[Erniee]

man, thats half of what I paid for my coach 2 years ago, same engine and tranny. huge buddy seat/copilot chair.

[kb0zke]

Ernie, if you're referring to the one on ebay I mentioned, I have a feeling that it will sell for quite a bit more than what it shows now.

[prairieschooner]

Just be careful and do the research to be sure you are getting what you bargain for. I would not buy a coach without seeing, touching and smelling it first.
Any Heavy Equipment Shop (Caterpillar, John Deere, etc.) would be able to pull samples. I pulled samples from the Main Engine, Transmission, Radiator....Generator and Radiator. While these results really need a history they will show possible catastrophic issues so be careful and have a mechanic help to explain the results.
I am a Marine Surveyor currently so I just used one of my Forms that I use when inspecting a boat. I start at one end and work my way through one level at a time. Run all of the Equipment on both Shore Power and with the Generator. At the end write up a report that you can use to help make up your mind.
We are very happy with an 8' wide coach and like being able to maneuver in tight spaces so 38' long is better for use. Not sure what will be next but since our Newell is still young it won't matter for quite a while.
Last bit of advice is that there is a reason for the following that Newell, Bluebird and Prevost have.

[kb0zke]

"Last bit of advice is that there is a reason for the following that Newell, Bluebird and Prevost have." Yes, Steve, that's why we're looking there. No Prevost coaches on our possible list, but one Newell, two 'Birds, and three Foretravels. One of the Foretravels isn't all that far from here, and the Newell factory is right on the way, so we're looking at an outing soon. We have a scheduled day off from school coming up, and if we don't have any snow days between now and then we'll take a day and see a factory and a coach. Should be an educational day.

[prairieschooner]

champagne taste with a beer budget.

[Express1]

champagne taste with a beer budget.

[size=medium[/size]

Tap water!

[kb0zke]

You got that right!

[kb0zke]

A bit of an update. After more research we have decided to pass on three Newells that looked interesting. The first one to be dropped from further consideration is the one that has been on eBay several times. It supposedly belonged to a famous entertainer when new. It shows up and then a few days later is "sold" for somewhat less than the asking price. A week or so later it is back.

The second one really had us going for a while. It used to belong to someone on this forum who sold it several years ago. The description sounded good, but I had a question or two about the condition. Another forum member was also interested in it and was able to get more information. The description was accurate - a couple of years ago! Since I'm not interested in a project coach a thousand miles from home we decided to pass.

The third one was on another site with a "get special Internet price" button. I clicked, gave the required information, and waited. That was two weeks ago and I'm still waiting. Not interested anymore.

The right coach for us is out there somewhere. We just have to find it.

[tuga]

David,

What is your price range?

[kb0zke]

$30-40,000 which includes about $10,000 for repairs and upgrades. Since tires and batteries are the big items (assuming that the coach in general is sound) we can use some of the $10,000 toward the purchase price of a coach that has new tires and batteries. We're looking for a wide-body coach, 40' long, with no slides. This will be for full-timing.