[larryweikart]

I talked to Newell, about this coach, and was told it had not been in the shop since 06 and nothing in their records showed anything major reported...........so.......I took a trip to CrankyApe to see for myself. I really wasn't going to talk about it because I didn't want any additional bidding competition. However, I don't believe the bidding will stop at the amount I would be willing to give for this coach so I'll give you my thoughts for those of you who might have an interest. This may be a little long, so just skip it if you want. First of all, it was owned by a race car driver and my experience with their interest or knowledge of "their" coaches has not been good. They rarely drive the coaches themself and the drivers they use, for the most part, aren't knowledgeable and aren't held financially responsible for their actions or lack of thereof. Cosmetically this coach looks very nice and is relatively clean. The few areas where trim is loose is minor stuff as is the damage on the rear door side exterior. The areas of concern, which will keep my bids low include the fact that although this is a large repo Company, they are a little out of their element when it comes to presenting a high end coach. It is parked inside in such a way that the slides can not be operated nor can you open the gen comp. The engine door is blocked by the ball on the reese hitch which is locked on with a rusty lock, so we could open the door only far enough to look in and see a filthy engine with the chrome parts looking like they have never been taken care of, the same way it looked when looking in from the side door. The exterior wall by the bedroom slide appears to be bowed out at the bottom corner? Couldn't figure this one out. The large molding over the tires is coming off. The tires show uneven wear and the batteries (replaced in 06) are heavily corroded. There is no oil in the front axle seals and the front of the coach is covered with protective tape which needs to be replaced as does the Pass side windshield. They would not allow us to start the coach or the generator and since it is not plugged in, although they have a 50amp outlet, but not enough cord, we couldn't check any of the 110 system. Although the inverter had enough power to light the microwave, none of the 12v system worked although the disconnect and master switches were on. The Coach leans quite a bit to the Dr side so we really couldn't get underneath to check. There are oil stains on the concrete, but who knows what that came from. When asked about the intermittent power failure on acceleration, we were told it only happened a few times in the 200+ miles driven to its present location and the check engine light was on all the time. It may be just a matter of some TLC and 20-30 grand to bring it to Newell standards, but, at this point, there are too many unknowns for my money. Hopes this helps any who might be interested.