Community Forums

trigud · 06-08-2013, 12:46 PM

We are considering buying a 2004 Monaco Diplomat but my wife is afraid it's too old. It's only got 23,000 miles, looks great and has been very well taken care of. I know that Monaco has a great reputation for quality but is 2004 too old for a diesel-pusher? We are going to FT next year .

Steve Ownby · 06-08-2013, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trigud

We are considering buying a 2004 Monaco Diplomat but my wife is afraid it's too old. It's only got 23,000 miles, looks great and has been very well taken care of. I know that Monaco has a great reputation for quality but is 2004 too old for a diesel-pusher?

My wife and I have lived full time in an '03 Monaco DP for over 6 years now. We can't imagine a better home and have absolutely no interest in a newer coach. If, as you say, it has been well taken care of, it should be an excellent coach and is certainly not too old. If the tires are OEM they should be replaced and the TVs are old technology.

ocs · 06-08-2013, 01:08 PM

If it will help the wife and I purchased our first Dp last April and its a 2004 Monaco Diplomat. At the time of purchase it had 24000 miles and it was well taken care of the person we bought it from had records of everything he had done to the coach (new tires batteries all service records) since then we have been living in it full time. We have changed out the tv's other than that we have nothing but great experiences with it. Good luck in your search but if I had to do it all over again I would purchase a Monaco again.

bruceisla · 06-08-2013, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trigud

We are considering buying a 2004 Monaco Diplomat but my wife is afraid it's too old. It's only got 23,000 miles, looks great and has been very well taken care of. I know that Monaco has a great reputation for quality but is 2004 too old for a diesel-pusher?

Well ... certain things will probably "need" replacing and certain things you will probably "want" to replace.

For instance, as mentioned, the TV and associated electronics are old technology. Faucets are probably "iffy". Lighting fixtures and drawer pulls may not be to your liking. Engine/tranny should be just fine (and likely to last many more years).

In my case (a 1997 Endeavor) there were plenty of things that fell into the "need" category ... but that's quite a few more years than your 2004. I think a 2004 is right around the sweet spot ... old enough to be reasonable in price but not so old it requires a lot of work.

PyrateSilly · 06-09-2013, 09:37 AM

We bought our Monaco DP 2 years ago. It is a 1993 Signature Crown Royale. Yes some things needed to be fixed and corrected but it will not matter what age the coach is you will find things that need to be fixed and/or changed. Even in a S&B there are always things to fix and correct.