We all know it is a buyers market and my friend has been lured into the first stages of being a bus nut... He has asked me about this bus on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MCI-Tour-Bus-RV-FOR-SALE-MUST-SELL-VIDEO-TOUR_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a3Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem330308785146QQitemZ330308785146QQptZBuses
It has seen some serious price reductions from Last year at about 60k to 30k... Thoughts?
From what I saw, I'd say some additional serious price reductions would still be needed.
I agree, as it has been on e-bay several times.
for that price point, the coach chassis systems must be perfect, according to a cynical bus mechanic.
and the conversion bits and pieces have to work flawlessly, fit and finish in good shape, etc.
Otherwise, it's still an overpriced 36 year old used bus.
happy coaching!
buswarrior
I agree the price is high for these times, if the mechanics part of it is perfect , like BW said, that would help. I guess it's what you want as well. I myself wasn't impressed with much of the conversion however the exterior looks good. It may be over priced but I don't believe you'd put one together for that price. So it all depends how you look at it. My .02 worth
First thing i noticed was that the stock OTR system is still in there, which hints that the interior panels have not been removed, along with the insulation bags and the frame has not been checked/repaired for any rust. Due to what i have found personally when doing that on my own coach....thats a big enough red flag for me.
He must be having a really tough time selling that bus. I saw that same video on Ebay about 8 weeks ago. I think its overpriced and the seller must not be willing to budge very much.
The big question I would ask myself....Why hasn't it sold? It's been on Ebay for a very loooong time, maybe a year or more.
~Paul~
I agree that it's probably been on eplace for over a year. Originally he was asking around 75K!! The interior looks decent. To me, a little plain for that money. I think it's mostly paneling over studs. I think with the depressed prices we have right now, it would be a good buy (assuming it passed a qualified inspection) for around 20k.
Opinions are like belly buttons, but with less lint. ;)
Glenn
Yeash... I should have spoke to you guys before I bought my bus - I think I paid tooooo much now.
Thanks for the reality check, will keep an eye on it though.
If I had listened to this board I would have never bought my bus (too old, too cheap, etc...) they'll get you going both ways telling you the next one is too much$$$. The thing is, now I agree with them more as I would like a newer bus in better condition as in the long run a more expensive bus that is all sorted by the PO costs less to get on the road. But where is the fun in that?
Looks like roof has not been raised. Has new caps, paint looks good but clear coat is peeling? Not an high dollar looking conversion. That being said I have more than that in my 29 year old bus. Your Friend may find more for his money or spend more and step up another level. Tom Y
I don;t buy into the too high for the times arguement.
I would say too high for what it is. bus looks clean on the outside but the conversion side is amaturish and I see lots of cheap home depot stuff. They probably have more than that in it.....
if thats your price range it may be worth a look see. ebay is not a good place to sell any high dollar item, bus airplane classic car.....but it gets it out there and people see it.
Go see it and take 20k with you
I don't know the guy but saw the bus at Smiths DD in Boise Id it is a clean bus nothing fancy I was told he is regular there for service.What impressed me was for the 2 days I was there the bus never leaked down and it had been there for a couple of days before I arrived. good luck
Everyone wants to try of get back as much of their investment as possible when selling, but even those that have been in the seller's position are not likely to pay more than they must. Aside from the plain economic sense of being as frugal as possible, the seller may think/know that everything was done right and is in great condition. As buyer, however, you must leave a lot to trust and assumption. These things are terrible investments!
Well here is my take on this, I have to compare this to my situation, I to have had my bus for sale for more than a year. Not on e-bay but on sellabus.com I have had quite a few calls but most would have to travel quite a distance to check it out. So far not one person has made the trip. My coach was first converted around 85 by valcon coach, and I bought it about 10 years ago and have worked on it ever since. I like doing this type of thing, which is good because I really have not used it. And I really do not think that I ever will since my situation has changed since I got into this. If you think about it my bus has been off the road a lot more then on and has been garage keep by the previous owner and I also have it in the garage, I know that when I do sell it my loss is going to be great, not even considering the time.I have it listed for about half what I have invested and will probably will have to go lower, but I do not have to sell so I will wait till the economy hopefully improves before I really try to push it. So far as the age of the bus that the org. post is about, personally I think that the cond. is more important then the year. From what I see with the limited amount of information it is hard to tell just what he has in it. I do know that it does not take long to drop a pile of doe in these things, I think the best way to describe this is what some one told me when I started. Cut a hole in the roof and put a big funnel there because that is where you are going to pour all you money.
For a comparison I gave $22000 for my 72 MCI 7 last July when fuel prices were peaking. My 7 has a lot more custom exterior work, smooth sides, R&M caps and inside it has oak cabinets, real tile kitchen floor, water cooled Honda generator with an 80 gallon propane tank, 90% rubber, great paint with chrome illusion stripes and a 24 foot awning. Just mentioning the bigger obvious stuff. On the negative side what glass it has on the sides is still the original stuff. Basically everything else would be somewhat comparable. Actually it boiled down to the fact that I sure couldn't buy the parts alone to build the same bus for what I gave for it. The PO had $68,000 into it when he finished it in 2001 and then it never got used. I wouldn't trade my bus straight across for this one. It probably needs to get more around the $20,000 range to move it right now. But you sure couldn't build it for that! Just my opinion. Later
Chopper: It sounds like your got a heck of a deal, I have as much in my new eng and transmission that you bought you coach for.
I can see a new tranny and engine running into the $20,000 area, Busnut. I guess on the bright side you know it will never have to be done again. When I changed fuel filters on mine I discovered that the filters had blue paint on them matching the engine which looks fairly fresh compared to what generally would be in a 37 year old bus! I have no idea if that's good or bad but at some time the ole girl has been refreshed. Later
Quote from: Chopper Scott on February 28, 2009, 06:21:42 AM
I can see a new tranny and engine running into the $20,000 area, Busnut. I guess on the bright side you know it will never have to be done again. When I changed fuel filters on mine I discovered that the filters had blue paint on them matching the engine which looks fairly fresh compared to what generally would be in a 37 year old bus! I have no idea if that's good or bad but at some time the ole girl has been refreshed. Later
It could very well be that the engine was given a spray paint rebuild to sell the bus. I would think if an engine was pulled and rebuilt that it would be painted without the fuel filters attached, but what do I know?