Newbie Looking to Purchase a Prevost Coach

[GI-Joe]

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Ladies and Gentlemen of the Prevost Owners Group:

My name is David Reisender and I am looking to purchase a Prevost in the very near future.
I am going to give a brief description of who I am and my intentions. I would deeply appreciate any feed back from those knowledgeable with the road I am about to embark.
I am 68 years old, healthy and married with no children. After 30+ long years, I retired from Law Enforcement and I now what to take a break traveling the United States.

I have a business, retirement, and SS, but I am not rich: I say this because I am a little concerned regarding owning a used Prevost (I cannot afford a new one) probably an X, XL, or X3 model.
I am somewhat mechanically inclined and can probably do most of the maintenance and repairs on the Coach, but I don’t want to be under a Coach constantly, so I need a dependable Coach.
Any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am also actively looking to purchase a Prevost Coach, so any leads regarding buying a Prevost Coach would also be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance for all help.
Dave

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[BadFitter]

Dave, these buses are very expensive to buy when new and expensive to maintain. When they get older they are more affordable but still expensive to maintain.

The problem I sometimes see is that a person will find a bus they can afford to buy but they do not realize that they may need a large investment to get it safe and reasonably dependable. Tires (age, not mileage or appearance), batteries, suspension issues, air conditioners, etc can sometimes reach $20-30k in repairs and replacements.

Before any purchase, I recommend getting a very knowledgeable INDEPENDENT person to evaluate the bus and provide a list of needed repairs/replacements and the associated cost.

The nice thing is that once the bus is caught up on deferred maintenance and repairs, the ongoing costs are predictable and manageable and should be budgeted.

Happy Trails!

[wjohnson720]

David, I am a Prevost newbie myself. I have owned travel trailers when our kids were young and sold those a few years ago but nothing even close to a Prevost.

With my 2 months of experience, don't take my comments as expert advice (LOL). But here are some random thoughts . . .

1. If you are on Facebook, join the Prevost Owners Group there as well. Fairly active and friendly group. My wife prefers Facebook, I like this forum.
2. Prevost-Stuff is a great place to shop for a coach. But also look at the coach dealers websites as well (many of them advertise on Prevost-stuff). Inventory is moving fast if priced fairly.
3. Difficult to finance anything over 20 years old (using the coach for collateral).
4. 1995 ish year was a change in Detroit engine models to the series 60. I wanted the series 60. Newer Prevost (2011 ish forward) have the Volvo engine (which I can not afford LOL).
5. Decide if an orphan coach (out of production) is ok. I have great documentation for my 1995 country coach so I am ok with an out of production unit.
6. If orphan is ok for you, Country Coach, Royal, and Hoffman seem to be relatively simple coaches to troubleshoot and maintain (from my extensive reading). Electrical schematics are good to have.
7. You tend to get what you pay for . . . tires, batteries, inverters, chassis repairs, and interior upgrades are expensive if you don't do them yourself.
8. I purchased mine from Olympia Coach in Nashville. They have a reputation for making sure the mechanical aspects any coach going out the door is solid.
9. Look into insurance. It runs from $1000 up per year depending on coach value.
10. Roadside assistance is good to have. Coachnet, Good Sams, etc. My Progressive Insurance has roadside help as well.
11. The learning curve is steep, very steep. But I feel much better even after 2 months of deep study.
12. Harvest Host is a great way to overnight if you like wine etc.
13. Slides add lots of cost and complexity. But nice if you intend to live in the coach for extended periods.
14. Do you want old school or the super modern house batteries. Make sure you know what is with the coach.

Finally, price. These are general comments (again, I am not an expert just passing along my observations)

- Below 100k you will probably need to invest some money. But you can make it the way you want. Will probably be pre-2000 model with no slides. If you go pre-1995, watch the engine series. Ask Joe Camper to visit and go through the chassis.
- 100k - 200k. You can find nice early 2000 non-slide coaches in this range. Pay attention to delamination issues on the XLII.
- 200k - 300k. You can find nice 2-4 slide options in this range from all the coach builders - even those still in business.
- Above 300k you are out of my price range LOL. Some nice stuff out there but they do depreciate rapidly.

I hope this helps some. And thanks for your law enforcement service.

Best Regards, Bill

[Fratto]

The need to keep $20k to $30k for maintenance is in line with our coach. We have the 1998 CC priced in the mid $100K range that was in pretty good condition. We have had our coach for 20 months, 10,000 miles and 154 nights on board. Our maintenance costs to date are roughly $25,000 and that does not include tires or batteries. I would bet that batteries show up next year or the year after. Other than chassis and engine work we are doing everything else ourselves.

Keep some money back and you should be fine.