[pairodice]

That story sounds kinda lame to me, why would they 'wholesale' the coach just because is was previously involved in a scandal? They don't mind 'losing money' on it because they may eventually win a suit over it? Ignoring that the coach seems like it's ok but I would get date codes from the tires and batteries if possible to verify they are new. Even new batteries can get killed quickly if not on a decent battery charger (don't ask how I know this) - check that the batteries are actually charging both when on the inverter/charger and the engine alternator... good luck!

[qcj]

A word on the fogged windows.  It is my understanding that flush mounted windows as on the 05 and 06 and years after that on Newell"s and some other coaches cannot be repaired.  They have to be completely replaced and are expensive.  On the earlier models that have the framed windows can be repaired.  My brother in law who owned a 07 Discovery with framed windows had to have several of his repaired fairly reasonable.  The shop that did them told him that flush mount as on Newell's could not be repaired.  Several months ago there was an 05 Newell at MOT and there was about 5 windows that were fogged.  The salesman told me that the cheapest way to handle that was to have them tinted.  I really don't know about that.

About corrosion, I think all of us have a little problem with that regardless of what the coach is made of.  I have a friend here in town that owns a 2000 Prevost and he has corrosion problems.  Airplanes have it all the time.  It is one thing they check for at yearly inspections.  But as Richard said it is not going to destroy the coach by any means.

[pairodice]

Aluminum corrosion: I think I read something a while back about some type of anode like a sailboat uses that would drag on the ground under the coach to stop the corrosion... maybe I was dreaming or my meds were kicking in...

[rheavn]

Some additional info on the flush mount windows.  A few weeks ago I was at Newell and spoke with the owner of a 2005 coach that he purchased in 2006.  He was having two large flush mounted windows replaced for the second time.  I was shocked to hear that Newell had been installing Se-Gi windows.  According to the owner Newell is no longer using Se-Gi windows if they don't have the flip out openings.  According to him Se-Gi is the only one who makes the flush mounted windows with the flip out openings.  No other options.  The Newell owner I spoke with said he contacted Se-Gi on his one year old coach and he was told the one year warranty started when Newell originally ordered the windows to build the coach so they were out of warranty.  

If you ever owned a Country Coach you would be very familiar with Se-Gi windows, their problems and the company's lack of customer service.  There were many complaints for dual pane windows fogging and and window spacer creep on the Country Coach forums.  There were also many complaints of no customer service from Se-Gi.  Their reported attitude was to just buy another Se-Gi window & replace the damaged one at full owner cost.  Due to the many, many complaints I am shocked that the company is still in business.

About half of the window on my Country Coach had spacer creep.  The coaches that were exposed to the hotter climates seemed to have more problems with window fogging.

[Chester Stone]

Like Richard, I saw nothing in the photos that would concern me. Starting with 2006, all of the Newells I have looked at with the larger windows have had seal problems and have fogged. Expensive to repair but since five have already been repaired, the remaining two may not be too expensive. The serious issue may be the slide seal and the unit may have to go back to Newell for an expensive repair. When the unit is plugged into outside power, the inverter does not charge the chassis batteries, only the house batteries. Most of us have chased water leaks through the windows or roof and not a big deal to seal them. Good luck in your pursuit.

[Apex_speed]

The water damage around the toilet may or may not be water damage. I recently re wallpapered that area, and I can say the original looked like your pictures with peeling at the edges. On mine there was no water damage beneath the ugly peeling paper.

The Newell has aluminum skin as you know. It is tough on exposed edges not to get a little paint corrosion. Almost all of us have some. I used to worry about it, and after eight years of Newell ownership, I don't worry about the coach corroding away.

Big cracks in interior laminate bear further investigation.

Crack in the tile, I don't know. Could be from flexing, could be from dropping something on it.

Rear slide seal cycling between vac and pressure needs some investigation. You do not want the seal to inflate while you are moving the slide.

No idea on the fogged windows.  But I would check the walls under the windows for signs of long term leakage. That goes for ANY coach. A small ice pick right at the floor juncture can reveal a LOT.

Not trying to say these are or are not problems. But if you are like me, I don't know what is normal or abnormal when I first hit the learning curve.



Was it what you thought it would be?
Did it drive like you thought it would?
Was it quiet?

Thanks for the input. I think you are spot on, especially with the wall paper issue. I think that the humidity in the bathroom probably teamed it off.

There is little doubt that the slide was hung up and pulled the little bit of skin away but it doesn't sound like a difficult fix according to Newell.

The slide seal sounded like a 6 hour procedure at the factory using slide rail extensions and the cost of the part so North of a grand.

The coach was stupidly quiet and drove great. There is one clunk in the front suspension that shouldn't be too difficult to resolve.

---

That story sounds kinda lame to me, why would they 'wholesale' the coach just because is was previously involved in a scandal?  They don't mind 'losing money' on it because they may eventually win a suit over it?  Ignoring that the coach seems like it's ok but I would get date codes from the tires and batteries if possible to verify they are new.  Even new batteries can get killed quickly if not on a decent battery charger (don't ask how I know this) - check that the batteries are actually charging both when on the inverter/charger and the engine alternator...  good luck!

You misread (or I mistyped). They supposedly had a wholesale manager in charge of their trades and he would stick them on the back lot until he found a wholesaler willing to pay the dealership $460,000 for a $500,000 coach on put $20,000 in his personal bank account. That is simply an example but the wholesale buyer pays $20K under market for the coach and the dealer's wholesale guy makes a big tax free bonus.

It sounds like he couldn't find a wholesale buyer for the Newell to make the numbers work so it sat around.

Good advice. Presumably the alternator is good but that's a simple check.

[Apex_speed]

A word on the fogged windows.  It is my understanding that flush mounted windows as on the 05 and 06 and years after that on Newell"s and some other coaches cannot be repaired.  They have to be completely replaced and are expensive.  On the earlier models that have the framed windows can be repaired.  My brother in law who owned a 07 Discovery with framed windows had to have several of his repaired fairly reasonable.  The shop that did them told him that flush mount as on Newell's could not be repaired.  Several months ago there was an 05 Newell at MOT and there was about 5 windows that were fogged.  The salesman told me that the cheapest way to handle that was to have them tinted.  I really don't know about that.

About corrosion, I think all of us have a little problem with that regardless of what the coach is made of.  I have a friend here in town that owns a 2000 Prevost and he has corrosion problems.  Airplanes have it all the time.  It is one thing they check for at yearly inspections.  But as Richard said it is not going to destroy the coach by any means.

Thanks. The shop was able to pull 4 or 5 of them already (according to them) and have them pulled apart, resealed, and put them back in.

Glad to hear the corrosion is common.

---

Aluminum corrosion: I think I read something a while back about some type of anode like a sailboat uses that would drag on the ground under the coach to stop the corrosion... maybe I was dreaming or my meds were kicking in...

That could get exciting!

[Apex_speed]

Some additional info on the flush mount windows.  A few weeks ago I was at Newell and spoke with the owner of a 2005 coach that he purchased in 2006.  He was having two large flush mounted windows replaced for the second time.  I was shocked to hear that Newell had been installing Se-Gi windows.  According to the owner Newell is no longer using Se-Gi windows if they don't have the flip out openings.  According to him Se-Gi is the only one who makes the flush mounted windows with the flip out openings.  No other options.  The Newell owner I spoke with said he contacted Se-Gi on his one year old coach and he was told the one year warranty started when Newell originally ordered the windows to build the coach so they were out of warranty.  

If you ever owned a Country Coach you would be very familiar with Se-Gi windows, their problems and the company's lack of customer service.  There were many complaints for dual pane windows fogging and and window spacer creep on the Country Coach forums.  There were also many complaints of no customer service from Se-Gi.  Their reported attitude was to just buy another Se-Gi window & replace the damaged one at full owner cost.  Due to the many, many complaints I am shocked that the company is still in business.

About half of the window on my Country Coach had spacer creep.  The coaches that were exposed to the hotter climates seemed to have more problems with window fogging.

Funny thing if you google Se-Gi window...the first hit on google is a company that makes replacements and the second is the company.

I have not seen too many fooled windows here in Colorado but many with spacer creep. I think it didn't help that this coach was outside for a year.

[Apex_speed]

Like Richard, I saw nothing in the photos that would concern me.  Starting with 2006, all of the Newells I have looked at with the larger windows have had seal problems and have fogged.  Expensive to repair but since five have already been repaired, the remaining two may not be too expensive.  The serious issue may be the slide seal and the unit may have to go back to Newell for an expensive repair.   When the unit is plugged into outside power, the inverter does not charge the chassis batteries, only the house batteries.  Most of us have chased water leaks through the windows or roof and not a big deal to seal them.  Good luck in your pursuit.

Thanks for chiming in Chester.

I think you nailed it. The coach key was on the entire time I was inspecting the coach so I bet it drained the batteries down. I think we all assumed the inverter wold charge them but apparently not.

Newell seems to think the ripped slide seal is not a big deal and doesn't ned to be repaired. I'm not sure I agree with that if for no other reason than I like having things as they should be.

[Apex_speed]

A couple more questions...

I noticed that many of the slide seals had paint on them where they just appeared to be poorly masked. I was surprised to see this on a Newell. Is that normal? I was looking closely at things for evidence of a repaint (I did not find any) but saw that.

With the way the slide controllers are configured, can you bring in two slides at the same time with two people (one using the front panel and the other the rear)? The slides are a bit slow.

Is there any manual procedure to bring a malfunctioning slide in without a technician if you are savvy? That bedroom slide has me worried until I know it is 100% sorted.

Thanks,

-Carl