Dealers, Any good ones?

[Beachvbguy]

So, because I'm looking for something pretty specific, and it's not a 40' bus, I'm finding slim pickings on the two big public auction sites. I'm also surfing Craigslist, but I can't make rhyme nor reason about the pricing on there, nor have I found many of the listers to be responsive to questions.

My question is: Where else should I be looking, and specifically, while I've heard a lot negative about dealers, does anyone have anything positive to share/dealer to recommend?

Thanks,

 

[brokedown-SKO]

If a dealer has the bus you want at a price you're comfortable paying, it can be a reasonable option. With a dealer you can check out their inventory, do test drives, etc. They can also buy buses nationally and bring them local, potentially saving you a pile of cash and time and worry regarding a cross country trip in an unknown bus.

Now, some dealers are literally asking $10k+ for a $2k bus. That's more of a premium than I would pay.

 

[WIbluebird]

Where are you at? Some dealers are Thomas/Bluebird OEM retailers that get massive quantities of trade ins that they will unload cheap. Macalister and Kerlin in Indiana are in this category (if you don't mind rust). Exporters will pick their used lots clean but I've seen them both get nice looking shorties periodically.

Others like AAA in Phoenix will resell the same auction buses that the rest of us can bid on. They will mark up the price but then offer stuff like seat removal, tire swapping, etc. I personally don't see a reason why I should pay a premium for auction buses but some people like to have their hands held during the entire buying process.

You also have the option of just waiting until spring. There will be a lot more auction listings towards the end of the school year and into the summer.

I would also suggest checking other sites such as 422 auctions, purplewave and GSA.

 

[ACamper-SKO]

The only real bus dealers I have heard of sell buses to Mexico and Central American buyers in TX. Most of the bus "dealers" I see are small auction resellers.

I have been seeing a lot of weekend resellers trying to sell buses on CL for crazy high prices and the buses will sit and sit.. I see 3k buses listed for 9k-7k that have been on there more then a year. I guess they could get lucky and make 6k for storing a bus for a year or two. I wouldn't give it to them !

 

[Beachvbguy]

Thanks all... nice chat so far.. What I was looking for was anyone who actually had a positive experience doing business with a dealer. Some of them, like https://wesellschoolbuses.com, seem to have a lot of buses "on layaway" that are higher than auction sites, but not prices like some of the Craigslist buses (or one or two I've seen on the Non-Affiliated thread here) that are completely out of line.

So, I'm just trying to see where I can expand my search. "Wait until spring" is one thing, that's about 40 days away. "Wait until after school ends".. that's another story.. that's 3-4 months at least from now, plus the auction time. Cuts way into the warm days available to start work on the conversion.

Anyway, thanks for the input.

 

[WIbluebird]

Thanks all... nice chat so far.. What I was looking for was anyone who actually had a positive experience doing business with a dealer. Some of them, like https://wesellschoolbuses.com, seem to have a lot of buses "on layaway" that are higher than auction sites, but not prices like some of the Craigslist buses (or one or two I've seen on the Non-Affiliated thread here) that are completely out of line.

Anyway, thanks for the input.

That site you linked is BGA in Florida. They are very overpriced and actually bring in buses from Rust Belt states and mark them up really high. I would never recommend anyone buy any of their stuff unless you like paying 10k more than its worth.

 

[brokedown-SKO]

BGA is the ones we tend to pick on as far as buying cheap and selling high to unsuspecting facebook users that don't know any better.

They even have "earlybird" pricing where they'll knock a thousand bucks off if you go pick a bus up from the auction they bought it at, sight unseen by you or them, of course at triple the auction price.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Thanks all... nice chat so far.. What I was looking for was anyone who actually had a positive experience doing business with a dealer. Some of them, like https://wesellschoolbuses.com, seem to have a lot of buses "on layaway" that are higher than auction sites, but not prices like some of the Craigslist buses (or one or two I've seen on the Non-Affiliated thread here) that are completely out of line.

So, I'm just trying to see where I can expand my search. "Wait until spring" is one thing, that's about 40 days away. "Wait until after school ends".. that's another story.. that's 3-4 months at least from now, plus the auction time. Cuts way into the warm days available to start work on the conversion.

Anyway, thanks for the input.

BGA aka "wesellschoolbuses" are THE biggest ripoff in all of used bus sellers.