Just Something To Think About.

[Sooner_Schooner]

What could make a $2 million motorcoach worth a $1 million more than a $1 million motorcoach?

[AWMIII]

After spending a couple of weeks at the Crown Club at Lazy Days, I can say that everything is relative. While the difference between a 1 million dollar King Aire and a 2 million dollar Prevost may well mostly be the chassis and partly the fact that the Prevost is totally custom. Look at a 600,000 motorhome and a 400,000 motorhome. The difference is in the complexity of the systems. Unless you have really check out very modern high end coaches, you would have no idea how complex the systems have gotten. I have a 2012 Discovery and the difference between the 2018 Discovery and the 2012 Discovery systems is shocking. The difference between a 2018 Discovery and a 2018 American Coach is similarly shocking. Discovery 2 Furnaces amd a 10- gallon water heater. The AC has Aquahot. The Discovery has 3 cameras to use while driving, the AC has 8 cameras that can be accessed from several places in the coach to use as security. The Discovery has a very nice fiberglass shower. The AC has tile. I could go on and on. The point being that the same floor plan RV can have various price points and there are buyers at all price points. Maybe the more expensive RV has more profit in it. But to say it is just glitz and extra profit probably do not tell the whole story. It is okay for people to have a nicer coach than you do without trying to convince yourself that you made a smarter purchase. In the end, no RV is a smart purchase.

[Mr_Mark1]

irishtom29 wrote:

Mr.Mark wrote:
The paint job alone is going to be of a different quality. Our Prevost converter allows 1,100 man hours to complete the exterior with many coats of paint and clear coat..... smooth as glass.

40 goes in 1100 27.5 times. I don’t believe it takes the equivalent of 27 people working an entire 40 hour week to paint a coach.

I would think some of those hours are in the design work. That's the number I was told so I was just passing it along.

40 hrs. x 6 guys = 240 hrs. x 4 weeks = 960 hrs. Not too far off. Maybe sometimes they use more guys? Depending on the design, it could take 5 weeks.

I think a person would see the difference in quality on these very detailed paint jobs comparing a $1M Newmar King Aire vs. a $2.5M Prevost. But, it is not only the paint job, it's every single component from the very robust chassis parts and slide mechanisms to the interior design leathers, fabrics and flooring. If you were to ever look inside the bays of Prevost, you will see the difference too.

That's why a used Prevost can be a fantastic value. The real front and rear bumpers are a plus in the safety dept. 🙂

Safe travels,
MM.

[JaxDad]

Much of the posts in this thread remind me of a neighbour of mine, a really nice retired fella, just came home with his new pickup this weekend.

Absolutely every option he could find, Duramax / Allison drivetrain, 4 x 4, etc., etc.....

I asked about the cost of the Diesel engine option, he didn’t reply with the cost but rather “You can’t really look at just the cost, it’s a million mile chassis, I’ll NEVER wear it out!”


He buys a new truck every 2 years and the one he just traded in had 80,000 km (50,000 miles) on it..........

But he has lots to brag about at the coffee shop for the next few weeks.......

[larry_cad]

time_to_go_now wrote:

irishtom29 wrote:

Mr.Mark wrote:
The paint job alone is going to be of a different quality. Our Prevost converter allows 1,100 man hours to complete the exterior with many coats of paint and clear coat..... smooth as glass.

40 goes in 1100 27.5 times. I don’t believe it takes the equivalent of 27 people working an entire 40 hour week to paint a coach.

Disassembly, prep, paint, buff, assembly. I bet it could easily take 4-5 people more than a month. Which is close to 1,100 man hours. At say $30 an hour, that is $33,000 in labor. Materials also might be $25,000. So, even at 1,100 man hours, you are still only looking at maybe a $60,000 paint job.

Paint job alone does not get you from $1m to $2m!!!

If you think a company pays a good painter $30/hour, (which they do), and then charges the end customer the same $30/hour you might want to study some business procedures. You can bet that $30/hours wage translates into at least $100 or more per hour to the customer.

Go into any truck service facility where they work on diesel motorhomes and check out their service rate. At least $100 and more. Guaranteed they don't pay the guy with the greasy hands that much.

[rgatijnet1]

time_to_go_now wrote:

irishtom29 wrote:

Mr.Mark wrote:
The paint job alone is going to be of a different quality. Our Prevost converter allows 1,100 man hours to complete the exterior with many coats of paint and clear coat..... smooth as glass.

40 goes in 1100 27.5 times. I don’t believe it takes the equivalent of 27 people working an entire 40 hour week to paint a coach.

Disassembly, prep, paint, buff, assembly. I bet it could easily take 4-5 people more than a month. Which is close to 1,100 man hours. At say $30 an hour, that is $33,000 in labor. Materials also might be $25,000. So, even at 1,100 man hours, you are still only looking at maybe a $60,000 paint job.

Paint job alone does not get you from $1m to $2m!!!

Obviously your figures do not even come close to what actual business expenses would be. Maybe you need to look up and understand the terms burden and overhead. :B

[bucky]

DallasSteve wrote:
Why is it worth (cost) $2 million? I'm guessing it's built out of iPhones.

I believe you hit on the answer. The difference is the profit of course.

[time_to_go_now]

irishtom29 wrote:

Mr.Mark wrote:
The paint job alone is going to be of a different quality. Our Prevost converter allows 1,100 man hours to complete the exterior with many coats of paint and clear coat..... smooth as glass.

40 goes in 1100 27.5 times. I don’t believe it takes the equivalent of 27 people working an entire 40 hour week to paint a coach.

Disassembly, prep, paint, buff, assembly. I bet it could easily take 4-5 people more than a month. Which is close to 1,100 man hours. At say $30 an hour, that is $33,000 in labor. Materials also might be $25,000. So, even at 1,100 man hours, you are still only looking at maybe a $60,000 paint job.

Paint job alone does not get you from $1m to $2m!!!

[irishtom29]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Hand stitched Italian leather upholstery
Incan marble counters and bath tiles
Gold plated fixtures
Swarovski crystal
Klipsch home theater sound system
Built-in treadmill

Those are just a few features I gleaned from the ads for USED luxury motorhomes with $1 million plus asking prices.

Klipsch used to be a high end speaker company, back when old PWK owned the company. Now it’s just mass market “stuff”, no better than Bose (which I think is OK at best) and IMO often worse. Indeed, some Klipsch speakers sound like Skilsaws.

[irishtom29]

Mr.Mark wrote:
The paint job alone is going to be of a different quality. Our Prevost converter allows 1,100 man hours to complete the exterior with many coats of paint and clear coat..... smooth as glass.

40 goes in 1100 27.5 times. I don’t believe it takes the equivalent of 27 people working an entire 40 hour week to paint a coach.

[irishtom29]

Bruce Brown wrote:


at the end of the test drive I handed the keys back to my salesgirl and said I just couldn't do it, I wanted another Lariat.

Considering a $30,000 Truck functionally will do everything a $60,000 truck does why do they sell so many $60k trucks?

Soccer dads want soccer dad trucks—no bench seats, crank windows, dog dish hubcaps and rubber floors for them.

[DallasSteve]

Why is it worth (cost) $2 million? I'm guessing it's built out of iPhones.

[jplante4]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Prevost is NOT a chassis. Prevost is a fully factory built bus and is NOTHING like a you would get if you were just buying a chassis from Ford, Freightliner or anyone else. This is as far as you can get to an Apples and Oranges comparison.

Yet another difference... the attitude of a $2 million dollar coach owner.

[Bill_Satellite]

jplante4 wrote:
It's all about quality and craftsmanship. Building a quality coach takes more time than just hacking them out in volume and the labor costs are greater as a result. Also, you can't just go out onto the street and hire craftsmen, you usually need to entice them away from a competitor.

The difference in price between a Ford chassis and a Prevost bus chassis doesn't account for the difference. It's all about the quality of the finished product.

Prevost is NOT a chassis. Prevost is a fully factory built bus and is NOTHING like a you would get if you were just buying a chassis from Ford, Freightliner or anyone else. This is as far as you can get to an Apples and Oranges comparison.

[Mr_Mark1]

The paint job alone is going to be of a different quality. Our Prevost converter allows 1,100 man hours to complete the exterior with many coats of paint and clear coat..... smooth as glass.

The fit and finish and components of a Prevost Emerald/Outlaw vs. a Prevost Liberty will be very obvious.

Safe travels,
MM.