VIN Search

[rhbcub]

Hi guys n Gals. I see sometimes on listings or auctions where a potential buyer ask for the VIN if it isn't posted, or says that it comes up as invalid.

Question is, where are they running the VIN against? Should I be worried about title/lien issues if the seller is a school district? Is this SOP?

Thanks as always for your insights.

Btw, I've been gone a long while due to some family issues but the dream is still alive and I am ready to purchase my first bus. I've learned much from you guys and glad to see most of y'all are still here.

Thanks
Russell

[Booyah45828]

I wouldn't worry about lien or title issues in that sense, at least not from a school district. I've never even heard of a school taking a loan or financing a bus.

I imagine those buyers asking for the vin are like me, and are using it to look up the bus specs.

[rhbcub]

Thank you!

May I ask how to look up the specs from VIN?

Seems I must have seen this before but I am totally new at this

[Brad_SwiftFur]

My bus was, in fact, financed by the school district when it was new. Apparently it's not an uncommon practice if, say, a district passes a sales tax referendum for x years to buy some new buses.


I use the Gates VIN decoder to look up basic stuff like engine and chassis builder and brake system type.
https://www.gates.com/us/en/ymm/search/landing/vin.html

[rhbcub]

Much appreciated. And thanks for the link.

[Booyah45828]

For bluebird, I use this.

Unit Dashboard | Portal

The specs it gives are things like brake type, engine serial number, transmission serial number, rear axle ratio, headroom height, length, etc.

The serial numbers you can use at the manufacturer's respective site to find out engine model, hp, trans model, etc.

All important if you're wanting to get the perfect bus. I found a bookmobile that I was really interested in, until I found out it had a isb cummins with an at545 and juice brakes. All 3 things that wouldn't particularly be deal breakers on a $2000 school bus, but on a $10000 bookmobile, I expected better/more for my money.

[rhbcub]

I appreciate the explanation and the links guys, thank you!