Bus A or B?

[OlgaAK]

Which of these buses would you pick?

Bus A
2001 Thomas
183,000 miles
5.9 Cummins
Allison 3060
$6500

Bus B
2007 International
110,000 miles
DT 466
"Five speed overdrive transmission"
$7500

Both buses are 40', high top, actually no rust, just retired from school districts in salt-free area. No conversion work done yet to either. Comes with 24 hr guarantee. Seller converts skoolies for a living and also sells unconverted buses.

[ermracing]

Given those 2, Bus A. The 2007 will have nasty emissions on the engine. However, prices on both seem about double what they should be.

[Cjgoertzen]

I would go with A. Ive got the cummins and get awsome mileage. And very easy to work on.

[OlgaAK]

Originally Posted by ermracing

Given those 2, Bus A. The 2007 will have nasty emissions on the engine. However, prices on both seem about double what they should be.

Where are you all finding these cheap buses? I have been looking in California, and prices generally are quite higher than I see others post.

[Danjo]

IDK which one, but in reply to cheaper buses, you can get them cheaper at auction, but you sure wouldn’t be getting 24 hours to try them.

[peteg59]

More likely than not the guy selling those busses has taken the time to go through them mechanically, to ensure you won't be bringing them back for a refund.
And that in itself is probably worth the cost differential over auction.

My 0.02= Bus "A"...

[Johnny Mullet]

I would also choose Bus A but those are pricey.

[o1marc]

Bus A because it won't have the emission issues, but it's a dealer price for a $2500 bus. I would never give $6500 for anything with a 5.9 in it.

[Danjo]

Originally Posted by peteg59

More likely than not, the guy selling those busses has taken the time to go through them to ensure you won't be bringing them back for a refund.
And that in itself is probably worth the cost differential over auction.

My 0.02= Bus "A"...

I agree that it’s worth the extra to check it out ahead. With a 24 hour trial, I think I’d get someone to look at the engine, transmission and electrical system during that time. I’d be checking that the turbo (in my case) isnt going out, or the tranny isnt about to go belly up.

And the thing is, the bus is only the beginning of the expenses so it’s worth while to get the right platform.

[Rovobay]

What part of Cali are you looking?

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Danjo

I agree that it’s worth the extra to check it out ahead. With a 24 hour trial, I think I’d get someone to look at the engine, transmission and electrical system during that time. I’d be checking that the turbo (in my case) isnt going out, or the tranny isnt about to go belly up.

And the thing is, the bus is only the beginning of the expenses so it’s worth while to get the right platform.

For those prices I'd insist on air ride, 8.3 cummins, and maybe even ac.

[Iceni John]

That's WAY too much for either of them. Heck, I paid a lot less than that for my Crown! Offer a third, settle on a half, then you're good.

John

[Danjo]

Yeah, there’s a demand for California buses; pretty low miles a lot of the time, no rust, and that drives up the price. When I bought mine at auction, I found out that my competitors were shipping them to Mexico to become transit buses. A guy I know confirmed that in Tijuana all the transit buses are converted school buses. So it seems that this has driven up the auction price even on vehicles that can no longer be used commercially in California because of smog laws.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Danjo

Yeah, there’s a demand for California buses; pretty low miles a lot of the time, no rust, and that drives up the price. When I bought mine at auction, I found out that my competitors were shipping them to Mexico to become transit buses. A guy I know confirmed that in Tijuana all the transit buses are converted school buses. So it seems that this has driven up the auction price even on vehicles that can no longer be used commercially in California because of smog laws.

a lot of texas busses go to mexico too however you still find decent deals there... i think people in california personally watch a Ton of TV shows and youtube and will pay anything to be part of the "trendy" crowd which means as a seller you can get what you want for good busses..



in general though school busses have gone through the roof in prices since it became a "trend" for tiny-homing and RV conversions... even as soon ago as 08 or 09 half the time people practically gsve school busses away... in fact in ohio is where school bus demo derby;s got real popular because after cash for clunkers used car prices went bonkers but school busses were a dime a dozen... every country house had a couple sitting around it seemed... couple hundred bucks got you a running driving bus with a title that could be registered.. because IHC scouts were very popular in ohio it was quite common to get an old bus snag the 392 out of it and scrap the bus for what you had in it.. a free engine for your scout..

[o1marc]

I believe most of the buses that go to Mexico are just passing through on their way to Central and South America. All the SOB's I've dealt with were going to the area of the Honduras and Guatemala.

[Meandering Mitch]

The prices seem high based on what everyone on here says they pay for their buses but I've been looking for a bus for a while now and can't seem to find any under $6-7K.

Would love some advice on where to look for a used bus at a reasonable price.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Meandering Mitch

The prices seem high based on what everyone on here says they pay for their buses but I've been looking for a bus for a while now and can't seem to find any under $6-7K.

Would love some advice on where to look for a used bus at a reasonable price.

where to look for a used bus

Type that into the search bar above on the skoolie site. There will be several threads on the subject with lists of places to watch. Your bus for your price is out there, it just might not be this week.

[Mark_In_MA]

Originally Posted by Meandering Mitch

The prices seem high based on what everyone on here says they pay for their buses but I've been looking for a bus for a while now and can't seem to find any under $6-7K.

Would love some advice on where to look for a used bus at a reasonable price.

Originally Posted by o1marc

where to look for a used bus

Type that into the search bar above on the skoolie site. There will be several threads on the subject with lists of places to watch. Your bus for your price is out there, it just might not be this week.

I'm seeing the same things Mitch is.
I've looked at most of the suggestions I can find on here for places to look for buses -

If you want a 40' RE, you're golden.
A 40' dognose, and there are options.


Anything else and the pickings are. . . slim. It's all the new stuff with the emissions junk on it, or the low-spec stuff none of us want.