Need advice -- Shopping trip

[shookie]

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

[BUSTER]

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 !!!

[JIM KELLER]

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 !

[Sid Tuls]

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

[aggies09]

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.

[sawdust_128]

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.

[garyde]

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.

[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.

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.

[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!!

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

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

[sawdust_128]

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.

Good info thank you.