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Does anyone know the current prices for XLII shells? I am looking for 45 foot motorhome and entertainer prices with and without bus air and with and without slides. I probably will have to just give Prevost a call, but I thought I would try here first.
Loc
Does this mean you sold your bus, Loc? Congrats if you did.Quote:
Originally Posted by Loc
Gary S
There is an unnecessarily very long answer to your honest question. We are going to be doing an article soon on the front page of this site on the business side of how shells wind up being converted.Quote:
Originally Posted by Loc
I can give you a recent quotation on a new H3-45 double slide shell without bus air (didn't see the paperwork but was told) it was $486,000.00. Keep in mind that is the converter's price and you could probably haggle it down for less as then don't 'buy' them straight out from Prevost Car. More on that later.
At this moment, it's kinda like buying lobster in a fancy restaurant. It says, "Market" and you can make the best deal you can. A little word of advice here is that MCI is doing some very aggressive pricing in Prevost's face and they'd sure like to sell you one of theirs as well. So for a cash buyer, Prevost would likely have some room to move. They currently have some shells that were destined for converters who are no longer with us and some they had brought back.
How much y'figure a good lobster is worth? It may come to that in your negotiations.
PM me for more or we can do a phone chat.
Gary,
No sale yet. But I am hopeful.
Loc
Heartland Coach has a 'new' 1999, two slide, H3-45 shell (7500 miles) for under $300k: http://heartlandbus.com/VehicleDetail.cfm?StockNo=694Quote:
Originally Posted by Loc
I sent an email to Prevost regarding bus shells. They responded with a detailed price list for both a motorhome XLII chassis which they refer to as the W5 and an XLII entertainer chassis which they refer to as the WE. Base prices range from $295K for the WE to $322K for the W5. Add $88K for double slides on the W5 and $52K for a single slide on the WE. Add bus air for $16K. Other sorted options would raise the price another $30K to $32K (window upgrades, durabrite wheels, chrome mirrors, Jake Brake, xenon lights, etc). For a really nice multicolored paint job figure $25K. To meet 2007 US EPA exhaust changes add another $15K. That makes it $380K for a WE without slides and $408K for a W5 without slides. You can add the cost of slides to get the picture on shell costs. These are rough estimates, based on how I would want to equip a shell. Now I just need to find a converter that will convert the shell for free.
Orren,
I think the H3 shell with the slides belongs to Jeff Bailey
I wouldn't assume the pricing you obtained is set in stone.
It'd be interesting to get a bid on independent conversion from a shell you already own v. a shell a converter already has.
Geez, we've gotta get that article done.
Jeff,
My reasoning for getting the price levels is to ask the converter what he would charge just to convert the shell or to do it turnkey. It will be interesting to see the results.
Loc
Last time this topic was discussed I was of the understanding the converters have no out of pocket for the shell until it is sold to the buyer of the conversion, so the price to you should be the same.
The cost to you would be greater if you bought it and then let them have it for the conversion since you have your money tied up.
I think they get the shell for free for six months. Correct, JPJ????
We pay the same as you for a shell. The "list" price is including the floor plan which is not free. If a customer wants to purchase a shell outright and have the converter build it, there are discounts to be had.
Most converters have to put down a deposit on a shell. You are right that your 'cost' would go up as you would have several hundred thousand tied up for 5+ months while the coach was in production. Not fun to sleep in some other guy's factory on plywood floors.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon Wehrenberg
When the coach is done, which is tracked by Prevost on a monthly basis, the converter has to cough up the cash, often by means of a floating line of credit which is referred to in the biz as a 'floor plan.'
I haven't checked in the last couple of months, but usually there are about 70+ completed coaches on the lots looking for new homes, which strikes me as a lot of coaches in a fairly small market.
Hi Jeff. 70 plus Conversions! Is it possible to break that down per converter. Not totally specific but just to get a sense of who is doing what. I have to assume they are not all being advertised on sites.
Gary: I don't have that information. I had the same reaction you mentioned. The same report noted that there were 235 preowned coaches on the market. At that moment, I went over to www.prevost-stuff.com and found we had 72 coaches for sale right there. (Head scratching...) and it made me wonder where they got their numbers for that, considering that there was no way to accurately collect that number to include private sales, those with a sign on the window at the hangar, etc.
I asked a VP of Prevost about the new coach number, and I ain't much at speaking French and he said, "That is about average." It may well be that this is a technical report and may also include some coaches which have been ordered but not yet paid for/picked up.
There are quite a few coaches that we don't see on the radar being converted in smaller shops. While in Nashville a few days ago I was surprised at the number of conversions by companies I had never heard of that were motorhome shells as 'star coaches' that were being done by entertainer converters. So it wouldn't be too weird of a number if there were say, at least a couple dozen or more of those coaches that would be captured in the new coach number making it more understandable. Then you throw in a couple of the larger converters with a dozen or so each, some with show coaches that are on the road for promotional purposes and it likely makes more sense.
Like all corporations, it's hard to figure how they figure. If you know what I mean?
On www.busforsale.com there are 28 entertainer and 6 Star coaches which I would class as an entertainer. One that one site you have 34 for sale, but prices are high enen high milage