- There is no free lunch. Never buy a GMC sight unseen. All over America, there are GMC owners who would be happy to help evaluate a coach.
- A coach that has been sitting for years will need immediate attention. Gas will have turned to slush, clogging the fuel system. The brakes may have rusted or frozen. The tires will need to be replaced even if they have great tread.
- Don’t buy a gutted interior. If an interior needs work, only buy the coach if you can begin to “live” in it while you fix the interior. There are too many gutted coaches because the owner tore out the insides and bogged down trying to replace things. Even cabinet makers have failed.
- If it runs and ‘possums haven’t been living in the coach, we suggest a beginning price in the neighborhood of $10,000. On the high end, a coach listed for $50,000 is suspect. A coach listed at that price better be perfect—and there aren’t any perfect coaches. Conventional wisdom says you will have a $25,000 coach within two years, regardless of the starting price.
- If you test drive a coach, let it idle and go back and listen to the exhaust. If it “putts” in a very regular cadence, it probably needs engine work.
- Make sure the transmission will go forward and backward. Drive it to at least 30 mph and listen for the transmission to shift. GMCs are smooth, but you should hear the engine changing speed when the transmission changes gears.
- If the steering is erratic, something is wrong. Chasing down steering problems can be elusive. With the coach sitting still, engine off, see if the steering wheel has play. (If you can turn it left and right more than a 1/8th of a turn before it begins to move the wheels something is pretty loose.)
Don’t let the list above scare you. GMC 49ers are not snobs. You can show up in a coach with terrible paint and missing kitchen or bed, and we will not care. We are about the people, not the machine. You can ask for advice as you begin to fix your coach to your level of acceptability.