Need Advice Quickly

[HomesteadDad]

There are a few auctions ending soon. I'm looking at some bluebird all american 84 passenger rear engines with the 8.3L Cummins and Allison auto trans. All of the buses have between 180-200k miles. They are Tennessee buses so rust shouldn't be a big issue. I talked to the gentleman at the service department and he said they have been sitting a year, all were taken out of service because of miles or years but they are good buses.

I have a big family, 6 kids, my wife, myself, and the dog so I am thinking the big rear engine bus is my best bet for space. I've heard good things about the 8.3L engine.

Thoughts on what they should go for at auction? There is one in UT next week, but that is a 16 hour longer drive from Michigan.

Thanks

 

[EastCoastCB]

There are a few auctions ending soon. I'm looking at some bluebird all american 84 passenger rear engines with the 8.3L Cummins and Allison auto trans. All of the buses have between 180-200k miles. They are Tennessee buses so rust shouldn't be a big issue. I talked to the gentleman at the service department and he said they have been sitting a year, all were taken out of service because of miles or years but they are good buses.

I have a big family, 6 kids, my wife, myself, and the dog so I am thinking the big rear engine bus is my best bet for space. I've heard good things about the 8.3L engine.

Thoughts on what they should go for at auction? There is one in UT next week, but that is a 16 hour longer drive from Michigan.

Thanks

3-5 thousand. Just a generic guess without seeing them or knowing anything about them.

 

[alpine44]

There are a few auctions ending soon. I'm looking at some bluebird all american 84 passenger rear engines with the 8.3L Cummins and Allison auto trans. All of the buses have between 180-200k miles. They are Tennessee buses so rust shouldn't be a big issue. I talked to the gentleman at the service department and he said they have been sitting a year, all were taken out of service because of miles or years but they are good buses.

I have a big family, 6 kids, my wife, myself, and the dog so I am thinking the big rear engine bus is my best bet for space. I've heard good things about the 8.3L engine.

Thoughts on what they should go for at auction? There is one in UT next week, but that is a 16 hour longer drive from Michigan.

Thanks

The ones ending today went for 1690 and 2255. That's very reasonable and there is one more coming up tomorrow (Unit 98-37).

I would stay away from the other buses in TN with the 5.9L engine and AT545 transmission; they are slugs.

Good luck. (I am not bidding, BTW)

 

[HomesteadDad]

The ones ending today went for 1690 and 2255. That's very reasonable and there is one more coming up tomorrow (Unit 98-37).

I would stay away from the other buses in TN with the 5.9L engine and AT545 transmission; they are slugs.

Good luck. (I am not bidding, BTW)

I didn't know what the second one went for, but I was bidding on the one that ended at $1690. It was my first time bidding on that site so I didn't realize how the sniping went. I had the winning bid at $1620 with about 30 seconds to go.

I may bid on the one tomorrow depending on where it ends up.

Thanks for the advice, I was planning on staying away from the 5.9L, but it's good to get confirmation that I had the right idea.

 

[o1marc]

I didn't know what the second one went for, but I was bidding on the one that ended at $1690. It was my first time bidding on that site so I didn't realize how the sniping went. I had the winning bid at $1620 with about 30 seconds to go.

I may bid on the one tomorrow depending on where it ends up.

Thanks for the advice, I was planning on staying away from the 5.9L, but it's good to get confirmation that I had the right idea.

If it's a Government auction, there is no sniping bids. You have to physically put in the bid. Gondolas screwed me out of a win when I tried to get a bid in with 7 seconds to go.As soon as I hit the bid button it flashed Auction Closed, and didn't accept my bid. Of cpurse bidding that late doesn't work because a lot them are set up to "auto extend" if bids come in late. She told me that bidding within 10 seconds is too late. This left me pissed because if you lis and end time to the second, I should be able to bid up to that end.

 

[alpine44]

If it's a Government auction, there is no sniping bids. You have to physically put in the bid. Gondolas screwed me out of a win when I tried to get a bid in with 7 seconds to go.As soon as I hit the bid button it flashed Auction Closed, and didn't accept my bid. Of cpurse bidding that late doesn't work because a lot them are set up to "auto extend" if bids come in late. She told me that bidding within 10 seconds is too late. This left me pissed because if you lis and end time to the second, I should be able to bid up to that end.

Govdeals has some auctions with auto extension: "If a bid is placed during the final 3 minutes of an auction, the auction will automatically extend for additional 3 minutes. This will continue until no bids are placed during the last three minutes."

How do the govdeals auctions work that do NOT have that extension?

 

[PNW_Steve]

Govdeals has some auctions with auto extension: "If a bid is placed during the final 3 minutes of an auction, the auction will automatically extend for additional 3 minutes. This will continue until no bids are placed during the last three minutes."

How do the govdeals auctions work that do NOT have that extension?

I have been following GovDeals auctions for over two years and have never noticed an auction that did not have the auto-extend to prevent sniping.

If you have a link to one please share it. I am curious.

Thanks.

 

[alpine44]

I have been following GovDeals auctions for over two years and have never noticed an auction that did not have the auto-extend to prevent sniping.

If you have a link to one please share it. I am curious.

Thanks.

Here is one example. OTOH, this one has the extension.

 

[HomesteadDad]

I have been following GovDeals auctions for over two years and have never noticed an auction that did not have the auto-extend to prevent sniping.

If you have a link to one please share it. I am curious.

Thanks.

The govdeals auction I was following did not have the auto-extend so I got sniped. No big deal. The bids I have placed on Public Surplus have all auto-extended.

 

[o1marc]

Govdeals has some auctions with auto extension: "If a bid is placed during the final 3 minutes of an auction, the auction will automatically extend for additional 3 minutes. This will continue until no bids are placed during the last three minutes."

How do the govdeals auctions work that do NOT have that extension?

Highest bid as the time runs out wins it. I've bid on items there where the auto extended that lasted a whole hour, yet only a couple bids if any in that time.

 

[o1marc]

I have been following GovDeals auctions for over two years and have never noticed an auction that did not have the auto-extend to prevent sniping.

If you have a link to one please share it. I am curious.

Thanks.

Not uncommon at all, this first one I pulled up didn't have one.

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=67&acctid=1137

 

[o1marc]

The govdeals auction I was following did not have the auto-extend so I got sniped. No big deal. The bids I have placed on Public Surplus have all auto-extended.

How did you get sniped? Sniping is when an outside source makes the bid for you in the last time increment. I don't know of any sites, like AuctionSniper that links to Ebay, that work on the Gov auctions. If you got sniped it's because someone put in a last second bid.

 

[PNW_Steve]

Not uncommon at all, this first one I pulled up didn't have one.

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=67&acctid=1137

That one is already closed. Any chance you could post a link to an open auction that doesn't have the auto-extend?

 

[EastCoastCB]

Some idiot thought they could last second bid on the bus I bought this morning. All it did was delay the inevitable and I won.
Seems everyone's mentally stuck on the Ebay bidding strategies.

 

[Brewerbob]

There are a few auctions ending soon. I'm looking at some bluebird all american 84 passenger rear engines with the 8.3L Cummins and Allison auto trans.

Which Allison and what gearing ratio in the rear? 8.3L with the 3060 is the way to go.

I have a big family, 6 kids, my wife, myself, and the dog so I am thinking the big rear engine bus is my best bet for space.

Your best bet is to buy 2 buses and weld them together!!! Or make a deposit at the nearest orphanage.

Michigan.

Just closed on a house in Ironwood.

Some idiot thought they could last second bid on the bus I bought this morning.

What???


Drove up the price of my bus from $1500 to $3000.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Which Allison and what gearing ratio in the rear? 8.3L with the 3060 is the way to go.

Your best bet is to buy 2 buses and weld them together!!! Or make a deposit at the nearest orphanage.

Just closed on a house in Ironwood.

What???


Drove up the price of my bus from $1500 to $3000.

Got my latest one for a total of $1625.

 

[o1marc]

That one is already closed. Any chance you could post a link to an open auction that doesn't have the auto-extend?

It was open when I posted it, there are no closed listing in the current listings. But if it makes you happy, here's another that ends in 23hrs, There are plenty that don't have the AE.


https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=1339&acctid=583

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=28&acctid=7744


https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=27&acctid=7744

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=307&acctid=1803

 

[Brewerbob]

Got my latest one for a total of $1625.

A local, derivable, parts bus?

 

[Brewerbob]

There are plenty that don't have the AE.

I haven't looked around much but I wonder if that's an option the seller selects. IMHO, it should be a hard fixed; either it's AE or not, stated in the rules for the site, and consistent across the site. As long as it comes with a warning in fairly large print and not buried then knock yourself out on a sniping site.

 

[EastCoastCB]

A local, derivable, parts bus?

Nope a totally random, seemingly sweet little Thomas shorty.
I'm so disgusted by Navistar's manufacturing quality that I thought a Cat might be a nice break. :hide:

Still on the hunt for a rusty, good running bus with a 2000-2004 non-EGR engine too. I just low bid on LOTS of buses and ended up with this one as my random bus buy of the year.

I'll either love it or flip it.

Here's the thread-
http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f27/got-another-shorty-today-23298-2.html#post279550