2009 Blue Bird, how we looking?

[chiggins-SKO]

Hi all,


Went and checked out a bus today and wanted to get some of your opinions on it. The bus is a 209 Blue Bird All American with 88,000 miles, Cummins ISB/ISB6.7 according to a VIN chart, and was used with a college in Pittsburgh. Everything looks pretty good with the bus, not too much rust, the height is perfect for me, tires look fine, overall I'm pretty happy with it.



The bus is currently with a dealer. They told me $6500 out the door, which is not a bad deal for me personally especially since I don't have to travel for it. They called and told me they told me the wrong price and were looking for $7900, which is a little bit outside my budget, I hope I'd be able to maybe talk them down?


Overall, what's the site's opinion with the bus. I hope the attached photos give good enough information.


Thanks for any help and input!

 

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Newer than 2004? Emissions (DPF/DEF)? RUN! Run away as fast as possible. It is not a matter of "if", it is only a matter of "when" all that emissions hardware will need work, and everything related to that is *EXPENSIVE*.


The IH MaxxForce engines were notoriously bad for this (and as memory serves me, the exhaust parts that fail run in the range of $8,000). I have no experience with this Cummins engine, as such, I suggest you do a *LOT* of research on it before buying. The Ford 6.0 (made by IH, and in the buses it's known as the VT365) had some issues as well, though once the deficiencies are addressed (commonly referred to as "bulletproofing" the engine) they seem to have good reputations. The forum has more than one member who bought one, only for it to suffer catastrophic failure on the way home, completely destroying the engine. (Again, do your research).


Good engines include the pre-2005 T444 and DT466 engines (the former not known for being very powerful), the 5.9 and 8.3 Cummins (there were a few years of 5.9's with issues). Some folks like Cat engines, but be advised that many parts are only available from Cat dealers (many of which are not open on weekends or after hours).