Yahoo Message Number: 63620 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/63620)
I am about to buy a 2002 Allure 40cp and am very excited and nervous. I grew up around RV's my whole life and lived in one for 2 years with my wife right after college so I know what the life is like and can't wait to share it with my kids. Getting into a DP was a goal of mine and with our budget in mind and a few other factors we are excited about the 2002 with one exception. To get into our budget the miles on the RV are quite high. over 100K 1 owner miles are on the RV today. My question to you all is what do I need to be looking for when inspecting the unit. One owner makes me feel good and the coach is more than clean. I'm not asking whether I should buy or not because the price is more than fair and the situation I am buying it is in great. What I am looking for is what to look for? What to ask about? What to save money for? The tires are all 85% remaining. It is as clean as it can be for a 2002. Any advice would be great. I can give more info as I have it. Excited to be here and my kids are just as excited. They are 9 and 7.
Yahoo Message Number: 63622 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/63622)
Are you buying it from a dealer or the owner?
Frank Allure 31425
Yahoo Message Number: 63625 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/63625)
Good find!! I paid too much given the economy swing, but still love the coach. Besides the advantage of cost for a high mileage unit, probably everything works - took me nearly two years to get all my systems operating the way I want them.
When I was in Oregon a CC tech said the diesels of today (mine is a Cummins ISL 400) are million mile engines - at my present rate of usage I will be about 143 years old before the engine needs an overhaul. I personally will need several major overhauls well before that.
Tire age needs to be considered, I would not drive on tires older than 6-7 years. Another healthy expense item is batteries. From what I have gathered on line, it looks like good batteries will last roughly five or six years if they are well taken care of. An inexperienced or neglectful person can kill batteries in a weekend, so if you have any doubt, have them properly load tested. If you have a good RV dealer, or independent RV tech other than the one you are buying from, if that is the case, then you might pay them to evaluate all the systems.
Those are things I wish I had paid more attention to, as I could have driven the price down some. There have been many posts by people much more knowledgeable than me, and I am sure some will chime in here.
Welcome to the club!
Jack Nichols, 2003 Intrigue 11527, about 2.5 years full timing. Should have done it ten years ago.
Yahoo Message Number: 63626 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/63626)
In my experience, the high miles may be an assett as it indicates the coach had been in frequent use, rather than sitting around deteriorating. Generally speaking, use is better than dis-use on these things. One thing I would check is the age of those tires. If they are over 6 years old, plan on replacing them soon, regardless of the amount of tread left. Also, you might have a load check done on the batteries. If they haven't been replaced recently, you may be looking at replacements there also. Neither of these items are cheap.
Take a look at maintenance records to confirm scheduled maintenance on the engine/transmission has been performed. 100K miles won't hurt them if taken care of.
As to the rest, just ask the owner to demo how the awnings, shades, lights (interior/exterior) work and if the heat and cooling systems are functional. If everything works, go for it. RV's are like tractors. age isn't as important as condition.
Jim Hodges
2007 Inspire, 51969
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Yahoo Message Number: 63634 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/63634)
Be sure to get the manuals... There is a "User's Manual" (house)... an "Owner's Manual" (chassis)... and a file folder full of info on the various appliances and systems...
Good Luck and ENJOY!
Buck
k7wn, '99Magna5653
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Yahoo Message Number: 63637 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/63637)
That's not high miles for a diesel! Lousy if your trying to sell one but the misconception that is high mileage for a diesel is great for today's purchasers.
Tires would be my main concern, then exhaust systems - the genset, water heater and other systems are probably more of a concern than the diesel engine but check them all.
Like the tires, rubber fuel lines age, particularly to the genset. If it develops a problem run a new line through an easy to get to location don't bother trying to run a new one where the original is - way too much work and not necessary.
Good buy, have fun.
Bob (rthandren@...)
'05 Inspire 51178
Yahoo Message Number: 63643 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/63643)
Your big expense right out of the gate will be tires and batteries. Check the DOT code on the tires, percentage means nothing, they usually time out first. Generally, 5 years on the tires, house and starting batteries as well.
You will want AGM's for the house and sealed acid for the starting batteries. I just spent a whole day cleaning up slide out trays, removing corrosion and painting for start and house batteries that had lead acid 8d's, before I could even think about putting in the new batteries. You'll hear all kinds of suggestions, but you don't want wet batteries for either application.
Tom
01 Magna 5999
Yahoo Message Number: 63644 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/63644)
I agree with earlier posts on maintenance records, tires, genset and batteries. Heating and air conditioning equipment would be next on my list. Hot water heater and, of course, kitchen equipment needs to work. Be sure to inspect all the exterior window and door interfaces for leaks and breaks in caulking. Also, walk on the roof and inspect all the caulking around the skylight, vents, antenna and wire ports. If any of it is in bad condition, you can perhaps use it for negotiating leverage, or just be aware of what you have to get done once you own it. If it has one or more slides, inspect all the gaskets and seals. It took me several expensive efforts to finally get all the leaks out of the slides after we bought our coach second-hand. I still have one that I cannot seem to figure out. Have a look at all the awnings for functionality, tears or excessive wear.
Those are some of the things I would worry about. Best of luck with this unit.
Nate Richards
04 Allure 31043
Yahoo Message Number: 63647 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/63647)
Got to respond to this. IN YOUR OPINION you don't think wet cells are the way to go. I disagree. I have wet cell for both starting and house, and I personally think people that buy AGMs are throwing money away. I have six 6-volt T-105 batteries for the house, and they are great. Paid $104 each, in Oregon (no sales tax).
I have NO CORROSION. The reason I have no corrosion is I hose down the battery compartment after every trip.
Let me just state now that I have a problem with people that state opinions as if they are facts. If you don't want to check your water levels periodically, fine. Just say up front that you have lots of money to throw away and don't want to be bothered taking care of your batteries. I can respect that. But to make statements of what people should do, not understanding that there are different ways to approach a problem, bothers me. IN MY opinion, AGMs are a waste of money.
OK, I feel better now.
Al Colby
2000 Intrigue 10979
Yahoo Message Number: 63651 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/63651)
One more thing you might want to check is the sca's in the antifreeze.
Kevin
00 affinity 5865
Yahoo Message Number: 63652 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/63652)
I bought a 2002 Affinity last fall with almost as many miles as the coach you are looking at. Mine had 85,000. I expected that it would take a year to get the bugs out and the year will be up in two months and I am almost bug free now. My motor home had a lot of driving miles on it but little house usage. The previous owners took it to Nascar events but rarely cooked in it. No kidding, the cutting board had never been used in ours, nor the safe ever opened, or ironing board ever used. The Aqua Hot had 26 hours on it.
The problems I have had to contend with have been
1 slide leak - it was from the plumbing inside Aqua hot water heater fuel line toast. Had to be replaced.
One of the two inverters needed repair 2 of the three roof airs replaced to control noise 2 tag tires replaced due to age
All batteries replaced with top grade new ones Ongoing generator overheating problems hopefully fixed soon Replaced old dome TV sat dish with new motosat HD unit Got internet sat dish fixed
dash air repaired twice
TV antenna replaced
Mostly threw out entertainment system Repaired back up camera system twice Replaced original tank gauges with see level system after trying unsuccessfully to get original system to work right Replaced one of two inverter dash panels Fixed Bose
Replaced front wheel seals
Replaced smart wheel components twice / second time my fault Three small coolant leaks fixed
Gen slide motor replaced and gears All awnings reconditioned and repaired
That is all I can remember tonight. I still love driving the coach and I expected all this sort of stuff needing to be done. If I could do over again I would buy exactly the same coach.
So my advice to you is. If you can buy that Allure and still have some significant budget to do the fix ups, go for it.
Yahoo Message Number: 63656 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/63656)
when i bought mine i had the engine and tranny fluids checked at a lab the report was very detailed
mike 2004 allure 31021
Yahoo Message Number: 63669 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/63669)
FWIW: I have NO corrosion on my house batteries (3.5 years old) or on my start batteries (2.5 years old). Both sets are wet cells and I do not wash them down after each trip. Matter of fact, I have never washed them down, although I do dust the tops when I check them every three months or so. And thats a fact, Jack....er Al.
Notice also, I changed the subject to be appropriate to the matter being discussed!!!
DougC
'94 CC Magna Caprice
'03 Mini Hummer tode