not sure some of those would be on my list.
mileage.....if ya care about that, you should buy a hybrid car. mileage is what it is. 6-7mpg for 8v92, a little more for 6v92, around that for the series 60. if i thought about how much it cost to drive, i wouldnt drive the old girl. we spent the summer of 2008 touring when fillups were well over $1000. we just looked at it like how much is the points we are getting on the credit card....
age of things is a nice thing to know, but if the price of the coach is right and everything else is ok, not an issue. front tires you should replace 3 years or so, batteries might last years or a year as some have found out on the site. depends on lots of things.
lived in or not. i would have had that on my list at first, but after seeing a number of the coaches of fulltimers on this site i wouldnt let that be a key decision point. fulltimers take care of their babies and part timers may or may not. i could ask wally, michael, or a number of other folks when they changed the fuel filter or changed the water filter cartridge and they could tell me.
i know there has been a lot of discussion on airbags on the site lately. if you are buying a coach, you are likely to get one that has original airbags. a receipt saying they are newer would be great, but again, not a key point for me.
oil consumption. thats why on the 8v92's there is a FIVE GALLON reservoir to put oil in with. mine doesnt leak a drop, and i just put in the oil i need when it needs it. the newer engines probably dont use as much, but big rig diesels use oil. some more than others.
service date....kinda, for me, proof of consistent service for the drive train, and the rest of coach is the key item.
i do fluid samples and keep track by having them analyzed. but single samples may or may not provide any value. only if there is something really wrong.
when you buy one of our rigs, there will almost always be something about to wear out, something that the previous owner didnt care about so they didnt fix it, or something you want to change just cause....
darlene wanted the corian counter side inlay changed. now it is black instead of blue. (i will do it for you for only $5k).
i am not shutting you down on what is important to you, but just giving my free advice.
when i was shopping for mine, i paid too much attention to things that didnt matter.
if it looks nice, and is clean and has some evidence of being well maintained, and you drive it and it drives nice, and you like it. that is the key.
one of the things many of us do is help each other with advice on newbies buying. so feel free to call or contact any of us when you are actually looking at things. you will not find everything that doesnt work (ask russ), but you will feel better about alot of things.
for the newer electronic DDEC engines, you can take it to a dealer and have them check the codes in the computer. i have one for DDEC1 and DDEC2 if you are in my area. russ took his to a detroit dealer and had it checked out and dyno'd....(really cool).
get other opinions and ask lots of questions.
if you dont feel comfortable about it, run away. (ask steve mcg).
it is nice to get things that are recently new like the things you mentioned, but in a few years they will need replacing again. so if the price is right, you can get new yourself.
as wally says....thats my 2 cents worth and i am sticking to it.
tom
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