(Would you rather) a DT466 with an oil leak or..
a cleaner, newer, CAT 3126?
I looked at both today. The DT 466 was in a 1995 Genesis FE 35ft bus.The bus needs someone to love her. Nothing was seriously wrong, but on top of all the little things there was oil all over the place under the bus. The owner is 1000 miles away now, says maybe it was from a bad oil change, but he didn't know. We drove it around but the spedometer didn't work and we didn't get going too fast. It seemed sluggish.
I liked the guy, but don't trust oil leaks. Although, the seal in my van leaks like crazy (a 98 Ford) and it should only be a few hundred to fix it. So maybe it's not so bad?
But because I kind of soured on the Genesis, I drove an extra 60 miles or so to a school district with a bus up for auction.
This one is a 99 Chevy CV200. Had to spend time looking that up because they list it as a Blue Bird. It has the 3126 in it with an unknown transmission.
I liked the bus, I had planned on a dognose, but driving the FE earlier was really pleasant. And so much (unneeded) room in the bus! I didn't drive it because they were trying to go home for the day, but everything felt cleaner and a little nicer and I was impressed.
Now I got home and freak out about people not liking Cat engines. I really don't want to spend more money on repairs just because it's proprietary. And it's not so much y'all freaking out here, but trying to understand what I am in for with the HEUI system. The mechanic said they did maintenance every 7000 miles. Which I guess is less than recommended.
I don't know. I'm not in a real hurry for the bus so I'll probably get neither. But I'm ready to buy one and get to the planning stage. I appreciate opinions.
They were the same price btw, although I suppose the Genesis I could talk him down.
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