Hello folks! It has been sometime since I posted on this site, though I do troll around at times thru the years. Life has been hectic over the past 6 years or so and it wasn't supposed to be this way. Kathleen and I both lost our jobs over the same Labor Day weekend in 2012, I had a heart attack in 2014 and I am dealing with cancer recovery as you read this. But it is what it is. We got thru it and will continue to do so, God willing.
I am still the proud owner of my 2nd Barth, but it is getting time to move on. Kathleen and I have decided that we want to travel the good 'ol USA and would like to do so in a coach. But we also have decided that we want some extra room that the Breakaway just can't give us. So if you might be interested in a 33' Breakaway with the 230HP Cummins and the 6 speed automatic, drop me a line so I can keep you informed as I move forward. I am not posting a price at this point because of a couple of reasons---
#1:I did not purchase the replacement for our Barth just yet. Should be a done deal in November. And I'm not selling our Barth until I have a replacement in hand.
#2-I need to fix the generator. I am awaiting on a replacement board.
#3-I need to fix the rear A/C unit that stopped working this year.
#4-The back up camera needs to be repaired. I have replacement parts, just have not tackled the job yet.
There are other minor things that need to be looked at also. Most I have learned to live with. But depending on what I sell the Barth for will determine what repairs I am going to do. This is NOT a fire sale and I'm NOT going to give it away. I can fix things and the price of the Barth will go up. Or you can fix them and get a better deal. Overall, the coach is in very good condition. Mechanically, it is absolutely fine. Just a matter of how perfect you want a 25 year old coach. But as it has been said before, nothing holds up like a Barth. I would be more than willing to hop into our Barth today and drive it anywhere. Greatest thing is when you are somewhere and someone asks you how old is your RV and the look on their face when you say it is 25 years old and that is the original paint!
More to follow at a later date. If I have posted this in the wrong place, please move it to the proper forum.
Bruce
p.s. I will post photos and the data tag later when I remember how. The data tag was previously done before and should be listed somewhere.

As one who recently sold my Barth for a larger Barth I can understand your motivation. Now that Liz and I spend more time and travel more distances we do appreciate the larger coach.

Your story sounds familiar. (As Mary Ray says, this getting old business is not for sissies, but I guess it beats the alternative.) There seem to be more coaches for sale lately than any time since I joined the site. Not so great for sellers but hopefully we can find enough buyers to go around.

Best of luck with your health issues and your next coach!

Hey Bruce,
It's David Andrews. Owner of Barth #1.
We just got back from a beautiful weekend in Cape May with Barth #1.

We literally were just talking on this last trip of getting a bigger motorhome. We actually looked at a Class A Winnebago a few weeks back, but being Gas, and not Barth quality, I just couldn't make it happen.

We may be interested in Barth #2. Please send me some pictures!

Thanks, Talk with you soon!

quote:

Originally posted by Bruce & Kathleen:
Hello folks! I'm NOT going to give it away. I can fix things and the price of the Barth will go up. p.s. I will post photos and the data tag later when I remember how. The data tag was previously done before and should be listed somewhere.

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Let me know the data tag numbers and I will dig up what I can find. Nice to hear you know what you own and are not giving your Barth away. Good luck with your sale.

Thought would also add since you are a seasoned forum member this link and some other posts with useful guidelines.

Kevin,
I went into Bill's photo bucket and found my coach pictures, which include my data tag. I just can't figure out how to get them posted on this forum. I must be getting too damn old to understand this new fangeled stuff...

oh yea...my data tag numbers are part of my signature!

Thanks, is this correct? 9303 3855 33BS 1B

Correct. And I did see my folder on Bill's photo bucket. Just don't know how to move them. I used to know when I hung out here a lot more. Nothing has changed from the photos that are in the file. It was and still is a great coach. If it was just me, it would not go for sale. I would keep it. But it isn't just me..........

I want to make it clear for those who are looking for "a steal of a deal". This coach is not it. Most knowledgeable Barth owners do know what they have. And I agree that we should NOT give them away. And I won't. I have seen what you can buy for $10-12K....and a well cared for Barth is worth a hell of a lot more.
And as far as NADA is concerned, it is based on previous sales by dealers. I would LOVE to know when the last Barth was sold by a dealer. Just as important, it doesn't matter if it is a Barth, Newell, Foremost, Prevost, Tiffin, Newmar or any other coach...NADA is nothing more than an educated guess. Lenders use NADA to come up with a value that they will lend against because there is no other source, not because it is right. Barth's do not fall into that at all because they are too old and no one will lend against them. So all sales of Barth's need to be cash. So when your looking up a Barth value on NADA, ask yourself this question... How did they come up with that price? I certainly do understand that my Barth it is only worth what someone will pay me for it. I posted here on Barthmobile to see if there would be any interest from those on the site before I actually put it up for sale. I believe I will not have a problem selling this coach. And if I do, I will keep it before I give it away.

Well said, Bruce. NADA means almost nothing for a Barth. In fact, NADA may be a negative, especially when a potential buyer who knows nothing about Barths starts looking at one. In this case, mind you, NADA doesn't even list a front entry 33' 1993 Breakaway, the NADA base retail is about 10K. When you add the options, it's about 15K. And that's sort of guessing at what all there is in the way of options. Neither price is worth a snowball in hell. I would opine this Barth is in the 20K+ range.

quote:

Originally posted by Bruce & Kathleen:
I want to make it clear for those who are looking for "a steal of a deal". This coach is not it. Most knowledgeable Barth owners do know what they have. And I agree that we should NOT give them away. And I won't. I have seen what you can buy for $10-12K....and a well cared for Barth is worth a hell of a lot more.
And as far as NADA is concerned, it is based on previous sales by dealers. I would LOVE to know when the last Barth was sold by a dealer. Just as important, it doesn't matter if it is a Barth, Newell, Foremost, Prevost, Tiffin, Newmar or any other coach...NADA is nothing more than an educated guess. Lenders use NADA to come up with a value that they will lend against because there is no other source, not because it is right. Barth's do not fall into that at all because they are too old and no one will lend against them. So all sales of Barth's need to be cash. So when your looking up a Barth value on NADA, ask yourself this question... How did they come up with that price? I certainly do understand that my Barth it is only worth what someone will pay me for it. I posted here on Barthmobile to see if there would be any interest from those on the site before I actually put it up for sale. I believe I will not have a problem selling this coach. And if I do, I will keep it before I give it away.

Well said Bruce

We have a number of coaches up for sale including mine. I have been told the value of my coach and told my price is based on sentiment. Those that know DBarth know my price is on the low end of what I should have.

The offers I have received are from my Craigslist postings where people are used to liars and exaggerations.

$14000, $15000, $16000 not really acceptable. I was told because of the steal I got from Morris my coach was worth less?? Thanks Morris and Gunner for passing their Coach to my stewardship.

DBarth is ready for her winter nap and will be reposting in the spring. Busy both personally and professionally.

One thing for sure they are not making any more Barth vehicles. As far as NADA goes they are always LOW. Being low helps dealers out. The other reason published prices are way off is most buyers and sellers agree to lower "stated" price to avoid taxes. Give back to Cesar what is Cesar's or use a higher "stated" price to pay a little more tax than you are supposed to. Then we will have artificially high Barth values.

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I guess it depends on your expectations. When I bought my Regal I was told, "You'll buy it for 10K, put 10K into it, and be lucky to sell it for 10K."

I put well over 10K into and did sell it for more than 10K but not that much. Per above, I knew the day I bought it I would lose money selling it.

I had a hard time deciding what I should ask when I sold it. Compared to most Regals, it has way more projects completed than remaining, but honestly was not a totally complete showpiece either. It deserved a top price with all my money and time in it, but honestly I was done with it. I could not let it sit and rot waiting for some arbitrary offer.

I decided to pick a number and see what happened. (After all, the only thing at stake was how much I would lose!) I got only one serious buyer and I was pleased to see he plans to finish the projects. He agreed to buy sight unseen, fly all the way from Texas and drive it all the way back!

Given the expense he incurred to get there and back I gave him a little break on the price. I was not about to lose the perfect buyer trying to recover money I spent/lost years before.

Sooo. What is a seller to do? I looked at it this way. The value of the coach to me was in two areas. One was the actual dollar value, the other the value received over 7 years and 40,000 miles. The latter is far more important to me. As the credit card companies suggest, it was priceless. The people, places and times I have enjoyed with the coach were priceless.

Honestly, I could have given the coach away to a motivated owner and still be satisfied with the coach experience. I am sure Morris and Gunner would agree.

Now that the coach has found a new happy owner, it continues to provide me the satisfaction of passing the torch to a new friend.

Good luck to all sellers with pricing and selling your coaches. I hope others can reach a satisfying win-win result.

Agreed Steve. As a classic car collector I am all too familiar with costs of repairs and upgrades. And there is a difference of purchasing anything with the idea investing money into it for gaining value or the possible loss just because you want it. I rate the Barth purchase with that of my Harley. I went into both with the idea that either could or would depreciate. But to enjoy them while you own them means that you have to keep them up. And that money is nominally lost at resale time. I love hearing Harley owners say "but I got $10K of accessories on the bike". Good for you. Hope you wanted them that much and enjoyed them while you owned it. But I am not paying you for them. That is something you did for yourself, not to necessarily increase the value. Not saying you can't get more, but most of the bling just makes it easier to sell, that is all. Now with the Barth, it's different. Can't expect someone to get usage and/or enjoyment out of it without things working properly. So we spend money to keep it going and make it right. Question is (now I go back to the classic car thing) what do we want to do and how much should we spend to do it? If you purchase a Barth, or ANYTHING for that matter, with the idea that you are going to put X amount of dollars into it, you need to look in the mirror and answer the question of whether it is worth it or not only to yourself. And what you may get out of spending that money, pleasure or increased value, can only be answered by you.
But I will say one thing, my 25 year old Barth is a hell of a lot better investing money into then any other 20-25 year old fiberglass flyer produced during those years. You CANNOT duplicate the bones of these coaches except if you are comparing others built during that time period that were equal in builds, i.e. foretravel, newell, wanderlodge... And you ain't buying them for $10K either!!! At least not the good ones!