Why did you choose a Newell? - Luxury Coach Lifestyles
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Old 09-17-2010, 07:13 PM   #1
GSrdr
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Default Why did you choose a Newell?

It is easy to understand why a buyer would choose to build a Newell over purchasing from the bus conversion coach makers. Reasons like the ground up approach to create the very best individualized coach, as opposed to the one size fits all approach bus conversions yield. The rugged suspension Newell offers, as opposed to the bus suspension designed for lighter loads. The value offered by Newell is outstanding too.

My question is aimed to those who decided to purchase an older generation of Newell. Why did you select a previously owned Newell over a new RV of the same price?

A 1990 Newell sells for the price of a 2011 Forest River Berkshire. A 1999 Newell sells for the price of a 2011 Monaco Diplomat.

Five years from now, who made the better purchase?
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Old 09-17-2010, 07:22 PM   #2
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Simple answer: look at the value of the new ones in five years. Lucky to be worth 1/2 of what they sold for. The Newell would have lost some value but not nearly as much.
Newell has much better quality components and better design. Factory support is second to none. Newell holds up much better than lesser motorhomes. In those five years my 17 year old Newell will probably take less repairs and maintenance than other less expensive newer ones.
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Old 09-17-2010, 07:39 PM   #3
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From my perspective, a Newell is designed to take the demands of daily use. A Forest River, just as an example, is designed for occasional use. A Newell is built to make the task of making repairs or upgrading systems easier, rather than to make factory construction easier.
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Old 09-17-2010, 08:55 PM   #4
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Default Apples & Oranges

That is the difference.. Just take a tour of your factory of choice.. then Newell. The words (Craftsman & Pride) come to play. Factories pump em out .. You'll find that the finish product is actually finished by the dealer when it comes to their lot. Then as mentioned Quality of materials comes into play. My 74' Newell will still be rolling along for years to come.. Long after the plastic & pressed wood coaches are falling apart. There are a few quality coach mfg's out there but none surpass the Newell.
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Old 09-18-2010, 01:12 AM   #5
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I have never bought a new coach as it is not the coach I can't afford---it is the depreciation I can't afford. But in my buying strategy I have always tried to buy as high a quality coach as I could afford. My last coach was a Country Coach and I was very pleased until the company folded. I then went back to my strategy of buying as much quality as I could afford, but I wanted outstanding company support too. I have friends with Prevost coaches & none have company support like Newell provides. The company support put Newell over the top & made my decision easy.
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Old 09-18-2010, 01:15 AM   #6
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Back when I bought my Newell, I sold a 2003 Newmar Mountain Aire with 2 slides to buy a 95 Newell for just about the same money. I have never regretted it.

The Newmar was not built solidly. The walls were flimsy, it rattled, and was not fun to drive. Oh it was pretty, but skin deep.

When I looked at the innards of a Newell, I saw simple but elegant engineering. Components meant to last, and good execution on the assembly details. Most of the stuff on mine, I can fix with fairly common tools, meters, and gauges.

When I look at folks who are spending 150 to 200 k today to get into an entry level diesel, I cringe. If they only knew what they could buy for the same money. But on the other hand, some people want and NEED the warranty of a new coach.

On mine, it's warranty by Richard.
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Old 09-18-2010, 01:21 AM   #7
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In addition to the great reasons already offered:
Safety...I'm aware of one Newell that ended up on its side sliding down the highway after being caught up in a tornado. They righted it, checked the fluids and were able to drive it. I spend a lot of time on the road and have been concerned by the lack of structure apparent after a "plastic palace" is involved in an accident.
Another Newell benefit is accident avoidance (handling) The C/G is lower because of the use of aluminum on the upper structure resulting in a high percentage of the weight being below the floor.
Check the thickness of a Newell floor compared to any other motorhome.
Newell uses sprayed-on insulation compared to "foam board" that is common in a traditional RV.
Have you ever seen a fiberglass/plywood wall delaminate? It is a disaster...Usually more costly to replace that the RV is worth.
I could go on.....
I don't want to be overly critical of other RV's because for some folks they meet the need.
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Old 09-18-2010, 02:23 AM   #8
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You all are affirming the conclusions I have arrived at. Newell buyers seem to be the kind of guys, like me, that look under vehicles to see how they are made before they buy.
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Old 09-18-2010, 03:21 PM   #9
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Prior to purchasing our Classic we had been looking at 8-10 year old Monaco's, Country Coaches, Safari's, etc. We found that those coaches, after 10 years, needed a lot of refurbishing. Many of them had roofs that had leaked at some time, they all rattled when you drove them, and none of them were comfortable to drive. We wanted a coach we could full time in and not see it disintegrate before our eyes. All we did to our then 27 year old purchase was update the flooring to wood from carpet, replace the dash air compressor, replaced the aging tires, change the fluids and filters, oh and one very important thing for me, replaced the broken cruise control. Since then I have been able to troubleshoot and repair other minor problems that have come up. We have never looked back. Just recently replaced the still working Amana microwave with a microwave/convection by GE Profile. Did it myself in less than 30 minutes.
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Old 09-18-2010, 04:23 PM   #10
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I have been a Newell affectionado since 1987, so this thread has been an effort to stir-up the choir. The comments you have shared are very helpful to those wishing to reinforce their admiration of the brand. Nothing informs more than the real world experience of those who have switched from other brands to Newell, and comparing. So, please continue to provide your reasons to own a Newell.
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Old 09-18-2010, 05:20 PM   #11
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ok, i will weigh in as well. this is our 3rd motorhome. after the last one which i sold about 15 years ago and bought our cabin (which btw, has appreciated in value), i told myself that if i ever bought another coach it would be a bus. so 3 years ago i had an injury that left me laying down for a couple of months and our oldest daughter was getting married and one reception was going to be in the midwest, i figured it was time to start looking. so i spent a couple of intense months looking initially for a prevost or mci conversion.

then i migrated to looking at a ton of wanderlodges, which i still really like. i had wanderlodges inspected all over the us, had plane tickets to go buy a 94 in florida that he sold out from under me the day i was flying there, put a deposit on a 95 with a series 60 in texas that wasnt in as good of shape as advertised etc. then a friend of mine that had a country coach told me to look at newells and from that point the more i looked the hooked i got.

the simple look of the classics was what i was drawn to at first, then when i found a series 2000 for a reasonable price that was it. having said that i inquired about a lot of them. i was patient and spent a lot of time analyzing features etc. i would have loved to find a series 60, but 3 years ago, they were still above the price point i wanted to stay with. now, of course they are well within that range.

now that my rambling about how, now for the why. first, having had several other coaches before, they were nice, but they were motorhomes that had no where near the build quality. one was a travco, which was a nice rig alot like the gmc. the next was an executive. it was very nice, but surely had alot of things to fix all the time. no way it drove like the newell either.

granted, i have done a ton of work on my newell. i, meaning darlene and i. most was not necessary, but something we wanted to do. for a rig that was built 21 years ago, i have no hesitation hopping in it in 2 weeks and driving to utah for the week like we are going to do. there is little i cant take care of myself and the things that do happen to go wrong are generally small things.

one time darlene and i were on a long driving day in the newell and she kept asking me if i was ok. i remember telling her it was like driving a race car. it was fun to drive and exciting and i could drive it forever. for me sometimes i just go out and start it up and sit in the drivers seat listening to the sweet sound of that 2 stroke diesel. when i go under bridges or in an underpass i always open the window to hear that engine and then i honk the air horn.

it drives and rides like a super long cadillac.

it is like a motorhome that is supersized and super over built. everything was done with high quality. i have found nothing i would consider that was cheaply done and i have been through a ton of my coach as i refurbished it.

i wish it had schematics for the systems, but the tribal knowledge from guys who helped to build my coach at newell is still available which is quite amazing in and of itself.

yea, it is a over 20 years old, but no one thinks that when they come look at it. do i wish i had slides...yes. does it really matter to me for my usage....no.

could i afford to upgrade to one....yes....will i....no. my newell has become part of me and we will never live full time in ours so for fun usage, it is awesome.

are there more upgrades in store....yes. i am an engineer and there is little i can leave alone. i always have more upgrades planned than i have time to do.

we are off to salt lake city in two weeks and have invited some friends to go with us and they are super excited to go on a bus trip.

that said, the newer, many slide fiberglass coaches are very nice. they are alot cheaper than ours or similar priced for ones that are 10-15 years older for newells. but i wouldnt trade for anything.

i have said it before and i will say it again. the best thing about getting our newell is not the coach. it is the friends darlene and i have made, met and traveled with. when the coach is gone (if it ever is) we will still have those friends.

we are in a blessed land to be able to have rigs like this. in the past month i have been in china, malaysia, singapore and israel. i have shown pictures of my newell and described it to my friends in those places and they are just amazed that someone can have something like that. it just isnt possible for them.

as many of you know i travel for work a bit. all i can say is to quote dorothy...."theres no place like home"

happy saturday

tom
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