E series MCI Coach

[John316]

Brian, That is the nice part. Ours has the retarder too. We usually just use it in heavy traffic, when we have hard stops. Otherwise it is off. Ours is a DL3, so it is an older model.

The problem is, one often pays for what they get. You get a cheap coach, the likely hood is that it has problems. I doubt that you will get a really nice D model (especially new look) for anything less then 120K. Maybe you could, but a new look is not on every street corner.

God bless,

John

[buswarrior]

On the  E series "Renaissance" model, these had the unfortunate role of being brand new, with the inherent teething problems of the technology jump, added to the very steep learning curve of the bus company mechanical staff.

Many software and hardware updates came along, lots of changes to the coaches and for the technicians' knowledge, as the bugs were sorted out.

MCI school at the time was at least a week, maybe two? long time ago...

Don't dismiss the model too quickly, the original Renaissance models are still running fine in the 1st line fleet I drive part-time in. There's a bunch, at least 20.

Take the time to identify which systems may be easily discarded, and check the rest for their status re: updates.

On tire wear, alignment is a bigger job, with the tag axle active steering, as well as the steer axle.

The disc brakes on all 6 wheel positions make it a KING in stopping power!

They turn really tight, I will brazenly take one into any shopping mall parking lot. 
I cannot be so carefree with either a "J" model or an H3 45 Prevost.

My current preference, by just a hair, would be a circa 1997 DL3, the last of the coaches that felt like a pair of comfortable boots to me. A very close 2nd would be a Renaissance, because I love squeezing the last half inch of it's superior turning radius, and getting a quarter inch back.

No bus fleet I've heard of sells off late model buses that are working well... deals may be had in sorting out problems that the current owner can't throw resources at.

A busnut can recoup that value because we aren't trying to make money with it.

happy coaching!
buswarrior