I have not been around for a variety of reasons. After accidentally starting all this up, I apologize for not being very active.

A couple of people have suggested that the topic of Depreciation be discussed, or perhaps an article or guide to depreciation be developed for this site.

The problem with this topic from my point of view is that I don't think, 'depreciation,' rather, I think 'value' of a coach. In recent years, the trade has come to put numbers on Prevost conversion coaches as what they call a 'hard' number. That is the number that they would be willing to pay for a coach off the street or from another party. Those are not pretty numbers. I am guilty of beginning to think that way myself. It is an unfair analysis of the value of a given coach and strips away the utility value of the coach, demand for a particular converter and any special features a particular coach might be. This is the old wholesale coach pricing system at work.

Not too long ago, a guy went to a converter and asked them a question. It was something like this: "If I agree to buy a new coach from you every single year, how much will it cost me to do that?" The response he got was something over $450K/yr. So there is a depreciation number and it sounds low to me.

Further, there is an inverse relationship between the cost of a new coach and its value in one year. That is, one might think that a more expensive coach would hold its value better. That does not seem to be the case. Instead, the lesser expensive new coaches seem to depreciate less.

Whether a new coach or a preowned coach, it makes sense to me that a buyer find a price point and a coach where enjoyment of the coach is paramount rather than being worried about the dollars ticking away with depreciation.

And I could be absolutely dead wrong.