YEAR 1982
MAKE BARTH
PRICE $21,500.00
LOCATION Houghton Lake, MI
CONTACT NUMBER (989) 422-4892





DESCRIPTION
1982 BARTH, MOTORHOME 35 Ft, 454 Chevy Rebuilt, New Trans W/Only 3K, 13-14 MPG, New Interior, Completely Self-Contained W/Full Shower, 2 TVs/VCRs, Custom Cherry Cabinets, Lots of Storage, Backup Camera, Excellent Condition, $21,500 OBO,989-422-4892 Houghton Lake



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[This message has been edited by davebowers (edited August 19, 2004).]

There is a 82 31' with single rear axle - that is a clone of this for bid on Ebay right now. The reserve has been met at $8,300. The bidding ends today on it. I'm completely amazed at times as to the wild price swings that you see on Barths? A guy in Calif told me his 89 Regal 22' is worth $20,000 and a pristene 86 34' Regal sold recently on Ebay for $14,300. just to big for me. Wild??

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Barth Wannabe
Nick and Glo

The realities are that when Barths were new they had huge price tags. They were indeed one of the highest priced coaches on the market right up there with the Newell's, Foretravel etc. With the photos that appear on this site showing the construction of the Barth coach it is easy to understand why.

However, this was a different day when people bought because of quality and less the bells and whistles. (I could be wrong in this regard, it is just a perception that I have)

However, in todays market not too many folks have heard of a Barth. One thing that really effects the price of the Barth, I feel, is the fact that there weren't that many made,only 9000 over thiry years, and I think it effects the price downward. People assume if there is a lot of something out there that it has value.

The prices on Barths are taking a major dive as are prices on most higher line coaches. If you look at the prices of older Bluebirds, Newell's etc. you will find a wide range of pricing. This is because there is a huge difference between actual vs. perceived value. Most people start their pricing out at perceived value and go from there sometimes selling many times at half of the advertised price. Sometimes a seller is lucky. A coach will be put up for sale at a perceived value price and someone with funds will come by and fall in love like Deb and I and most of you did and voilà a sale at a decent price takes place.

Or you have zealots like Les Hoagland who feels that all of these MCC and FMC coaches are worth $80K and periodically but rarely will get a good price for one.

But generally, one can plainly see that in the Barthmobile.com free market system the prices are leveling out at the bottom of the barrel.

The best way of changing this, I feel, is for most of you to spend just as much time on the other, less handsome, but much, much, bigger forums, www.rv.net, www.irv2.com, www.escapees.com as you spend on this website pumping up the beauty of the Barth coach. But really, like I have said before, when you can buy a 36 ft 2004 Georgetown Class A with triple slides and a Workhorse chassis and a 8.1L Chevy engine for less than $70K with a 27 in TV and surround sound it is going to be hard to increase the prices of 10 year old plus motorhomes of any brand.

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I just wonder how they get 13-14MPG on this rig. Beats anything I can get on a 25ft with Gear Vender overdrive.

I guess it would help if I entered my comments before submitting the message. Anyway if you are even thinking of checking this out don't do it unless you want to pay top dollar for a bottom dollar Barth. This picture is VERY deceptive. I talked with these folks 3 times and then drove 3 hours (there and back) and when I got out of my car and took one look at the exterior I didn't even want to go in it. They didn't even bother washing it and they knew I was coming for 3 days. Not sure when the last time it was cleaned up but looked like it had been a while. They told me on the phone how great this Barth was, emphasis on WAS, I should have picked up on that. They've had it for "4 or 5 years" and the guy they bought it from had the interior redone and outside repainted. They haven't done much else except use it and apparently rebuild the engine and transmission (I think because that was the only way they had any hope of selling it) probably because of lack of care which is exactly what is wrong with the rest of the coach. They think they're going to get at least $19K for this Barth. I would say it might be a good buy at $10k if you wanted to do some cleanup and painting but I don't trust the mechanical condition and didn't spend the time to check that out. I told them maybe if it was pristine but they're dreaming if they think it's worth that as is. I have more info if anyone want's it but I would look elsewhere as there are some great looking Barths on this site that seem to have been well cared for this one has not.

Thanks for that info, Doug.
If your BIG diesel was truely too big for you, how about this one:
http://adcache.rvtraderonline.com/3/3/4/68557934.htm
Did you sell your unique IH chassis unit after the auction ended?

quote:

I would look elsewhere as there are some great looking Barths on this site that seem to have been well cared for this one has not.[/B]

Thanks for the lead. I did see this one and may check it out but first I'm going to look at a Breakaway that has been on this site for over a year. I did sell mine after the auction to someone who called and offered me quite a bit more than what the ending bid was. Unfortunately I committed too soon and had 4 others offer me even more to back out of the deal. If you're not good for your word your not good for much so as much as I could have used the extra $5K I stuck to my committment and delivered it all the way to Dallas. What goes around comes around.