After the intruductions, brief history of us, he and his wife and the coach we were instructed to walk about freely, inspect the coach and ask whatever questions we had. Now, keep in mind at this point we still aren't thinking of a new coach or could even comprehend the expense of $7500. We were there to just "look" at his coach. To see one in person, basically "lookie-loos" nothing more. Well....it wasn't long before I began to realize omg, this coach is HOT!!!
As I walked about in the enterior of the coach looking at the usual things I look at in a vintage coach that almost always show it's age, cabinet installation (whether or not they are beginning to fall off the ceiling), walls meeting walls (gaps from road vibration and softness or wobbliness again from road vibration and ceiling falling), water leaks in over head cabinets (from years and years of weather and travel and not sealing around the entire perimiter of where the roof meets the sidewalls), softness of the coach floor (from years of heat exhaust melting or wearing down the styrofoam on top of the exhaust pipes inbetween the floor boards), wear and tear on original window treatments in this case curtains (from years of sun damage, rotten fabric, falling apart due to use, age and materials), water spots on the ceiling (again from not properly sealing the roof around the ACs and roof vents), carpet (from years of use), upholstery (from years of use and abuse in many cases from sun damage), dashboard (from years of sundamage leaving the not plastic dash with rips, tears and snags, and cracks in the foam backed vinyl padding used exclusively in vintage coaches), missing screens (which would be expected after 30 years), tire rot on the exterior as would be expected on any vintage coach from years of just sitting, sagging and soft counter tops (from years of water getting under and around the faucets in the kitchen and bathroom), smell of smoke, or any discomforting smells like mildew (as is almost always the case in a vintage coach).
NOTHING. I mean, absolutely NOTHING of the sort in this coach at all. In all seriousness and all total honesty, it was as if this coach was somehow frozen in time. Stuck still in 1978. As if it never left that year and time. As if it was still sitting on the sales lot brand new from the Foretravel factory. I couldn't find one thing wrong. Not one. I had never, in my life not seen at least one thing wrong or showing signs of age or disrepair. I had never walked over a vintage coach floor and felt soft spots up front. I hadn't seen upholstery that wasn't hideous, worn, torn or damaged in some form or fashion. There is almost at least one water spot on the ceiling, usually around the Air Conditioners of one of the ceiling vents. Not one thing. Nothing. Anywhere.
The more I couldn't find any thing wrong, the more I frantically looked for some the more Sammy, the previous owner smiled. The pride of ownership for 25 years beaming from his face. As I looked at his face, into his eyes, I knew this was a blessing. An enourmous blessing that only God could have arranged. I was being handed a coach that had been well taken care of beyond any I'd ever seen and trust me, I've seen hundreds and hundreds of vintage coaches over my 38 years of life yet I'd not seen a coach like this before. What makes it more amazing this coach had been on Craigs List here in Denver for quite a while, yet no one had taken it away yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment