Jumping in, is this a good find?

[NoobNathan]

Hi there,

Not sure if this is the right place to post but I need help deciding if this is a good prospect. I’m in MN and I’ve read plenty of concerns about rust problems from this area so I’ve attached some underbody photos to check out as well. Here are the details.

Price: $3500
Year: 2006
Mileage: 118,000
Engine: 365 v8 diesel
Transmission: Allison automatic

Details: 29 passenger international I-C, appears well maintained. Starts and runs nicely. Buying direct from a local bus company who is retiring it due to state regulations preventing use in school routes after 15 years.

Is this a good bus? Is there too much rust? Any help or advice is appreciated!

[musigenesis]

The underside is actually in pretty good shape rust-wise for a MN bus. But the 365 is not a highly-regarded engine.

[NoobNathan]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

The underside is actually in pretty good shape rust-wise for a MN bus. But the 365 is not a highly-regarded engine.

Thanks! Do you know of any good information regarding what engines I should be looking for?

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by NoobNathan

Thanks! Do you know of any good information regarding what engines I should be looking for?

DT466e, T444E, Cummins 5.9L or 8.3L, CAT 3126, all from 2003 or earlier are near-universally considered good, reliable engines. These engines from 2004 to 2006 are maybe alright (the CAT became the CAT 7 in this period), but opinions on that are more variable. 2007 or newer are when things start to get pretty dicey. MaxxForce, Ford 6.0L and VT365 are generally regarded as the worst of the worst.