[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.................................

[LJSteinmetz]

Steve,

Thanks for your very informative post.

We have actually given ourselves an unlimited time to shop for a coach. Twelve to fourteen months is when the appropriate finances and timing issues line up allowing us to pull the trigger anytime from that point forward when that perfect, to us, coach comes along. Our current plan is to put our house on the market most likely in the Spring of 2016. We would rather already have our coach just prior to the house selling but it wouldn't be absolutely necessary. I will continue to work for the Coast Guard until January 2019. We admit that it might be pretty frustrating living in a coach while I still have to work but it would be much cheaper than continuing to carry the mortgage on our 4000 sq. ft. house that only has my wife and me kicking around in. The added benefit is that we could "cast off all lines" and head out in our coach for long weekends, vacations, etc.

After 35 years of marriage my wife and I fortunately have grown to like many of the same things so it will be relatively easy for us to agree on a coach if the right one comes along. The big compromise that my wife has already made is that she truly would rather have a custom 5th wheel like a Continental or a New Horizons primarily due to their kitchens being available with an island and just more elbow room overall. This would require it to be towed by an HDT and I just don't know if I want to put up with the added hassles of parking an articulated set-up. We used to own a fifth wheel and I know that practice makes perfect but occasionally you will read about career truck drivers who say they bought motorhomes because they had had enough backing up hassles in their lives and didn't need it once retired...maybe not a common sentiment with truck drivers but the few that said it certainly opened my eyes.

One of my main concerns will be to try to figure out what a used Newell (or a Foretravel) is truly worth when it comes time to negotiate on one that is for sale. Newell doesn't show up on NADA and many people have said that the NADA figures for a Foretravel are not that accurate to use. Other places I have read said to use the RV depreciation calculators available online but you have to know the MSRP of the rig when it was new and what the normal discount is that first year. As an example, most people say that they got anywhere from a 25%-30% discount on a Newmar or an Entegra but I only see vague references to 5%-10% on Foretravels and I haven't come across anything discussing discounts on a new Newell. Further, some people also put no faith in the calculators so it seems to put a potential buyer at a disadvantage. I have always liked to know what the "likely" range of value is when shopping for a car so that I am not wasting someone's time (or insulting them with what appears to be a low ball offer), shows that I have done my research and that I know when to take an offer or when to move on. At the price range we are talking about for these coaches it would be akin to getting comps when purchasing a home. Any guidance in this area by the Gurus would be very much appreciated.

It is great to hear that Newell stands so squarely behind their product and that their service appears to have few rivals...this is always worth at least the price of admission!

[Fulltiming]

'Reasonable" prices of Newells are likely best determined by researching all of the Newells that are advertised within your year range and then take a little off for negotiations. Newell carries a large inventory of used Newells but remember that they include in their price a warranty on coaches 7 model years or less old so they will typically be higher priced than individually owned coaches without a warranty.

Even within the same model year, Newells may be significantly different (more or fewer slides, steerable tag or not, etc) and will vary significantly in floor plan, interior materials, drive trains, etc. Newell always uses top quality materials in their coaches both new and in those they remodel. Those variances can make a difference in price but primarily in how popular the layout, etc is at the time and therefore how much interest there is for that coach. More slides cost more money to build so the initial price will be higher but a person that wants a 3 slide rather than a 4 slide used coach may be willing to pay the same amount, or even more, for it.

Some folks have a wild imagination on the value of their coach and have it for sale for YEARS, occasionally lowering the price but always staying well above the current market price. Many of us have looked at coaches that we had trouble believing that the owners are really interested in a sale based on the out of touch price they are asking. There are coaches on the market now that have been listed on various sites for many years. Those are typically either way overpriced or have some issue that is keeping buyers at bay.

[encantotom]

if you find a calculator telling us what a newell is worth, that is the holy grail...ha

all the calculators in the internet really wont help for a newell. the same year newell will vary alot in price by the condition and features and such.

you just have to keep your eye out on what they are asking for them and realise that most do not get asking price.

if you are looking for quite a while, you will get a feel for the values.

the biggest thing is a cliche and that is it is worth what you are willing to pay for it. these beauties are not like a coach you buy at a dealer and can look up the value in a book.

have fun looking, it is fun and much cheaper than owning. but not as fun.....

tom

[LJSteinmetz]

if you find a calculator telling us what a newell is worth, that is the holy grail...ha

tom

That seems to pretty much sum it up right there!