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09-25-2018, 02:16 PM
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#1
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Skoolie
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 171
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Where did you buy your bus?
To help the new folks out...
Where was your bus purchased at auction (which one?), dealer (which one?), or private user?
Would you do it differently next time?
Thanks!!!!
__________________
BlueFish aka Todd
Seeking a Crown, Thomas, International, Blue Bird bus with DT466, Cummins 8.3, Allison trans, high roof, air brakes, and A/C.
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09-25-2018, 03:20 PM
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#2
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Damascus, OR
Posts: 681
Year: 2004
Chassis: International
Engine: T444e w/ 2000 Allison Trans
Rated Cap: 35
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www.publicsurplus.com Yes, I would recommend.
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09-25-2018, 04:15 PM
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#3
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Dawsonville, Ga.
Posts: 10,482
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Genesis
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/3060
Rated Cap: 77
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Craigslist, Twin Falls, Idaho best deal I've found. Would do it again.
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09-25-2018, 09:02 PM
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#4
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Skoolie
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 171
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Thanks guys!
__________________
BlueFish aka Todd
Seeking a Crown, Thomas, International, Blue Bird bus with DT466, Cummins 8.3, Allison trans, high roof, air brakes, and A/C.
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09-25-2018, 09:25 PM
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#5
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
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Ebay. It was in Utah.
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09-25-2018, 09:58 PM
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#6
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Skoolie
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Posts: 233
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Amtran
Chassis: Genesis
Engine: DT466
Rated Cap: 84lug
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueFish
To help the new folks out...
Where was your bus purchased at auction (which one?), dealer (which one?), or private user?
Would you do it differently next time?
Thanks!!!!
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My wife and I made a list of Websites for bus sales. Hope this helps!
https://www.serenitybusproject.com/s...l-school-buses
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09-25-2018, 11:11 PM
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#7
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: MONTANA
Posts: 471
Year: 1995
Coachwork: AMTRAM
Chassis: INT
Engine: DT466
Rated Cap: Big Girl
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Harlow’s bus sales. Montana.
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09-26-2018, 01:33 AM
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#8
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 3,856
Year: 2002
Coachwork: Thomas Built Bus
Chassis: Freightliner FS65
Engine: Caterpillar 3126E Diesel
Rated Cap: 71 Passenger- 30,000 lbs.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueFish
To help the new folks out...
Where was your bus purchased at auction (which one?), dealer (which one?), or private user?
Would you do it differently next time?
Thanks!!!!
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We purchased The Beast two years ago next month, We purchased it from a heavy equipment dealer who purchased it and its two twins at auction.
Should we do this again, we will watch the bidding sites for a good deal. We will also learn more about the local school district auctions.
We now have a better idea about what to look for and how to find it, and what to avoid. We have also learned that doing it yourself is fun but also takes much longer than one might imagine. Having never taken on such a project before, we also learned the process also takes more money than we expected, which also affects the project schedule.
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09-26-2018, 05:26 AM
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#9
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Andrews,Indiana
Posts: 2,437
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: AARE
Engine: 3116 Cat 250hp
Rated Cap: Just the two of us.
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Tillery Chevrolet in Moriarty, NM. They're a Bluebird dealer. Saw it sitting on their lot.
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09-26-2018, 06:19 AM
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#10
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Ashtabula, Ohio
Posts: 1,494
Year: 1996
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: International
Engine: T444E 7.3L
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I found mine on craigslist.
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09-26-2018, 01:04 PM
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#11
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 1,222
Year: 1999
Coachwork: BlueBird
Chassis: TC1000 HandyBus
Engine: 5.9L 24V-L6 Cummins ISB
Rated Cap: 26 foot
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Got mine on publicsurplus.com from Tucson in August 2017 for $2200. It was 105°F, so nobody outside Tucson wanted it! I saw one basically just like it in Oregon weeks earlier; but the guy wanted $5500, and he wouldn't let me drive it first (no insurance, no tag, buried in the back of his lot). I figured the one in Tucson could need a new tranny and I would still come out ahead, cause I bid on it sight unseen. I got one with no rust on the body or frame: why I bought one from S. Arizona (unlike the one in Oregon, which even had moss growing on the seats in it!). I also lucked out and got an excellent motor and tranny - by far better than any others I drove. It really did cost me more to drive around the country looking for the right bus than the bus itself cost. (I looked online at Craigslist, auctions, private bus dealers, etc. etc. for 6 months before I knew about what I even wanted) But the very first bus I looked at had a frame so rusty, I could crumble it between two fingers; the guy had 200 old buses on his lot, and he said I was the first one to ever even look underneath, and that a 21 year old girl and her mom just bought one the previous month. ALL his buses were rust buckets! Buyer Beware!
What would I do differently? I don't know. I hated wasting time and fuel and $$$ for hotels driving from Hotlanta to Oregon then down to Tucson trying to find the right bus.....but I don't know how I could have mitigated that. I didn't want to call the guy in Oregon from GA first, because that weakens my negotiating stance, but he wasn't coming down in price anyway, and his pics were not good enough to see the defects in the bus. He was just a drunken dude who inherited an estate and cash, and had an addiction to auctions. Keep him outta Vegas, for his own sake!
Botttom line: keep looking everywhere, get the right one for you where ever you find it.
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09-26-2018, 03:35 PM
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#12
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Skoolie
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 171
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyInTN
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Thanks Serenity!
Harlow's never heard of them and looks like they had some nice selection.
Thanks all.
__________________
BlueFish aka Todd
Seeking a Crown, Thomas, International, Blue Bird bus with DT466, Cummins 8.3, Allison trans, high roof, air brakes, and A/C.
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09-26-2018, 10:28 PM
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#13
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Skoolie
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 171
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Serenity's List
__________________
BlueFish aka Todd
Seeking a Crown, Thomas, International, Blue Bird bus with DT466, Cummins 8.3, Allison trans, high roof, air brakes, and A/C.
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09-26-2018, 10:43 PM
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#14
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Skoolie
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 171
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More bus buying sites.
__________________
BlueFish aka Todd
Seeking a Crown, Thomas, International, Blue Bird bus with DT466, Cummins 8.3, Allison trans, high roof, air brakes, and A/C.
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09-29-2018, 07:07 AM
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#15
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Rhode Island
Posts: 260
Year: 1980
Coachwork: Crown Coach
Chassis: Supercoach
Engine: Detroit 671T
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueFish
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I had most of these in my list, but AAA and A-Z are both new to me. Already have inquiries in to both of them for some decent buses. Getting tired of the emotional rollercoaster that auctions send you on, lost out on 2 awesome busses this week.
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09-30-2018, 11:39 PM
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#17
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Skoolie
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 105
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Looked at a few auction sites, missed a couple busses by a day or few. Looked and talked with A-Z but they only had 1 at an absurd price and 1 mis-labeled and dirt cheap they would not honor so just ended up using craigslist for both my short bus and already converted Crown.
Have a line on a free International gasser that I recieved from a customer at my place of employment. Does not run (needs carb work or something, I forget) and comes with a new auxiliary heater.
Got a line today on another bus that has a 6bt n needs a clutch that it sitting on a farm next to a brewery I frequent. Went and asked the owner if it was his and was told it was and is available.
__________________
2002 E450 Thomas/ U-JOINT 4X4, family hauler
1954 Crown 35 foot RV conversion, guest house
1945? City Bus (unknown manufacture), yard art
1940s 'Binder 7 window, man cave
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10-01-2018, 07:32 PM
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#18
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Skoolie
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 171
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FL Buses
https://www.commercialtrucktrader.co...lorida/2909684
They seem to have a lot of buses and some are DT466. Anyone bought from here?
__________________
BlueFish aka Todd
Seeking a Crown, Thomas, International, Blue Bird bus with DT466, Cummins 8.3, Allison trans, high roof, air brakes, and A/C.
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10-01-2018, 08:53 PM
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#19
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Eustis FLORIDA
Posts: 23,764
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Freighliner FS65
Engine: Cat 3126
Rated Cap: 15
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Naw man look at those ridiculous prices!
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10-01-2018, 09:18 PM
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#20
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Skoolie
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 171
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EastCoastCB
Naw man look at those ridiculous prices!
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Some people are not the auction whisperers like you are EC. You are excellent at it. There are some people who hate auctions. This is for them. I like auctions and in person. Either way you need to be patient. However, some of the better buses or deals you need to move fast especially if you are looking for specific options.
That is asking price. The have a lot of buses for sale so they always need to move inventory. The end of the month or year can be a great time to buy. I love to negotiate.
Here is great book to help in the negotiation. Never Split The Difference
https://www.ebay.com/p/Summary-Never...9228813&chn=ps
__________________
BlueFish aka Todd
Seeking a Crown, Thomas, International, Blue Bird bus with DT466, Cummins 8.3, Allison trans, high roof, air brakes, and A/C.
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