[rheavn]

Larry & Jan,
Five years ago Suzy & I were in the same position you are in now. You have received lots of good advice already from the Gurus, so I'm going to give you our personal experiences & what was useful in finding "our Newell".

You have given yourself about 14 months to find & purchase your Newell. It took us 2 yrs, so 14 months is going to come up quick. I first looked at Newells in 1994. Thought I knew them--boy was I wrong. I didn't understand the custom individuality of these coaches. No two are alike. After about a year of looking at Newells we finally knew what we were looking for in "our Newell". What we found most useful in making this decision was going to the factory and personally looking at Newells. Many Newells. Only after looking at a lot of Newells did we find out what we wanted, what we didn't & how different each coach can be.

Now it was time to buy. We couldn't find what we wanted & were not willing to settle. There was nothing for sale that we liked. Even when I found a coach I liked, Suzy didn't. Thank goodness I listened to her. Best advice I can give you is buy the coach your wife wants! Happy wife--Happy life. In looking back she was 100% right.

Another issue came up when we were ready to buy. A coach became available that Suzy liked and wanted. Before we bought it some one else did. Our lesson was you better be ready to buy as good Newells at the right price sell quickly. The point I am trying to make is that there are only a few Newells manufactured every year, all are very different, so finding "your Newell" may be a much bigger challenge than you now realize. Luckily we found our current coach and after 5 years we couldn't be happier--it is perfect for us. Only one year newer than our Country Coach, but seems like it is at least 10 years newer. The Newell we bought was much different than the Newell that we thought we wanted when we first started looking.

The weight to horsepower ratio was important to us also. Our Country Coach had a 350 hp Cummins and weighed 33,000 lbs. Our Newell weighs 52,000 lbs and has the 500 hp Detroit Series 60. On weight to hp ratio one would think the Country Coach would have outperformed the Newell. NOT EVEN CLOSE. The DD far out performs the Cummins and gets similar mpg. The Detroit has better pick up & runs at a lower rpm than the Cummins. Since I do my own maintenance I have found the Detroit easier to work on than the Cummins and the engine access is much better in the Newell than the Country Coach.

I purchased my coach with 40,000 miles and it now has 98,000 miles. It has never leaked a drop other than some oily mist from the slobber tube.

Now the best part of owning a Newell is the company that stands behind you. 24/7 service hotline is worth what ever you pay for your coach. Also Newell service will work on your coach & charges competitive prices. Needed a slide motor last year when I was in California. In less than 24 hrs I was holding the motor in my hand and had received instruction in how to install.

Good luck in your search & hope my experience is helpful.................................