Florida Bus Shopping - Follow up...

[GDeen]

We had a whirlwind trip and learned quite a lot in our 3 days in FL. First afternoon began with a stop at Parliament and an extensive tour of the manufacturing plant and inventory with Mark Cascio. Mark is a great guy and he was extremely helpful in our search. We both got a lot of insight into the work that goes into a shell conversion, and Jennifer really learned a lot from our tour. Also met Ken Robertson who did indeed offer the Tuga discount on any Newell on the lot Really enjoyed visiting with the Parliament folks.

Next day was spent at Marathon FL and we went through a number of buses there. Couple of good prospects we have in mind so we will see how that works out. That evening drove down to the W. Palm area and looked at an 02 Elegant Lady - gorgeous bus in pristine condition as they say. Private seller who was a very nice guy.

Final day was spent at the Liberty facility looking at a handful of coaches. Made a hard run at Shookie's old coach - 2000 model #669b. When all was said and done, Liberty gets to keep 669b in their growing museum of coaches priced at levels of times gone by. Beautiful bus though.

I really appreciate the help of several of you from the previous thread and then some others who answered email enquiries. Ray Davis has been exceptionally generous with answering questions - thanks Ray!

Also learned how much POG is known through the industry. At Parliament, those guys know many of you obviously and I felt like it helped make us welcome. Also was a mention of some kind of covert action at the upcoming OKC rally? I am a newby and thus have no clue about all that.

Liberty was pro-active in addressing some of Jon W.'s buyers guide recommendations even though I hadn't mentioned POG to them at all. Jon's influence has spread far and wide beyond his commitment to the canine community.

Bottom line is we have an offer in on a coach right now and will see if that pans out. Otherwise there are a couple of others that are very interesting, and we are learning of more all the time.
We are looking forward to finding the right bus for us and have taken a great step forward in the process. Will keep you posted.

Edited to add - Steve Bennett of California Coach has also been a remarkable resource of information. We really appreciate all the time he has given us in our search.