2005 Ford E350 16 passenger vs. 1993 International
My girlfriend and I looked at our first few busses this past week, and we feel like we have two great options already! I was hoping get as many opinions as possible about the pros and cons between these two busses. I'll put the links to the two craigslist ads instead of posting a bunch of pictures...
The first bus we checked out was a 2005 Ford E350 16 passenger with 136k miles for $5000. There is virtually NO rust anywhere on this one! Before anyone questions why the small size, it's just the two of us and we feel like it'll work just fine. The bus is in great shape and drove fine. I could not find any red flags at all, and I think that for the price I should jump on this. Any thoughts? Link: https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/hvd/d/2005-ford-epassenger-school/6562447336.html
The second bus is a 1993 international 28 passenger school bus. It has 213k miles, and has a DT466 engine. Priced at $7500. It has air brakes, and because of this I was told I would need my CDL (don't know if it matters, but I live in PA). That turns me off to it a little bit, but I understand that a CDL would be a valuable thing to have... We really liked the extra space compared to the other bus, but there was a little more rust underneath and on the inside walls. But it was all surface rust and didn't seem too concerning. I was told by the owner that this engine is way more reliable since it is all mechanical and has no electronics. Any thoughts on this? Link: https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/hvd/d/2005-ford-epassenger-school/6562447336.html
I am really leaning towards the first bus since it's newer, has less miles, and in better shape than the second. But what the owner of the 1993 said about the DT466 engine being more reliable really made me think, so I am going to be doing a lot of research over the next week or so. I know very little about engines and mechanics, so any advice or opinions would be very much appreciated. The increase in space in the 1993 was very appealing too, but the 2005 was in way better shape! Please let me know your thoughts on this and anything else about these two busses...
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