Buying advice

I'm not sure there's always one single correct answer here, but I would take the Prevost over the Thor in this particular case. Five years hence the Thor will be worth maybe $50k or so, and the Prevost will not have depreciated much if any more. The general comfort and overall quality would be better, too.

On the other side of the coin, any repairs (particularly chassis repairs) to the more expensive unit would likely be somewhat more costly, and one might well expect some minor and perhaps not so minor age related bits to wear out and need repair or replacement. There are tradeoffs to every decision.

If you're new to RVing in general, I would suggest looking for a comparatively inexpensive used motorhome to begin with and have the expectation that you will sell it after a year or two and get something more like what you really want. It's often quite difficult to figure out what things are important to you and what features you care about without having spent some time using and living in an RV. At the very least, consider renting one for a week or two before jumping in the deep end. If you find you don't particularly care for RVing, and some (strange) people don't, it may save you a good bit of money.

lsm wrote:

If I decide my budget is 150k (have not settled on a budget yet) would I be better off buying a new motor home that cost 150k (say a Thor) or would I be better off buying a used Prevost that cost 150k? One will obviously be new and the other might be 20 years old. Thanks for the input.

150k will get you into a very nice high end coach. I'd not go as high as a Prevost, but stay away from the lower end entry level coaches. they simply don't have the quality built in. and you won't get much of a Prevost for 150k

I'd start by targeting 130-150k on "RV trader" and see if there are any hits there that you like.

Many times you can find local coaches selling on Craig's List by the owner much cheaper than a dealer.

try Craig's list, E-bay, and RVtrader.com to shop around.
Dream on

top of the budget, but wow

I would go older and better quality. As stated, you do not have to go a Provost. Look at Newmar and Tiffin.

150K should easily get you into a used upper mid level coach which is less than 10 years old. Such as Newmar, Tiffin, Monaco, Holiday Rambler, etc. This is where my money would go.

I agree with the others - I'd look for a not too old higher end used one.

When we were buying on a regular bases things were moving fast; full body paint, 4 slides, & Comfort Drive, just to name a few - were all new technology and/or features, so we were buying new.

Today it's pretty easy to find a nice used unit with those features, and IMO all of them would be "must haves". Actually since we got them we've stopped shopping. We were buying every 3-5 years, we've owned our current MH almost 10 years now and have no intentions whatsoever of buying again any time soon.

All good advice above. That budget will land you a very nice coach. Would stay away from Thor. Lots of bad press on quality issues. Since many items in the house systems and chassis are generic across many brands and years, the bottom line is quality control on the assembly line if there is such a thing, maintenance and a honest seller.

I personally would go with a seasoned one owner coach. Try to buy direct from the owner. You should get a better idea of its history and quirks. No, we didn't follow our on advice by buying a new Winnebago 40R. Different circumstances... We plan to keep it many, many years until we can't travel any more. Then someone will get a good deal on a one owner, maintained DP.

When we sold our '07 Endeavor the new owner got a 20+ page print out of how to operate every system, maintenance records and every item replaced or fixed. We did a three hour walk through. Since we had nothing to hide, we were in contact for several months after the sale to answer questions.

Some units are traded in because of problems. I can guarantee the dealer will not disclose those issues even if they know about them. In buying an RV new or used, the motto "buyer beware" is extremely important. Above all, hire a mobile tech to do an inspection. If you have the ability, take it to a mechanic and have them check everything out. Remember you are the customer with the money. Don't be pressured. You have lots and lots of time.

Scratching my head on this one. Obviously a Prevost is a better MH than a Thor, but consider; to get a Prevost at that price you'd probably be looking at something 20 years old. Despite quality, there are a lot of things at that point that would either be falling apart, in disrepair, need of replacement, outdated, or all of these. You could get a brand new DP from Thor under warranty at that price. Again, would never argue the quality comparison, but Prevosts and their parts aren't immune to issues any more than any other RV, especially 20 years old with a few hundred thousand miles.

That said, you can get a nice, used - but much newer - MH, say a Newmar or something , in your price range.

Mr. Scott,

If you are even thinking of buying a used Prevost you need to join www.prevostcommunity.com. (it's free).

There are several people right now on that site that are in your shoes contemplating the same idea.

Secondly, if $150,000 is your budget, you will need to look at Prevosts in the $120,000 range as you will probably need to 'zero-out' the coach which is about $30,000 and will consist of:
-new tires
-new norgren valves
-new batteries (chassis, house, generator)
-new air bags
-oil/filter change
-transmission oil change
-chassis lube
-possible front end parts

This will put you with a very reliable bullet-proof bus. Prevosts, as you may know, have real front and rear bumpers and the shell is completely built before a conversion is made.

Some of the older Prevosts may have side panel delamination that will need to be considered in your offer. Depending on the year, Prevost has paid for the repairs which are extensive (but not for the repaint).

The price range that you are looking at will most likely get you a coach with no slides.

Just for reference, there is a beautiful 2003 Liberty Coach (non-slide) that has had ALL of the maintenance done plus more including all delam work. It has 160,000 miles on the DD engine and they are asking $259,000 located at ETLC (East Tennessee Luxury Coach) in Vonore, TN. It is a beautiful coach.

There is at least 3 yrs. of reading over at the Prevost Community to keep you busy.

Safe travels,
MM.

Make sure to include older Beavers and Foretravels in your search. These coaches were high initial quality and many on the used market were well cared for and have plenty of life left.

This one is a beauty.

Be aware that asking prices on RVT and RVTrader tend to be high of actual value.

Welcome ISM... may be a lot of info in that alone although a Prevost will not have that engine although it is one of the better ones. I hope to use my 04 Dynasty for another 13 years so you know where I'm going. You do not give us any info on how much you will use other than retired. By putting NA in RVing since... are you a virgin RVer? If so then "Twice the husband, on 1/2 the $$$$, and in 1/10th the space" may apply.

I always recommend buying more MH than you think you need... ONE TIME which is NOT what I did. Unfortunately the size is still debated with many still saying 36' max even for Full Time use . :S
If you will give us some more info on your intended use it would help.