Austin School's retired bus pool - Opinions

[ashandrik]

Austin's school district has 16 buses for auction.

They're all 1999 International 3800s with 71 pax BlueBird chassis. With 175-250k miles. They all have the T444e engine, an AT545 Allison transmission, air brakes, and leaf spring suspension.

It seems like they list all of the buses as having mold/mildew problems (no biggie, I plan on stripping the floor and stuff, of course), most say they have small oil leaks (some indicate position of the leak, others don't), some indicate a need for wheel replacement, and a couple indicate a replacement engine or transmission in the last 3 years.

They all have starting bids at $1000, and all but three have no bids. The site has a 10% buyers premium fee.

What are the thoughts on these? Worth picking one of the better ones up? What do you think the top bid on one of these would be reasonable?

[gbstewart]

if you can get a good look at them, and maybe talk to one of the mechanics to see which one is the better of the 3, maintenance records would help, and of course rust, I have the same bus and would have no problem buying another, looks like you can pick one up for a good price, just do a little home work and have a look at them.
gbstewart

[ashandrik]

I've heard the T444e engine is pokey on hills and has a pretty low top speed. I think I'd want to regear it to get at least 65 on the highway, preferably without having to keep the pedal to the floor the whole time. Do you have these issues? I could get a bus with a DT466, but it'll probably cost me $2500-3500 more...