Uh-Oh

[Just Plain Jeff]

We've got a few deals going on new coaches.

During the last round, we narrowly had two POG members bidding against each other on the same coach. (So much for running below the radar).

So, if you are getting close to a negotiation, it may be a good idea to post your MPD medication here on this forum to avoid paying more than you intended.

Or not. :D

[rbeecher]

We've got a few deals going on new coaches.

During the last round, we narrowly had two POG members bidding against each other on the same coach. (So much for running below the radar).

So, if you are getting close to a negotiation, it may be a good idea to post your MPD medication here on this forum to avoid paying more than you intended.

Or not. :D


Jeff, You know too much, but I can tell you we need to get ahold of either JDUB or Mango asap if anyone has their cell numbers.

Somewhere in Florida looking at coaches and that's all I can tell you right now.

Thanks

[MangoMike]

RB,

My cell phone is 703.362.3539.

Mango

[jack14r]

Even though I recently purchased a coach I still look at several new and used sites.Vantari had 23 new 07's and 08's just 45 days or so ago,today they don't have a single one left.If someone is in Florida and has the time to check them out I am curious what the real numbers are. I know that they dropped the 07 XLII to 975k but did they sell 23 coaches in 6 weeks without anyone asking questions here? I doubt it! As several salesmen have said to me,"this is a small industry and almost all buyers make several contacts before they purchase."

[merle&louise]

What is the asking price of Liberty, Marathon, or CC brand new w/2 slides?

[jack14r]

Here are the asking prices that I have seen for 2008 XLII's
Liberty $1,800,000
Marathon $1,650,000
Country Coach 1,450,000
These are approximate numbers without wild options.
What are the real cash prices?

[merle&louise]

Since I have never negotiated on a new Prevost, how much of a discount does a buyer get off of the asking price? If it is about 10% or more, I can see how Vantare' could crush the market with a fire sale like the one they ran on RVOnline.com recently.

Why would they have so many unsold units? Do they not wait until they have a buyer before ordering a new shell?

How many unsold units (if any?) did Liberty, Marathon, & CC have?

Did Vantare' just over order or was there another reason for the oversupply?

[garyde]

All great questions Tuga, without clear answers as those are somewhat Company strategies and projections on what the market will be 1 -2 years out. Liberty makes 28 Coaches a year all on spec according to their sales people. Marathon ; Custom and Spec. , Vantare ; who the heck knows but my guess is they projected growth 2 years back but it did not happen.
From my own past experience, timing seems to be one of the key elements in negotiating a purchase. If a dealer has been told to move inventory, you need to know that before you begin negotiating. Cash will make a better deal than trade-in and financing. Having financing pre- arranged also helps .
It seems Liberty sales their Prevosts without much excess inventory at the end of the year. I see they have two 2007 H3 left and they are on 'Special Pricing' which is some kind of discount.

[jack14r]

A few months ago I was offered a 500k discount on any 2007 XLII that Marathon had remaining in inventory.As this credit problem in our housing market works it's way through our overall economy I wonder how it might impact coaches,yachts and other high end purchases.The converters are looking at the tightening of credit and adjusting their production,but they can't cut off the flow immediately.Marathon has more new coaches on their web site than I remember seeing,they seem to average 12 to 14 almost all the time.Liberty has 5 on their web site,but has more used coaches than normal.Vantari has 0,as I discussed earlier but I don't believe this is the true number.

[jack14r]

I just went to Marathon's site and it was updated over night,they now have 12 in their inventory and 2 in Texas,this is right in line with their normal inventory level.

[Just Plain Jeff]

Featherlite/Vantare is one of those companies that is hard to pin down.

At one point word was that their primary lender Deutchebank ($65 Million loan) saw their only way out was to produce as many new coaches as possible. So, there was a glut of coaches put on the lot to keep the bank happy. As a publicly-traded company, you can Google around and find a lot about them.

Last fall, they split off the coach operations with an investment from an Israeli investor. Here's the link http://www.fthrc.com/news_detail.cfm?news_id=32 This is the company's version of the story.

[jack14r]

I was told yesterday that a Canadian auto dealer bought at wholesale 5 coaches from Vantari,I think they were used.I doubt they made any money in that deal.