Need advice -- Shopping trip

Wife and I are planning a shopping trip to visit Liberty, Marathon, Parliment, Featherlite in FL in the very near future. What other things related a cure for MPD do we need to do while we are there?

Are there any contacts or references you care to share?

Are there things that you learned after your shopping trip that you wish you had known before you went?

What do we need to take with us, besides a fat wallet, that would help with this? Do I need to be prepared to crawl under a coach (I think yes?)
Will I ned to take creeper and overalls?

We've never gone looking at Prevosts before, other brands of MH and busess yes. However, we were never as close to the decision process ending in action as we are now.


Any help/advice greatly appreciated. For those of you I have been warned about, the ones who make up answers, I have a special question for you. It is posted that the end of the Internet.

End of the Internet

Sawdust...........Overalls are OK but NEVER get underneath a bus unless you are over a pit. Darrell

Sawdust,Don't go during the Prevost Car Rally,which is July 7-10.There sure seems to be a lot of pre owned inventory right now.I would not craw under any bus without some type of support,I would decide if I liked it and then get the dealer to lift it in his service shop with someone there to answer questions.All of the sales people need a sale so I think that any of them will be anxious to help you find the right bus.Good luck.

You will have a great time looking at all of the bus's out there. This is exactly what Peg and I did, two years ago. We drove to Florida in our 39 Discovery and spent 2 weeks at each of the convertors looking and talking with everybody we saw. I had a blast and I think Peg enjoyed most of it too.



You must have a $ figure in mind, be it $100k or $2 Million, before you go out seriously shopping.

Try to narrow down what it is you and your wife need, want, and have to have to make this whole bus thing work for you, and then look until you find the one that says, HEY BUY ME, BUY ME ! That is the bus talking, not the salesman.

It is out there somewhere, " So go get her done. " :)

Gary S.

I mis-stated my intentions:confused:. I have no intentions of crawling under a bus unless it is supported in a safe manner. Thanks for the heads up on that one. Sorry if I freightened anyone:D.

Good info that the dealers will rack one to allow a look under it.

I would make a list of "must haves" such as slides/no slides, OTR bus air/dash air, exterior storage requirements vs. interior storage requirements, etc.

Try to prioritize your list without being influenced by the emotional feelings while in the dealership.

Understand how you plan to use the bus. How much dry camping? Do you need to entertain a lot of guests?

We made a very thorough list before we went to a large RV show to shop for our first coach.

And then completely ignored it when we were "wowed" :D

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Originally Posted by sawdust_128

Wife and I are planning a shopping trip to visit Liberty, Marathon, Parliment, Featherlite in FL in the very near future. What other things related a cure for MPD do we need to do while we are there?

Are there any contacts or references you care to share?

Are there things that you learned after your shopping trip that you wish you had known before you went?

What do we need to take with us, besides a fat wallet, that would help with this? Do I need to be prepared to crawl under a coach (I think yes?)
Will I ned to take creeper and overalls?

We've never gone looking at Prevosts before, other brands of MH and busess yes. However, we were never as close to the decision process ending in action as we are now.


Any help/advice greatly appreciated. For those of you I have been warned about, the ones who make up answers, I have a special question for you. It is posted that the end of the Internet.

End of the Internet

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Sawdust,

I am new to Prevosts, but my backside automatically takes the shape of creepers, driveways, and road shoulders in the middle of the night. And I am not new to banging my head in engine compartments, burning myself on hot manifolds, drowning in hot oil, and so on. I would look under the coach to find leaks, hidden collision damage, condition of bushings, and general appearance. Dump lines, u joints, inside tires, underside of generator sets, etc.

The dealer should be able to provide a creeper, but if a bay is free, they should put it up on a lift for you. Also provide a folding ladder to take a look at the roof. It's your money and therefore you become the boss. Have fun. Good luck.

Sawdust,

If this is the first serious look at Prevost conversions it might be best to go with an open mind as to your needs. Let the salesmen bend your ear and plead their case as to why their conversions and systems are better. Make sure they completely understand you are a buyer, and that you are talking to their competitors as well. If you are not trading in a coach stress that it will be a clean deal purchase. If that doesn't get you first class treatment and their undivided attention take a hike. They will be worse after the sale.

Don't worry about your coveralls. If you buy from the parties you named they will be standing behind the product and except for your own education they will bear responsibility for all mechanical aspects of what you purchase. If you include an individual in your list of folks to buy a coach from, bring your coveralls and a person who knows coaches. No individual seller will stand behind a coach like a converter can or will.

As to systems and personal preferences you stated at one time you did not want a slide. That is a preference and it is what you desire. You may or may not have formulated an opinion about other things like over the road air, private toilet as opposed to an open plan, Cruise Airs or roof airs, XL, XLII, or H3, etc. You will eventually have to decide all of those issues plus many others that enter into the decision making process. You also need to start with a budget. Give the converters a range to make it easier for them to focus on your needs. They will all throw out first numbers that are unrealistic (I hate it when they do that) but that is how the game is played.

I know I am repeating some advice given previously by others, but it is important that you go prepared. Bear in mind these are expensive toys, they depreciate and they eat money. Lots of it. They are expensive to drive and can be very expensive to maintain. It is important that you get what you want and need, and not what some salesman is pushing you into because they know you like the colors better than the coach that is a better fit for you. I would have 100% confidence in buying from the converters you listed. They will support the coach and fix any oversights that made it past their inspection and yours. The key however is for you to get the coach that is as near to meeting your every need as possible because trading or modifying these things gets into serious money. That's important unless you are like the members of the TBC who can afford almost anything.

I think the new POG members must be much skinnier than the old ones. I have never seen a Prevost coach that you could crawl under without a creeper much less with one.

Okay, maybe you could crawl under the very rear of the engine compartment but my head is much smaller than Jon's or certainly Spongebob's, so I must be doing something wrong. My feet will only fit if I lay them sideways.

Its very hard to remain objective when you start touring Prevost Conversions.
Although a lot of fun, I would be real about how much you want to spend and view Coaches in that Price range. Each convertor has a maximum they will discount, so its good to know what that range is before shopping.
The exterior colors and design should be something you like and don't feel inclined to want to change.
Finally, Tires, Batteries, belts. Find out the age.

hello sawdust...the best advise i can give you is to find jon's article when shopping for a coach, read it, read it again and then finally read it one more time...make notes right on the printout, then take it with you and follow it step by step when looking at coaches...it takes you on a catagorical trip throughout the bus...i used it last time i purchased and it was a great tool (by the way, thanks Jon....you cost me a bundle....lol)...it is in the archives and can be easily retrieved...best and good luck..but most of all, enjoy....it sounds like your MPD (MAD PREVOST DISEASE) will soon be converted into MPD (MONEY PER DIEM).....cheers

The right bus will speak to you. Jean and I knew Buster was the coach we wanted after 5 minutes inside it. We also got the same wonderful feeling when ever we were in it.
We only looked at a certain type of bus and eliminated all the others. In our case it was a non slide, XLV, IFS from a converter still in business....then we did the mechanical check list. It was very helpful that we knew approximate market prices before we went there. We bought from Marathon Florida...a very good experience ...however they have extremely high asking prices on the vehicles.

Good luck and enjoy the journey !!!

Sawdust, There are several members on this fourm that have purchased a second Bus without selling their first Bus. These people have benefited from the information on this site and the result would be beneficial to the purchaser. You will understand this more after you enjoy ownership of your first Prevost. Don't make the mistake of overlooking qualified prospects owned and maintained by exisiting members in the know.

Good Luck !

Hey sawdust, I'am also new to this bus thing but what I did is find the one I liked and then go home and wait a week to think about it. I almost bought a 2006 non slide because it was a really good deal but after a week or so found out that for my needs a 2 slide bus is what I needed. I think your bus with slides will have a better resale down the road. Oh well thats my 2 cents.









Sid & Judy Tuls 2007 XL11 Thompson
Visalia,Ca

Sawdust,

I am new to the whole RV thing, but my wife and I purchased a Liberty (used) in Stuart last week. I was so nervous that I thought I would throw up, but Troy Moody (Liberty's Service Manager) was extremely helpful in making me understand every component. I am sure that I could have paid less for a coach, but the experience with Liberty to date and the promise of them standing behind their product was peace of mind for me.

Jenny and I love the coach and had an extremely pleasurable experience driving back from Florida. We cannot wait to leave again. I would give Liberty my endorsement. Good luck with your trip.

Hey!

Thanks for all the info. I would like all of this that I can get. I'll try to add some color between the lines here.

1. We have been studying for well over a year and specifically on Prevosts for about 3 months.

2. We have a list of things that are 1. Gotta haves, 2. Wanna haves 3. Nice to haves, and identified which are throw aways.

3. So you know, I can't ever remember buying anything major where I didn't make the sales person cry. I spent too many years being beat up by customers to not have learned a few of the strategies/tricks/methods.

4. Coveralls are for me. After all the reading on all the sights, manuals, brochures, etc. I want to eyeball everything that I can.

5. This trip is for shopping, not buying. My Australian friends would call this "Sticky Beaking". Loose translation = shopping birds doing a lot of pecking and no eating. A detailed scouting trip and candidate elimination if you like.

6. Jerry Winchester: You get my vote for the most useful feedback. I guess I won't be sliding under any coach. I have made way too many laps around the BBQ buffet table in effort to keep up my figure.

7. garyde: We have a budget in mind and will buy without expectation to make any modifications. Good points. Thank you.

8. shookie: I have a folder for each converter and private sale candidate coach. In each is a copy of Jon's checklist along with several other sets of documents I have collected. If I have time, I will re-format the article into a speadsheet checklist (unless that is already done and some one can share?) Each folder does have the list of requirements checked, and notes as to what it does not have. Thanks for the heads up and thanks Jon for the checklist and all the other great info you have contributed to the sight. PROLIFIC.

9. BUSTER: Good points there on the market prices. We have been collecting that info and now have a pre-flight item to make sure that it is up-to-date before we go.

10. JIM KELLER: Agreed 100%. We have a 50/50 split right now between candidate coached at converters/dealer and private sellers.

11. phorner: All I can say is I think I understand. Great post. Read that one to my wife. Her reply, Let's go make one of these do that to us!!!

12. kenneth brewer: That's what I'm talkin' bout'!!

Sid Tuls: Thanks. We will be making two, maybe three trips to look at/learn about coaches. We will narrow it down to a few finalists. Then we will go out to purchase. We have thought long and hard about it. We prefer the CCC be used for our stuff and not slides. We don't want the additional possible failure points which come with slides. The "deal" is not in the consideration at this point. The way we're looking at this, resale will be the issue of one or more heirs and it's not my problem because I choose not to worry about it. I understand that it may if there is a need to trade or a relapse of MPD.

SOME REMAINING ISSUES:

A. Does anyone have (+/-) recommendations on who to/not to deal with?
B. Buyer's market? How much presure is there to make a sale/"deal".
C. If I read it, I don't remember it. Is there an article which describes a method for getting an inspection done on a coach in a private sale? I seem to remember something related to this in Jon's checklist. I'll re-read the checklist several more times.

Again, thanks for all the great input. Please fell free to answer those questions I didn't/don't even know to ask.

A Buyer's market. The sales people all want to sell you their product. They all will accept offers for less than their asking price. Some convertors will tell you up front what they are willing to discount.
Every Convertor is different.

Sawdust....a few personal comments. These things are bought on emotion. These are not investments. None of us needs one. Buying a Prevost conversion makes no sense. Those of us that do buy one need our heads examined.

But, I can't think of anything else you can buy that will put as big a smile on your face and which will allow you to form long term relationships with some great people.

There is a lot to be said for the "eureka" moment. On both our coaches my wife and I knew it was to be our coach. We knew it from the moment we climbed the steps, and become even more convinced as we walked to the rear. Everyone on this forum has probably had the same gut feel. From that point on the negotiations and the checklist are a formality to verify what you already know.

You want to know who to deal with? Loaded question but here is my opinion based on the fact I have never bought a thing from them: Liberty. I couldn't be more sure of that because despite buying my two Liberty coaches from others (one private, one through a dealer) they have treated me like I buy a new one every year. I doubt if anybody supports their coach like Liberty.

Few tips, may or may not be sage advice.........but I have purchased several of these things and have found....

1. Set a budget and stick to it...period!!

2. Jon is correct, it is an emotional buy therefore you are already vulnerable when you show up to look at a bus. My suggestion here is to have whoever, dealer, owner, converter send you all of the information and photo's on any bus that you may be interested in so you can eliminate as many coaches a possible, in the comfort of your own living room. Try to get it down to two or three likely candidates.

3. Try to find a coach that has belonged to someone who has been finatical about its care and feeding ...you can spot them easily. Dealers/converters know this and they will polish the thing up, shampoo the carpets and steam the engine but...look for things like worn out foam in the drivers seat. Dabbles of touch up paint everywhere, pitted windshield glass, Chinese Tires :D

3. Get all your insurance/registration homework completed before even thinking about a shopping trip, avoid surprises.

4. Try to find your way towards the top of the food chain, you need to deal with the person who can make a decision, not a salesman who is looking for a 25k plus commission out of you!

5. Although others may argue with this, cash is still king. There is something about a cash buyer that tells the seller that he has a sale, and now! With that there comes an increased flexibility in pricing...the old bird in the hand thing!

John

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Originally Posted by Jon Wehrenberg

Sawdust....a few personal comments. These things are bought on emotion. These are not investments. None of us needs one. Buying a Prevost conversion makes no sense. Those of us that do buy one need our heads examined.

Family has been very supportive of our decision to "give up all this" and "go live in a tin can on wheels". They tried to get together and give us a gift certificate for therapy. All I can say is that trying to explain the decision to them is like trying to describe the color blue to a blind person. They just don't get it.

But, I can't think of anything else you can buy that will put as big a smile on your face and which will allow you to form long term relationships with some great people.

You and they "get it.

There is a lot to be said for the "eureka" moment. On both our coaches my wife and I knew it was to be our coach. We knew it from the moment we climbed the steps, and become even more convinced as we walked to the rear. Everyone on this forum has probably had the same gut feel. From that point on the negotiations and the checklist are a formality to verify what you already know.

We actually have had the paper version of the "eureka" moment and we are going to confirm in person.

You want to know who to deal with? Loaded question but here is my opinion based on the fact I have never bought a thing from them: Liberty. I couldn't be more sure of that because despite buying my two Liberty coaches from others (one private, one through a dealer) they have treated me like I buy a new one every year. I doubt if anybody supports their coach like Liberty.

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Good info thank you.

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Originally Posted by flyu2there

Few tips, may or may not be sage advice.........but I have purchased several of these things and have found....

1. Set a budget and stick to it...period!! Done!

2. Jon is correct, it is an emotional buy therefore you are already vulnerable when you show up to look at a bus. My suggestion here is to have whoever, dealer, owner, converter send you all of the information and photo's on any bus that you may be interested in so you can eliminate as many coaches a possible, in the comfort of your own living room. Try to get it down to two or three likely candidates. Done.

3. Try to find a coach that has belonged to someone who has been finatical about its care and feeding ...you can spot them easily. Dealers/converters know this and they will polish the thing up, shampoo the carpets and steam the engine but...look for things like worn out foam in the drivers seat. Dabbles of touch up paint everywhere, pitted windshield glass, Chinese Tires :D Reasons for the trip!

3. Get all your insurance/registration homework completed before even thinking about a shopping trip, avoid surprises. Thank you for this one. Hadn't done it before now. Had figured to do it after this "shopping" trip and before the purchase trip. I guess there could be effects on the candidate coach list. Will do.

4. Try to find your way towards the top of the food chain, you need to deal with the person who can make a decision, not a salesman who is looking for a 25k plus commission out of you! Good point!

5. Although others may argue with this, cash is still king. There is something about a cash buyer that tells the seller that he has a sale, and now! With that there comes an increased flexibility in pricing...the old bird in the hand thing! Agreed and another good point.

John

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Thank you for the info. Added into the plan.