[Richard]

You have some good input.

It might be good to focus on a more generic issue. Motorhomes in general are more complex than fivers. Shore power, generator, and battery/inverter systems all interconnected are one example. Air operated doors, potties, leveling, and dump valves are another example. The fancier the coach means more complexity.

You said you weren't mechanically inclined. I think the more precise question would be are you interested in learning the systems and diagnosing problems. Some Newell owners don't pick up many wrenches, some work on everything, and most are somewhere in between. If you are paying someone else to do the wrenching, then the more you know about the problem, the less time and money you will spend to have someone unfamiliar do the work.

I understand the need for warranty by some folk. Coaches are complicated and expensive to repair. Here is my reality. They ALL have problems from time to time. New ones, older ones, entry level, and high end coaches ALL have problems from time to time. If you feel the warranty is important to you, then subtract 25 to 50k from your budget, set that aside for self funded warranty, and use the remainder of the budget to buy a used high end coach such as Newell, Foretravel, Wanderlodge, or even Prevost.

You will find most of the Newell owners on this forum share some common geneology. One, they are, or were technically employed, or have technical hobbies. Two, a Newell was not their first coach. We were attracted to Newell because we recognized the simple but elegant engineering used in Newell construction. We looked at the components and systems used and thought "I can fix that". There are very few parts that can not be sourced outside of Newell.

Lastly, I am not in the business of bashing other coaches. I love to look. We went in a new coach of the kind you are looking at last week. Our coach is 17 yrs old. Rhonda's comment on leaving the coach was "I wouldn't trade even".