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Old 04-10-2016, 01:00 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Georgia
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Buses for sale with bad engines

Looking through some inventories and I have seen several buses for sale with either bad head gaskets or bad engines.

For example, Midwest Transit Equipment has a 2002 IC RE with a bad DT466 for $4500 (seems steep).

I looked up DT466's for sale for and they are around 3K - 4K, installed another 1K.

So all in for this bus, assuming nothing else wrong, would be $8500 - $9500 but with an engine with a warranty.

Good deal or no?

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Old 04-10-2016, 02:13 PM   #2
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No! Unless you're ok with dealer prices.
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Old 04-10-2016, 02:19 PM   #3
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Year: 1991
Coachwork: Carpenter
Chassis: International 3800
Engine: DTA360 / MT643
Rated Cap: 7 Row Handicap
ive seen 2004 IC CE's with engines that run (no diagnostic lights) for that price at dan brown bus sales...

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Old 04-10-2016, 02:23 PM   #4
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It's a 14 year old bus and you know there will be other things wrong with it. Government gets rid of vehicles depending on their effective service life. If we're buying buses cheap, it's because in general they have statistically reached the point in their lives when they can and do start having issues. A busted bus has probably been sitting for a while and that's not good either. You can overcome any bus problems with money but there are a lot of that age of bus around for I'd say an average of $3,500 to $4,000 in good running condition. Yes, probably with all the seats. They really aren't that difficult with one person in the bus and one person under the bus. Otherwise you'll take forever grinding off those bolts.
True there's no guarantee when you go to the auctions. That broken bus was probably bought very cheap because of its condition, like I see buses needing head gaskets that go for scarcely over $500 at times. Yeah, $4,500 is too much.
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Old 04-10-2016, 03:45 PM   #5
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Thanks everyone, I thought it was too much. Aside from that you wouldn't know if the tranny was bad too, no way to test it.
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Old 04-10-2016, 05:49 PM   #6
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Good point.
I'm looking for a way to move those dead buses when they sell for like $500. I don't have a large wrecker, but even if it weren't worth fixing you could part out the drive train, and in the country you'd be surprised at how many people will buy a bus body to use for storage or chicken coops that are safe from predators. Parted out you might make near $4,500, but to sell as is... . Only a dealer has the nuggets to ask that kind of price on a dead bus.

Paul, are you allergic to buses from VA? Or are those rusty?

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