Which Prevost?

[luvrbus]

MCI only sells seated buses now they have a tough time keeping up with commuter bus market,but converters like Marathon and Vantre did convert MCI's the web master here Phil Lyons has a nice MCI converted by Vantre.MCI left the market shorty after they closed Custom Coach which they owned   

[kyle4501]

I LOVE my Newell, you really should include them in your search.
Each one is custom built per the buyer's specifications. You just need to find one whose original owner has the same taste as you.  

Wanderlodge is also a great coach.

Don't limit yourself too early in the search!

[Mike in GA]

Thanks for the input so far. Just to clarify, I am interested in a professionally converted coach, not a shell.
      I have looked at some Newells, and I admit they are very well built. Having had 20 years in a MCI with a conventional bus door, I am a little put off by Newell's center entrance.
    And there's just something about a Prevost...

[chessie4905]

Bingo!

[Jon]

I have zero experience with anything other than a Prevost, but since 1990 I have owned 3 of them, all professional conversions. All I can say is they are complex and getting more complex but the reliability has been very good and nothing I own or have ever owned has factory support like I get with my coaches, starting with extensive on-line manuals, parts ordering, and system schematics plus support at service centers or phone access.

As good as service is however, it is expensive making me glad I do all my own work.

[luvrbus]

Thanks for the input so far. Just to clarify, I am interested in a professionally converted coach, not a shell.
      I have looked at some Newells, and I admit they are very well built. Having had 20 years in a MCI with a conventional bus door, I am a little put off by Newell's center entrance.
    And there's just something about a Prevost...

All Newells are not mid entry,I would love to have one with the 650 hp C-15 Cat engine I will say the Newell doesn't ride as good as a Prevost   

[windtrader]

How extensive is the used Prevost parts market, the places to go when not wanting to pay the full retail mfg. prices? How old does a Prevost  need to be before searching secondary parts markets makes sense?

[luvrbus]

How extensive is the used Prevost parts market, the places to go when not wanting to pay the full retail mfg. prices? How old does a Prevost  need to be before searching secondary parts markets makes sense?

Plenty of parts for Prevost MCI even sell Prevost parts,for years Prevost was the only bus manufacture that would have the Prevost parts number and the manufacture of that part their name and parts number that was neat you could shop around.lol you shop for parts when they are almost new like any other bus,you set down and take a deep breath when buying a fan clutch WOW almost 4 grand new and they go bad   

[bigred]

Plenty of parts for Prevost MCI even sell Prevost parts,for years Prevost was the only bus manufacture that would have the Prevost parts number and the manufacture of that part their name and parts number that was neat you could shop around.lol you shop for parts when they are almost new like any other bus,you set down and take a deep breath when buying a fan clutch WOW almost 4 grand new and they go bad   

Two things I have found about Prevost parts.First you may be amazed by how cheap the part is second you maybe amazed by how expensive the part is (this is far more often the case)

[luvrbus]

They are cheap on windshields on the older models lol but don't buy the gasket, lol I helped a friend change his Prevost installed slide gasket that is a heart stopper for sure 

[Skykingrob]

I have a 91 seated Prevost coach that I raised and am close to finishing the conversion on. I have ordered parts directly from Prevost for several reasons, 1. when I call them and give them M 1839, they pull up that coach in their computer and they can look at exactly what was put on that coach in Jan 1991. There has been no guessing if the part is right or wrong. When there are circumstances of more than one replacement option available now, they email me pictures of the options and I can then tell them which one will work better for me. 2. Their parts prices have been very good with only one exception. There is a wiring harness in the front drivers ac/heat console that was cut by me when I sold the OTR ac. When I did it I didn't think a 1 foot harness of 10 wires would be very expensive to replace. Wrong!. That one harness was $863. I told the parts gal she was nuts! She agreed the part was way to high (not that she was nuts) and asked her pricing dept to re-check the price. They came back that it should be higher because of their cost. She called me back and told me the results. I told her to forget it. She agreed and in exchange, sent me an email with the proper wiring for the harness. I just had to make my own based on the diagram she emailed. It works well and was under $30. She didn't have to do that but did because she agreed the part was to high. She stated that of all the parts prices, the wiring harnesses seem to be the most crazy pricing. That is the one and only time the part was to high in my mind and I have ordered new glass (they replaced it 3 times for free since the shipping companies made it into spaghetti 3 times, they even shipped it overnight the last time because it had taken close to a month already and I hadn't gotten the part I wanted because of the shipping snafus). As to reliable, I cannot speak since I haven't had my bus out for a run yet but soon. As to reliable parts people, I know good customer service when I see it and I can say the parts people have been great. As to engineers, I contacted them in Canada to see about slide outs for my coach. They offered, for $1200, to design slide outs for my 91 coach that I could use to build my own slides. Maybe that's a service  other bus manufacturers would offer, I don't know. BTW, I have owned 2 Newells and I live only 90 miles from the factory. I haven't gotten the kind of service from them that Prevost offers but I like them both and have nothing bad to say about either one.
HTH
Rob
91 Prevost XL40
Missouri

[luvrbus]

Prevost parts and phone tech are great but if you don't have a fleet account their service centers really suck price wise and service wise they can screw up anything.
I have a good friend that takes his 2010 Prevost to Volvo Truck centers now because of the poor service and cost at the Prevost Service centers.lol he has a series 60 engine and Prevost won't touch it,a bunch of poor sports I guess.
Gary has had a ton of problems with his Prevost and he purchased it new but it seems to be doing ok for now except the fuel tank recall Volvo caught his before the recall how in the hell a 200gal + fuel tank can fall off a bus is beyond me,his was one of the 3000+ Prevost recalled for a friggn fuel tank falling off going down the highway       

[bigred]

I have a 91 seated Prevost coach that I raised and am close to finishing the conversion on. I have ordered parts directly from Prevost for several reasons, 1. when I call them and give them M 1839, they pull up that coach in their computer and they can look at exactly what was put on that coach in Jan 1991. There has been no guessing if the part is right or wrong. When there are circumstances of more than one replacement option available now, they email me pictures of the options and I can then tell them which one will work better for me. 2. Their parts prices have been very good with only one exception. There is a wiring harness in the front drivers ac/heat console that was cut by me when I sold the OTR ac. When I did it I didn't think a 1 foot harness of 10 wires would be very expensive to replace. Wrong!. That one harness was $863. I told the parts gal she was nuts! She agreed the part was way to high (not that she was nuts) and asked her pricing dept to re-check the price. They came back that it should be higher because of their cost. She called me back and told me the results. I told her to forget it. She agreed and in exchange, sent me an email with the proper wiring for the harness. I just had to make my own based on the diagram she emailed. It works well and was under $30. She didn't have to do that but did because she agreed the part was to high. She stated that of all the parts prices, the wiring harnesses seem to be the most crazy pricing. That is the one and only time the part was to high in my mind and I have ordered new glass (they replaced it 3 times for free since the shipping companies made it into spaghetti 3 times, they even shipped it overnight the last time because it had taken close to a month already and I hadn't gotten the part I wanted because of the shipping snafus). As to reliable, I cannot speak since I haven't had my bus out for a run yet but soon. As to reliable parts people, I know good customer service when I see it and I can say the parts people have been great. As to engineers, I contacted them in Canada to see about slide outs for my coach. They offered, for $1200, to design slide outs for my 91 coach that I could use to build my own slides. Maybe that's a service  other bus manufacturers would offer, I don't know. BTW, I have owned 2 Newells and I live only 90 miles from the factory. I haven't gotten the kind of service from them that Prevost offers but I like them both and have nothing bad to say about either one.
HTH
Rob
91 Prevost XL40
Missouri

I was going to replace the safety catches on the bin doors on my 93/94 .This is a "j"hook about three or four inches long .I figured five bucks ea would have been highway robbery.Would you believe thirty eight dollars each??

[muldoonman]

Fixing to have my 1991 XL  in a Prevost Service Center here in Texas for a AC r&r and already know it's gonna cost a bundle. You try to fix what you can but some things are a killer at the service shops.  These ain't no chevy or ford cars by a long shot.

[buswarrior]

Cars are for end users.

Buses are for revenue generation.

Parts are priced accordingly. They are going to get their cut, on those items which they can.

Capitalism. Do we want it any other way?

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior