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buying a cc

Yahoo Message Number: 9671
Hi all

I am new to your site. We are considering buying a cc. We are also looking at bluebird, foretravel and newell. We are not sure which one to purchase. We will more than likely be buying used. There are many cc that we like. The Lexa is my favorite. My question on the lexa is why did they only make it for 1 year? Is it a bad coach? i have driven a magna and felt it floated. I have driven a foretravel and it felt like a sports car. I have not driven a bluebird and have never even been in a newell. Any comments about these coaches?

Thanks

Tom Wald

Re: buying a cc

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9676
If you look at the new Affinity, you will see why they will not sell many Lexas.

Bill Harris

03 Allure 1st Ave

Re: buying a cc

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9682
With the coaches you're comparing you need to look at the CC Affinity series to be more comparable. There aren't enough Lexas for you to find many. Also, don't judge a CC coach by the driving characteristics of one rig. (Same goes to all other coaches, too.) In our experience, some dealers (and owners) don't necessarily have their tires inflated to the correct pressures for handling the best, so drive a couple of them. All are excellent coaches, though, so it will come down to what floorplans and features work for you (and the price). We didn't care for the Foretravel's floorplans and storage capabilities. Storage was a very important factor for us and although all the coaches are large ones, the storage capabilities vary considerably.

Do give CC's Affinity a good look though and drive one before making choices based on driving a Magna.
Good luck shopping...
Jan McNeill, Fulltimer
2001 Intrigue 11320

Re: buying a cc

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9694
IMO, the Lexa appears to be a model that introduced a lot of new ideas, and the new Affinity and Magna reflect the results of CC's experience gained from the Lexa. In other words, the new Magna or Affinity would be my choice over the Lexa.

Paul Thomas, '03 Magna

Re: buying a cc

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9706
At the Bob session in Tucson, the question was asked about the LEXA. The answer by Jay was as soon as the new Allure and Intrigue were introduced this fall, hopefully at Homecomming, then the Lexas would be looked at. I know the Affinity 770 is supposed to be a raw shell with slides for us to play with, but there is still 500,000+ difference between Affinity and Prevost. The CC Prevost I saw at FMCA didn't impress me, to much shinny plastic and very little room, but the Newell's had some ideas, and CC sure could improve on them as Newell can't do real WOOD, ONLY PLASTIC! The Marathon people know how to do plastic. There has to be an answer somewhere, for CC.. TWI 2004 Ovation.

Buying a CC

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9710
Here's my opinion on Foretraveller, Newell, and Bluebird based on the research that I did before I bought my 2004 Allure:

Foretravel: best motorhome built per RV Consumer Group. The Foretraveller was the only motorhome to receive a 5 star rating. I went to the factory in Nagadoces(?) Texas and I visited the CC factory in Junction City Oregon. I believe the Foretraveller is a better built motorhome based on the tour I took at both the facilities. The attention to detail is much better than CC, and from what I heard from other Foretraveller owners, they break-in does not appear to be as painful. Also, Foretraveller has a 3 year warranty and the customer service is just as good if not better than CC. The reason I did not buy one, and It was my first choice, was because of price. To buy a two slide motorhome from Foretraveller, it cost about a $100k+ more than my Allure similarly equipped.

Bluebird: I test drove an older, used one and it drives like a tank. Slow, ponderous and very heavy feeling with no acceleration. CC is a race car compared to a Bluebird. The new M380 is a beautiful coach and drives like a dream but a 2 slide M380 cost about $350K new. Also, they had a lot of problems with the introduction of these new coaches, they had to buy back several from owners because of all the problems.

Newell: I test drove an older, used one and loved it; thought it was an awesome coach. The problem with Newell, is that they all specialty coaches and there are not many of them on the road and getting service done on them can be very challenging (finding someone who can work on them). Selling them can be difficult too. The guy who was trying to sell me his, had it on the market for over a year.

Again to qualify my opinion, my research was done looking for the best coach that I could buy for about $200-250K. I believe Country Coach was the best one. If I had been looking for a coach in the $300-400K range, I probably would have gone for the Foretraveller followed very closely by a CC Magna. The tiebreaker would have been the 3 year warranty and the better quality of the Foretraveller. It would be interesting to see what other CC owners think based on the research they did when looking to buy a new motorhome.

Rick Barnette,

Fulltiming in a 2004, 36' Allure, 31018

Re: Buying a CC

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9715
Thank you for your evaluation. Your opinion on the Newell was the same as a friend of mine. They certainly are beautiful. I love their rear bath floor plan. I also like the Lexa floor plan with the library desk. My big hangup with cc is they installed the hurricane heating system in the coaches and that system is not functional. My wife likes the safety of the Foretravel. yes the cost is much more than CC and we have heard and talked to many people who have gone with the CC over Foretravel for that very reason. I also have heard that Bluebird and Foretravel are having financial problems, have you heard this or is it just a rumor.

Thanks Tom

Re: Buying a CC

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9716
Tom, how would you describe "not functional" as you refer to the Hurricane heating system? I think that you might get some other Ideas about the system if you ask around.
Larry

Re: Buying a CC

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9717
Aren't they using the AquaHot system on some coaches now instead of the Hurricane?
Bradley J. Salute
Leavitt Insurance Agency of the Coachella Valley Desert Southwest Insurance Brokers, Inc. 78010 Main Street, Suite 200 La Quinta, CA 92253
(760)771-5550
Fax (760)771-5755

Re: Buying a CC

Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9719
Tom, Foretravel is definitely having financial problems. We were told by a reputable source that FT has buried so many buyers financialy, that they can not afford to trade. FT does not have IFS. IFS is a very important feature. If you look around you will never see a Newell used on a lot, dealers do not want them on trade. Newell has some major weight issue for carrying capacity. Read J D GALLANTS report, that should help the decision process. Dale Hollick

Re: hurricane heating system

Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9720
Hi Larry & Teddy

We had a 2003 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom with the Hurricane system in it. We never got hot water from the system. it was worked on at least 4 times. It was a switch, or it was that. It was replaced once. By the time it could be working, my wife was so beside herself that we sold, at a loss, the coach. We never had a trip with hot water. If I was to even consider a coach with that system in it, I would be endangering my marriage. If you have the system and like it, that is great, but I will not buy one with that system installed. All you have to do is call Rixen, a past distributor, to find out how much they lost trying to fix that system. In fact they have a lawsuit against Hurricane for service bills. Winnebago stopped installing the Hurricane system before we purchased our coach, but they did not tell us that when we bought. So I have looked into the system as much as i can stomach. Again, if you have the system and like it, I am happy for you.
Also I thank you for your response about the coaches I am looking at. I also have emailed CC to find out which models and years they installed the Hurricane system in, so I know which ones to avoid.

Sincerely,
Tom Wald

Re: Buying a CC

Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9721
Hurricane had some problems in the past but ITR is currently working very hard to rectify any problems consumers may be having. They have had techs at all the rallys (4) that we have attended this year. We dealt with them on our 02 Affinity. CC is currently installing Hydro Hot in the Magna and Affinity for 05.
Dale Hollick 05 Affinity 6370

Re: Buying a CC

Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9722
Rick,

My previous Coach was a U-280 Foretravel (not Foretraveller) and was a fantastic machine. When it was time to move up, I chose CC due to a 70K difference that I couldn't justify. If the price differential was closer, I would still be in a Foretravel. I have also been to both factories and I didn't see the extra attention to detail at Foretravel compared to CC. I sold my Foretravel and bought my Allure in late 2002. At that time, getting service at Foretravel in Kodak, TN was near impossible and the factory was trying to correct the problem. I don't know if things are better now, but I would assume they are.

There is no comparison to factory support between CC and Foretravel.
My Allure is out of warranty and CC has provided me with parts at no expense. I just came back from my first Rally in TN and watched all the work being providing to Coach owners and was very impressed.
I needed a few small items for my Allure and once again, no charge.
CC may only give one year warranty compared to Foretravels three, but that is certainly offset by continuing to get knowledgable factory support, free labor at the Rally's and a variety of parts at no charge regardless of the age of the Coach!

Just my opinion since I have owned both.....

Tom

02 Allure 30780

Re: RV manufacturers destroying buyers financial security

Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9723
Hi Candace and Dale

I agree with the statement that Foretravel has probably buried a lot of buyers, so has all of the other manufacturers. When so many buyers do not realize there is a 40-60% mark-up on new coaches there are going to be allot of buyers stung on resale. I purchased a 2003 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom, (lemon) for lower than 40% mark-up price and still lost big time when I sold the yellow duck. When one searches for used coaches many sellers are asking a price that is over the price they should have paid for the RV in the first place. This tells me they were taken. This applies to all manufacturers including CC. This is an industry that lists their product at a ridiculous high price, builds a product that is unsafe and has a warranty that will fix your problems if you are willing to wait in some God awful location and length of time that the only way you can own one is to be retired and have no schedule to get anyplace because you may never get anywhere outside of the next cities repair shop. I see this and I still want to travel in an RV. Am I sick? Are we all sick to accept this crap put on us by the manufacturers. The MSRP should be honest, the warranty should be for when there is an unforeseen problem. The warranty now is to cover when things show up that the manufacturer did not install correctly or the engineers, (haha) did not design right the first time. We have had doors fly open, top caps crack, the list could go for over 150 items with repeats and we only put on 4500 miles on the Ultimate Lemon before we dumped it. If CC does not have these problems I will be very surprised and happy for everyone that owns a CC.
The concern I am having right now is whether Foretravel will be around to honor their warranty. I have heard that Bluebird is also in trouble. They are such a diverse company I would not think it to be a problem.
I am being much more careful this time around in purchasing a coach. I have received calls from several dealers who have been suggested to call me by CC owners. I tell them that I am looking for an honest deal. I have not heard back from any of them. They say call me if you want to buy. One dealer, I believe, was very open to me about CC and other manufacturers. I have kept his info. It is so sad that this industry is a buyer beware industry.

Tom Wald

Re: Hurricane Heat system

Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9724
Hi Candace and Dale

ITR tried to fix mine also. It still did not work. I absolutely have no confidence in their system

Tom Wald

Re: RV manufacturers destroying buyers financial security

Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9725
Tom,
I can understand your cynical attitude, most dealers I have dealt with were dishonest, except for Guaranty. I have purchased two Intrigues from them and felt they were honest and didn't sense the BS factor at all. For whatever it's worth, give Linda and Bruce Hauser a call if you are really serious about a Country Coach, their number is 760-863-1810.
Brad and Kim Salute
La Quinta, CA

Re: Buying a CC

Reply #16 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9731
The Hurricane system you refer to provided heat and hot water, the system used previously(as in my Magna 01)had a separate water heater(gas&elec)that provided hot water. The Hurricane supplied heat for the coach only.I've had very little trouble with the system. CC had tried to use the all in one system in the Allure and Intrigue in 03 and it was a bomb.

Ray G 01 Magna #5940

Wald buddywald@...>

Re: RV manufacturers destroying buyers financial security

Reply #17 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9734
We found just the opposite recently when we purchased our 05 Affinity. Guaranty was higher than any other dealer. We purchased from Mike Pratt at Beaudry. He is very honest, straight forward, no pressure, good on follow up issues and an all around nice person who gave us the best price....no one else was even close! His # is 520 609 2795. Candace Hollick 05 Affinity 6370

Re: Buying a CC hurricane heat

Reply #18 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9735
Hi Ray

The idea of one system heating the coach and heating water is a very good idea. Why should there be lp, electric and diesel fuel to run a coach. The refrigerator would run on lp or electric. This just adds to the weight and complexity of the systems on board. More to go wrong and more space taken up. What is wrong with the engineers who design these coaches? Or are there even engineers designing these coaches. I am sure they are involved in the chasis but how about the living functions. I would think that the number of refrigerators and stoves placed in RVs could command some appliance manufacturer to design an efficient and functional all electric system at a reasonable price. I know they are available on more expensive coaches why not put that safety issue into cheaper coaches. Nothing ever changes unless it is placed forward.

Tom Wald

Raygrr@... wrote:

Re: Buying a CC

Reply #19 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9736
Its true Foretravel had to shut down for 90 days and is surviving on the orders of their new dealers, they are still trying to unload some 2003's. Bluebird has had to restructure and combine their buss and rv operations. TWI 2004 )vation.

Re: Buying a CC hurricane heat

Reply #20 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9738
Tom, our 02 Affinity has a hurricane, is all electric, has a 10 gal water heater and in 27 months we always had heat and hot water. We purchased our 05 because of the quad slides not because of negative things about the 02. We have owned 4 CCs and we have always had excellent customer service and tech support. We love all of the CC extended family. Candace and Dale Hollick

Re: Buying a CC

Reply #21 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9739
Hi Tom,

I don't think the 2004 Country Coachs have the Hurricane system on them anymore; mine doesn't. As for Bluebird and Foretravel having financial problems, I heard that Bluebird was having problems and they were considering getting out of the motorhome business. As for Foretravel, I ask that question directly to them and they stated they were absolutely not having any financial problems and that they were stronger than ever.

Rick,

Fulltiming in a 2004, 36' Allure, 31018

Re: RV manufacturers destroying buyers financial security

Reply #22 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9740
Candace,

As you already know your salesperson at Guaranty thought you had a 2000 model year Affinity, not a 2002. He was fairly new and made an honest mistake.

Damon

Re: RV manufacturers destroying buyers financial security

Reply #23 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9742
Damon, even when they figured out the mistake on the year, Guaranty was still higher. I was actually the one who pointed out the fact that something was wrong when the quotes were more than 100k apart. That gave a chance for a more competitive bid. Beaudry gave us a better price than anyone else by quite a bit. Candace

Re: RV manufacturers destroying buyers financial security

Reply #24 –
Yahoo Message Number: 9743
damon, it looks like Candace has laid down the challenge for Gurantee RV to do a better job of pricing. Thank you Candace for spelling it out.

Tom