How much should I expect to pay for a diesel short bus?

[pricklypear]

Partial reno
100,000 - 200,000 miles, 7.3L?
over 200,000 miles, 7.3L?

Stock bus
100,000 - 200,000 miles, 7.3L?

Are 6.0Ls worth less?

Thanks!

[Rovobay]

not too much info here... 6.0... leave it.

[Sehnsucht]

Unless you just happen to have the same taste as the seller I would say any amount of reno already done isn't worth any premium because most likely you'll just be ripping it all out to start over anyways. Seats and floor removed, perhaps inner skin and insulation removed, may be worth a few bucks because it saves you the trouble of doing that demo work yourself and trying to dispose of the discarded materials but it's not a significant premium because it amounts to some elbow grease. Sellers often think of all the time and materials they have invested so want to maximize their return but the reality is those investments were only worthwhile to them and have no resale value. Even brand name RVs depreciate faster than cars so why would a homemade job have any value whatsoever?

What you're in the market for is a good engine/transmission combo, mechanically sound and roadworthy, little to no rust, and the newer the tires the better. These are the basic factors that dictate what an used school bus is worth. Everything else is either going to get discarded, modified, or renovated in the process of building your vision. Geographic proximity is a little bit a factor if you have some reason you don't want to travel far to purchase your bus but in many regions this will pretty much doom your search options to buses you don't want to waste your money like rust belt underpowered money pits.

The 6.0L PowerStroke isn't a revered engine but it's capable in a short bus. The problem is if it's mated to an Allison AT545 which is about the worst transmission option you can get and does nothing for the 6.0L. If you have other choices then this one should go to the bottom of the list.

Bottom line: how much you expect to pay will be a matter of location and patience but ballpark should be $2k-3.5k. However, expect asking price to be $5-6k because as I just said sellers are looking to recoup as much as they can.

[brokedown]

Originally Posted by Sehnsucht

The 6.0L PowerStroke isn't a revered engine but it's capable in a short bus. The problem is if it's mated to an Allison AT545 which is about the worst transmission option you can get and does nothing for the 6.0L. If you have other choices then this one should go to the bottom of the list.

AT545 was discontinued in 2002, the PowerStroke 6.0/Navistar VT365 was introduced in 2004. The low end transmission you'll find on a 6.0 would be the 1000 series.

A bulletproofed 6.0 can be a great engine, if you have a lot of extra money to spend on top of the purchase of a bus. For basically everyone, the better choice is to buy a buy that doesn't have the 6.0!

[Sehnsucht]

Originally Posted by brokedown

AT545 was discontinued in 2002, the PowerStroke 6.0/Navistar VT365 was introduced in 2004. The low end transmission you'll find on a 6.0 would be the 1000 series.

A bulletproofed 6.0 can be a great engine, if you have a lot of extra money to spend on top of the purchase of a bus. For basically everyone, the better choice is to buy a buy that doesn't have the 6.0!

Good to know, thanks!

[ttee]

3-6k at auction

4-10k for a private sale, thats unconverted or partially converted

6-14k at a used car dealer

Wait another 4 months until winter hits and the auction prices will drop by 1k and the private sales by 2k

[pricklypear]

This is super helpful. Thanks everyone!

[Shorty22]

1996 Thomas bus, International turbo diesel DT444E with 200k miles purchased for $2,500 as a stock bus by a private seller.
Initially the asking price was $5k. I took it to a mechanic, looked clean all around, tires were good, but too much $ so I walked away.
I waited a couple weeks and saw it was still for sale, offered what I had and I think the timing was right and they appreciated what I wanted to do with the build. Took a 17 hour Amtrak to pick it up and it's been a great bus ever since!
Researched buses about 6 months before I purchased.
Best of luck!