[retailguy]

Some of you may have read my other thread and know that I'm looking for a Newell coach.  As part of this process, I've registered and posted on two other forums.  Recently, one of those forums had a reply that gave me some pause and some concern.  I thought I'd ask y'all what you think and what your experiences have been considering most of you actually own or have owned Newell coaches.

Here is the quote:

Be very careful with Newell.  Buying an older one is false confidence.  I used to recommend them to those that didn't want to step into a bus chassis but wanted top quality rigs.  The dirty secret is that the support of older Newells from the factory has been severely diminished.  They have "lost" the old schematics and parts lists.  Neither the current owners nor factory want to admit this because it hurts resale across the board.  This type of thing happens when the new units are an order of magnitude more expense than the nice used examples.

I followed up asking if this was a rumor or if he had some basis for this and received the following:

This is from the mouth of a man who I know well and trust.  He is an expert in bus maintenance, repairs and upgrades and has worked on countless Prevost, Newell, MCI, and Blue Bird builds.  he personally owns multiple and is a regular savior to the members of several of those communities, so I will not reveal.

If I'm honest, one of the things that draws me to Newell is the support aspect.  Besides the obvious quality and longevity of these coaches, the fact they still build them, still work on them, and will help me, even if just over the phone, if I'm broke down in the classic middle of nowhere, that is very appealing to me.

I am not afraid to get my hands dirty and do a little work.  I have a full stable of tools, and can follow directions.  My "diagnosing" skills are not fantastic and I would never pretend even to be a mechanic.  But if someone tells me - do this, then do that, I can follow directions and have no fear of that.  So, the thought of having an "expert" available (besides you fine folk of course!!) has had me leaning seriously towards Newell.

So, based on what I read here, I'm thinking that this is just overblown hype, but truthfully, I have experienced many times with other things - "Sorry, but we can't support that item any longer, but we can sell you this great new one...."

I can afford to purchase and maintain one of these coaches, but buying a new one is not in my wheelhouse.   I don't need, nor want, a $3 million dollar coach to do what I want to do.

I am grateful for any advice you might have for me as I continue my search.

[CaptainGizmo]

Define "older".

Otherwise, zero relevance or context.

Define "other forums".

Other than HERE, and the FB VIP Group; there aren't any others with VETTED, reliable (aka not trolls), and true owners (aka not just pundit wannabes who have no clue).

[retailguy]

Define "older".

Otherwise, zero relevance or context.

Define "other forums".

Other than HERE, and the FB VIP Group; there aren't any others with VETTED, reliable (aka not trolls), and true owners (aka not just pundit wannabes who have no clue).

In the other RV forum, I was discussing a 2000 and a 2003 Newell, and then more generically, 2002-2005 Foretravel U320.

What I will say, is that in this particular forum the very first post to my question of Foretravel or Newell?  was a response of  - you should really try a newer Thor or Tiffin so you can see what you really want.

I was kinda speechless.

I liken it to asking about a Corvette or a Porsche and being told that I should buy a Ford Fiesta to see which one more met my needs....  So, there's that.  And that's one of the reasons I posted what i was told here.

I really just want to understand if any of you cannot get help/service from Newell.  Plenty of coaches older than what I'm looking for that are here.  If they can get support/service, how can I not get help if I bought what I'm looking at....

[Jack Houpe]

I agree with Steve

[Ernie]

What other rv forum? I’m the admin on Foretravel

[retailguy]

What other rv forum? I’m the admin on Foretravel

No, not you Ernie.  You run a quality forum over there that has provided me much education.  For all I can see, super nice people too.

irv2.com (I don't know why this is important?)

[rvguy]

I Have a older Newell coach. All I can say is Newell has been extremly helpful when needed. Some times parts have to be sourced from other places but most of the time they have what ya need. As far as part numbers and schematics, I have not experienced a single issue. JMO

[hypoxia]

irv2.com (I don't know why this is important?)

Haha, the one that considers a Newell to be a bus conversion.  You haven't seen anything of substance on that forum.

[gkernan]

To be clear, Newell’s long-standing policy has been that if you buy a Newell, whether it be from Newell directly, through a different dealership, or though a private party, you are part of the Newell Family. Among other things, that means service, parts, and our free phone support are available to you throughout the ownership of your Newell. I can assure you that on a daily basis, our team receives and responds to calls, supplies parts, performs service, and provides general support to owners with all ages of Newell’s. That commitment to our owners is a hallmark of what you should expect when you by a Newell.
 
Its hard for me to comment directly on the quotes in your posting, because there is some detail missing, but I’ll say this: There has been no loss of schematics or parts list. We have files on every coach Newell has built. To be sure, the file for coach 277 (originally delivered in 1991, and who we shipped an HWH slide part last week for the current owner) is thinner than the one for coach 1863. But that’s not unexpected.
 
I will fully agree that some third-party parts from our upstream vendors may become hard to source on older coaches. We saw this issue increase during COVID as companies made the decision to reduce slow moving inventory. However, our parts team shows a lot of creativity to “track down” parts as best as they can. We are still able to help our owners with the vast majority of their needs, whether through OEM sources, aftermarket suppliers, historical service records, or qualified repair and reman services.
 
Thank you for your interest in Newell Coach. As we enter our 60th year of business next year, our appreciation for the “Newell Classics” that we work with hasn’t changed. Feel free to reach out if you have ay specific concerns or issues you’d like to discuss.
 
Best Regards – and Go Newell.
 
Grant Kernan
CEO – Newell Coach

[rvguy]

To be clear, Newell’s long-standing policy has been that if you buy a Newell, whether it be from Newell directly, through a different dealership, or though a private party, you are part of the Newell Family. Among other things, that means service, parts, and our free phone support are available to you throughout the ownership of your Newell. I can assure you that on a daily basis, our team receives and responds to calls, supplies parts, performs service, and provides general support to owners with all ages of Newell’s. That commitment to our owners is a hallmark of what you should expect when you by a Newell.
 
Its hard for me to comment directly on the quotes in your posting, because there is some detail missing, but I’ll say this: There has been no loss of schematics or parts list. We have files on every coach Newell has built. To be sure, the file for coach 277 (originally delivered in 1991, and who we shipped an HWH slide part last week for the current owner) is thinner than the one for coach 1863. But that’s not unexpected.
 
I will fully agree that some third-party parts from our upstream vendors may become hard to source on older coaches. We saw this issue increase during COVID as companies made the decision to reduce slow moving inventory. However, our parts team shows a lot of creativity to “track down” parts as best as they can. We are still able to help our owners with the vast majority of their needs, whether through OEM sources, aftermarket suppliers, historical service records, or qualified repair and reman services.
 
Thank you for your interest in Newell Coach. As we enter our 60th year of business next year, our appreciation for the “Newell Classics” that we work with hasn’t changed. Feel free to reach out if you have ay specific concerns or issues you’d like to discuss.
 
Best Regards – and Go Newell.
 
Grant Kernan
CEO – Newell Coach

Grant that was a great statement !