original prices of school busses sold to public school systems are public record.. for some amount of time.. but you'd likely have to go through records archives to find out what the contract was if you CARFAX'd it and found the original purchasing district.
what you'll find is they probably payed 90k for that new..
BGA's prices have always been high.. they uised to sell busses primarily for the church bus market.. so they would buy them, and do some type of "reconditioning". and would also perform services on them.. so if you were ABC church.. they would offer to remove all the school lights, paint it, change the oil, clean it up, send it to Feolas shop down the street (a very reputable shop).. the price of the bus was way higher than you could go buy it for.. but the prices of their services tend to be at or below market value.. I payed well below market value for the body work i had done on my DEV bus.. had I bought an auction bus then sent it out to several places it may have cost the same altogether in the end.. (mind you this was 3 years ago... havent priced their services since).. where people get nailed, are those that come in and just want a bus.. buy it take it home. yes you can negotiate with them like anyone else.. they are a used car dealer... the other thibng is their layaway program appeals to people.. the bus stays on the lot and you pay for it over time.. since they essentially are buying that bus upfront then taking money over time, it costs them.. many busses have a lower cash price vs layaway.. layaway works for people who dont have the psychological will-power to open a savings account and squirrel away money on their own before they go buy a bus..
BGA wasnt really geared toward the Skoolie/tine home converter, however they have a body / paint guy thats really good.. and they have taken on that market as its lucrative, ive seen them fix a botched roof-raise, fix rusty floors, all kinds of stuff they do for people;s busses.. they even did a couple busses where they fabricated and installed under-body generator slides, installed a genny and 2 camper A/C's for someone a few years back..
all that said, the busses they get are the SAME busses anyone else can get.. sure they do have some agreements with some schools now and then where they seem to obtain many of their busses.. a district in indiana sends quite a few their way.. cant remember the name of it.. some of them are pretty rusty...
that said, if you are patient and look around you'll start to see a whole world out there.. and dont be afraid to travel for the right bus.. many of us have driven a couple or more states away or clear axcross the country for the right bus.. (yes that does run up the costs with plane fares, hotels, and fuel..).. I bought a 40 year old classic in oregon last year.. flew out, hopped in, and drove it back to ohio..
if you are more comfortable with buying fro ma dealer, thats fine too.. you'll pay more, but perhaps its worth it if your time is crunched or you want to drive a bus first, have it checked out etc or are going for bank financing.. tampa bus market is definitely worth talking to... remember just because you walk in the door and talk to people doesnt mean you are obligated to buy anything.. you are the one in control.. Money talks and controls, and as the buyer you have the money...
