2016 American Eagle Heritage or 2016 Cornerstone

[BeHappy]

In 2015 we made time to do factory tours of Entegra, Newmar, & American Coach. We saw pros & cons for all three, ultimately narrowing search to Newmar Mountain Aire or London Aire, American Eagle, or Entegra Cornerstone.

I spent lots of hours, mostly on technical specs of chassis, tires, etc. And during our factory tour we were favorably impressed that Entegra was a privately owned, debt free RV mfr.

We decided on a new 2015 Cornerstone 45B, and have been happy with our choice. However, in light of some changes being implemented since Entegra & Jayco were sold to Thor, we would give Newmar another look when it is time to buy next time. Please know also, "Joyce" is and has been the star in Customer Service for Entegra owners, too!

The one constant from 2015 to now for us? The K3 Chassis, and 365 steer tires would still be a priority.

If money were no object, said before, will do so again....my next coach would be a Foretravel Realm...all the K3 chassis benefits, the same TRW steering assist as Newmar's Comfort drive, and many additional features such as fire supression, Tyron tire bands on steers, and a 'neat & tidy' protocol of all those wires/hoses in the places you cannot see.

All that said, the prospect of going through the 'new bugs' on a new coach of any brand is enough to say, our Cornerstone does all we expected, and need.

In the end, everyone must research, drive, and bargain for whatever YOU feel best fits all your criteria, wants & needs

Best wishes in your decision process!

Safe Travels to All

[Ann n Gene]

Do some research on research on the resale prices of the coaches on your shortlist. I know, you are not buying it to resell but it can tell you a great deal about what the market thinks about a brand of coach, quality, and how well they are built by what they are worth after three or four years. If the resale price drops way off from the others, owners have likely had significant issues with them. All JMHO

[az99]

Originally Posted by Ann n Gene

Do some research on research on the resale prices of the coaches on your shortlist.

How can you find real selling prices to determine that?

[vito.a]

Originally Posted by az99

How can you find real selling prices to determine that?

You can only look at asking prices. Search nationwide on RVTrader.com and RVT.com and rank order by price, lowest first. This will put all the high priced dealers and dreamers at the bottom of the list.

I agree with the others that you should include the Newmar London Aire and Essex in your search.

I also prefer the Spartan chassis over the Freightliner/Liberty. Most Freightliner products are built to a lower price point and have too many plastic parts for me. I'm also not a fan of the stepped frame design on the Freightliner/Liberty. Think of your chassis rails as a bridge supporting the coach above it.

Don't get in a hurry. This is a big decision. Go drive them all. Take a notebook and make notes and take lots of pictures. You will learn from every coach you see and drive.
Best of luck!

[az99]

Originally Posted by vito.a

You can only look at asking prices. Search nationwide on RVTrader.com and RVT.com and rank order by price, lowest first. This will put all the high priced dealers and dreamers at the bottom of the list.

Then that info is a joke as 75% of private sellers and any dealer is asking as much or more than the price that MH sold for to an informed buyer.

[Ann n Gene]

The overinflated prices are a universal problem. What I am suggesting is to take a broad sample of asking prices for both models, average them then compare brands. If similarly equipped you will see what the market thinks about the relative value of each brand. All JMHO

[brobox]

Originally Posted by az99

How can you find real selling prices to determine that?

NADA.com works for me. Realistic price is between high and low book. Do not add any options, go by model only.

[lowejug]

Originally Posted by mrfix

Drive them both and you will be shocked, when I was looking I was going to buy an 2016 anthum, isaw a 2016 revolution at a local dealer. Both were new units, I drive them both for about 40 minutes, the anthum rode harsh over bridge seams, the coach body racked and rattled and sqeaked, wind noise was quite loud at 60 mph, and the generator was too noisy to carry on a normal conversation. The revolution rode like a magic carpet with no rattles or squeaks no wind noise, you could not hear the generator at all. I bought the revolution, have never had an issue in over 11000 miles. Drive both coaches and don't listen to the hipe, as far as insulation goes, we spent a month with temps in the low 20's and the aqua hot and heated floors kept us warm and toasty with no condensation issues in the mornings. American builds a great coach and thier liberty chassis is second to none.
Good luck with your shopping.

there must of been some issues with the anthem you drove... as thats not a normal driving experience and reaction after driving any entegra.
there is no question that some coaches come off the line with issues. including entegra...
just as others are saying.. every coach needs to be driven.. some need tweaking..
some just rock and roll right off the bat... my 14 anthem is so quiet in a all departments and the insulation is incredible... jmo...

[chuckster52]

Originally Posted by BattleWagon

I’ve been following Entegra closely and favorably impresssed. However, a 2016 Eagle Heritage In immaculate shape has popped up and looks to be likewise impressive. Do you have any concerns with that year or that brand? How does it compare in your mind to same year Cornerstone for ride and reliability of all the systems? I appreciate your feedback!

Go with the Entegra...a way better product than the American..way back in the early 2000's they were probably King of the RV's but their time has come and gone.....I could write a book about the one we just had...but won't...
But here is a fact...4 major dealers who were big time American dealers gave up the line in the last year or two.....Tom Johnson ,Concord,NC;Transwest:North Trails and Southhaven.....had to be for a reason...North Trails said "Way too much warranty work on new units [from lack of Quality control and way,way to slow on payments"...
they are good looking units but MHO is it is "Like Putting Lipstick on a Pig"...C

[mrfix]

Originally Posted by lowejug

there must of been some issues with the anthem you drove... as thats not a normal driving experience and reaction after driving any entegra.
there is no question that some coaches come off the line with issues. including entegra...
just as others are saying.. every coach needs to be driven.. some need tweaking..
some just rock and roll right off the bat... my 14 anthem is so quiet in a all departments and the insulation is incredible... jmo...

When we went test drive the anthum we were ready to buy that day, the fit and finish was poor at best, cabinet doors crooked, tv hung crooked, back splash falling down, then the test ride, I could not bring myself to purchase. All of the issues with the Anthum were not present in the American, fit and finish was top notch, we bought it and it's been a great coach so far.

[dave&ginny]

Originally Posted by mrfix

When we went test drive the anthum we were ready to buy that day, the fit and finish was poor at best, cabinet doors crooked, tv hung crooked, back splash falling down, then the test ride, I could not bring myself to purchase. All of the issues with the Anthum were not present in the American, fit and finish was top notch, we bought it and it's been a great coach so far.

That’s a new one. I’ve been on the Entegra forum for 3 years and I’ve never heard this type of criticism. “Back splash falling down”, are you sure you were in a new coach?

[BattleWagon]

I really appreciate everyone’s feedback. I wanted input from Entegra owners as you can look at AC with a little more critical eye while also differentiating the Cornerstone. I really like the 365 tires on the CS but also really like the 60 degree wheel turn on the Eagle. I also like the two big screens (right and left of steering wheel with left being cameras) of the Eagle. I believe my wife will strongly prefer the clean lines and the contemporary interior of the AC over Entegra and Newmar as she doesn’t like traditional colonial type woodwork. But the proof in the pudding is the drive. Sturdy, comfortable and quiet are top tier priorities. So our road test will be telling. One other important preference is that we strongly prefer the cab forward design of Entegra and AC over Newmar. We will be seeing a 2016 Newmar product but I just don’t see my wife being drawn to that one. It does seem Comfort Steer is highly regarded by many Newmar owners. This is all great fun. It’s incredible to have the generous input of so many good RV folks. Warm regards!

[mrfix]

Originally Posted by dave&ginny

That’s a new one. I’ve been on the Entegra forum for 3 years and I’ve never heard this type of criticism. “Back splash falling down”, are you sure you were in a new coach?

The coach was brand new, the salesman said all would be taken care of before delivery, I just felt there were too many issues in a new coach, I had my heart set on entegra but it didn't work out.

[plasma800]

Originally Posted by BattleWagon

I really appreciate everyone’s feedback. I wanted input from Entegra owners as you can look at AC with a little more critical eye while also differentiating the Cornerstone. I really like the 365 tires on the CS but also really like the 60 degree wheel turn on the Eagle. I also like the two big screens (right and left of steering wheel with left being cameras) of the Eagle. I believe my wife will strongly prefer the clean lines and the contemporary interior of the AC over Entegra and Newmar as she doesn’t like traditional colonial type woodwork. But the proof in the pudding is the drive. Sturdy, comfortable and quiet are top tier priorities. So our road test will be telling. One other important preference is that we strongly prefer the cab forward design of Entegra and AC over Newmar. We will be seeing a 2016 Newmar product but I just don’t see my wife being drawn to that one. It does seem Comfort Steer is highly regarded by many Newmar owners. This is all great fun. It’s incredible to have the generous input of so many good RV folks. Warm regards!

My opinion is this:

If the Eagle keeps a substantial amount of your hard earned money in your retirement fund, you'll be very happy with the unit. I mean, this is still one of the top of the line of all the mid-high range coaches. The only way you do better than any of the coaches you mentioned is to bump up into the Prevost / Foretravel range.

If the prices were very close, I'd give a lot of consideration to simply which I actually liked more. They are all going to drive nice. They are all going to have great creature comforts. You can hardly go wrong.