[Archived]

I spend some time looking at coach for sale sites and while there are some “deals” to be had most of what appears to be an “opportunity” is not.

A 1995 coach is 20 years old and the potential problems a new owner can find can be mind boggling.

If we assume the owner deferred maintenance I can easily see tires, batteries, air bags, brake chambers, Norgrens, all fluids changed, all filters, pneumatic system issues, etc. So add $20,000 to $30,000 on top of the purchase price. Then consider some of the unknowns such as was the coolant maintained? If not that could cost an engine.

None of the above even gets to the house. I can mentally picture cracked Vitricor, damaged Corian, worn or dirty carpets and upholstery, non-working AC units, etc. There could be nothing wrong with the coach and all maintenance up to date, but the odds are against that. We have a number of folks looking at coaches to buy and I’ll bet a substantial percentage of those they looked at showed eveidence of hard use or lack of maintenance.

I am in awe of how much effort I have to put into my coach to keep it in the condition I want it to be. If I had to rely on someone else to service and maintain my coach I am certain there would be a lot less getting done and in the long term those deferred tasks take their toll.