Non-affiliated buses for sale - thread

[Truthseeker4449]

Very lovely Blue Bird just went up in New Mexico. Makes me wonder what sort of market could exist for bringing buses east.

https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/au...ew?auc=2544112

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Truthseeker4449

Very lovely Blue Bird just went up in New Mexico. Makes me wonder what sort of market could exist for bringing buses east.

https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/au...ew?auc=2544112

HUGE. Look at the suckers LINED UP to buy garbage at BGA!

[EastCoastCB]

Some idiot has bid this 05 low headroom ga bus up to nearly 5 grand!
https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?f...=66&acctid=696

[EastCoastCB]

blown engine and broken windows on this 2013. Already at $1500 lol
https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?f...42&acctid=1919

[JDSquared]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Some idiot has bid this 05 low headroom ga bus up to nearly 5 grand!
https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?f...=66&acctid=696

Before I bought mine I went up to this school district. They had three busses for sale with a 3000 minimum bid. It went through auction four times that way with no bid. They lowered the minimum and sold it after I bought mine.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by JDSquared

Before I bought mine I went up to this school district. They had three busses for sale with a 3000 minimum bid. It went through auction four times that way with no bid. They lowered the minimum and sold it after I bought mine.

weird- this one's already bid WAY up with plenty of time left.

I did notice something new on a few GD buses today- Buy Now prices.

[BumblingAlong]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

HUGE. Look at the suckers LINED UP to buy garbage at BGA!

Newbie here... What is the BGA? (So I know not to go!) A search led to many posts with the same Acronym but no full name.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by BumblingAlong

Newbie here... What is the BGA? (So I know not to go!) A search led to many posts with the same Acronym but no full name.

Wesellschoolbuses.com is one of their sites. Then there's floridachurchbus.com.
They are also all over facebook and craigslist.
Once in a while we get a new forum account that seems to be some sort of shill for them.

[BumblingAlong]

Ah, that explains some of the posts I see in one of the Facebook groups I recently joined! Thanks for the info

[WIbluebird]

Originally Posted by Truthseeker4449

Very lovely Blue Bird just went up in New Mexico. Makes me wonder what sort of market could exist for bringing buses east.

https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/au...ew?auc=2544112

That timing cover leak worries me. Not a cheap job on an ISC. And that one doesn't have factory AC whereas mine does (heard some chatter that the AC equipped 8.3 ISCs are more prone to front cover leaks due to the added stress the compressor brackets place on the timing cover).

It looks very similiar to Somewhereinusa's bus. Even has the same unique seating and the fake wood grain panels. I seem to recall his was from New Mexico as well, maybe it's the same district?

I almost guarantee you this one will go for half of what BGA charges for an emissions era low headroom route spec bus.

[JDSquared]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

weird- this one's already bid WAY up with plenty of time left.



I did notice something new on a few GD buses today- Buy Now prices.

Well it's our own fault for telling everybody not to buy rusty buses in New Jersey.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by JDSquared

Well it's our own fault for telling everybody not to buy rusty buses in New Jersey.

I also tell people not to buy swill. This thing has nothing going for it other than its not a rust bucket. Totally vanilla.

[Firepuncher]

Here is a fun project for vintage school bus lovers. It's in the salt free province of Alberta and it's in cheap Canadian dollars, LoL Only $2900 US !

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/...nt=app_android

Steve

[Skoolmee]

Originally Posted by Truthseeker4449

Very lovely Blue Bird just went up in New Mexico. Makes me wonder what sort of market could exist for bringing buses east.

https://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/au...ew?auc=2544112

Not all that familiar with that area of NM so I'm not sure how much snow they get and whether this would be a typical low rust SWest bus? It looks great from the pics, if I had a place to park it I would be all over that auction!

Answered my own question [but doesn't necessarily tell me if they use road salt like we do here in NJ]:
Aztec averages 12 inches of snow per year.
The US average is 28 inches of snow per year.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

blown engine and broken windows on this 2013. Already at $1500 lol
https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?f...42&acctid=1919

Sold for over $3K, WTF

[Inner Love]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

That isn't a very good price, imo. I'd hesitate to pay that if it were running.

Rust? Swill Specs? Signs of Mechanical Neglect? It's an Alaska bus?

This is a hard buy for me, with my cash or without. Seller says the best bet to pull the motor and send it to a machine shop, which would add thousands to the purchase price, hence doing a swap. Seller dropped price to $2250 to help move it. Still haven't recieved specs from seller. Not looking good.


I would need to have it looked at by a school bus mechanic before I would make an offer. Then I would need to get quotes from junkyards and mobile mechanics to solidify the go / no-go decision. I'm willing to source an engine myself, and be the mobile mechanics assistant to defray costs. This is assuming the engine is the only thing that's blown, and the trans has at least some life left. Surface rust isn't a deal breaker, structural rust is.

Following this subforum & Facebook skoolie groups; I'm just not seeing a lot of 40', all-mechanical, road-spec, pre-2000 dog noses! For anyone wanting similiar buses to me in the year 2020, speed up your processes and acquire one sooner rather than later as these buses are only getting rarer!

Regardless, my budget for the bus is $5000. I've budgeted $1000 for initial expenese: getting the bus in my name (including RV re-titling if needed), cost of bringing it home to San Jose, CA, + taxes and fees related to aforementioned. I will blow my budget for a unicorn if one appears in my timeframe, keep in mind I'm not a unicorn hunter.

[o1marc]

I can see why I seldom see buses for sale from SC. They run them into the ground and cannabalize them. There are over 400 scrap buses being auctioned in SC right now.

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?f...=&category=94H

[o1marc]

5 window shorty

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?f...98&acctid=2291

[EastCoastCB]

South Carolina and parts of NC seem to be kinda rough on their buses.

[Truthseeker4449]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

HUGE. Look at the suckers LINED UP to buy garbage at BGA!

But what would you consider a fair markup price considering the fuel costs (potentially up to $2,000) involved in bringing a bus east. I'm considering getting into this sort of thing as a way of funding my conversion.