Help- which bus is better? getting ready to buy:)

[Deedee123]

Hello
Looking into buying our bus and I found two. Are any of these worth my while/ is one better than the other?

2004 ICCO international,
IHC, T44E engine
Allison 2000 transmission
175,000 miles

or

2013 Thomas saf-t international liner
Cummins C2 engine
Allison 2500
135,000 miles
Thank you so much!

[WIbluebird]

The Safetliner is going to have a much more complex electrical system and the engine is an emissions era with DPF system that will be expensive to repair if/when it breaks. If it has DEF (it may seeing as it is a 2013 which was the first year for those) I would steer very clear as the Cummins 6.7 with the earlier DEF systems were pretty bad and broke a lot.

The 2004 International will be a safer bet in my opinion, even if it will be a tad slow with the T444E. The good news is that it has the (desirable) Allison 2000 series transmission.

[s2mikon]

Here in the oilfields I have seen more than a few 6.7 cummins with cracked heads. In a bus you can't avoid working them hard running hills and on the freeway. Motor has good power though. Maybe too much?

[Deedee123]

Thanks so much for your input guys! Gonna go check out the 2004 international next week, hope it works out

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Deedee123

2013 Thomas saf-t international liner
Cummins C2 engine
Allison 2500
135,000 miles

I assume you mean this is a Thomas C2 with a Cummins engine (International is a different bus company and presumably has nothing to do with this). I drive these for work and they're pretty junky. Most of our buses are one year old and they already leak like sieves, rattle like maracas, and the steering wheels are misaligned. The four-year-old lift buses are even worse, and they all have transmissions that are jerky and make grinding noises like they're about to self-destruct. An eight-year old C2 is probably going to be in even worse shape, but you're going to pay a premium because a new-ish bus like that can still be legally used to transport children.

That 2004 International is going to be much better skoolie material.

[cadillackid]

go for the 04.. the T444E is the parent of the 7.3 powerstroke engine.. yep they are on the slow side (but a tuner can help)..


assuming the bus body itself isnt a rust bucket and the engine is healthy now it will have a lot of life left in it.. the T444E (7.3) still has huge community and aftermarket support.. and as others mentioned non emission.. so its pretty simple to work on..

[CumberlandNS]

I am also looking at the same bus any news on it and what do you look for with it