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Old 02-02-2006, 09:33 PM   #1
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Goverment Auction a good sorce?

Have any of you ever purchased a vehicle form a governmental auction? Are there any good deals?

Kevin

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Old 02-02-2006, 09:57 PM   #2
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Do you mean state/federal govt auctions or school dist auctions? I would not buy from a transit district because they tend to run the hell out of buses then dump them but some military buses are good. Lots of people buy from school districts and the majority have good things to say.
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Old 02-03-2006, 06:40 PM   #3
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here's the MN State auction schedule for 2006. http://www.mmd.admin.state.mn.us/schedule.htm

They put up thier list about aweek before the auction date. And then a week or two after they update it with the sold prices.
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Old 02-04-2006, 02:37 AM   #4
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I bought mine from a Bus dealer; it was a trade-in from a local school district. I actually went to the school district and talked to the bus mechanics before I choose my bus. Since they weren’t the ones selling me the bus, they were very helpful in informing me of any problems and helping me choose the best one of the bunch.

I went to a couple of bus auctions (422sales.com) and didn't find any good deals there. I also looked on ebay for a while but didn't find anything close to home. Then by accident I ran into a bus salesman and started talking to him. It was ironic because he told me he was getting a few busses from a local school district in about a week.... It ended up being the school district I graduated from. My friend’s mom who is a bus driver actually used to drive my bus on her route. Anyway....

I don’t know if this will help you at all but I carry the dealer's business card around in my wallet.

Don Bazuin (I have no idea if he still works there, but he was very helpful)
Woodland International Trucks
215 Hall St.
Grand Rapids, MI 49507
616-241-4656

Or you could look up who the bus dealer is in your town & give them a call.

Good luck in finding a bus, let us know if you have any other questions, I don’t know about the rest of us but I like helping out soon to be new bus owners.
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Old 02-04-2006, 09:59 AM   #5
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I purchased both of my buses from school districts. I also looked at buses at other districts. I've always found the mechanics to be more than helpful when it comes to details on a particular bus. The mechanic doesn't really care if something he sais changes the value of the bus, its' not like he sees any of the purchase price.

I also go back and talk to them when i have a problem. They are really good at proposing solutions, and finding parts.
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Old 11-14-2008, 09:58 PM   #6
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Re: Goverment Auction a good sorce?

I found my bus on PublicSurplus.com auction, bought it sight unseen, only one photo of it online. It did have contact information for the Harrisonburg City School Bus Barn and a contact name, so I called and inquired about the bus prior to purchasing it. They were friendly and helpful, and answer my questions. They were selling it basically for one reason, it was too old to stay in the fleet, the city had a 15 year service limit. They also told me the only known problem was a broken brake chamber mounting bracket, that they welded in order to make it drivable, but it would need to be replaced to pass inspection. I paid $2100 for it...that was nearly 3 years ago, and it still fires right up and runs like a champ. It was a five hour drive home from where I went to pick the bus up at...
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Old 11-16-2008, 12:08 AM   #7
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Re: Goverment Auction a good sorce?

Quote:
Originally Posted by SKOOLBOY
Have any of you ever purchased a vehicle form a governmental auction? Are there any good deals?

Kevin
I have purchased three vehicles from Washington State Surplus. My van, my car, and just recently my bus. They sell a LOT of vehicles, many on Ebay. Both my van and car turned out to be very good deals. We'll see how the bus turns out.

-Ray
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