We found our bus! Thoughts?

warewolff · 09-21-2016, 02:16 PM

We have been scouring auctions and eBay for weeks trying to find the perfect little bus for us ... And we found her! 1999 International Amtran DT466e, 101k miles with a snub nose, and even some storage compartments underneath!! We found it on eBay and paid only $2200.

We are from New York but driving through Colorado visiting family and can pass through to pick it up in Indiana sometime next week.

Thoughts?? I feel like the price on this is too good to be true but spoke to the seller and it seems legit. Little to by rust, accurate mileage, checking for leaks but nothing major. Did we get VERY lucky?

warewolff · 09-21-2016, 02:17 PM

This is the closed listing:

1999 International Amtran 72 Passenger Used School Bus DT466 Diesel 183764in | eBay

Justin McCormick · 09-21-2016, 02:24 PM

That seems like one hell of a steal.

warewolff · 09-21-2016, 05:01 PM

I see you have one too ;) Anything I should be looking for in particular?

Carytowncat · 09-21-2016, 06:22 PM

Wow that is a great deal. If it runs and drives it's a great deal, if it doesn't it's a good deal.

I often sell great working things at super low prices and i am amazed at how cautious that makes people. I never bother to try and convince them it is a great deal because the person who eventually buys it always wonders how others passed it up.

Good job and good luck on the drive home. Looking forward to seeing your post "it is home!"

warewolff · 09-27-2016, 06:14 PM

Bad news. Got there only to find all four rear tires nearly bald, multiple seals leaking below the engine, coolant and oil drips on the concrete as well as oil CAKED onto everything underneath there. The rear differential was leaking too. It was a complete waste of my time and money.

Carytowncat · 09-27-2016, 10:35 PM

Sorry to hear that friend. It seems you made a wise decision to leave it there.

milkmania · 09-27-2016, 10:45 PM

Did I miss where they said they bailed on the bus?
I saw where they won the bid at $2200, and went to pick it up and found problems....

If they got out of completing the purchase, was deposit refunded for misrepresentation?

I'm lost here.

warewolff · 09-30-2016, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkmania

Did I miss where they said they bailed on the bus?
I saw where they won the bid at $2200, and went to pick it up and found problems....

If they got out of completing the purchase, was deposit refunded for misrepresentation?

I'm lost here.

Deposit is being refunded. We "bought it now" at 2200 and paid the 500 deposit via paypal. Say what you want about paypal or ebay but they really back their ****. The bus was extremely misrepresented and the salesman, while nice, was a total sleaze. This was through Midwest Transit Equipment. The bus was leaking oil and coolant, major rust, bald tires and wouldn't have made it home to NY from IN despite being assured there were "no major leaks" multiple times. Salesmans name was Tom Buhle, buyer beware. He was either too lazy to look under the bus or completely incompetent and knew he lied. He tried spouting that "as is" bs at me and I wouldn't have it. Misrepresentation is not "as is". We were lucky ad we didn't go out of our way to pick it up but had we come from NY I'd have been furious.

Anyway, we won an auction today on a full size conventional 2000 Carpenter International 3800 with 65k miles ... verified no rust, no leaks AND excellent tires. 5 speed Spicer transmission. We are ecstatic! Total price paid was $2550. This did not have the dt466 we originally wanted but the T444e will suit our purposes. At 65k miles I could not pass it up. It was used only as a training bus and when they switched to automatic last year it went to use only as a backup. Meticulously maintained, supposedly.

Here's the link for the closed auction: http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/auc...ew?auc=1681010

I'm picking it up in Maryland next week.

What a trip ... wish me luck!!

cadillackid · 09-30-2016, 05:23 PM

yeaay another carpenter!!! that looks like a really decent bus!!

congrats! and let the good times begin!
-Christopher

warewolff · 09-30-2016, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cadillackid

yeaay another carpenter!!! that looks like a really decent bus!!

congrats! and let the good times begin!
-Christopher

Hey Christopher,

Is there anything I should be looking out for on the Carpenter? It's a CT-2 though I can't find much on it...

Carytowncat · 09-30-2016, 05:53 PM

Nice! Things have a way of working out for the best. Congrats!

cadillackid · 09-30-2016, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warewolff

Hey Christopher,

Is there anything I should be looking out for on the Carpenter? It's a CT-2 though I can't find much on it...

Carpenters (at least mine) is a HEAVY solid Bus.. even my little 7 row is rated at GVWR 27500..

on mine my bergstrom driver heater console leaked internally of coolant.. but I think that was changed to a better unit in the late 90s...

all of the heaters are designed such that the coils easily become clogged with dirt, so if you want to have good road heat, pull them apart and clean the coils out.

like any other bus look for rust, carpenters dont rust in any different places than others do. the normal spots.. around the wheel wells, mud-flap brackets etc..

its hard to find info on the carpenter body as I think somewhere around 01 or 02 is when the company shut down and went ouit of business.. so theres very little about the body... you CAN find the manuals on the International 3800 Chassis for working on the engine, trans, etc..

the electrical panel on mine is a nice fold open design and everything is on 2 circuit breaker rails with 20 amp self resetting breakers.. so adding and deleting 12 volt electrical items is a cinch on it..

I dont klnopw how many school bus windows you plan to keep but the guy at schoolbuspartsco said the window latches for the carpenters are starting to become harder to get.. those little plastic levers get brittle and break as they age.. so if you dont remove your windows you may want to get some spare latches.. or if you remove some skoolie eindows and keep others, part out the latches before you toss them.

the insulation in my 1991 seems to be minimal to non existent.. but im assuming you are pulling the ceiling and insulating...

my carpenter interior ceiling panels are all screwed in with Torx screws,so if you are re-using your metal ceiling panels you have a shot at getting them down without destroying them (unless they switched to rivets later on)...

Carpenter roofs love to leak.. i only had 2 small ones on mine.. but I remember from riding a carpenter to school (new one at the time) that we had roof leaks.. from a fellow bus guy he said the rivets used on the outside of the roof were not always sealed properly..

when your ceiliong is down hose the roof down for good and check for leaks.. and seal accordingly.. or Bus-Kote the whole roof.. (thats what im going to do with mine)..

my carpenter is a Noisy Bus.. a lot of stuff rattles it seems when i go over big bumps.. even with air-ride suspension.. but it all seems solid as a rock when I check everything out.

yours is also 9 years newer than mine.. thats a lot of years in school bus years LOL..

-Christopher

BUSfan29 · 09-30-2016, 07:05 PM

well hello.. i'm looking into buying one similar to this as well.. price ive got to work with is 2900...after tax 3005....

theres like 4 busses the local bus line has for sale in green bay. 1997's and all have cummins 5.9 p pump engines

and about 126k to 168k miles... theres also some other options.. trying to narrow it down to which one is it

warewolff · 09-30-2016, 07:08 PM

All I can say is this forum has a wealth of knowledge. Figure out what your needs are and then figure out what bus will accommodate those needs. If you are patient you can check the government auction websites ... publicsurplus.com and govdeals.com are a good start. You might find yourself compromising if you find a steal.

EastCoastCB · 09-30-2016, 09:37 PM

I almost bid on that one for sport!
I low bid on LOTS of auctions. How I got my awesome bus for two grand!

warewolff · 10-01-2016, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I almost bid on that one for sport!
I low bid on LOTS of auctions. How I got my awesome bus for two grand!

Glad you didn't! I've already got the paint preordered ... it's the first thing I'm doing so the neighbors don't have a seizure. I'll start a build thread moving forward and make sure I post the link here so all can follow...

dan-fox · 10-02-2016, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warewolff

Here's the link for the closed auction: Public Surplus: Auction #1681010

I'm picking it up in Maryland next week.

What a trip ... wish me luck!!

Hey, that's my neck of the woods! PM me if I can give you any help. (Lift from the airport, etc.) - Dan

cadillackid · 10-02-2016, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I almost bid on that one for sport!
I low bid on LOTS of auctions. How I got my awesome bus for two grand!

LOL I low bid an auction and now i have 2 busses.. and in my opinion I got a fantastic little bus..

and yours is a one of a kind deal to get a solid bus like that and the drivetrain it has.. highly unusual for a 643 east of the rockies..

-Christopher

Geo Jeff · 10-03-2016, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warewolff

Glad you didn't! I've already got the paint preordered ... it's the first thing I'm doing so the neighbors don't have a seizure. I'll start a build thread moving forward and make sure I post the link here so all can follow...

That's a good idea to get the yellow off it for the neighbors.

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