Thanks to those who responded so far. We are aware of the price differences between dealers & individual owners. What we haven't found in the first month is a dealer or owner with
real maintenance documentation. We have encountered more than one dealer who never let the facts get in the way of a good story. One nationally known dealer actually mounted a new windshield in a totally-rotted Winny frame and delivered the coach to the new owner.
Main concern is poor oil change maintenance or long storage periods that leads to big problems with the turbo HEUI C7 Cat (high pressure pump/injectors). Related problems with the Cummings, especially the turbo. The typical dealer-written warranties exclude a lot (i.e. fouling of the injectors from a high-pressure pump meltdown). Oil samples are useless because the first (usually the only) thing a dealer does is change the oil! Try mentioning an ECM download or a cylinder cutout test to a salesman and watch his/her reaction.
We have a simple criterion - we want to see chassis service records dating back to the in-service date of the coach either from the original or second owner. No problem with owner maintenance, just have the data.
We'll find the right coach, but it may take a while
In the meantime, I'll be getting lots of great information from this outstanding group!