POG. Still, I’m not into sitting around talking about Bank accounts….
-
Bonz,
The treatment at Myrtle was from the Royale Group, not the Prouds. I’m a Proud member as well, but haven’t been to any of the rallies yet. I don’t think you want to attempt a POG renew, that would likely be ugly.:)
As for Rallies, I don’t see your name on the Lakeland deal or Know your Prevost 2, were’s the love….
-
I really think there is a tree out there that is wrong, but I see everyone barking up it.
First, if the service records on a coach are so important Prevost is expected to have their IT department rewrite the records so they can be distributed to Tom ,Dick and Harry, then everyone needs to step back and see if perhaps there is somewhere else to be barking. There is. If you are a potential buyer your demands need to be made to the seller.
Second, it has to be recognized that Prevost may have no records on a coach that has been well maintained. Prevost has service centers spread around the country, but that does not mean some coach owner in Washington state is going to take the coach to Mira Loma for oil changes, transmission fluid changes, coolant changes, air bag replacement, etc. So as a buyer there is no benefit to asking Prevost for service records. With the exception of skin repairs or maybe multiplex system reprogramming the travel cannot be justified to have Prevost provide the service.
So we come back to the owner / seller to gather the service records and if the coach is brokered or sold by a dealer it might not even be possible because the owner(s) may not even be known. So the choice is to walk away from the coach, or have the best inspection possible under the circumstances.
Since I have owned my coach my only service history is in my log books. But if my coach is traded it might get wholesaled by the dealer or converter that takes it as a trade in. That wholesale buyer is not likely to get my log books and may not even know who owned the coach. Those records regardless of detail are going to be gone forever. So even if Prevost were to give the service records to anyone who asked how many coaches would have a complete service history?
In my opinion if the buyers began devaluing coaches whose sellers do not provide a service history then the service records will begin being a part of the coach. If every buyer begins the price negotiations with the understanding that unless records prove otherwise, the coach is going to require new air bags, new brake chambers, new Norgren valves, all fluids changed, all filters, all belts, tires and batteries the purchase price will reflect the need to put $30,000 into the coach immediately after the purchase. If every seller understood the lack of records means the selling price takes a $30,000 hit it will not take long for every coach to have those records available in the back closet.
I don’t think a buyer should waste time chasing the service records. It is the sellers burden to prove the service history but until buyers place a value on those records they are not going to be commonly available.
-
Good point Jon …
Log in to reply.