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Old 09-24-2015, 08:49 AM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: MI
Posts: 23
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: International
Engine: 7.3
Looking at a 2007 Freightliner

Anything I should look at specifically or any reason I should just run away? It has a MBE 900 and a 2500 trans. Under 100K on the clock and looks pretty solid.

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Old 09-24-2015, 08:53 AM   #2
Bus Geek
 
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Eustis FLORIDA
Posts: 23,764
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freighliner FS65
Engine: Cat 3126
Rated Cap: 15
Sounds like an expensive rig.
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Old 09-24-2015, 09:05 AM   #3
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: MI
Posts: 23
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: International
Engine: 7.3
Maybe, small town school is now going with lease buses, so they are moving the currently owned ones. These will be auctioned off in the next month or so. They have 4 of these and a bunch of Internationals with 7.3/545.
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Old 09-24-2015, 09:13 AM   #4
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Eustis FLORIDA
Posts: 23,764
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freighliner FS65
Engine: Cat 3126
Rated Cap: 15
I'd be surprised if that sold for less than 8-10 grand.
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Old 09-24-2015, 02:30 PM   #5
Bus Nut
 
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I've seen a few listing with that MBE engine but I've heard zero feedback on them. It is Mercedes Benz but I don't know their track record in this class of vehicle in the U.S. market.
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Old 09-24-2015, 04:40 PM   #6
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Stony Plain Alberta Canada
Posts: 2,937
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: 190hp 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
Anything Mercedes Benz is big $$$ to fix or maintain.

Not worth owning.

Nat
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Old 09-24-2015, 05:00 PM   #7
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Montana
Posts: 1,626
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: All-American R/E
Engine: 8.3 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
Was always told by a school district head mechanic to avoid the Freightliner chassis.
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Old 09-24-2015, 06:47 PM   #8
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: MI
Posts: 23
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: International
Engine: 7.3
Thanks for the input. Nice ride but likely to nice for a poor sap like me.
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Old 09-24-2015, 06:56 PM   #9
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Eustis FLORIDA
Posts: 23,764
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freighliner FS65
Engine: Cat 3126
Rated Cap: 15
FWIW I bid on lots of stuff that I can't afford. I bid what I can afford to spend, though. Once in a while I get a great deal doing this.
I only paid 2150 for my bus and while it isn't perfect I think I got a GREAT deal. Thing got me 800 miles home and is still running great.
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Old 09-25-2015, 05:10 AM   #10
Bus Nut
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EastCoastCB View Post
FWIW I bid on lots of stuff that I can't afford. I bid what I can afford to spend, though. Once in a while I get a great deal doing this.
I only paid 2150 for my bus and while it isn't perfect I think I got a GREAT deal. Thing got me 800 miles home and is still running great.
Great point. This is how those folks who always seem to come out ahead do it. Know what it's worth, but also know what you can afford to spend and don't spend more than either one of those!
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Old 09-25-2015, 05:20 AM   #11
Bus Nut
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nat_ster View Post
Anything Mercedes Benz is big $$$ to fix or maintain.

Not worth owning.

Nat
That would have been my assertion as well. In the big rigs it seems like Volvos have that reputation... you see a lot of them on the road so they must be popular but at the same time how often are they in the shop and for how long. For a skoolie owner I think an important factor would be how common it is and how accessible parts and/or service is - and not just close to home, because nothing ever breaks down when you're close to home.

I'm a company truck driver and so far every truck I've driving and every company I've driven for has been Freightliner because there are Freightliner dealerships and Freightliner-authorized facilities all over the country! In that class of vehicle the common engine is a Detroit DD15. Applying this same train of thought, I would theorize that getting service on a Freightliner skoolie chassis isn't going to be an issue but the less-common engine might make for lengthier and more expensive repairs. So unless you just happen to well-versed with that engine or are willing to study up in order to do your own repairs, it may be safer to pass on that deal in favor of something more common.
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Old 09-25-2015, 12:42 PM   #12
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Location: Stony Plain Alberta Canada
Posts: 2,937
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: 190hp 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
The trucking company's can afford to have them in the shop hooked up to the computer diagnostic tools. We as skoolie owners can't.

I vote for staying with mechanical drive lines. That way you can skip the big $$$ for needing a computer to tell you what is wrong. Also computer based sensors are not cheap, and add more cost to the mix.

Older mechanical Diesels like the Cummins 12 valves and the DT engines are even more simple that the old carbureted gas engines to diagnose. You will be able to fix them your self VS being at the mercy of the big $$$ shops.

Nat
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Old 09-25-2015, 02:25 PM   #13
Bus Nut
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 252
Precisely. I think someone mentioned in another thread that the mechanical non-electronic engines were getting harder to find and therefore demanding a premium price. However you slice it though that dang computer is eventually going to bite us in the keester!
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Old 09-27-2015, 09:22 PM   #14
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Location: Houston, Texas
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Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
Anything with any form of computer can be hacked. And not always with positive results.
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