Should I buy this bus?

[o1marc]

The dirt doesn't concern me, and I didn't see any obvious signs of rust till I saw this pic, it is telling.

 

[EastCoastCB]

I dont' see any bad rust in that pic Marc.
Are you talking about the cracked/broken fiberglass fender piece?

 

[Tall Grass]

I dont' see any bad rust in that pic Marc.
Are you talking about the cracked/broken fiberglass fender piece?

Very likely.

 

[Tall Grass]

Does that t type shifter denote the MD3060 tranny?

The engine looks clean and all the switches are in place on the switch panel. No broken glass on gauge panel.

Whoa! Are those juice breaks? Deal killer.
?

 

[Sleddgracer]

Does that t type shifter denote the MD3060 tranny?

The engine looks clean and all the switches are in place on the switch panel. No broken glass on gauge panel.

Whoa! Are those juice breaks? Deal killer.
?

why would that be a deal killer? - not everyone wants to be laying in snow or mud to adjust their brakes - not everyone wants to go through the hassle of getting an air brake ticket - with a decent motor and a decent transmission, hydraulic brakes are safe for a single axle skoolie on the steepest of downhills

 

[PNW_Steve]

why would that be a deal killer? - not everyone wants to be laying in snow or mud to adjust their brakes - not everyone wants to go through the hassle of getting an air brake ticket - with a decent motor and a decent transmission, hydraulic brakes are safe for a single axle skoolie on the steepest of downhills

Fortunately, some of us don't have to deal with either of those issues.

My 5 window Thomas had juice brakes and was OK.

As far as my Bluebird goes, I wouldn't own it if it didn't have air brakes.

 

[Sleddgracer]

Fortunately, some of us don't have to deal with either of those issues.

My 5 window Thomas had juice brakes and was OK.

As far as my Bluebird goes, I wouldn't own it if it didn't have air brakes.

everyone that has air brakes has to deal with air brake adjustments whether they do it themselves or hire it done

 

[PNW_Steve]

everyone that has air brakes has to deal with air brake adjustments whether they do it themselves or hire it done

Yes but we don't all have to do it in the mud and snow. I choose to adjust my air brakes in AZ in December and WA in the summer.

I do this for fun If it involved crawling around in the snow, I would find a new hobby.

 

[o1marc]

I dont' see any bad rust in that pic Marc.
Are you talking about the cracked/broken fiberglass fender piece?

Is that broken piece behind the tire right in front of the fender flare FG? Or rusted through metal.

 

[Sleddgracer]

Yes but we don't all have to do it in the mud and snow. I choose to adjust my air brakes in AZ in December and WA in the summer.

I do this for fun If it involved crawling around in the snow, I would find a new hobby.

true enough - you almost - ALMOST, agreed with me - lol

 

[CincinnatiNKYBuses]

Just to chime in since this bus looked familiar...

Not a former Ohio bus - this originally operated for Sweet Springs R-7 School District in Missouri. Technical specs for the bus can be found here:
Unit Dashboard | Portal

The company that this operated for after retirement was Welded Construction L.P., a major pipeline construction company. They recently shut down and the last of their equipment is being auctioned off through Ritchie Bros.
I checked out a few of their buses that were up for bid at the RB yard in central Ohio. Most of them were beat to hell and would not have passed a normal inspection - they showed very few signs of maintenance since they were bought off of the original owners. A few examples of what I mean, from the buses that were up for bid a few months ago:

ex-Welded Construction LP 0564 (8) by Cincinnati NKY Buses, on Flickr
This '91 Wayne International had a dashboard that did not work. It ran and drove fine, but none of the gauges worked upon startup.

ex-Welded Construction LP 24-1014 exx-Red Lion Bus 254 (7) by Cincinnati NKY Buses, on Flickr
This '02 IC CE had major rear-end damage and barely-functional hydraulic brakes.

ex-Welded Construction LP 0563 exx-Stark County Community Action Agency by Cincinnati NKY Buses, on Flickr
This '93 Blue Bird 3800 (along with the one next to it) was wearing mismatched tires that were over 15 years old and had plenty of cracks. The bus next to it did not start up at all when I tested it out.

It should be obvious that these were all "rode hard and put away wet". They were most likely being sold for their powertrain components as opposed to running and driving units (although I did see one on the road heading to a Blue Bird dealer not long ago). Dirt and grime were everywhere on these, not to mention plenty of rust and some VERY bad floors.
That said, most of these buses went for very affordable prices - there were a few located up near Toledo that were even cheaper since they were not available for inspection with the rest of the buses on the lot. I missed out on an '04 IC CE for $500, but was wary of bidding since I hadn't checked it out in person.
These construction buses in general should definitely be inspected in person prior to bidding - this goes for any company.