You are not logged in or registered. Please login or register to use the full functionality of this board...


Coach Time to Sell
#1

Having done research over several months and narrowing down the candidates to Newell, Foretravel, Prevost and possibly Bluebird, one thing stands out is the time it takes for some coaches to sell. I have found threads and ads where the unit has been on the market for over 2 years with several price drops. As we all know it takes a willing buyer and willing seller to arrive at a price acceptable to each. Seems if the price is right, it will move faster.

The only conclusion I can come to is that the sellers are overpricing their coaches. Is the market so narrow that the pool of buyers for these types of coaches is so small that it takes so long to find a buyer? For clarification, coaches priced at $250k and less is where I am looking.

This is a concern from the perspective of selling the unit later on. With more miles and added years, I am sure the market narrows further. In short, with the engineering and craftsmanship being what it is, why don't these coaches sell faster? Does the average buyer not consider them as viable candidates and is drawn to newer units for various other reasons? Your comments are appreciated.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Reply
#2

The average buyer, like you said, is definitely drawn to newer SOBs. Most people like to think they got a good deal with whatever brand they bought. But not many know of the excellent value in a used Newell. Most have never heard of a Newell, I've met many people that think it's a Newmar. Not even close! Or think it is too pretentious for their use. But if you plan to full-time there is nothing nicer regardless of the year than a Newell.
So yes the potential buyers aren't as many.

Forest & Cindy Olivier
1987 log cabin
2011 Roadtrek C210P
PO 1999 Foretravel 36'
1998 Newell 45' #486 

1993 Newell 39' #337 
Reply
#3

And a Happy Thanksgiving to you!!

Newells are a very special coach. Since they are hand built in low quantities to a specific customers desires, typically between 2 and 3 per month, they are not well known even though they have been in business for over 50 year. They are also not listed in RV Blue Books to give lenders an idea of value. Since each one is different and Newell makes continuous changes rather than model year changes, trying to find the Newell that exactly meets your needs can be more difficult.

However, all that said, motorcoaches depreciate. Some folks recognize that and price their coaches aggressively to sell. Others are unwilling to accept the current market driven price and ask an amount higher than others are willing to pay. They slowly lower the price but in some cases aren't dropping the price as much as the depreciation so they never catch up. Aggressively priced Newells sell.

Michael Day
1992 Newell 43.5' #281
NewellOwner.com
Reply
#4

You can also finance a newer SOB easier as opposed to trying to find lending for older Newell's.

Steve Magown
Calhoun, LA
2001 Prevost H3 Vantare
formerly Newell #458
Reply
#5

Excellent point Steve. I meant to mention that. It is getting more difficult to get financing on motorhomes over 10 years old which in the case of Newells is in the $1/2 million range.

Michael Day
1992 Newell 43.5' #281
NewellOwner.com
Reply
#6

i get asked often to value newells. at best i will give a wide range and most of the time i say it is worth what you are willing to pay for it. if you sold your home, are going to fulltime and found the perfect newell and it was priced a little high, it may make sense to pay a premium. everyone wants to get the most they can. and since values are really hard to determine for newells, people usually start high.

another aspect is if the coach has a loan on it. if so, then folks want to get at least what they owe on it.

there is such a variance in what a coach is worth, which is amplified being older than an SOB that is newer.

in the 250k range, you will be able to find an incredibly nice newell with steering tag and 4 slides. i just showed my 02 newell (i am not selling it) to some people who stopped by last nite and they were blown away that it was 17 or more years old. these things are pretty timeless.

if i looked at a new sob then looked at steve bares coach, i would be hard pressed to acknowledge that steves was 20 years old. it would look like new. so what is that worth when you go to sell? it is worth what you are willing to pay.

we are a very small subset of coach owners for sure.

rambling i know, but my two cents worth and i am stickin to it. (RIP Wally)

tom

2002 45'8" Newell Coach 608  Series 60 DDEC4/Allison World 6 Speed HD4000MH

Reply
#7

To add to what others have said.

Number one reason for long time on market.....Unreasonable price. The owner is out of touch with the market, or has an emotional attachment to the coach, or is under water on a coach loan.
Number two reason, owner is not in a hurry and hopes to find one buyer at a higher price.
Number three reason, coach is not well maintained either mechanically or cosmetically.

I totally agree that the market for a Newell over fifteen years old is rather specialized. It takes a cash buyer who is going to self maintain to make that deal work.

I also totally agree that coaches that are priced between market and wholesale value don’t last long.

Richard and Rhonda Entrekin
99 Newell, 512
Maverick Hybrid Toad
Inverness, FL (when we're home Cool )
Reply
#8

Getting a loan on a 10 year old coach is darn near impossible, ive tried! I had a pre approval but was then turned down on a 2001 bluebird because the loan officer thought 200,000 miles was too many miles. As we all know here, 200k miles on a Detroit is just getting broke in, but no way you can explain that to a banker who barely knows what a motorhome is.
Reply
#9

Incredible Bank does loans from what I have read on the Prevost forums

Ernie Ekberg
Prevost Liberty-sold
Foretravel
https://groups.io/g/ErnieEkbergFlooring
Ernie Ekbergs Flooring on Facebook
[email protected]
Reply
#10

Good information. I appreciate the comments. I actually forgot about the financing hurdle as we are cash buyers. Now if I can just get sellers to read this thread, perhaps they'll re-adjust their pricing.
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)