I had posted on here a little while back about figuring what to do with my bus and I decided to fix it up... during this time of fixing it up I was offered a much better job in another state... needless to say it has been hard for me to find a place for me to rent and I have had no luck with finding a spot for the bus so that I could work on it.
I have a little more than month before I move out there and was wondering what you guys would suggest doing? I hate to scrap the thing but I think that will be the quickest way to get it out of my hands and move on. I would like to sell it but I figure that it would take too long with the market the way it is.
I would love to bring it out there with me but that just does not look like it is going to work.
Do you guys have any other suggestions?
If you really want to sell in a hurry put it on Ebay with a $1 starting bid and no reserve. You might not get as much as the scrap value depending on the model of bus.
I have no idea what bus you have, but someone here would probably want it for parts if it is a popular model.
To help folks give advice, here is alink to a thread that introduces the bus:
http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=14909.0 (http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=14909.0)
Where is it you are moving to? If you really want to keep the bus, there may be some bus nut near your new location that would have the space to let you store and work on your bus at their place for cheap or in trade for some help with labor on their projects.
If it is driveable, you can take it with you to your new location & park it at a storage lot for a while until you find the appropriate place to live & work on the bus.
You might get lucky & find a place in the country or a loft in a industrial area. I had a friend who was paid to live in a loft above a machine shop in an industrial area. He had plenty of parking available for him to use too. The shop owners wanted someone there almost all the time, so it worked out well for him.
If you have to 'dump' it, you're gonna take a hit - especially if it doesn't run. . . . Bummer dude.
Quote from: HighTechRedneck on November 23, 2010, 06:59:16 AM
To help folks give advice, here is alink to a thread that introduces the bus:
http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=14909.0 (http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=14909.0)
Where is it you are moving to? If you really want to keep the bus, there may be some bus nut near your new location that would have the space to let you store and work on your bus at their place for cheap or in trade for some help with labor on their projects.
Thanks for linking this back to the old thread. I am going to be moving to Maryland between DC and Baltimore. IDK how many bus nuts would be out there... but that could be worth a shot
Looks to be about a hundred bus nuts in Maryland. Not sure how many in that specific area or how many read the forum.
I might start a new thread and do some asking around the board. One little problem with moving it out to MD is I feel like I would need to buy new tires for it before I felt safe taking it out there and I don't know how soon my first trip would be in it and I would hate to have my tires rot if my first trip isn't until 5 years down the road.
Quag,
I sent you an email, I'm in the area you are looking to move to so if you need anything feel free to ask. Careful on the selection of counties you are going to move to if you keep the bus. Several locales in this area do not allow uninsured and unregistered vehicles. If you need a place to store it I can help you out with that.
Cade
Quote from: KozyCade on November 23, 2010, 08:54:45 AM
Quag,
I sent you an email, I'm in the area you are looking to move to so if you need anything feel free to ask. Careful on the selection of counties you are going to move to if you keep the bus. Several locales in this area do not allow uninsured and unregistered vehicles. If you need a place to store it I can help you out with that.
Cade
;) ask and you shall receive! ;)
;D BK ;D
Quote from: KozyCade on November 23, 2010, 08:54:45 AM
Quag,
I sent you an email, I'm in the area you are looking to move to so if you need anything feel free to ask. Careful on the selection of counties you are going to move to if you keep the bus. Several locales in this area do not allow uninsured and unregistered vehicles. If you need a place to store it I can help you out with that.
Cade
Thanks!! I actually did not get the email so I sent you an email from a better working account.
Quote from: Busted Knuckle on November 23, 2010, 10:33:00 AM
Quote from: KozyCade on November 23, 2010, 08:54:45 AM
Quag,
I sent you an email, I'm in the area you are looking to move to so if you need anything feel free to ask. Careful on the selection of counties you are going to move to if you keep the bus. Several locales in this area do not allow uninsured and unregistered vehicles. If you need a place to store it I can help you out with that.
Cade
;) ask and you shall receive! ;)
;D BK ;D
Ain't it the truth ;D ;D
Quote from: QuagmireMan on November 23, 2010, 08:00:11 AM
I might start a new thread and do some asking around the board. One little problem with moving it out to MD is I feel like I would need to buy new tires for it before I felt safe taking it out there and I don't know how soon my first trip would be in it and I would hate to have my tires rot if my first trip isn't until 5 years down the road.
I am probably in the minority on this, but if it was me, I would sell it even at a loss.
If as said, you may not take a trip for 5 years I wouldn't put another dollar in it.
These things are only going to get cheaper and cheaper and you will probably be able to finds a fresh off the road conversion for less money, when your ready to actually use it.
good luck,
Cliff
Quote from: FloridaCliff on November 23, 2010, 03:56:13 PM
Quote from: QuagmireMan on November 23, 2010, 08:00:11 AM
I might start a new thread and do some asking around the board. One little problem with moving it out to MD is I feel like I would need to buy new tires for it before I felt safe taking it out there and I don't know how soon my first trip would be in it and I would hate to have my tires rot if my first trip isn't until 5 years down the road.
I am probably in the minority on this, but if it was me, I would sell it even at a loss.
If as said, you may not take a trip for 5 years I wouldn't put another dollar in it.
These things are only going to get cheaper and cheaper and you will probably be able to finds a fresh off the road conversion for less money, when your ready to actually use it.
good luck,
Cliff
Cliff, I am just trying to weigh every option and yours has crossed my mind for sure
Hi.
You might try advertising in Canada. There is not much of a recession,not many coaches available and those that are demand a higher price than in the USA. just a thought. Brian.
I think the route I am going to head is list it for sale for a short time at what I think is a real good price and if I don't get any bites send it off to the scrap yard. The first place I went to said 18 cents a pound which would get me about 4 grand (assuming 22,000 lbs)... however I am sure if I "shop" around I could get a higher price per pound during the period that I have it listed for sale.
I just don't think I will have the resources (my fathers tools, and a place to work on it) like I did in Ohio. Plus with the first real big trip at minimum 3 years away, I think it best that I just take the "loss" (I did learn a lot while working on the beast) and move on.
If you can sell it to someone at scrap price then that would be better than actually scrapping it. I've heard that down here in order to scrap a bus you must remove all tires, fuel, oil, freon, and antifreeze before they will take them as scrap. I spent a good bit of time up in Glen Burnie MD earlier in the year which is located in the area you are moving. Not a bad place other than the traffic. Good Luck!!
I think you think you have something that others cant do without. If you think your bus is better scrapped, then scrap it, but remember when you "DRIVE IT" into the scrapyard it will be the last time it is ever driven. I have offered you and many others more than you are asking. I want a bus. Many will believe this post uncalled for. Many will sacrifice another bus to the scrap gods. If you dont want too see your bus die call me.
Jon
The first rule of commodity trading is to take the early loss. That may seem like strange advice on a bus BBS but its equally valid here. Take the loss now or take it later, its a loss either way and it will only get bigger. If you really don't expect to use the bus for 5 years my advice is sell it now and get on with life.
Sell it buses are not a asset only a liability probably the only thing you could ever own that one morning you start the engine and can cost you 10 grand plus lol
good luck
Sell it. You have a buyer and he wants to take care of the bus and not scrap it. It sounds like he will take care of it and it gets it off your hands until you want one. It just doesn't get better!
Eighteen cents a pound is for clean seperated metals if your lucky theese days. Scraping a whole bus as it sits you might get eleven cents a pound again if your lucky. If a recycler picks it up from you on site you will get seven or eight cents a pound. I play the scrap meatal pricing like the stock market. I buy low and sell high. LOL
Quag- re read the mail that I sent you. Kinda hard to beat the storage deal. Never hard back from you on if you wanted to store it or sell it.
Cade
I am sorry for my post, it was uncalled for. Due to the son not adding oil to his truck it will be a while before we can afford a bus. Scrap it.
Jon -Quote from: smokedetector on November 30, 2010, 03:43:41 AM
Due to the son not adding oil to his truck it will be a while before we can afford a bus.
I'm sorry, but IMHO, it's your
son's responsibility to take care of his truck, not yours. Make him pay for the repairs, he'll take much better care of it in the future. If he has to walk, ride a bike or take public transit until it's fixed, that's part of the consequences for not being responsible.
My parents instilled that in me growing up, and I did the same with my two kids. "You break it - You pay for it."
Sorry if this comes across a little harsh, but I firmly believe that too many parents coddle their offspring way too much, instead of teaching them to accept responsibility for their actions, and/or the fact that the world doesn't owe them a living, they have to earn it.
I'll climb down off my SA-8 box now - no harm, no foul, just being curmudgeonly.
FWIW & HTH. . .
;)
RJ- I must say that I whole heartedly agree with you but he mst be given a break due to starting his son out so young with all that responsibility.
Cade
Quote from: KozyCade on November 29, 2010, 07:06:36 PM
Eighteen cents a pound is for clean seperated metals if your lucky theese days. Scraping a whole bus as it sits you might get eleven cents a pound again if your lucky. If a recycler picks it up from you on site you will get seven or eight cents a pound. I play the scrap meatal pricing like the stock market. I buy low and sell high. LOL
Quag- re read the mail that I sent you. Kinda hard to beat the storage deal. Never hard back from you on if you wanted to store it or sell it.
Cade
Sorry I have not responded, but things have been a little crazy. I have two job interviews in the next week... so I might be staying in Ohio afterall. I am super greatful for your offer to store it :) and I still might take you up on that. Eighteen is what I was quoted and he said he thought I might be able to get a little bit more if I show him pictures of all the copper / aluminum parts. I know there is very little market for an incomplete bus these days too, but I am still in the process of figuring out what to do.
Looks like I am going to be moving to MD after all. Hopefully I can figure out what to do with it in the mean time ???
A lot of scrap yards see a bus as a gold mine. Until they start taking it apart and throwing away all the garbage. 22,000 pounds sounds like a lot of metal. There is about 10,000 in axles engine and gearbox, and another 2000 pounds of glass. The plywood floor, interior panels, insulation, rubber, wiring... by the time you get down to the shell there isnt a lot of weight left. I scraped over a dozen busses, mostly transit, GMC and AM General, one 4104, and one 3751. If aluminum was $1.00 pound today, I wouldnt give $500 for a scrap bus. Lot of work for little gain, a sore back, cuts, and torn up equipment. An MCI might be a bit different, some have more stainless, but it may also be harder to take down too.
But as said, once it starts coming apart, it will never be a bus again. The 3751 got scrapped because it appeared to have structural failure. It didnt, and if I had waited a little longer I could have parked it and fixed it. I will always regret that. I would take a little less than scrap if I knew someone could use it and enjoy it. Not a lot less, but less.
As for a kid running his car out of oil. If you didnt teach him, its kind of your fault. If you did, making him suffer will wisen him up. I kept trying to bail out our son with cars, but only because of crap cars and bad luck. But when he blew the motor on the last car, then admitting to racing someone, I pointed at the tool box and told him he can fix it, or junk it. I offered to help buy an engine, but he was doing the labor. He looked at me in absolute horror. Screwing up and having to pull it back out really made a man out of the kid. He doesnt throw wrenches anymore. He doesnt let things go anymore. He takes care of what he drives. And its spread to everything he owns, as well as to friends and family, he's become a regular Mr fixit. Its your kid, raise him how you want to. If you want to coddle him, dont expect him to ever learn anything.
Quote from: QuagmireMan on December 17, 2010, 05:17:43 AM
Looks like I am going to be moving to MD after all. Hopefully I can figure out what to do with it in the mean time ???
Good luck, QM. This can be a high-stress (and resource-intense) hobby. I wish you luck with what you decide to do and hope that it works out well for your life and needs, as they are now. And remember, you can always jump back in when you're ready.
Regards, BH NC USA