1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

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1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

April 02, 2018, 07:49:39 pm

I'm interested in purchasing a nice older Foretravel. Can any of you guys give me a recommendation on how to find a fair market price to pay for a Coach? Listed above is the one I'm interested in. The milage is about 120K but it has no striping or decals. I contacted Foretravel the advised it would be around 10K to paint the decal areas and buff the gel coating.
Hopefully I can get some feedback and this is the correct area to ask.

Thank You for you input.
I am interested in paying a fair price not trying to steal it.....
I know that dealerships have to make a profit.

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #1 – April 02, 2018, 08:24:55 pm

Welcome to the forum. We feel very lucky to have discovered Foretravel and this forum. We shopped for a year at FT, MOT and this forum (check the classifieds).

I spent a year lurking here and learning all that I could to make me a more educated buyer. Everything you can think of is here or in the archives. The best resource here are the members. They have a wealth of knowledge and experience and are happy to share it.

My coach popped up at MOT and we pounced and never looked back. I gave them a credit card deposit on the phone pending an inspection. I flew to Nacogdoches and met forum member and inspector Brett Wolfe.

Every coach is different. What you want is a well used and cared for coach that has been updated lever the years. Plan on having 10K set aside for needed repairs and updates...tires, airbags, fuel lines, etc. cosmetic issues like paint and decals can be fixed. Focus on the bones. If those are good you are good to go.

For us it was well worth the education. We were more prepared when our coach popped up.

MOT in my opinion was exceptional. They were patient, honest and we found pricing was reasonable. We had a great experience there and would not hesitate to buy or sell a coach with them again.

Good hunting!

PS. I do not see a link to the coach you mentioned.

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #2 – April 02, 2018, 08:42:02 pm

It is located at MOT. But replacing the decals and tires will place the Coach 30K over its actual value per NADA.

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #3 – April 02, 2018, 11:09:12 pm

Painting and fiberglass service work has an alternate highly recommended business in Nacogdoches.
Also try a call to Xtreme Graphics as they paint most of our coaches.
Xtreme Paint & Graphics

Motorhomes of Texas sells and services more pre-owned Foretravels than any other dealer. Check out their web page to determine fair market price and their current inventory. Sounds like you are in the $50,000 price range for that coach.
Luxury Pre-Owned Motorhome Dealer for Foretravel Newell Country Coach.

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #4 – April 02, 2018, 11:15:39 pm

I am proud of owning a similar coach to your post. Spent six years upgrading it so far. Everything's fixable. Rotted body or horribly rusted frame underneath would give me pause. Everything else is how much($) for what(condition and equipement) is the original buying decisions ever

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #5 – April 03, 2018, 02:49:00 am

Don't forget you'll have the same amount of fun on a trip whether the coach is painted or not.The gelcoat won't rust.

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #6 – April 03, 2018, 06:34:04 am

Quote from: Jhurst – April 02, 2018, 07:49:39 pm

.....it has no striping or decals. I contacted Foretravel the advised it would be around 10K to paint the decal areas and buff the gel coating.

If so inclined, call Foretravel service dept. & ask for the paint shop....find out what their basic price is for FBP (full body paint) because I think it starts about $18,000...which would be a considerable improvement over the plain white with decals "original factory paint job" & really bring it up to date. Even though the original paint or gel is fine, the updated paint means it can look like a new coach. Consider adding the headlight upgrade at the same time or before getting FBP. You could have a 21 year old coach that looks practically brand new. That being said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the original paint jobs or gel coats, graphics, etc. but I was just bored to tears with it and wanted a really great upgrade & they made us an offer I couldn't refuse at the Grandvention last fall.

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #7 – April 03, 2018, 07:16:29 am

We opted for replacing the vinyl graphics on our 96' U320--- we liked the original look, and the cost was MUCH less than paint. We paid $2000 for the removal of the old graphics and installation the new printed vinyl graphics that perfectly matched the originals. We are very happy with the results. The vinyl graphics are 3M and have a long life. The coach looks like new once we buffed out the gel coat and waxed.

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #8 – April 03, 2018, 09:59:41 am

NADA pricing is not accurate for our coaches. The sales volumes are too small to give relevant data, so they extrapolate from the general motorhome market. I agree that MOT pricing is quite close. They know the market. Your $10K estimate seems pretty close for replacing the decal look with paint.

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #9 – April 03, 2018, 10:23:36 am

Our vinyl graphics were replaced long ago with paint. Still bright & shiny.

Go for it!!

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #10 – April 03, 2018, 10:52:56 am

Thanks. I'll check on the vinyl graphics.
Any paint shops recommended in the Dallas TX area?
Everyone says NADA isn't accurate; however, I bet when they take one in on trade they use it as a guide. This coach appears to have a very nice Interrior but there has to be a big deduct due to the exterior graphics missing. Have no idea on the mechanical portion yet.
Thanks for input! Also thanks for patience as I'm sure I'll have more newbie questions.
Ready to purchase the right Foretravel!

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #11 – April 03, 2018, 11:01:36 am

Quote from: Kemahjohn – April 03, 2018, 07:16:29 am

We paid $2000 for the removal of the old graphics and installation the new printed vinyl graphics that perfectly matched the originals. We are very happy with the results. The vinyl graphics are 3M and have a long life.

The same was done to ours a few years ago, only the entire coach was stripped and re-painted, as well. The 3M graphics are much better than the originals, and can be waxed, rather than the 303 that was spec'd for the originals. We are having a problem on the front with brown dots in the silver part of the stripes, appears they're coming from underneath. I've got a call in to the installer about this, not a big deal, but when one pays $3,000.00 for just the stripes, this is not expected! I can only see them when the light is right, will try to get some pics.

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #12 – April 03, 2018, 11:29:29 am

It's a hobby. Anyone telling you different is not being honest. The price you pay for your first coach is the cost of admission to the Foretravel world. As most have told you if the basic coach is sound then the rest can be fixed and/or repaired at some point when you are ready. Maintenance items are what they are and that is never going to change. Tires, brakes, shocks, and other such items is the cost of doing business and is why they are called "maintenance" items. It's what it costs to play. Decals or full body paint is your own personal preference. Are you a purist and want your rig to look like the day it rolled off the line or do you want to upgrade to a new appearance? Whatever you do go into it with the knowledge that you are doing it for yourself. That $20K FBP will enhance the sale of the rig when it comes time to trade up but you will never recoup the cost of the FBP in the asking price. A thing to remember is that when you buy a used Foretravel you buy into a community with friends that are worth way more then the cost of a body paint or decal overhaul.

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #13 – April 03, 2018, 11:30:39 am

Those missing stripes on that coach are probably not affecting the price much. Again, it's about the bones. I'm guessing MOT doesn't use NADA at all as it's not accurate for an older coach. Nada probably does come into play if one is borrowing money to buy a used coach but that won't help you with pricing a classic FT.

Enjoy the hunt.

Jeff

PS. If this is the coach listed at MOT, just give them a call and ask about it. Mel was my salesman and he was outstanding. I may be wrong but I believe I read a post here a month or so ago about this coach that said it was in 'average' condition. Mel will be honest with you. Just ask what it needs as a starting point. If this is the coach for you the next step would be an inspection by an expert, third party inspector...at least that's what I would do.

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #14 – April 03, 2018, 11:41:31 am

NADA is for the bankers to loan on. You must add for every piece of equipement listed in the front.

Bsnks accountants expect every vechile to continuously depreciate.

Past a certain point the desirability of our brand coaches in verifiable still good condition and the falling buying value of our money seems to have met.

The dollar amounts stay similar but each dollar buys less,

You are not going to find a good 97 U320 for cheap, someone else will see the value sooner and buy it in my experience.

Good 97 fixed and upgraded is a $50-$60k coach. We have happily spent $20k in six years and continue to update the systems.

Inverter, batteries, tires, shocks are $12k range to start with. Not for the faint of wallet.

We like the forests and deserts and the hard gelcoat is preferred, small branches does not damage it and it's cooler in the sun.

Every smaller than a ship boat in the harbor is white gelcoat for a reason.

But pretty sells.

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #15 – April 03, 2018, 12:53:28 pm

NADA is useless for low volume coaches like Bluebird and Foretravel. Ignore NADA except for determining what you can borrow from a bank if you need to do so.

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #16 – April 03, 2018, 01:04:54 pm

If you're buying from a dealer (which I think you said you were), I suppose it's possible that they don't know about the uniqueness of the Foretravel and maybe you could negotiate using NADA values in your favor. Otherwise, I wouldn't pay any attention at all to NADA. You'll miss out on a good coach every time if you think you should be paying NADA.

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #17 – April 03, 2018, 01:52:21 pm

I am not sure about current pricing at Xtreme Paint & Graphics in Nacogdoches, but in 2014 I paid around $17 coach bucks for upgrades which included removing old decal based graphics, head light conversion, fog light conversion, adding license plate recess to generator hatch, a step conversion, and adding a storage compartment aft of the street side dualie. The decal removal and painted graphics portion of the work was about $8000. What we had done was called a modified stage one, since the new graphics wasn't an exact replacement of the original scheme, but one which Tys and I came up with while sitting down with their graphic artist in front of a computer. The new scheme covered the location of the old decals above the belt line of the coach, which had left ghosting and slight crazing on the white gel coat. What we ended up with has been an feeling of enjoyment and pride of ownership every time we roll up to our rig. Undeniably, the headlight conversion and associated fiberglass modification of the generator hatch adds greatly to the feeling of having a more modern looking coach, but the graphics update and step conversion are an integral part of the overall package. We are very satisfied with the results, to say the least!

A full body paint job would have added at least $10K to the total, and while that was part of the decision making process, it wasn't the only factor. I enjoy the fact that the gel coat still shines like new and is extremely tough and doesn't heat up like the predominantly dark base colors of 99% of coaches of recent vintage.

Don & Tys

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #18 – April 03, 2018, 02:37:06 pm

Quote from: Don & Tys (AKA acousticart) – April 03, 2018, 01:52:21 pm

A full body paint job would have added at least $10K to the total

Your coach looks brand new, Don! In 2013, ours was stripped of everything, prepped & re-painted with new 3M stripes added. The cost was around 12 CBs including having the engine compartment re-insulated. Money well spent, sure gets the admiring looks!

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #19 – April 03, 2018, 03:29:44 pm

Might be one of those that don't care what color it is as long as it's white.

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #20 – April 03, 2018, 03:51:25 pm

Quote from: Forewheelers – April 03, 2018, 03:29:44 pm

Might be one of those that don't care what color it is as long as it's white.

I wish I had a pic of ours after it had been re-painted white, but before stripes, it looked like a high-end prison bus!

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #21 – April 03, 2018, 06:52:56 pm

1997....85% removal. We are digging it the way it is, even though we have plans

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #22 – April 03, 2018, 07:34:54 pm

Quote from: Kemahjohn – April 03, 2018, 07:16:29 am

We opted for replacing the vinyl graphics on our 96' U320--- we liked the original look, and the cost was MUCH less than paint. We paid $2000 for the removal of the old graphics and installation the new printed vinyl graphics that perfectly matched the originals. We are very happy with the results. The vinyl graphics are 3M and have a long life. The coach looks like new once we buffed out the gel coat and waxed.

Where did you get the new vinyl graphics done for $2,000? I would like to do this but was quoted much higher amount.

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #23 – April 03, 2018, 09:10:37 pm

Quote from: KenKetch – April 03, 2018, 07:34:54 pm

Where did you get the new vinyl graphics done for $2,000? I would like to do this but was quote much higher amount.

Any wrap shop should be able to do it. I removed my own on my last coach, it was a grand to have new one's made and installed.
I got a quote of $1200.00 to do this on our FT

Re: 1997 Foretravel U320 40' fair market value (purchasing)

Reply #24 – April 04, 2018, 04:25:21 pm

We had the graphics replaced in Houston and they came to us.

John

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