he ad reads 1947 GM, fully converted $10,000 OBO. What a deal - or is it? Sure, the initial purchase price might be low but what happens when you need parts or service for a 50 year old bus?
The first thing I would do with this or any coach I am thinking of buying, is to have a bus mechanic give it a thorough inspection. How do you find a good bus mechanic? You can ask other conversion or bus owners that you know, or there is always the trusty Yellow Pages. Okay, now that we have a list of bus mechanics, it's phone call time! What do I mean by phone call time? You can't just hop into the bus and drive down to the first one on the list? No, we need to do some more research. We need to find a mechanic who will work on conversions and who is familiar with our particular make of bus. Familiar with our make of bus? A bus is a bus right? Not always! Eagles & Flxibles, for example, have torsilastic suspension as opposed to the airbag suspension found on almost every other make of coach. Back to our GM. GM Truck & Coach ceased production of highway buses in 1980 and our coach is even older, so it is imperative that we find a mechanic with some experience with older coaches. One other thing to consider is that many bus company mechanics may not have the time or interest in servicing a converted coach. The company might not even take in work from outside their own fleet.
Okay, now we have found a mechanic who knows our bus and is willing to work on it. End of story? No, the fun is just beginning. After the mechanic finishes his inspection, he or she should present you with a list of things that need to be looked at immediately and in the future. Hopefully, our $10,000 bargain doesn't need $10,000 worth of work! If it does, walk away from it real fast! A scary situation like this is why I recommend doing an inspection in the first place. In addition to having the bus inspected mechanically, I would also recommend having an RV technician or bus conversion shop take a look at the conversion aspects of the coach before a purchase. Things to look at include the electrical, plumbing and refrigeration systems as well as the quality of the conversion itself. By combining the two inspections we should get a good picture of what we are getting ourselves into with this coach. We should, except for the parts we might need now or down the road.
OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) parts are not generally kept by the manufacturer longer than 15 years after that particular model goes out of production. Factors that contribute to parts' availability are; Is the manufacturer still in business? Companies like Aerocoach, Beck, Fitzjohn, Flxible, Western Flyer and others no longer exist or have ceased production of highway buses. The number of coaches made of that particular model. For example, the MCI-6 production run was only 100 units and was built for just one year. The MCI-7, which was produced in the same era as the MCI-6, had a run of several years and several thousand units. Other things that determine parts availability include how long the coach has been out of production and whether it is still seen in commercial service. If it has only been out of production for a few years, it was a popular model or is still seen in commercial service, there is a good chance that factory or aftermarket parts might still be available.
What happens when parts are not readily available? You can spend hours searching through magazines & directories or on the phone, or you can call a sourcing specialist. How can you make a parts sourcer's life easier? Be prepared! Have the bus model, year it was made and the serial number of the bus handy when you call. The serial number request might seem a bit odd, but something might have changed on that bus that was effective with a particular serial number. For example, the style of baggage bay doors was changed on the MCI-7, effective with a specific serial number. The more information a sourcer has, the better the chance of finding the correct part in the shortest period of time. If your parts sourcer phones you for information or gives you a quotation on the part, please respond with the information as quickly as possible. There is nothing worse than being left hanging after spending time and money sourcing a part and then the customer doesn’t let you know if they want it or not.
Oh yes, make sure the service companies that you have hired to perform the various services that I've mentioned have been paid promptly. We want to establish a good relationship with them because we never know when we might need to call on them again, somewhere down the road. Someone who pays promptly and treats somebody with respect is likely to be treated better than the person who nickels & dimes somebody to death (unfortunately there a few converted coach owners out there who want everything but don't want to pay for it or fail to work with the person looking for a critical part for them). Communication is the key to a healthy relationship.
So, if you're in the market for a new (old) bus, the things to keep in mind are: Don't turn away from an otherwise remarkable bus just because of its age; older buses make wonderful conversions. But DO check out the possibility of an extinct parts supply. To best educate yourself with a particular model, have it checked out by a couple of interested parties and check with a parts sourcer for availability of worn out or wearing items. Know that you'll likely need the occasional part but don't go broke in getting one.
