| Author |
Message |
Shane Pritchard (64.91.208.7)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 26, 2002 - 2:38 pm: | |
I am looking to start a conversion and have seen several shells for sale with varying prices. How do I get a ballpark value for a particular model of bus? |
Doug (12.90.22.56)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 26, 2002 - 5:10 pm: | |
Thats hard to say there are alot of variables that go into valuation
email me directly if you would like more info.
tekebird@yahoo.com |
Earl-8-Ky (209.250.52.117)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 26, 2002 - 8:33 pm: | |
Shane I have a little advice for you. I am speaking from experince. Buy the best shell you can afford. If you don't know buses hire a good bus mechanic to check it out. It will be the best mony you will ever spend. One thing do not listen to the salesman. Their job is to sell at the highest dollar they can get. |
Don KS/TX (63.15.244.24)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 10:13 am: | |
Although just throwing more money at it sometimes works Earl, I think it depends on the person. If you are a "never ever get your hands dirty" type guy, yep spend the bucks. If you really want to work on it yourself some, stay away from the late model high buck, complicated buses. Late model and high dollar does NOT mean ready to go and maintenance free, in fact it often means it was no longer feasible to repair for the operator who is selling. There are plenty of older coaches, well built and easy to maintain, for those who DO like to convert it themselves. |
Bradd B. Smith (Bbsrtbusproject) (208.26.165.196)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 10:38 pm: | |
Hi Shane, the same way you would get the ballpark value for a pick-up or anything else. There are a bunch of variables, but fortunatly, there are also quite a few resources. This board has quite a few coaches, and as has been mentioned, it is a buyers market right now. A google search will give you quite a few places to look at. Buying the best coach you can afford is good advise. Fixing anything on any type, including school buses is expensive! E-bay is another place to look, just to see whats out there. If nothing else a market indicator, see what is selling and what is sitting. The recomendation to have it looked at by a capable mechanic, is a must. Try not to fall in love with anything until it passes muster. Unfortunatly, there is no such thing as the perfect platform. It all depends what you want to do with it. Some like the school platform, others transit, and still more like the over the road coach. Which is best, up to you! A hundred guys have a hundred opinions. Modern has the advantage, in some cases, of better parts supply. Older are easier to work on, but getting harder to find stuff for. If you do your homework and rely on a good mechanic, the parts issue, with proper maintenance of course, may not be a factor in your lifetime. So ballpark is what ever the asking price is, minus the mechanics repair list. Hope this helps, Bradd |
FAST FRED (63.215.232.135)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 5:35 am: | |
A bus is like a battery , look for a fully charged ,well maintained unit .
EVERYTHING wears out , slowly thank God, but the owner should have a pile of papers for the goodies he has fixed , and the log if its new out of Comercial service.
With prices as low as they are you should be able to purchase a fine drive away , BUT it will NOT be dirt cheap , the dirt cheap stuff may take $20,000 to $40,000 to get them driveable.
ASK about the owners maint and see if he is a Da Book PM (preventive maint) guy or a "drive it till it drops" guy.
Paying an "extra" $5000 or $10,000 to get a REALLY well maintained coach is a far better bargan than dirt cheap and 5 years of work!
FAST FRED |
Doug Dickinson (Dougd470) (65.161.188.9)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 9:06 am: | |
Shane
I think you are getting a lot of good advice here. Let me suggest you sit down and try to list the things that are important to you in a coach. For me, I wanted something that was sound mechanicly (don't like to work on engines that I am not familiar with) and a tired inside of the coach. I wound up with one of the NJT coaches - which works for me - but you have to make your decisions based on what you want/need in a coach. Other factors like location are important to many.
Try the list idea, and then shop around. Like many have said, this is a good time to be a coach buyer. Good Luck |
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