Help Me Find The Right Bus

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by BlackJohn

My mistake, thought repairs were going on CC, which to me means debt, monthly payments. Glad you made money and Eddie worked for you so was that a freebie?
Subaru, you got snow there? Why would you need that?

John

Speaking of credit cards. My brother was going through my mothers affairs after her passing last week. Turns out she had over 50 credit cards.

[Twigg]

It's not really reasonable to diminish an entire buying process simply because a previously unknown mechanical fault appeared 1000 miles later.

This is not something that could have readily been predicted.

The auction, sight unseen process works well for most people, almost all of the time.

The bus Charlie bought was around half the price any dealership would have charged, with no guarantee they would have fixed the issue that appeared after the sale.

It cost him maybe $5000, sitting in his driveway. That's a $3000 saving immediately, that goes somewhere towards fixing the issue.

Now it might be that Charlie couldn't have afforded an $8000 bus, but that's a completely different argument.

[EastCoastCB]

very well put Twigg!

[Thomas1985]

How about stop hijacking this guy's thread? Take all this bickering to the Roll Your Own thread. It's been several pages now.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Thomas1985

How about stop hijacking this guy's thread? Take all this bickering to the Roll Your Own thread. It's been several pages now.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by o1marc

But wait, I quizzed them deeper and got them to admit this:
Your WeGoLook inspection can be upgraded with a Video Package for $35 that includes two videos. The videos are a ​1 minute​ walk-around and a ​1 minute​ working demonstration that shows the owner starting the ​engine​, ​driving forwards​,​ backwards​, then stopping the engine​.

That's worth more than the photo inspection for $99.

I coulda swore that buying buses sight unseen was part of the topic.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I coulda swore that buying buses sight unseen was part of the topic.

It is and I was directed to your build thread to be aware of your situation. We don't need to drag out your issues here. I'm not new to buying vehicles and am aware of the pitfalls one might encounter when buying sight unseen.

[Jdawgsfanasty]

Originally Posted by o1marc

It is and I was directed to your build thread to be aware of your situation. We don't need to drag out your issues here. I'm not new to buying vehicles and am aware of the pitfalls one might encounter when buying sight unseen.

Even sight seen is no guarantee...buying brand new ain't no guarantee...sometimes **** happens

Sent from my VS500PP using Tapatalk

[Robin97396]

I also bought sight unseen. In my case I checked the auction and there were 40 minutes remaining on this specific model of bus I had wanted. Incidentally the auction was about 40 minutes drive from my home. I bid anyway. One of the first things I had to do was get a set of tires. Lesson learned. Suck it up Buttercup.

[Twigg]

Mine was also "sight unseen", and 500 miles away.

It has a few minor issues but nothing you wouldn't expect of any 18-year-old vehicle.

[o1marc]

I like this one but not any info on drivetrain. I have a request for that info and/or the VIN so search it. Anyone know what drivetrain would most likely be in this? One thing I notice in this, and others, is the condition of the switch panels. Some look like nice buses on the outside, but the switches are half missing or in disarray, which gives me a clue as to how well the bus was taken care of. Looking at this dash and the mileage tells me it was well taken care of and probably the rest was also. Any comments?
https://milwaukee.craigslist.org/cto...414554867.html

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by o1marc

I like this one but not any info on drivetrain. I have a request for that info and/or the VIN so search it. Anyone know what drivetrain would most likely be in this? One thing I notice in this, and others, is the condition of the switch panels. Some look like nice buses on the outside, but the switches are half missing or in disarray, which gives me a clue as to how well the bus was taken care of. Looking at this dash and the mileage tells me it was well taken care of and probably the rest was also. Any comments?
https://milwaukee.craigslist.org/cto...414554867.html

What am I missing here? Switches look perfect.

There are blanking plates over the spaces occupied by features not included in every bus, but that's normal.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Twigg

What am I missing here? Switches look perfect.

There are blanking plates over the spaces occupied by features not included in every bus, but that's normal.

Not missing anything here. As I explained the condition of the switch panel is an aspect I use to determine how the vehicle was taken care of. In this case, your right, they are perfect, with what I saw as 190K miles. Tells me the rest of the bus was probably well maintained also. I've seen some for sale that the bus looked in good shape and the description says so. But when I see a switch panel in disarray and missing switches or blanking plates it concerns me that there might be electrical issues which I hate tracing.
This woman says the church board decided against using it and the neighbors are complaining. Still waiting on a check to clear before I can jump on anything.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by o1marc

electrical issues which I hate tracing.

Ohhh....bus might not be the most pleasant, electrically speaking. Only vehicle I ever owned with more wires was an ambulance, but they were labeled like someone's life depended on it.

Just wanted to throw that tidbit out there.

[Jdawgsfanasty]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Not missing anything here. As I explained the condition of the switch panel is an aspect I use to determine how the vehicle was taken care of. In this case, your right, they are perfect, with what I saw as 190K miles. Tells me the rest of the bus was probably well maintained also. I've seen some for sale that the bus looked in good shape and the description says so. But when I see a switch panel in disarray and missing switches or blanking plates it concerns me that there might be electrical issues which I hate tracing.
This woman says the church board decided against using it and the neighbors are complaining. Still waiting on a check to clear before I can jump on anything.

Snow country...I'm at work so didn't check pics...do any show undercarriage? I just watched a video of a "beautiful" bus from Ohio...until the seats and floor were removed...you're right if the pics look great...

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[BlackJohn]

Looks like problems in the pic, and the guages suggest electrical problems to me. It is not running according to the guages and the tach sits way off of zero. But, hey I know chit about these matters.
Anyway, you asked,

John

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Jdawgsfanasty

Even sight seen is no guarantee...buying brand new ain't no guarantee...sometimes **** happens

Sent from my VS500PP using Tapatalk

Yeah, that was my whole point. Sorry I was being badgered about my bus, but I was on topic!

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by BlackJohn

Looks like problems in the pic, and the guages suggest electrical problems to me. It is not running according to the guages and the tach sits way off of zero. But, hey I know chit about these matters.
Anyway, you asked,

John

They all do that. My tacho is accurate when the bus is running, but never returns to zero. Neither do many I've seen pictures of.

[Brad_SwiftFur]

I bought my bus through online auction, sight-seen via photos, but not an in-person inspection.

I was hesitant about bidding more than a certain amount because WYSIWYG. I actually called the school district bus shop and spoke to the head mechanic there who was very pleasant and answered all the questions I could think of. Satisfied the bus was in acceptable mechanical condition, I bid their reserve price and picked it up a few days later.

It made the trip home and a few trips around here with no issues. Everything worked as it was supposed to (except for the school stuff, which they cut the wires to). Sure, the tires weren't new with a little over half tread remaining - however - I was able to see this in the photos prior to bidding (informed decision making here).

The biggest thing that has come back to get me is the low rear-end gear ratio (5.38 ) and limited top speed (55 MPH). It has a 5-speed manual so there's no OD for unlocking. I could have (and probably should have) run the VIN to see what it originally came with, but changing a rear-end ratio is not the end of the world.

[o1marc]

How many miles do bus tires normally last?