Wannabe Newby

larry&alicia mason

New member
Mar 15, 1999
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Hi All,

I've been lurking on this list for about three weeks now. Frankly, I don't
even remember how I stumbled on to the gmcmotorhome site that I linked in
from. I do know that it got some old urges stirring. Like many of you, I've
admired these coaches for years. I'm in Wichita, KS and every time I've
seen one for sale (there haven't been that many), I've stopped in to look
it over. My problem has always been that I had absolutely no basis on which
to evaluate the coach. I didn't even really know what I was looking at, in
most cases, or what the options might be. With that lack of knowledge, I
wasn't inclined to part with tens of thousands of dollars.

I'm now dangerous, a little knowledge being a dangerous thing. I feel like
there is a great wealth of information among the GMC set. If you've got
some time, I've got some questions.

I've seen a wide range of prices for coaches, from Arch's $5000 rescue,
many in the $12,000 range, many, many in the $20,000 range and quite a few
beyond $20,000. What should one expect in these various ranges? It's clear
that at $5000 you can reasonably expect to have to fix everything and in
the beyond $20,000 range things will be in very good to excellent order.
But what about in between, the $12,000 to $20,000 bracket? What are the
standards that should be applied and what are reasonable expectations? The
obvious reasons for my questions are that 1) I'm cheap, but fair and 2)
I'll probably have to travel somewhere to find a coach for sale. I have a
definite need to be informed enough to make a decision and probably won't
have a lot of resources to fall back on for immediate advice. It is a scary
situation, since the next step will probably be to get in and try to drive
it home.

Recognizing the fine madness associated with wanting a 20+ year old
motorhome, if anyone has thoughts they'd like to share with me on the
valuation and acqusition of one, I'd be glad to hear. Then I can move on to
the "Now I've got one, what next" thread.

Thanks,
Larry Mason
 
Can't offer you much, as I came in to this blind and just after I bought mine
the engine went, and while they were looking at the stuff, the trans was about
to go. I would look to see the documentation of what was done, how often, and
by whom. If you can not find any documentation on oil changes, boggie lub
etc, just be cautious. A good owner will try to keep up with the maintenance,
and with upgrades that add value (sometimes it doesn't always work). Glad to
talk to you if you like or email me directly. Why don't you come to the rally
I am hosting in Albuquerque in Oct and see what we have done to our coaches.
Talk to the experts (sic), and get some appreciation of what to look for.

Al Chernoff 505-821-0693

> Hi All,
>
> I've been lurking on this list for about three weeks now. Frankly, I don't
> even remember how I stumbled on to the gmcmotorhome site that I linked in
> from. I do know that it got some old urges stirring. Like many of you, I've
> admired these coaches for years. I'm in Wichita, KS and every time I've
> seen one for sale (there haven't been that many), I've stopped in to look
> it over. My problem has always been that I had absolutely no basis on which
> to evaluate the coach. I didn't even really know what I was looking at, in
> most cases, or what the options might be. With that lack of knowledge, I
> wasn't inclined to part with tens of thousands of dollars.
>
> I'm now dangerous, a little knowledge being a dangerous thing. I feel like
> there is a great wealth of information among the GMC set. If you've got
> some time, I've got some questions.
>
> I've seen a wide range of prices for coaches, from Arch's $5000 rescue,
> many in the $12,000 range, many, many in the $20,000 range and quite a few
> beyond $20,000. What should one expect in these various ranges? It's clear
> that at $5000 you can reasonably expect to have to fix everything and in
> the beyond $20,000 range things will be in very good to excellent order.
> But what about in between, the $12,000 to $20,000 bracket? What are the
> standards that should be applied and what are reasonable expectations? The
> obvious reasons for my questions are that 1) I'm cheap, but fair and 2)
> I'll probably have to travel somewhere to find a coach for sale. I have a
> definite need to be informed enough to make a decision and probably won't
> have a lot of resources to fall back on for immediate advice. It is a scary
> situation, since the next step will probably be to get in and try to drive
> it home.
>
> Recognizing the fine madness associated with wanting a 20+ year old
> motorhome, if anyone has thoughts they'd like to share with me on the
> valuation and acqusition of one, I'd be glad to hear. Then I can move on to
> the "Now I've got one, what next" thread.
>
> Thanks,
> Larry Mason