1990 Thomas transit liner

[Pascaljb]

I am in the process of buying bus and I stumble on deal of century, you know what the said if its to good to be true most likely its false anyway, I'm watching a 1990 Thomas bus with 3837 miles on it however it ook likes rusted there's some. Do yo guys think its even worth it? Or should just look else elsewhere?

 

[rossvtaylor]

That would be this one, which was discussed in the "Non-affiliated buses for sale".
https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=35&acctid=9345
Personally, I think it looks like it's got good potential. In looking at the photos, I see surface rust but nothing that alarms me. Some of the comments in the discussion seem to imply there's deep rust, but I have read every bidder's question and answer and I didn't come away with that same conclusion. Rust is the biggest possible concern here, so it would be great to get eyes on it. But if I were in the market for another bus I'd take the chance here. That's just me and my comfort level with risk, though...


One concern discussed was that it's not a school bus. But, it's a bus owned by a school so let's call it a school's bus and call it fair game. Haha!

 

[ol trunt]

Bus looks pretty good. The date of mfg of the tires per DOT code is the sixth week of 2008. Seven years is the recommended (by industry) age limit on tires. These are pushing 13 yrs old so should be replaced. At +/- $450 each (ebay) plus R&R you'd be in it another $3,000.
Jack

 

[Sehnsucht-SKO]

I'd buy it! The rust looks superficial, an 8.3 is almost always worth the investment, it's a high ceiling (see the roof bump?) and even if mileage is way off it's still gentler usage than a yellow bus, probably all highway miles but could have high engine hours if it spent a lot of time idling and running the AC.

 

[EastCoastCB]

i bought a low mile vehicle from the rust belt. Owned by a university. Looked nice. But everything under it not visible was completely swiss cheese rust.
Be careful with that one. people have put eyes on it and not bid it up crazy, so bear that in mind.

 

[rossvtaylor]

I respect the input of others, but I didn't see anything to indicate any bidder has put eyes on the bus. That may have happened, but none of the questions/comments indicated that happened...so I'm hard pressed to doubt the seller's "surface rust" response. My personal experience with these purchases has been positive and I've found the answers to be accurate or, at least, not intentionally deceptive.


The bus is sold "as is" meaning they won't fix anything. But the buyer does have protection, since the seller said the rust is limited to surface rust only. If the buyer inspects the bus before removing it from the lot, they have the option to back out if they find that the "surface rust" description was not accurate.


Description Warranty. Seller warrants to the Buyer that the property offered for sale will conform to its description. Any claim for misdescription must be made prior to removal of the property. If Seller confirms that the property does not conform to the description, Seller will keep the property and refund any money paid. The liability of the seller shall not exceed the actual purchase price of the property.


To me, this seems like a pretty low risk purchase and we'd consider it strongly ourselves if we didn't live so far away and hadn't just bought another bus.

 

[EastCoastCB]

I respect the input of others, but I didn't see anything to indicate any bidder has put eyes on the bus. That may have happened, but none of the questions/comments indicated that happened...so I'm hard pressed to doubt the seller's "surface rust" response. My personal experience with these purchases has been positive and I've found the answers to be accurate or, at least, not intentionally deceptive.


The bus is sold "as is" meaning they won't fix anything. But the buyer does have protection, since the seller said the rust is limited to surface rust only. If the buyer inspects the bus before removing it from the lot, they have the option to back out if they find that the "surface rust" description was not accurate.


Description Warranty. Seller warrants to the Buyer that the property offered for sale will conform to its description. Any claim for misdescription must be made prior to removal of the property. If Seller confirms that the property does not conform to the description, Seller will keep the property and refund any money paid. The liability of the seller shall not exceed the actual purchase price of the property.

Its been listed a few times, hasn't it?

 

[Sehnsucht-SKO]

i bought a low mile vehicle from the rust belt. Owned by a university. Looked nice. But everything under it not visible was completely swiss cheese rust.
Be careful with that one. people have put eyes on it and not bid it up crazy, so bear that in mind.

This is a good point,, being in Michigan it's gonna be rust prone. The pics could be judiciously taken to obscure more severe signs of rust. Nevertheless, I'd still be likely to take a chance on it, just not bid a bundle knowing I may have to mitigate the rust.

 

[rossvtaylor]

Its been listed a few times, hasn't it?

With a $16,000 reserve, yes. I'm not saying it's not a pile of junk. I'm just saying that, with the reserve removed and the protection of being able to crawl underneath and check it before removal, it's worth the risk...the risk being getting your money refunded. If it were close enough that we could drive there, I'd be bidding. I don't, however, know the OP's location.


OP, by the way. The comments above about tires are valid and you would want to inspect them, looking for sun damage, cracks, bulges...any sign of problems. Tires kept covered or shaded last much longer than tires left in the sun. We have a place in Phoenix, where we buy re-capped name-brand tires for $50 each. They can only be used on the rear, but we can get good used virgin tires for the front for $150 each. I'll bet you can find similar options near you. Nothing beats new tires, but if you don't plan to put thousands of miles on the tires in the near future then you may find good used or retread options to get you mobile and safe until you need to buy new.

 

[EastCoastCB]

100%
If I were closeby something like that I'd go crawl around under it for a few minutes.

 

[rossvtaylor]

It just closed with the sole, first bid of $3500...with fees it came to just under $4000. If the buyer's here on Skoolie.net you'll have to let us know how she looks! Curious folks here want to know... and we're rooting for you.

 

[Native-SKO]

One bid ... I bet that person feels very lucky!