Tampa Super Show

[jack14r]

I am sure that POG members are at the show.I heard from a friend today that the attendance is down but that the people that are there are potential buyers.I also heard that a new Vantari XLII DS is 799 a H3 DS is 850 and a H3 TS is 950,has anyone else heard this?

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Easy Jack that Liberty your currently sporting hasn't seen its first birthday yet

[lewpopp]

Most of the rich boys from PSL went over there and I told them to bring something back for "show and tell".

[jack14r]

Joe you must have been in Florida too long this winter,you caught Lew's disease.It doesn't seem like anyone went to the show this year.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Jack,

If those numbers you cited are what they are willing to sell those coaches for that will just extend the pain to all the other converters. When a company is dumping inventory it especially hurts any companies trying to gain traction in an already lousy market.

[jelmore]

Jack,

If those numbers you cited are what they are willing to sell those coaches for that will just extend the pain to all the other converters. When a company is dumping inventory it especially hurts any companies trying to gain traction in an already lousy market.

I suppose those prices would significantly reduce the annual depreciation on one of those new coaches. I sure hope that kind of price doesn't devalue the preowned market by a third or more. But hope and reality certainly aren't the same, eh?

[jack14r]

I agree Jon,I am hoping that it is not true but the old Featherlite has 25 or so to sell and in this environment along with their sale to Amadas they only have price to entice a buyer.

[phorner]

At the Prevost display yesterday, they had a new, painted, double slide XLII shell that had Millennium badging.

According the the folks there, that factory painted shell alone was worth just under 700K.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

If the new coach selling prices are that low I think we can all assume the prices for used coaches are going to be impacted.

We all are in the middle of the perfect storm. At one end the converters are doing what they have to with price to sell their inventory, and as we saw previously when Vantare started listing their $1.3 million coaches for $900,000 there was an immediate impact. It didn't help that prior to that legendary coaches were hitting the streets at a little over $600,000.

At the same time Vantare did that the used coach market pricing dropped, and those who hung on to their asking price ended up not selling their coaches. Som exceptional coaches held most of their previous value, but the market in general smelled blood and we saw $300,000 coaches fall to $200,000 pretty quickly.

If Jack's observations reflect what it takes to move new coach inventory it is certainly going to hit the used coaches, especially since the market has shrunk due to the tightening of credit. Fewer buyers for the coaches out there has to mean that it has clearly become a buyer's market. I would hate to have to sell into this market. I would love to be a buyer however because the prices aren't even close to what replacement costs are and some coaches are going to be as cheap as they can get.

When this mess straightens out the prices will not go up in the used market either. I'll bet they will just stop depreciating for a while. The only thing that could make this situation worse is for a major problem with new or used coaches to be announced like some serious engine problem forcing a recall or skin delamination or lack of service parts.

[Jim Skiff]

Paul,

Sharp eyes! I stood next to it and in it and didn't notice the Millennium Logo......even after I took a couple pictures of it!