Non-affiliated buses for sale - thread

[Twigg]

It sold for little more than the scrap-value.

By the time a dismantler has sold off a few useable spares, he will make a profit from it.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Closed out at that price. Obviously everyone who checked it out deemed it not worthy.

I mean, just look at the pics. Looks like its been sitting, yet the miles are sky-high.

[o1marc]

I'm beating myself up on this one. Finally had the dealer contact the seller (charter school activity bus) to see if they felt the bus could make a 2k mile trip right away. While there is nothing wrong with the bus, they felt it would not be wise to travel that far in it. While nothing is wrong with it, it does have "some quirks", which were not explained.
It's an 88 BBAA with an 8.2, 163k miles. Asking $2495. I can probably get it for $2k, but worry now whether it would make it home. IMHO, a 2k mile trip is easier on a vehicle than 4 weeks of around town 200 miles trips. And it's not Yellow.
What do you guys think?

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by o1marc

I'm beating myself up on this one. Finally had the dealer contact the seller (church activity bus) to see if they felt the bus could make a 2k mile trip right away. While there is nothing wrong with the bus, they felt it would not be wise to travel that far in it. While nothing is wrong with it, it does have "some quirks", which were not explained.
It's an 88 BBAA with an 8.2, 163k miles. Asking $2495. I can probably get it for $2k, but worry now whether it would make it home. IMHO, a 2k mile trip is easier on a vehicle than 4 weeks of around town 200 miles trips. And it's not Yellow.
What do you guys think?

I'd start by asking what the "quirks" are.

[jjhwick119]

Originally Posted by o1marc

I'm beating myself up on this one. Finally had the dealer contact the seller (church activity bus) to see if they felt the bus could make a 2k mile trip right away. While there is nothing wrong with the bus, they felt it would not be wise to travel that far in it. While nothing is wrong with it, it does have "some quirks", which were not explained.
It's an 88 BBAA with an 8.2, 163k miles. Asking $2495. I can probably get it for $2k, but worry now whether it would make it home. IMHO, a 2k mile trip is easier on a vehicle than 4 weeks of around town 200 miles trips. And it's not Yellow.
What do you guys think?

theyd need to explain all the quirks, but im liking the look of that one. and i would also assume a nice long drive at a steady rpm would be easier on the vehicle than in town driving, but it also depends on what the quirks are

[Robin97396]

Yeah, because if overheating is one of the quirks you'll make it to the first set of hills.

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

Yeah, because if overheating is one of the quirks you'll make it to the first set of hills.

And if that is the case, walk away.

A bus that a seller says has a tendency to "run hot" has, in the past, run so damned hot it has caused serious damage .... at least that is what you have to assume.

[brokedown]

Remember to figure in your travel costs to get it home. At 10 mpg with $3 per gallon fuel, that's $600 spent in the tank. Not including whatever sleep arrangements you may need to make. I would personally plan on at least 3 days to make that trip.

[RRRVBUS]

Originally Posted by brokedown

The conventional is the dog nose style, with the engine compartment in front of the windshield. It's a Type C bus.

The Vista is technically a type B bus built from a Type C. I call it a stub nose, its fairly clear to people who don't know the lingo!

The Seven Different School Bus Types - American Bus Sales

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Vista

I’m getting there, slowly.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by brokedown

Remember to figure in your travel costs to get it home. At 10 mpg with $3 per gallon fuel, that's $600 spent in the tank. Not including whatever sleep arrangements you may need to make. I would personally plan on at least 3 days to make that trip.

I figure 10% of the fuel price is the cost per mile at 10mpg. So right around here we're at $2.87/ga, or $.29/mile. 2200 miles will run me $650 in diesel. Another $300 for airfare, and possibly 2 nights hotels at $100 would bring the purchase to around $3700.
I've got a call in to find out what "quirks" they were referring to. This is a bus that sat for most of the year and made a couple of 100 miles trips a year from a charter school.

[cadillackid]

an 8.2 in a long bus like that getting 10 MPG? with no overdrive? id be thinking more like 7-8 in that bus..

Nice lookling rig though
-Christopher

[cowlitzcoach]

Not to disagree with Christopher but I would put an 8.2L that is non-turbo at closer to 6-8 MPG tending towards the lower end unless the road is relatively flat and the wind is at your back. Figure 7-9 MPG with a turbo.

Unless I knew what the quirks were I think I would be reluctant to start out on a 2K journey. When I set out on a 2K journey with a bus I didn't know anything about when I purchased it I wasn't setting out cold. I drove it around town for almost three weeks. The other buses I have purchased a long ways away from home I knew their service histories and I had a reasonable expectation of arriving home with very little drama. In two cases I had some drama but nothing that required more than a few simple repairs that I was able to accomplish with simple hand tools.

[jjhwick119]

Originally Posted by brokedown

Vistas are beautiful!

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

I'm watching some of them on public surplus. Toying around with the idea of shortie now

[ben2go]

I called my school district's bus barn and talked to the service manager about buying a bus. He gave me some info and wished me luck. I made the call and got the school's vehicle procurement manager.

The first question I asked," Can I buy a bus directly from the school district?

Answer,"Absolutely not!"

Me-"Why?"

VP Manager-"We use a broker and they do not sell to the public."

Me-"Who do they sell to?"

VP Manager-"Other school districts and foreign buyers."

Me-"Can I get the broker's contact info or the name of the brokerage?"

VP Manager-"I can't share that information."


This is the jest of the conversation. We spoke more but he was not in a mood to share info. I think he may not be in a mood for anything any day and that's why the bus barn manager wished me luck. I have noticed that it is extremely rare to see school buses sold around here. Also, our area started replacing buses about 10 years ago and the fleet is pretty new and in good condition.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by ben2go

I called my school district's bus barn and talked to the service manager about buying a bus. He gave me some info and wished me luck. I made the call and got the school's vehicle procurement manager.

The first question I asked," Can I buy a bus directly from the school district?

Answer,"Absolutely not!"

Me-"Why?"

VP Manager-"We use a broker and they do not sell to the public."

Me-"Who do they sell to?"

VP Manager-"Other school districts and foreign buyers."

Me-"Can I get the broker's contact info or the name of the brokerage?"

VP Manager-"I can't share that information."


This is the jest of the conversation. We spoke more but he was not in a mood to share info. I think he may not be in a mood for anything any day and that's why the bus barn manager wished me luck. I have noticed that it is extremely rare to see school buses sold around here. Also, our area started replacing buses about 10 years ago and the fleet is pretty new and in good condition.

Things vary by state and I don't know the SC situation. It may be similar to here in WA where the districts are not allowed to sell to the public directly except at auction. They can sell directly to another district or agency or trade them in on new buses.

We have some districts here that trade all of their retired buses. None go to auction.

Regarding the school's vehicle procurement manager, you may mention to him that South Carolina Code of Laws Title 30 - Public Records requires him to provide the information one way or another.

[o1marc]

So what do you do when there are 8 identical buses being auctioned at the same time? All in the same price range. I hate to be bidding on one at $2k only to lose and find one of the others went for $500 less.I'm sure they frown on bidding on multiple auctions if your intent is only to buy one.

[Tigerman67]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

Regarding the school's vehicle procurement manager, you may mention to him that South Carolina Code of Laws Title 30 - Public Records requires him to provide the information one way or another.

PNW_Steve's advise is more specific, but I was going to mention that their budget should be public record, although if they want to be a pain, they could try to charge you a photocopying fee for getting a copy of it. But it should be available for inspection at the district office without fee.

People with a small amount of power can be unhelpful just because they can, but keep in mind, small government entities like this can also be someone's personal piggy bank too that you may be poking at. Whether its getting a few freebies on the districts dime, or something more serious.

If the vendor getting the buses are getting them for $500 a piece, and they could go for $2k at auction, who knows Mr Procurement manager maybe getting a nice little kickback from the vendor, even if its only a slightly less than appropriate Christmas gift worth a few dollars. Some people can be very loyal to their suppliers and all it is costing them is $20 worth of swag every year. Or he could be driving a nice used vehicle that a vendor hooked him up with at half of market value.

It could also be something where a school district doesn't want the liability of selling used school buses, and therefore they are willing to take a loss on them and they do it willingly. I can tell you at my company (unrelated to schools), we PAY a vendor to come get all of our old (mostly working) computer equipment and to promise to wipe all the drives before I assume they either resell or recycle them. They could just use their PC support staff to wipe drives as they come out of service and auction 3 year old laptops at a profit, but they choose not to.

[Robin97396]

https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/...499238334.html


This seems to be the Genesis version of the TC2000, but with a 466.

[Robin97396]

https://roseburg.craigslist.org/cto/...498294172.html


1995 ford E350 shuttle bus 460 motor needs work not running, engine light on

[Asetechrail]

Originally Posted by Robin97396

https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/...499238334.html


This seems to be the Genesis version of the TC2000, but with a 466.

This is the bus that just sold on Public Surplus for $3600. They even used the same pictures in the add.