New Member & Legendary Prevost

[surfsidebarney]

Hi Everybody,

I took the plunge and join POG today. I have been lurking for the last month or so on this site, as well as, the free site on Prevost-Stuff. Looking forward to get to know everyone and the Prevost world.

Little info. about myself:
I'm 50 years old, divorced, no kids living full-time in a 2004 Country Coach Allure (36'), which I bought brand new in Nov. '03, at Outdoor Resorts Motorcoach Country Club, Indio, CA. Currently working as a consultant to Boeing in Anaheim, Ca.

I like the lifestyle so much that I have no intentions on going back to live in a house. Thus, I've decided that I would like to buy a Prevost and live the next 15 years or so in it. I hope to make it my last RV purchase (famous last words).

Right now I'm considering the purchase of a new Legendary XL Prevost. Legendary is going out of business and they have made me a good offer to buy one which I have accepted subject to financing. I know very little about Legendary and even less about Prevost ownership.

I would love to hear some feedback on my decision/choice to buy a Legendary Prevost. All comments/advice would be much appreciated.


Rick Barnette

[garyde]

Welcome Rick. I live in Santa Barbara, so if you have any questions, feel free to call me. 805-896-0222 cell. You are in the right place. You will learn more about Prevost and Convertors here than any other place on the Planet. The energy and flow of information is amazing.
I do not know anything about Legendary but I have heard positive comments on this site. Do a search to review previous posts.
This group has a amazing dynamic so welcome and join in.

[surfsidebarney]

Please to meet you Gary and thank you for the welcome. I did do a seach on Legendary Prevosts and I did not find anything; not sure if I performed the search correctly, but no luck in finding anything.

Rick:)

[Jim_Scoggins]

Since you say they are going out of business try to get some engineering documentation out of them. The chassis should be a constant from Prevost but the possibilities and perturbations in the house are endless:
Build sheets
parts lists
wiring diagrams

Find some other owners who have a good handle on your coach systems and can mentor you a bit.

Find out where some of the folks who work there are going for their next job--particularly the Guru--stay in touch--you may need their help in the future.

[dalej]

Welcome Rick,

Glad you went ahead and joined, you will be able to get answers to most of your questions.

In my opinion all converters use the same components just turn and tuck them in different places, so
questions will have some logical answer.

I hope you can buy the coach at such a good price that you won't want any service from Legendary.

If you give us the spec sheet, we will give you a opinion that will relate to problems you might or could
incur. If you want to give out the list price and the deal price we could also help to see if it’s really a
good deal.

You sound like you have this under control, but if you need anything, just ask.

PS your at a perfect age in life........Jan and I are 50 as well. :)

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Welcome to the asylum Rick.

Dale is correct about the Prevost chassis not being a problem with respect to service or information.

The conversion is the part that may prove worrysome, but as has been mentioned, conceptually they are all similar and when stuff goes wrong oftentimes you can find answers and solution here. Plus there are a lot of aftermarket companies that do not do conversions, but that do repairs and modifications and are very smart when it comes to problem solving.

Bear in mind one thing. With some conversions now selling brand new for well south of $1,000,000, you need to buy that coach for way less than that because a conversion without support from the builder is valued very low by the marketplace.

If you do like and buy a Legendary Coach do as was suggested and get as much documentation, including copies of drawings, especially electrical and pneumatic layouts as possible.

[ken&ellen]

Rick, You have come to the right place. The folks on this site will go the extra mile to assist you when the need arises.....of course they will also lampoon you when you least expect it.:D Good luck with your purchase and welcome. Ken & Ellen

[dalej]

Rick, which coach are you looking at? they still have several for sale.

http://legendary-coach.com/gallery.asp

[MangoMike]

Rick,

Welcome to POG!

A lot of good advice from the boys above (and Debi).

My only additional words of advice are regarding pricing.

As I don't know the asking price of a new Legendary but I would see what the same dollars would buy you in a used Liberty/Marathon/Millennium. You would sacrfice that new coach smell, but you would be getting a coach that 1) probably already took a serious hit in depreciation; 2) have the support of a converter still in business; 3) The bugs, always associated with something new should be worked out; 4) be in a lot better shape when you ready to get your next Prevost (trust me the day will come sooner than you think).

Usually when a person makes the leap to purchase a new bus it's to attain exactly the layout you desire for your needs (a la Sting). Since this is already a completed bus that primary option is gone. I would have no hesitations in buying a used Prevo.

You will spend a lot of sleepless nights staring at the ceiling thinking about your options.

Let us know how we all can help you spend your hard earned lewbucks.

Mango Mike

[Stelan73]

Rick:
As a new guy who just bought a new bus, I agree with Mike's post. This is especially true in living with and fixing the bugs on a new bus. Most of the top converters have buses that are 1-3 years old that have been through the initial gremlin stuff and on top of that you can save yourself an additional $3-4k. After knowing what I know now- buy used. Welcome and these guys are the best.

Steve Lane

[rmboies]

Rick,

Welcome to the wild world of POG! You will find that there is quite a "brain trust" created from the members of this group. We hope you have your dream coach before POGIV which is scheduled to be in Branson, MO in October.

There are a few of us who have two coaches and I am sure I can speak for us all when I say BY USED:D Just kidding but Mango, Jon and others have made very valid points regarding depreciation and having a convertor who stands behind their work. Let us know when you sign on the dotted line!
Debi

[Just Plain Jeff]

Welcome to the fray.

I can't tell you how much it costs us to hire people to pretend they are real bus owners and say nice things about this board, but it seems to be working.

Gonna have to sit somewhere in the middle about a coach which will not be supported.

If money wasn't a consideration at all, go get what you want at Liberty, Parliament or Millennium and you'll get everything you need, perhaps more than you bargained for.

Yet, if a guy can get a new-ish quality conversion of a Prevost shell at south of a big buck, then you have to start thinking about the pluses and minuses. If you have really been bored and read through the thousands of posts here, you'll find that there is a theme about finding the bus that you want to own.

That's the, "Aha! This is it!" phenomenon. (We also refer to it as Acute Onset of MPD, or Mad Prevost Disease). If you love it, take it home.

The difficulty that others have in telling others what to do is that much of what we individually may like in a coach isn't stuff you can write in words or draw in a picture...it's a complicated series of decisions, many of which are emotional and individual in nature. Kind of like Buffalo Wings: If you bite into one you like, you'll go back for more.

We bought our first camper from Angola and we thought it was a good idea. The Executive we liked better; well the company was out of business. So a few months after we bought the Angola, they went out of business. Go figure.

So the important question here really is this: Are you gonig to participate in the Competition at Branson or not?

Welcome to POG.

[surfsidebarney]

Well, I just got off work so please excuse this late post. First off, thank you all for the warm welcome and the excellent advice. I will try to answer some of the questions regarding the coach I'm attempting to buy.

2007 Legendary Le Mirage XL #1028
It has the new Prevost slides with locking pins from the top (not sure I got that right)
It has everything I want including the layout I desire; no additional options required
This coach is #28 out of approx. 30 they have built to date
The sell will include a 5 year warranty from an after market insurance(?) provider
I can't disclose the details of the selling price but it is well under a million dollars (you can call Legendary and talk to Vance and he will probably give you the selling price; he asked me not to disclose the selling price on this forum and I'm honoring his request).
I'm working the financing out through a company in Florida - IAM Financing
Interest rate will be at 6.95% for 20 years
I plan to live in it fulltime for the next 15 years

Having said all that, I'm not sleeping very well at night right now. I'm too amped up and excited. This will be the most expensive thing I have ever bought in my life. I think it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy a new Prevost at this price. I keep going back and forth whether I should really pursue this or not. I still have a big hurdle ahead of me in the way of financing; so, this deal still may fall apart.

If the deal does fall apart, I will sit back for a while and learn more from you folks before I pursue buying another Prevost. If it does go through, I going to get a crash course on Prevost ownership.

Rick

P.S. It will be late tomorrow night before I can log back in again

[garyde]

Hey Rick, I just realized you will be a member of the California Group. Get that Bus or a Liberty and join us on our next Caravan. New is good, but if you are going to own for 15 years, you won't know the difference in a couple of years between new and used. Just make certain everything is checked out and is in good shape.

[Just Plain Jeff]

Rick says: ...I'm not sleeping very well at night right now. I'm too amped up and excited...

Looks like we've got an Acute Onset of MPD here folks.

We usually don't say, 'crash course,' on this site, well, y'know.

Don't put too much stock in the insurance policy, if it is the standard RV insurance policy as they usually don't cover much, but yours could be different.

Maybe some of the members here could share meds with you?

You are smart to get a coach that you love, especially since you are going to live in it for a long time. That's the 'Aha!' needed to make it all work.

[BrianE]

Hey Rick, I just realized you will be a member of the California Group. Get that Bus or a Liberty and join us on our next Caravan.

Hey Gary. Forgive me for jumping up in your face BUT.....I am enjoying Liberty ownership as much as anyone however there are other fine rides out there. For a west coaster it makes more sense from a service point of view to own a Marathon or American Carriage and although a little different, they are every bit as good as a Liberty. The important thing for Rick is that whether the Legendary or something else, he chooses the right bus for HIM. Carry on Rick. Welcome to the asylum http://www.prevostownersgroup.com/forum/

[dalej]

Rick,

I forgot to mention that our own Lew could probably bank roll it for you, their called Lewbucks, maybe you heard of them, they spend the same. Not sure what his interest rate
is, but you would have to put up with his rough talking intimidating ways.

No written contract either, just thugs! :)

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Welcome Rick, Glad you found a bus that has everything you want.

Don't forget to look into an" MONTANA LLC " to save LEW bucks in the Tax Dept..;)

[surfsidebarney]

Here is the latest:

I took some of the advice you all have given me and I called Marathon, Millennium, and Parliament.
Marathon had used coaches available for more than what I will spend new on the Legendary, including, a used 2007 Legendary that he could not sell me for what I'm paying for new. Hmmm ... not a very good impression and I think they suffer from "We are Toyota/Lexus and we are the best so it is gonna cost you to own the best" No problem that is why I have never own a Toyota/Lexus.
Parliament had nothing available to sell me used at the moment but they did have 2 Prevost 40' shells that they were going to convert. It would cost me roughly $850k to buy, again, more than what I would pay for the Legendary.
Millennium did not have anything in my budget range but did have a 2005 trade coming in Nov. that he might be able to sell for about $700. Maybe, still not as good as deal as I could get with the Legendary. He also made the statement he felt the quality of Legendary was not up to snuff based on "industry" buzz that he had heard. Okay, noted.

Also, spoke with a wholesaler who stated that is the best deal he has ever seen on new Prevosts and he wished he could buy a few at this price for his own business. He has given the Legendary a very good look over and he feels it is an excellent Prevost conversion.

Spoke with Vance at the Legendary factory today and the remaining coaches (6) have all been sold. He also said that he could provide me with all the drawings, specs and schematics that I desire. He will also provide me a list of names to contact if I have any problems with the coach.

So now my head really hurts from talking to all those folks. It is a personnel decision, and whether right or wrong, I'm going forward with purchasing the coach if I can get it finance (which it appears I can do).


Again thanks to all for the warm welcome and the advice,

Rick:) :

P.S. I will not be able to attend Branson; but, I will be able to hook up with the West coast crowd on the weekends (if the sell goes through; got to work to earn "lewbucks" to pay for the new coach:) ).

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Good for you Rick, If you're happy you made the correct decision. You and Ben are fortunate in that you can make bus decisions on your own (sans women that is).

You ignored the LLC post so I will mention it again as your mind is quite full now. It is thoroughly discussed in previous posts and you can save yourself a ton of money with the advance planning. Search the posts or ask new questions and you will get some sort of an answer (fact or not):p :eek: :D

[surfsidebarney]

Hi Jim,

I am aware of the Montana LLC and I almost did that with my first coach. I didn't do it the first time because I didn't need to. Took advantage of Calif. law at that time which allow you to avoid the Calif. sales tax if you were traveling in your coach outside Calif. for 94 days out of the first 180 days of new ownership. They did audit me and I successfully prove that I was out of state; so, I was granted a tax exemption.

Bad news on the Legendary. I was denied financing. The reason I was denied was a new one to me: I didn't have any "credit experience" with making large monthly payments. Had nothing to do with ability to pay, current income, debt-to-loan ratio, or credit score (mine was 774). They said they willing to finance maybe up to $400k - $450k. We were using this lender because I was going to do the Montana LLC thing.

So I'm sorry to say I will not be able to buy the Legendary Prevost. I'm extremely disappointed. Back to the drawing boards.

Rick,
2004 CC Allure:)

[garyde]

Hi Jim. I went thru several differentfinance Companies before I found the right people who could do the loan on terms I wanted. I can get you that info if you are still interested.

[mikedee]

I purchased a Royale 2001 XL II last year and I think it was the best purchase I ever made. Great coach on the Prevost platform at a Monaco Dynasty price. The Royale is constructed without multiplexers, and uses good readily available fairly priced systems, well maybe not the Headhunter tank level system $$$.

We have put 25,000 miles on the coach in the last 9 months and will never go back to a fiberglass coach.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Rick don't give up. We were denied more than once, WAY MORE than once:eek:

We eventually found financing and it was the better than all previous offers. Our first 9 payments were 20 dollars a month and very little down.

I have to go to work right now:mad: but later I will dig up the fellows info and post it up. He is in Minn.

He is a broker, got us in with manifest lending services, and we were previously denied with another place who tried to put it to the very same lender. Our average monthly ballence on our buisness account was not large enough but after his endless questioning he learned that our work is seasonal and was able to devide the sum of deposits by 9 months instead of 12 and we qualified.

DO NOT GIVE UP. If these were easy to aquire everyone would have one.

[Just Plain Jeff]

Did you check out Fast Tommy Spirito in Clearwater?

You can reach him through the link on the front page of this site. It's GulfCoast Finance.

He knows guys who know guys. Just like Lew.

[garyde]

Call; 'All Roads Capitol' 1-800-619-4104 and ask for Shanon. Also, their web site is; www.allroadscapital.com

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

Did you check out Fast Tommy Spirito in Clearwater?

You can reach him through the link on the front page of this site. It's GulfCoast Finance.

He knows guys who know guys. Just like Lew.

Hey Rick, I second JPJ's idea of checking with Tom Spirito at Gulf Coast Finance. His phone number is (727) 578-5035 x 201 and his email is tom@gcmfinance.com. Just mention you are a POGer and if it can be done, Tom will get er done.

Don't give up, I haven't.

Gary S