Do you think this bus is worth the money?

[EastCoastCB]

My 25 year old bus is from KY and has virtually ZERO rust underneath. Only minor superficial rust in a few places on the outer body.

And on FL buses- I was saying they aren't worth the drive down. Go North a bit or West a long ways for a better bus.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

it IS possible to fine pretty much rust free 15 yr old busses..
RedByrd is from Houston and pretty darn close to it.. sure a Lot of original paint / powder coat left on the frame underneath it.. and the interior floors except for the seat bolts are pretty much perfect..

the DEV is an Ohio bus and while its not a rust bucket by any means does have rust underneath.. I brush it and rust-converter it as I get time and parts of it like mudflap brackets etc had to be completely replaced as they were rotted Gone
-Christopher

Houston is a long a55 drive!! OH isn't so bad tho.

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

My 25 year old bus is from KY and has virtually ZERO rust underneath. Only minor superficial rust in a few places on the outer body.

Really? It snows in KY. Not much but at least once a year. SC was kinda the same when I lived there. At the mere threat of snow they salted the 5hit out of EVERYTHING. For a week straight. But then again, the buses wouldn't see any of it because they closed the schools anyway.

And on FL buses- I was saying they aren't worth the drive down. Go North a bit or West a long ways for a better bus.

That's disappointing. What's wrong with the FL buses?

[cadillackid]

they tend to beat up florida busses mechanically.. im guessing they dont have very much mechanical inspection on them?

I hear a lot of florida busses running where the engines sound terrible, even skips..

houston is a far drive from MD for sure.. then again I like to drive so I dont think twice.. I think ive put about 3K miles on redbyrd since I got it in september.. and what like 13k on the DEV... I drive a bus whenever I can.. its fun!
-Christopher

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

they tend to beat up florida busses mechanically.. im guessing they dont have very much mechanical inspection on them?

There are NO inspections on private vehicles. No emissions. No safety. No nothing.

Hopefully that is not the case with commercial vehicles or school buses but I wouldn't be surprised.

houston is a far drive from MD for sure.. then again I like to drive so I dont think twice.. I think ive put about 3K miles on redbyrd since I got it in september.. and what like 13k on the DEV... I drive a bus whenever I can.. its fun!
-Christopher

The gf doesn't get but 2 weeks a yr in PTO. I've no idea what I could fix on the side of the road but flying down and driving back without my tools is kinda scary in a sight unseen 100k plus mile bus. With tools and a week to get back, I wouldn't think twice about it. My backpack stays packed and I plan on living out of it for 6+ months so a bus is the Waldorf Presidential suite.

[rsymonds]

walk away from this one...

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

There are NO inspections on private vehicles. No emissions. No safety. No nothing.

Hopefully that is not the case with commercial vehicles or school buses but I wouldn't be surprised.

The gf doesn't get but 2 weeks a yr in PTO. I've no idea what I could fix on the side of the road but flying down and driving back without my tools is kinda scary in a sight unseen 100k plus mile bus. With tools and a week to get back, I wouldn't think twice about it. My backpack stays packed and I plan on living out of it for 6+ months so a bus is the Waldorf Presidential suite.

I made the tools mistake when I got DEV and blew the air compressor... used a truck down service with an incompetent office that couldnt cross reference parts.. after a day and a half of down and they couldnt find the part I simnply called Bendix and gave them the IHC part number off the side of the compressor and had one within 2 hours located..

if I had tools I couldve fixed it myself and had a new one delivered to my hotel.. instead I lost 3 days.. luckily with my work i simply set up shop in my room and continued to work..

when I got the Houston bus I rented a 1 way car, drove from st pete to houston WITH TOOLS!.. I didnt end up needing them but I sure as heck felt better with those two big tool cases going along for the ride..
-Christopher

[ChiliChzPoopTart]

No rust on a houston bus. Onlinepros.com they usually have video of them running

[DoubleO7]

You know your going to buy this bus no matter what any of our opinions are as far as value or price point.
So go get your cash and go get that bus.

Good Luck.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by ChiliChzPoopTart

No rust on a houston bus. Onlinepros.com they usually have video of them running

the one I got from onlinepros was well represented.. (plus chilli went and looked at it!)..

onlinepros seems to do a good job of taking pics and noting any major flaws.. ie - they always note if a bus has engine issues or doesnt run or has no batteries etc..

plus its not one of the Hugely watched sites like publicsurplus, ebay, govdeals, etc. so it seemed like there wasnt the running up craziness of bids except for the exporters that want the all-mechanical DT-466s
-Christopher

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

when I got the Houston bus I rented a 1 way car, drove from st pete to houston WITH TOOLS!.. I didnt end up needing them but I sure as heck felt better with those two big tool cases going along for the ride..
-Christopher

Flying one way would be a whole lot faster but I like the idea of driving and having a chase vehicle. Of course then the gf is stuck driving behind me (and not together). A chase vehicle means I can go pick up the part myself instead of Amazoning to the hotel or Ubering. Also means I have a way home when the engine literally falls out of the bus.

[cadillackid]

if you bid on and bought a bus ..ship your tools to the hotel, fly down, pick up bus, get your tools and go.. if the GF is adventurouis bring her along for the trip.. if she is a whiner leave her at home...

if you break down, uber, lyft, taxi to get a part..

if the engine falls out, call enterprise, they pick you up.. you drive home..

-Christopher

[cadillackid]

or you buy the rusty close-by bus and venture that you dont have to make the rust perfect (like some here think).. you blast it off.. prime it, paint it, and figure the rust will be back in a few years and have fun with your bus until then..

I really havent been crazily fixing rust on the DEV .. in fact im not really worried about it.. if I put my foot throiugh the floor I might worry.. otherwise not so much..

RedByrd wasnt really planned, but now that I have him im glad I do.. and he is my Daily driver.. coffee shops, dinner, groceries, road trips with friends.. etc..

-Christopher

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

the one I got from onlinepros was well represented.. (plus chilli went and looked at it!)..

onlinepros seems to do a good job of taking pics and noting any major flaws.. ie - they always note if a bus has engine issues or doesnt run or has no batteries etc..

plus its not one of the Hugely watched sites like publicsurplus, ebay, govdeals, etc. so it seemed like there wasnt the running up craziness of bids except for the exporters that want the all-mechanical DT-466s
-Christopher

I don't know that one; I'll check it out.

On the plus side this was a bus dealer. No bidding war. And I didn't speak to them about it but I'm willing to bet I could put a $1,000 down and have them hold the bus for 6 months. I hope to hell it wouldn't take me anywhere near that long to find another place to live or a storage lot that doesn't want an arm and a leg.

[turf]

the one thing bus ownership has taught me - I don't make enough money to own a bus!

Bus ownership costs just like the waldorf astoria, only with out the glamour. they are your own personal money pits. maintenance of a fluid change and filters will run close to a thousand dollars.

if you are going to make it a livable house.... expect it to cost as much as a house. if you think you are going to save money by having a bus, think again.

this is one of those times that the most expensive thing you can do seems like the cheapest option at the time.

lets see pics of your wire wheel collection! dont forget safety glasses!

good luck!

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

if you bid on and bought a bus ..ship your tools to the hotel, fly down, pick up bus, get your tools and go.. if the GF is adventurouis bring her along for the trip.. if she is a whiner leave her at home...

Luckily I'm good there. She's behind the project, likes to travel, and doesn't whine at all. I do most of the whining. What do you mean you have to ASK for PTO?!?! The boss is TOLD when I'm taking PTO. If I need to look for a new job when I get back so be it. Not quite but pretty damn close.

if the engine falls out, call enterprise, they pick you up.. you drive home..

-Christopher

They should put you on the payroll for repeating the jingle.

Legality wise I dunno what happens when you leave a 20,000 lb vehicle on the side of the road with no intentions of coming to get it. Walking away from even $2k going up in smoke would seriously suck too.


Oh and Onlinepros only has (currently) your window licker buses and those ugly dog nose buses.

[Phatman]

BrewerBob, I tend to be with the others, I'd pass on it. Texas School districts do a pretty good job of maintaining their fleet. Not too much rust on them unless they came from Galveston or Corpus. Mine is a 97 and it only had one little spot of rust on the floor. Cadillackid is right though. Depends on how long you plan on using it. Do what you have to do and don't have any regrets.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

or you buy the rusty close-by bus and venture that you dont have to make the rust perfect (like some here think).. you blast it off.. prime it, paint it, and figure the rust will be back in a few years and have fun with your bus until then..

I would like to keep the bus on the road and long term to live in it.

I really havent been crazily fixing rust on the DEV .. in fact im not really worried about it.. if I put my foot throiugh the floor I might worry.. otherwise not so much..

RedByrd wasnt really planned, but now that I have him im glad I do.. and he is my Daily driver.. coffee shops, dinner, groceries, road trips with friends.. etc..

-Christopher

This is the first bus that I've looked at in person. I love the idea of having a bus. I'm worried that it's love at first sight when it's just puppy love. Tho it is hard to beat the mileage.

Somewhere batteries were mentioned; this one has what looks like 2 new batteries. Couldn't see any date but the labels were nice and new looking. Not any dust and dirt covering them. Terminals looked good too.

[cadillackid]

onlinepros is an auction house they sell stuff as schools come to them.. Cy-Fair is where mine came from and they have an auction starting later in february.. there may not be busses.. there may be.. no way to know unless you got lucky and called the district direct to see..

whats a window-licker bus?

ill take a DogNose. (full size chassis with a hood.. not a van cutaway).. any day.. easy to work on..

if your bus blew up you wouldnt leave it there... youd scrap it and re-coup some cash that way...

I would suggest on ANY bus you buy that you take it on the road before you tear it apart and spend 1000s and months converting it only to find out you have a dropped sleeve in the engine and it needs a $9K in-frame...

turf has it right.. Busses are expensive.. they are commercial trucks... they take oil and coolant by the gallons.. tires are by the '6', ...

I look at my busses taking the place of the hotrods anbd classics i built for 20+ years.. got tired of Hotrods.. had a Cool little bus that I left parked in a garage for years till it burnt down!.. missed that little bus.. had some real goals I needed to complete in 2016... a bus was perfect.. so I bought the DEV that I sunk quite a bit of $$$ into (money wasnt the object, time was and that bus made me 5-fold what i put into it in the business I gained from completing my projects and goals that were needed of me...

what I do with the DEV now I dont know since it's purpose was completed with flying colors...

nevertheless even a guy like me not afraid to turn wrenches spends $$ on the busses..

-Christopher

[Versatile]

Low price for a bus. High price for all that rust. Pass. Start with a firm foundation.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by DoubleO7

You know your going to buy this bus no matter what any of our opinions are as far as value or price point.
So go get your cash and go get that bus.

Good Luck.

No, I was just hoping for better news.

Tho the dealer did just drop the price another $400. It's now sitting at $2500. I won't take it for more than $2000. I'm going to see what other buses they have that fit the flat nose, 84 pax criteria. And see just how low they are willing to go on this one.

Using Turf's logic, at $1500 I would make money on the bus scrapping it as is. Parting it out (if I had somewhere to park it for free) would be even better.