Advice on bus for sale.

[mrufin]

Found this bus on FB.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...ssenger_banner

My wife really wants a smaller bus like this but the owner says it has hydraulic brakes. From what I read on here everyone says air brakes are a must.

Is it supposed to be this stressful to buy a bus?

My budget is about $7500. Prefer to stay closer to $5k.

Reno budget about $7-10k.

Thanks,
Mike

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by mrufin

Found this bus on FB.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...ssenger_banner

My wife really wants a smaller bus like this but the owner says it has hydraulic brakes. From what I read on here everyone says air brakes are a must.

Is it supposed to be this stressful to buy a bus?

My budget is about $7500. Prefer to stay closer to $5k.

Reno budget about $7-10k.

Thanks,
Mike

Looks ok, but that price!

[Johnny Mullet]

Price is a little high, but these shorter flat nose models are hard to find. My bus has hydraulic brakes and it stops pretty good in my opinion. Has no issues in the mountains either.

[o1marc]

I don't think anyone says they are a must, but in a bigger bus they are preferred. In that smaller bus, hydraulic should be fine.

[plfking]

Originally Posted by mrufin

Is it supposed to be this stressful to buy a bus?

Supposed to be fun while searching, then the stress kicks in when you're actually buying.

Hydraulic brakes aren't an issue to me.....they work fine in my 6 window, and Mullet's work fine in his 8 window.....this one you're looking at will be a little longer than mine and a little shorter than his. However, I see your GVWR at 30K.....mine's only 21.

Yeah, the price seems high......but what does the big picture look like? As Johnny said, the 9 window TCs are getting scarcer.....and I haven't seen an 8 window TC2000 for sale in a while. How much extra is getting something you (or your wife) really want worth to you?

If it's close geographically, how much fuel $$ will you save getting it home?

If it's got any trans other than a 545, there's more value.

Looks very clean....did he take great care of it, or is it freshly washed for the pics? (the ground doesn't look wet).

What's the headroom? Desirable motor? More value-added.

98k for miles is well below average for an 18 yr-old bus....can that be verified? if so, there's more value.

If those are wheels, and not wheel covers, what are they worth? A grand?

6 tires will cost you around 2 grand....if these are new, or still in great shape, there's more value.

All things that can take an 'average' $3000 bus and make it worth more.....plus there's no law against offering him $5000 and see if he bites.

I did see the words "Newark, NJ' on the side.....crawl around underneath before parting with your Benjamins.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by plfking

Supposed to be fun while searching, then the stress kicks in when you're actually buying.

Hydraulic brakes aren't an issue to me.....they work fine in my 6 window, and Mullet's work fine in his 8 window.....this one you're looking at will be a little longer than mine and a little shorter than his. However, I see your GVWR at 30K.....mine's only 21.

Yeah, the price seems high......but what does the big picture look like? As Johnny said, the 9 window TCs are getting scarcer.....and I haven't seen an 8 window TC2000 for sale in a while. How much extra is getting something you (or your wife) really want worth to you?

If it's close geographically, how much fuel $$ will you save getting it home?

If it's got any trans other than a 545, there's more value.

Looks very clean....did he take great care of it, or is it freshly washed for the pics? (the ground doesn't look wet).

What's the headroom? Desirable motor? More value-added.

98k for miles is well below average for an 18 yr-old bus....can that be verified? if so, there's more value.

If those are wheels, and not wheel covers, what are they worth? A grand?

6 tires will cost you around 2 grand....if these are new, or still in great shape, there's more value.

All things that can take an 'average' $3000 bus and make it worth more.....plus there's no law against offering him $5000 and see if he bites.

I did see the words "Newark, NJ' on the side.....crawl around underneath before parting with your Benjamins.

Its low headroom.

[mrufin]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Looks ok, but that price!

I know. He said he will sell it for 5k. Im going to offer 4 if its in good condition.

Does 4k sound fair?

[mrufin]

Originally Posted by Johnny Mullet

Price is a little high, but these shorter flat nose models are hard to find. My bus has hydraulic brakes and it stops pretty good in my opinion. Has no issues in the mountains either.

Thanks for the reply. Yea we really like that shorter flat model. Seems to be the only decent looking on in general area. Every other bus is priced at $8-12k

[mrufin]

Originally Posted by plfking

Supposed to be fun while searching, then the stress kicks in when you're actually buying.

Hydraulic brakes aren't an issue to me.....they work fine in my 6 window, and Mullet's work fine in his 8 window.....this one you're looking at will be a little longer than mine and a little shorter than his. However, I see your GVWR at 30K.....mine's only 21.

Yeah, the price seems high......but what does the big picture look like? As Johnny said, the 9 window TCs are getting scarcer.....and I haven't seen an 8 window TC2000 for sale in a while. How much extra is getting something you (or your wife) really want worth to you?

If it's close geographically, how much fuel $$ will you save getting it home?

If it's got any trans other than a 545, there's more value.

Looks very clean....did he take great care of it, or is it freshly washed for the pics? (the ground doesn't look wet).

What's the headroom? Desirable motor? More value-added.

98k for miles is well below average for an 18 yr-old bus....can that be verified? if so, there's more value.

If those are wheels, and not wheel covers, what are they worth? A grand?

6 tires will cost you around 2 grand....if these are new, or still in great shape, there's more value.

All things that can take an 'average' $3000 bus and make it worth more.....plus there's no law against offering him $5000 and see if he bites.

I did see the words "Newark, NJ' on the side.....crawl around underneath before parting with your Benjamins.

Thanks Don. I did see the NJ on there as well. Im thinking about taking a visit tomorrow. Only a 4 hour drive for me. He wrote back and said he's willing to drop the price to $5k. The bus does seem clean but I will have to do some more homework. He doesn't know what kind of transmission it has. He only speaks spanish so there's a language barrier. So I will have to get the VIN and dig a little.

Also, if he accepts my offer. I won't be able to drive it back home until I register it, right? I guess that's another step I have to take. I don't want to make another trip back just to pick it up.

Thanks for the advice.

[o1marc]

Check your local state laws. Some issue temporary tags for travel. In Ga. they allow you drive on the BOS for30 days as long as you have insurance coverage. State Farm insures me in any vehicle I buy for 7 days, even the bus they won't insure.

[mrufin]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Check your local state laws. Some issue temporary tags for travel. In Ga. they allow you drive on the BOS for30 days as long as you have insurance coverage. State Farm insures me in any vehicle I buy for 7 days, even the bus they won't insure.

Will look into it. Hopefully theres not too much money involved.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by mrufin

Will look into it. Hopefully theres not too much money involved.

Hopefully not much rust involved if its from NJ.

[o1marc]

Seriously think twice about a bus from N.J. or anywhere near New England. Unless you inspect the floor from underneath for rust.
We have one current member dealing with a rust issue I bet he knew about before purchase.

https://imgur.com/a/yisoA9i
Some times airfare or travel expense is much less than the money you need to fix your mistake.

[mrufin]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Seriously think twice about a bus from N.J. or anywhere near New England. Unless you inspect the floor from underneath for rust.
We have one current member dealing with a rust issue I bet he knew about before purchase.

https://imgur.com/a/yisoA9i
Some times airfare or travel expense is much less than the money you need to fix your mistake.

He's sending me more pics (tires, under the bus) today including the vin. He sent me some from the inside and it looks super clean as well. Crossing my fingers.

[Tango]

You may get lucky, but in general, it is a really bad idea to buy any bus from a major rust zone without a hands on, thorough inspection. And that means physically poking around underneath with a screwdriver on the sheetmetal and pick hammer on the frame. We have had a couple of folks here get burned really badly with units that turned out to be close to falling apart. Costs a LOT of time & money to correct (if it even can be) that should go elsewhere.


Just sayin'...

[o1marc]

They all look good on top of the floor, it's what's under the plywood that will surprise you. A 15 year old bus is not something I would even be interested in looking at if it's from up there.

[Willie_McCoy]

Originally Posted by mrufin

He doesn't know what kind of transmission it has. He only speaks spanish so there's a language barrier. So I will have to get the VIN and dig a little.

If you can get the vin from him then you can use the Bluebird Portal site to find the build specs for it.

I use it all the time to save from asking sellers all the same questions that none seem smart enough to answer, headroom, transmission model, rear end ratio, etc.

https://vantage.blue-bird.com/Portal...?srcaud=Portal

[Willie_McCoy]

Originally Posted by o1marc

They all look good on top of the floor, it's what's under the plywood that will surprise you. A 15 year old bus is not something I would even be interested in looking at if it's from up there.

15 years is being very generous, a lot of stuff up here is trash within 7-10 years easy. Not only do we salt the roads like fries at Mcdonalds every time it gets cloudy, now they are pretreating with a liquid salty brine solution, basically liquid rot starter sprayed out of trucks all over the roads. I look at stuff from the desert southwest or socal and it can be 30-40 years old and look better than a 5 yo bus here.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Willie_McCoy

15 years is being very generous, a lot of stuff up here is trash within 7-10 years easy. Not only do we salt the roads like fries at Mcdonalds every time it gets cloudy, now they are pretreating with a liquid salty brine solution, basically liquid rot starter sprayed out of trucks all over the roads. I look at stuff from the desert southwest or socal and it can be 30-40 years old and look better than a 5 yo bus here.

I was being generous, but my statement was based on the 18 year old bus in question. You don't have to tell me, I grew up in Ct. Ya, I remember my brothers 66 Mustang that was scrap by 1972.
The guy next door to my parents house there developed a new non corrosive road "salt" and got the contract with Home Depot.

[cadillackid]

I often request good pics of the stairwell and of the lip when the rear door is open... those 2 places seem to be the first areas to show signs of serious rust on busses.. the stairwells are a no brainer so if the stairs are really rusty just above the treads then run run run.. theres been lots of salty boots tromping inside. rotting the plywood and under-metal... I also look for rusty metal around the seat posts and dash... this is indictive of high humidity for extended periods of time which is often a result of water leaks where moisture has wicked inside the soft materials.. seats, floor plywood, etc.. and even though you are going to throw the seats away... the moisture release has already begun the damage..

-Christopher

-Christopher