Check this out it will make you stop and think before buying a bus from anybody sad to see this happen to Jack
Ebay # 250968499605
Sure sad when a person gets tangled up in one of these deals. From my experience, when it comes to Eagles, buyer be ware, most have extensive rust issues. Yes they usually ride nice, look nice but once you get under it you need to cry. Surely a few are worth fixing up, but that is a rare bird from my experience.
Good luck
Dave M
It sounds like this was a case of a past owner purposely covering up the rust issues if the current owner is telling the truth. I think I would be talking to a lawyer if a seller purposely covered up rust issues that make a vehicle undriveable.
We have had a fairly lengthy discussion on the Eagle board. The bus is in PA and the small claims court limit is $8K. No lawyers involved and very low demand on evidence. Don't have to educate a jury. That was my strong recommendation IF Jack could document the fraud (and it sounds like he can).
I also strongly recommended that he contact the BBB so that vendors like this are properly "punished"
Jim
I cant imagine a person buying something like this and they cant even judge if the tires are good or not they need someone back home to tell them. Covering up rust is a bad deal and if the previous seller did they deserve everything they get. But buyers should take responsibility too and check things out, or have them checked out first, not drive 450 miles at 70 MPH in something no one ever bothered to look under.
I am going to reserve judgment on the seller he bought it from until more information comes to light. We dont know who he had look at it and we dont know how bad this rust is he's talking about.
I agree - the buyer bears some responsibility in this situation, but it also sounds like a clear case of fraud.
And frames don't completely rot out within a few months - surely this bus wouldn't be legal to drive on the road without it's passing some sort of annual roadworthiness test? If it has got an up-to-date ticket then the testing station is also liable.
Jeremy
I hate to see someone taken advantage of like that. I wonder if the culprit is the one which solded it to him, or the one before them, or the one before them... it would be interesting to know how many times this hot potato has been passed around. Looking at the pictures it doesn't look too bad (on the outside). How much would it cost to repair the rust damage? I'm not an eagle expert, but I was looking at an Eagle a few years back and someone told me you could get the entire frame redone for about $10k, is that right?
If the previous owner covered up the rot, they put the public at risk as well as the buyer. He drove that monster home at 70 MPH. In all cases of buying anything, buyer beware. The eagle I looked at was a professional conversion (Leanne Rymes tour bus if I remember correctly) and everything looked great. The seller was honest about the rot and told me it was unsafe to drive. If he hadn't told me, I would have been oblivious to it.
I agree with RnM, as to the buyer needs to have a clue as to what they are getting into, also it would be interesting to know the other side of this story, price paid etc.
There are many slick folks running around loose, but while I feel for the buyer, I am sorry he bought this coach on faith that it was good as new and did not need anything, makes me wonder. Enuf said.
I'm not an Eagle guy... so I'll reserve any judgement either way. No matter the problem - it's sad. However, I have known more than one mechanic who will blow problems WAY out of proportion. Rotted out on the whole vehicle and still looks that good seems rather extreme. I'd want to get under it and take a through inspection myself - then maybe have an inspection done by someone else. This might be well within reasonable repair and not as bad as this mechanic says.
On the other hand - the thing could be junk ???
Dave
I bet that guys arm is STILL sore from being twisted into buying it!
Like others have stated, why wait to get it home 450 miles away to have someone else tell him things are bad? If it were me AND probably you too, the coach would have a good going over before my money left my possession!
I have seen and heard of other buyers get so
Something home and find that it's just too much work to take on and the easy way to save face is to place blame on the guy that sold it to them!
Ive got personal experience with Easters and like a salesman anywhere, he's not going to offer any info if you don't ask! I also find it hard to believe that if thatuch was wrong with this rather good looking bus that the buyer didn't make any mention of contacting Easters about resolving any issues before trying to sell it but had the time to mention the bad deal he supposedly got!
Personally, I'd be Leary about the NOW owner that is trying to sell it, not Easters!
Got nothing to do with it being a Eagle or the buyer he bought it as represented the Ebay seller did a number I watched that bus on Ebay because of the rare plug door but when I saw who the seller was I never looked again and have no idea what it sold for
The bus can be repaired if you have the time the sub frame is Cor/Ten I think he getting some bad info about that part.
It is just a typical cover up from that outfit he did a number on Joe the Camper just a couple of weeks back
His MO is sell you a piece of crap and the only you can get your money back is buy a different bus from him and that works sometimes for him believe it or not and that is the deal Bobby offered him and hung up the phone and now he won't answer or return Jacks calls.
So he put the bus on Ebay where buyers can see and read the story he doesn't care if it sells or not he plans on the bus being on Ebay for a long,long time
good luck
I feel sorry for the guy that bought it just because I know that is the way Bobby operates!
Now I know Ace, Belfert, John 316 and others here have dealt with Bobby before and some liked it & some didn't.
But I also know that the ones who have dealt with Easter's Bus Sales and been happy were not novices and had prior buses/experience.
I also know many of charter operators that learned the hard way NOT to trust Bobby or take his shops word for the condition of the buses they were buying.
Bobby is almost as bad as Sam Walker with the exception that at least with Bobby you get SOMETHING for your $ Sam you don't!
Bobby is very well polished and plays that old Christian gospel singer card well when selling things.
Now the buyer did make mistakes, but not everybody knows to take it to an independent shop for an inspection when the seller has a nice professional looking well equipped shop right there.
;D BK ;D
It probably went to the Pa inspection station when he got it home and thats where he got the bad news. The dont just give a cursoury and stamp the paper they check out the frame etc. what i bummer and good for him "selling" her and listing the true facts. I remember the fla inspections back in the day. wipers and lights, parking brake? good to go. Bermuda is really rough!
Bobby may have put too much on his plate this time with Jack he is a business man over 3500 sales on EBay with a 100% positive feed back
good luck
Quote from: luvrbus on January 09, 2012, 06:27:47 AM
Bobby may have put too much on his plate this time with Jack he is a business man over 3500 sales on EBay with a 100% positive feed back
good luck
I wish him luck! Bobby deserves someone to take him down a notch or two!
;D BK ;D
Fact!
Never buy a bus that has been owned by a church.
Very little to no maintenance on most church buses. :'(
Ask me how I know!
I bought a PD-4104 many years ago and it was a maintenance head ache.
The old bus was abused and had very little to no maintenance. >:(
Lot's of money and time was spent on getting the old 4104 back in order.
Buyer beware when buying a (well) used coach.
jlv
I wouldn't necessary blame Easter's here. It may have been like that when they got it. That is why I said a previous owner covered up the rust.
BS, Bobby took the bus in trade and he knew exactly what it was that is the reason for the new under coating
Quote from: belfert on January 09, 2012, 09:41:36 AM
I wouldn't necessary blame Easter's here. It may have been like that when they got it. That is why I said a previous owner covered up the rust.
I left out two important words: I meant to say "That is why I said a previous owner
may have covered up the rust."
I might buy another bus from Easter's if I was in the market again. I know a lot more now and would probably pay someone to look at the bus before I bought it.
Quote from: luvrbus on January 08, 2012, 05:45:23 AM
It is just a typical cover up from that outfit. His MO is sell you a piece of crap and the only you can get your money back is buy a different bus from him and that is the deal Bobby offered him and hung up the phone and now he won't answer or return Jacks calls.
So he put the bus on Ebay where buyers can see and read the story he doesn't care if it sells or not he plans on the bus being on Ebay for a long,long time
good luck
That sheds a whole different light on the story, and paints the seller out to basically be a crook. I still believe buyers have a responsibility to do their homework and accept their mistakes, as well as bring the problem to the attention of the seller and allow them to decide what they want to do about it before pointing fingers. But once they tell you to pound sand, your free to do all the darn finger pointin you want to.
Sure, Easters could have got it that way, but most likely they knew its condition before selling it. And remember, Easters could call the man up at any point and resolve the situation immediately rather than letting it get blown all over eBay and the internet.
Quote from: artvonne
That sheds a whole different light on the story, and paints the seller out to basically be a crook. I still believe buyers have a responsibility to do their homework and accept their mistakes, as well as bring the problem to the attention of the seller and allow them to decide what they want to do about it before pointing fingers. But once they tell you to pound sand, your free to do all the darn finger pointin you want to.
Sure, Easters could have got it that way, but most likely they knew its condition before selling it. And remember, Easters could call the man up at any point and resolve the situation immediately rather than letting it get blown all over eBay and the internet.
Paul you really have to visit Bobby @ Easter's one time to get a true perspective of him & his operation! He has tons of buses sitting around that he could move in a heart beat and make a few dollars on each one.
But instead he'd rather let sit & rot while he tries to make a fortune of any & every deal he does.
And trust me once you've seen his shop and the work the guys in are capable of doing, you'd really understand. (notice I said capable of doing, not in the habit of doing! And it's not the guys in the shops fault either, they do as much or as little as told to do.)
Easter's could be a top notch class act place. If the main person had a desire to make an honest dollar instead of cheating everyone that drives off his lot.
;D BK ;D
I never have understood why Easter's has hundreds of buses in the back all slowly rotting away. I wandered around a bit in the back when I was there and most of the buses had doors wide open and many times they had vines or other plants growing up into the bus.
All of the "good" buses are kept up front by the highway.
Merely because someone is a thief does not mean that he steals from everyone he meets. If he has a good bus, I'm sure he is quite happy to sell it to you, and you would both be happy. The difference between an honest man and a crook though would be his willingness to sell you a bad product while telling you it was good. I appreciate the "buyer beware" thing, however I would consider anyone that used that as an excuse to sell an undisclosed faulty product to be a thief. I seriously doubt (and hope) that those on this Board that have advanced that philosophy would not really do so themselves.
I certainly agree about the dangers of buying a church owned bus. Mine was formerly owned by a traveling minister and was terribly neglected. I will note though that the guy was as clueless as I was and had no intention of defrauding me. Since BK mentioned the tendency of the seller to let people know about his church activities, I would add another caution to never trust any seller that tells you about how religious he is. If the guy believes he needs God's help to sell something, something is wrong.
My dad was a minister --- my brother is a minister --- however if someone NEEDS to tell me that they are in any way associated with, involved with, a part of some church or other organization that would make them more believable I always smile nod and walk away.
Just my way of handling those situations.
Melbo
They would stack buses on top of one another if they could. I am always amazed how many buses they have, hundreds of all types and condition. Some of the nicer buses get scattered throughout the county in clumps on various lots here and there. I got the impression after stopping and talking to a mechanic that he is almost more of a bus hoarder than a reasonable seller. I could see where an inexperienced buyer would easily tend to trust such an operation. One would think that after may years and hundreds of buses they could only still be in business if they were on the level. I hope the buyer of that Eagle still gets to accomplish his dream.
I love Eagles, but would only own one that has had it's skin off and frame redone. Lucky for me financially I am at the GM level of bus ownership, and get the benefit of owning an overbuilt bus that most people shun as a poor man's entry level coach.
BTW, you have to drive right by Easters to get to one the most beautiful camp sites in the U.S., Goose Point Park, Philpott Lake Campground. The place books up months in advance. Wake up in almost any site looking at the lake and not another camper.
Well I have been reading, all the post here, And some comments are correct, some maybe assumptions. We bought our present coach from Easters, Bobby was almost impossible to get on the phone , even before we bought, our coach is a 1994 H 340, it was parked in the second to LAST ROW way in the back. Seems they are parked as they arrive, Just because its in the back probably means it came in last, NOT ALWAYS, but it used to be that way, Bobby let us use his shop and his tools, while they prepped our coach for paint, We saved a lot of time because of his kindness, Now don't get me wrong, He can be short if he has to be, But we were treated great, Now his lot and shop need some organization, It is definitely an experience going there. A lot of Bobby's coaches are consigned to him from some very BIG people, he really doesn't know alot about some of them, Buyer beware, always any time with anyone. He will correct anything needed to make the sale, so check it out then make the deal, Would We buy from him again, YES we would, I had tag axle problems a year later , If I would have spotted it earlier he would have made it right, BEFORE WE PAID. After a sale is made to a consigner the money is gone, I missed the original post about the Eagle sale so I don't know all the facts, This is just my take on My purchase from Easters. I was treated good and would return, Hope I don't need another bus though............
As listed on Ebay: 1989 Silver Eagle Bus Model 15 Recently Purchased from Bassett Virginia (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/?cmd=ViewItem&_rdc=1&item=250968499605&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dp5197.m570.l1313%26_nkw%3D250968499605%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1)
1989 Silver Eagle Bus Model 15 Recently Purchased from Bassett Virginia
Purchased this Bus from Easter's Bus Sales in Bassett VA last month. It was sold to me as a nice, solid, good running, no motor problems, good tires bus. Good candidate for a Motor coach Conversion. On the way home from VA I noticed a significant engine oil leak. When I got home I took it for service and found the bus was in the following condition. I am wanting to resell this bus but I would like the condition known to the purchaser before the sale.
Front and Rear Frame Rotted Out, This bus is unsafe to drive. The shop that looked the bus over for me found the front of the frame that holds the suspension on to be rotted out. The rear suspension support frame is also rotted out. The bay that supports the air condition and heater box is also rotted out. Most of the frame was covered with a fresh coat of undercoating over what I was told was tar and bondo to conceal the holes in the frame. Because of this the bus should be towed from my location, it is unsafe to operate.
Engine Oil Leak. The shop has told me I have a few different leaks, the most severe leak being the blower oil leak. It has other small oil leaks and more oil than the shop liked to see coming out of the slather tubes. I have been told the engine will have to come out to fix these leaks.
I drove the bus home 450 miles and the bus did run nice, just leaked oil.
Bad Radiator. The rear drivers side radiator bottom has rotted out and needs to be replaced. It will also not swing out due to the structure above it being rotted out.
Two Rear Drive Tires on Passenger Side Bad. It was also supposed to have good tires.
On the bright side the bus other than the above mentioned is in pretty nice shape. The interior is nice, the outside looks pretty fair. Drove it home with no issues, ran 70 miles an hour and handled well. It was great fun to drive.
40 Foot Bus
47 Passenger
Video System
Detroit 6V92 Turbo Charged
Backup Monitor
1 Piece Door
I have a NEW Steering wheel that is not yet installed
It did get a PM service at the shop with new air filter, $1204.90
For full disclosure I only know about Easters dealings both good and bad from what I have read here on this board in spite of living only two counties over, so I will declare myself neutral and see how history settles things.
I know how the bus was listed on Ebay by Bobby it was just as Jack described he was offered his money back on trade for another bus for 3x times the money so Bobby owned the bus it wasn't a consignment.
Did you notice he paid Bobby 1200 bucks for service
This is will be entertaining Jack is not going to roller over and let it die lol and as a buyer he knows he made mistakes but he trusted Bobby big mistake there on his part
good luck
Clifford he paid the shop near his house $1200 for preventative maintenance not to Bobby
do eagle buses handle well with rusted out suspensions???
seems to me that it may just wander a tad!!!