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Old 04-03-2018, 12:57 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Bethlehem, PA
Posts: 20
Year: 2003
Engine: Cummins 5.9
Does this seem over priced?

Hello everyone!
We have finally decided to take the leap and live the bus life, but we have to find our bus first. We just discovered this bus online. We haven't seen it in person. It is listed for $10,000. We want to spend around 7,000-8,000. Do y'all think it's overpriced? This is the description.....

2002 blue bird pusher bus 8.3 Cummins push button Allison automatic. 130k original miles. Supprisingly served a local school system and until recently been in service inspected in NY. Rides almost like a prevost or an mci coach bus. Big Cummins. No comparison to a typical school bus. 77 inch interior height. Tons of storage underneath in the pass through tunnel boxes. Would make the ultimate schoolie.

We want to raise the roof and will be living in it full time. It is only an hour away which is appealing and it looks great online. Of course we will go and test it out, but not sure of the price.
Would love hear your thoughts. Thank you!

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Old 04-03-2018, 01:12 PM   #2
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Location: Frisco, Texas
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Year: 1998
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Chassis: International 3800
Engine: Dt466e
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Personally, I would not pay that much for bus that I will be stripping and rebuilding. I got my bus, a 1998 with 150k miles and rebuilt dt466, for only $2047 after auction fees. RE i typically see go for more, but i think 10k is high for an old school bus. It saying no comparison to a typical school bus is silly, i bet its just like the other blue bird RE buses, unless its been modified in some way.
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Old 04-03-2018, 01:13 PM   #3
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Location: Indianapolis, IN
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Year: 1999
Coachwork: AmTran
Chassis: International FE
Engine: DT466E
Rated Cap: 84 passengers
It may be overpriced but that's a nice big motor with low miles, lots of head room, lots of storage space, and if it's in really good shape then I wouldn't hesitate to spend a little more to get exactly what you want.

I paid $2800 for my 40', front engine, DT466E with MD3060 and storage boxes. 211k miles and minimal rust.
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Old 04-03-2018, 01:18 PM   #4
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it does have the sought after 8.3 / md3060 combo (missed the part about push button on first read) which does add to the price. still not worth 10k to me, but i think people would spend 7-8 on it if thats the drivetrain you're looking for, as it isn't as common
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Old 04-03-2018, 01:35 PM   #5
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Year: 2002
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My 2002 BB A3RE with 8.3 and MD3060 with 170k miles set me back about $3800 including auction fees.

$10k might be a tad on the high side.


Buying at auction does have certain risks and being able to have a much better idea of the actual condition of the bus before laying down your $$ can be comforting to some folks.

I do think that if you are able to test drive it and take it to a mechanic for inspection that has a definite value and may warrant paying a bit more than auction prices.
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Old 04-03-2018, 02:31 PM   #6
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Year: 1999
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Engine: Cummins 6CTA8.3 Mechanical MD3060
Rated Cap: 46 Coach Seats, 40 foot
I think it's high.

You can see the spec of mine on the left of this post. It's a "no rust" bus and I paid under $4k.
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Old 04-06-2018, 03:22 AM   #7
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$10K is a high retail price for that bus.

Trade in value is about $3K.

If the bus is at a dealer and the bus has been in their inventory more than six months they might be willing to dicker on the price.

If the bus is at a re-seller they won't budge on the price.

If the bus is being resold by someone who purchased something at an auction they regretted purchasing you might be able to work a deal. But be prepared to pay quite a bit if they got carried away bidding on it.

Since the bus is in NY I would be most concerned about rust. Examine everything under the bus to see if any rust rot has started. Surface rust can be converted very easily. Cancerous sores are expensive and never get fully repaired.
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Old 04-06-2018, 09:10 AM   #8
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My fist thought was RUST. being from NY

A rusted out 2002 would be rolling scrap metal.
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Old 04-06-2018, 01:11 PM   #9
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I can't see spending that much. It has nice specs but it's no unicorn. It comes down to you, if you have more money than time then that's how those buses end up selling.

By comparison, my Wanderlounge cost me 2 grand, has low hours, dual air, optional bonus ride height, 77" headroom, almost no rust, and runs and drives great. Is that 8.3 pusher $8000 better than my 5.9 front engine?
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Old 04-06-2018, 03:35 PM   #10
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I like my 5.9. when spending that money then buy one already converted.
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Old 04-06-2018, 04:18 PM   #11
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Join Date: Dec 2017
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There is an already converted gas bus on this site going for 9k right now
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Old 04-11-2018, 10:52 AM   #12
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Bethlehem, PA
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Year: 2003
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Thank you all for your advice. We decided to pass on that one. Now we are considering a 2008 IC RE. here are the specs...
2008 IC RE SCHOOL TRANSIT RE. Capacity is 84LUG Passengers DIESEL fueled with AIR Brakes and a DT466 Engine.
Any thoughts on this bus? Someone mentioned to be cautious of the 2008 buses. I don't remember why though.
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Old 04-11-2018, 11:00 AM   #13
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After 2004 you run into issues with emissions, typically more expensive to maintain and a pain in butt
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Old 04-11-2018, 11:02 AM   #14
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thank you!
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Old 04-11-2018, 12:04 PM   #15
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I would stay away from anything that new.

IC/IHC had a lot of problems with warranty claims on the DT466 once it was smogged.

What happened is IC/IHC took a really good engine that was designed to never run hot (160*-185* is all it ever ran) and tried to make it run hot to make the emissions system work. The DT466 never really liked running at 235*.

Because the engine would rather run at 160* it would rarely ever get hot enough in school bus service to make the emissions system work the way it was supposed to work. As a consequence it would require going through the regen cycle much more often than it was supposed to do so. If the regen didn't get hot enough it tended to plug up the catalytic convertor. When the catalytic convertor got plugged up the bus wouldn't run. And the worst was if the cooling system wasn't filled properly it would get an air bubble that would tend to cause a hot spot that resulted in the cylinder liner seals failing. If a seal failed while the engine was running at speed it would tend to cause hydrolocking which would cause a rod to bend at the least or breaking a crank at the worst.

Which is why one of the best medium duty engines ever made is no longer in production.
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