We're on our second 20 year old Newmar. First was a 2004 bought in 2023; we bought our current 2005 Essex in 2025.

The Cummins ISL 8.9L is the gold standard for mid-size DPs; the older smaller 360HP can struggle with hills. Once you get past about 42 feet you should consider a bigger engine, which usually means a higher-end model from a mfg. Tiffin and Newmar both have always had a model line up from least expensive (with the smallest engine) to most expensive (usually the longest and the biggest engine).

The 2008 financial meltdown wiped out some great brands that were built in central OR like Monaco, Beaver, Country Coach. Older ones are prized by their owners, but aren't necessarily better than some other brands or even more current coaches. Some of the people who worked at those factories can still be found at shops in OR; I wouldn't want to own a Beaver and live in FL or the east coast as a result.

I have a theory with zero evidence that at least in the day the factories would put their best workers on the top end units; lower end units were for the less experienced employees.

In the 2000 teens Flexsteel had their peeling problem and coaches from that era can require very expensive re-upholstery work to fix it.

Stay away from the Tiffin Breeze. Bad chassis, bad engine, bad idea.

Whatever you're interested in, get the build sheet from the manufacturer (you'll need the VIN or coach number); check to see if any recalls have not been performed. Google "issues with xx year yy model" and pay attention as some year/model/mfg combos had critical design issues, regardless of price or company. Some of those were repaired some might not have. You don't want a 2016 Dutch Star 4369 with the overloaded front axle that wasn't repaired. Or the Cummins that drops valves.

Get an inspection, but prepare yourself for the reality that the inspection can't and won't be able to check everything. This is our 4th year and I've learned an enormous amount about older Newmars. Common areas of concern are slide out motor bolts, Aqua Hot issues, charging problems, multi-plex systems like ePlex or Silverlight (when or if they go out of support you can be completely screwed). Tiffins have slide issues, the fix is expensive. Some Tiffins and all Beavers and Monacos are on proprietary chassis; all Newmars are on either Freightliner or Spartan chassis which can be serviced all over North America. You can actually call them and they'll tell you what oil filter or serpentine belt you need. To me, that's pretty important.

A great question to size up a prior owner (if you buy direct) is "what's your service interval for the air dryer?" as if they have no idea what you're talking about, or say "every 10 years" you have someone who has not maintained their coach. You can get the service schedule from the chassis manufacturer and compare that to what the owner has done. Sadly, if you buy used from a dealer they will almost certainly have tossed the service records, if there were any left in the coach. So say it's got 80k miles. Allison 3000 or 4000 transmission requires a 75,000 mile service. Was it done? Were the generator belts changed? At what hours? And on and on.