EBAY COACH Marathon #403

[Coloradobus]

Whether it makes a difference, Marathon Coach #403 or VIN S-1221 is on EBAY with a mileage discrepentcy. Ad reads mileage as 119K, the link provided shows otherwise. This coach was for sale in Las Vegas last year, on RVONLINE and others with listed mileage of 205K miles. Only a DDEC reader would tell what the true mileage is. I contacted the seller and they have abruptly removed the photo showing the odometer showing 119+K miles. We know this coach from when it was consigned at Marathon and toured it in 2006, and we have a Marathon sales brochure for this Coach #403, so there is no mistake in coach identification. Guess its buyer/bidder beware. The Ebay listed mileage error is the only thing we know about the coach.

EBAY LINK http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1996-Prevost-H3-45-Marathon-Show-Coach-/180601753572?pt=RVs_Campers&hash=item2a0cb40fe4

Past ad for this coach
http://rvsrvsrvs.com/1996-Marathon-Coach-Prevost-H345-VIP-Review-96.php

[Jon Wehrenberg]

For years Prevost has had unreliable speedometers and it is not uncommon to find they have been replaced. With 233,000 miles on my coach my odometer shows around 20,000 miles. If DDEC has not lost its memory I would agree with Jim and Chris that DDEC mileage is the most accurate.

[truk4u]

Good catch guys!:)

[Woody]

Does anyone have any history or info on the 99 Marathon 45 on EBay?

[Orren Zook]

Does anyone have any history or info on the 99 Marathon 45 on EBay?

It belongs to a guy in the oil & gas business, he keeps his equipment pretty nice. The coach has been for sale off/on for maybe a year while the owner decides on an upgrade - the ebay price seems reasonable for the coach. It's located about 60 miles from here near Steubenville OH.

[Coloradobus]

From his Ebay name, I would guess it Coach 570.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Did anyone catch the comment on the 1996 H3 where the owner says the only thing against his coach was that it had 205,000 miles?

While I agree it is important to know the correct mileage for a coach that is being sold, it is my opinion a coach with low mileage is not necessarily a better deal. Our coaches are commercial buses and they were designed to be driven. The components were meant to be exercised. A set of airbags doesn't last any longer if the bus sits or is driven. The brake chamber diaphragms aren't going to last longer if you don't use them. The Norgren valves in our leveling system are going to be trouble if they aren't routinely being used.

The same thing applies to the devices in the house. If an owner parks his bus in Palm Springs, never drives it and uses it as a second home it comes on the market with low mileage, but what future problems are going to show up because the bus rarely moved? Engines get internal corrosion, the fluids have aged out, the tires with virtually no wear probably have cracks in the sidewalls, and unless the air system has been maintained there may be internal corrosion on the aux system valves.

The best thing we can do for our coaches is run and maintain them.