Finding a Bus

[Ray_WA]

I bought mine through government surplus up here in Washington State. They sell a lot of them and I've looked at quite a few over a year or so before I was ready to buy one.

Find out what avenues your local school districts go through to get rid of their old buses and run from there!

-Ray

 

[Elliot Naess]

Local school districts.

First Student, Inc. They are nationwide and have their used inventory on their web site. But not your cheapest route.

Public Surplus. They are a nationwide online auction service that carries a lot of buses.

Good luck!

 

[Elliot Naess]

Too many variables to reply to this question. You can get a 2005 short bus in good condition for $20.000, or a 1975 that "needs TLC" for $200. This is where you research what's available for a while, and evaluate what you learn against your needs and your wallet.

Generally, short buses seem to cost more that big ones; probably because of more demand.

 

[skojolt]

I haven't purchased my bus yet, but from what I've seen scouring the web you can get a 80,000-180,000mi 40' bus for around $1-2k in good shape, whereas a similar short bus like a bb TC2000 special needs, or TC1000 will cost between 2-5k. I think the factor for bus prices is entirely random guessing when they go to sell. There doesn't seem to be a strong rationale for the price. I found a rust free TC2000 shorty in great shape for $1600 a month or so ago but wasn't in a position to buy, and I found a the exact same model last week in poor shape for 6k. I think it's a buyers market, a thorough buyers market.

 

[lbethards]

Another good place to find skoolies is www.RAGBRAI.org. Look under messages and classified. Groups of people start bike teams, buy a bus and then go their seperate ways. There are some very good deals.