Am I crazy to buy a 1999 Dina Viaggio?

[belfert]

Am I crazy to buy a 1999 Dina Viaggio?  I already have a 1995 Dina Viaggio.

A small car lot in Colorado is selling the bus as a favor for someone.  The listed price is $17,777.  I was not interested at that price.  I flew out to look at the bus yesterday, and am currently on my way home.

The owner of the bus said he would take $5,000.  The car lot wants the bus off the lot.  He mentioned auctioning it next month as someone will want the engine.

The good: The bus has way more power than my bus.  Aluminum wheels.  Working A/C.  Good tires that seem to be fairly new.  Brake shoes are good, but not sure about drums.  Under 285,000 miles.  No rust.

The bad: There is one, or more, massive air leaks.  I would not have driven it if I had realized how bad the air system is.  Not drivable without being fixed.  Alternator or regulator is bad as voltage fluctuates ,but I can pull alternator from my bus.  Some sort of leak around the bell housing of the engine.

[belfert]

If I buy it I am thinking about renting a car to drive out with tools and spare parts.  I can rent a SUV for about $175 one way.

[belfert]

At $5,000 it almost makes sense to buy just for parts.  The car lot is looking into getting the air leaks fixed, but they said any repairs would be added onto the $5,000 price.  I could probably fix the leaks if I had a few days to spend there to work on it, but I really don't have the time.  I'm looking at four days to drive a rental car there and to drive the bus back as long as no issues.  I would definitely need tools if I wanted to do any repairs.

I could also put the engine in my bus, but a local shop said the labor and parts would be around $15,000.  They replace all of the hoses, and other parts, that could cause an issue down the road.  They also pull the DDEC from the old engine and get it reprogrammed to work with the new engine.  I am sure the reprogramming alone is not cheap.

[luvrbus]

You could get your friends to help you and remove the stuff from the old bus to the new one cheaper than $15,000 plus you would have a 4 year later model bus with less miles and less wear and tear on the suspension, the 1999 model should have the right gear ratio for the B500 Allision and probably going to have the next generation of the WT that last longer the 1st generation did,I would go for 99 and sell your 1995 for 3 to 5k.The wiring is about the only place that would cause you trouble ,if you label wiring it's not bad,it doesn't take someone with PHD degree to figure out wiring either   

[freds]

Ahh is there a significant other that has to also approve this?

Is your current bus in condition to also be sold off?

A truck shop could just go after the big leaks to get it to pass a DOT break check.

Is this a passenger bus that requires a CDL?

[luvrbus]

He doesn't need a CDL to drive the bus home

[belfert]

The #1 issue I have to settle before I can buy is insurance.  I contacted my insurance carrier and they said their policy on bus conversions has changed.  Mine is grandfathered in since I have been with the company for at least a dozen years.  It does help that I have had no claims on current bus except maybe a windshield.  (Can't recall if current carrier has replaced windshield.)  They are supposed to get back to me soon, hopefully tomorrow.  I think it will be less of an issue once converted.  They said to contact my insurance agency if they won't cover it.  The dealer really wanted me to drive it home Saturday, but since I had neither a way to pay for it, nor insurance that wasn't happening.  They will take a personal check, but I don't carry my checkbook.

No significant other to deal with.  We talked about $10,000 before I flew out there, and they offered $5,000 not long before they took me to the airport for my flight home.  I am probably going to buy it pending being able to get the air leak(s) fixed, and the time off work before it snows in the Colorado mountains.  I have hernia surgery scheduled for Oct 17th, but thinking of postponing it to the January since it isn't bothering me like my last hernia.  (I have been limiting some of my lifting.)

I assume it has a different B500 as the shift pad is slightly different, and the WTEC looks different.  It still has 6th gear locked out.

[belfert]

At $5,000, it seems a bit like a no brainer, even just for a parts bus.  I already spent $900 (Even the crappy Super 8 was $250 for one night.) to go look at it yesterday, and will spend a good $1,500+ to get it home.  I wouldn't be surprised if I have $8,000 in it to get it to my house.

The one thing I really don't like is the lack of Jake/engine brakes.  It has a Telma retarder, but it either doesn't work, or I wasn't using it correctly.  I turned on the electric brake switch, and flipped the Telma control through its various positions, but nothing seemed to happen.  I may just not know how it works.

My plan would be to strip the 1999 down, cover the windows, and not touch the 1995 until I absolutely need to.  I want to have the 1995 ready to go on my trip next year in case the 1999 is not ready by Sept 1st.  The windows, generator, inverter, refrigerator, microwave, rooftop A/C units, mattresses, toilet, tanks, water pump, water heater, and more will all come from the 1995.  I built a 24x60x16 bus garage last year so I have a place to work, but no heat or A/C.  I do have a garage door on each end plus a couple of fans.

This bus was used by Grand Canyon Tours out of Las Vegas.  It was sold by Las Vegas Bus sales to someone in Montrose. Colorado.  Supposedly, it was used for two trips, and then the new owner decided they would be better off just chartering a bus rather than maintaining a bus, and trying to have a CDL driver available.  They tried to get Las Vegas Bus Sales to buy it back at wholesale, but Las Vegas Bus Sales had no interest in selling it again.

The bus can be seen at: https://www.pollardbrothersmotors.com/details/used-1999-dina--viaggio/115291372

[belfert]

I never answered the question about my current 1995 bus.  I expect my 1995 bus will have little value once I strip everything off of it to put in the 1999 bus.  There will be no side windows, possibly no entry door, and almost no RV parts left when I am done.  There is no reason it shouldn't still drive when I am done with it, but it won't be a good drive with no side windows, and possibly no entry door.  The radiator and charge air cooler are both in good condition.  It han't been that many years since the charge air cooler was totally rebuilt.  My 50DN alternator is pretty new, and it will go in the 1999.  (The 1999 appears to have a bad regulator or alterator.  Alternator has a fair bit of oil like it is leaking.)

My 1995 bus will probably have more value to me as a parts bus than any money from selling it.  I might sell the engine if someone wants it.  There isn't a whole lot of market for 11.1 Series 60 engines, but it might be worth a little bit.  I will probably get a cover and just cover the 1995 in my yard.

I still have not figured out the brake drum issue for the 1995.  The 1999 might need brake drums too as there is quite the ridge on the drums.  The shoes all look to be decent.  I expect the 1995 and 1999 have the same brake drums.

[luvrbus]

There is still a market for 11.1 they are good engines Gary Hatts Eagle has a 11.1. DD went to 12.7 getting ready for the EGR emission stuff,the 99 model is pre EGR that is a plus,there was one of the grand canyon  buses for sale at shop  a few months back they were asking 12k for and 6 th was locked out on it and it had a 4:38 or 4:56 ratio ,6th must be locked out for the short run going up the hill to the Canyon     

[belfert]

I think the 6th gear lockout is a general Dina thing.  I have only seen two Dina's, but both have 6th gear locked out.  I thought maybe it is a thing only with the 11.1 engine, but the 99 has the 12.7.

I think I would go for a trip before deciding if I try to get 6th gear unlocked.

[belfert]

I hope to buy this bus.  My main roadblock right now is insurance.  I am still waiting for an answer from my insurance company on insuring this bus.  They only reason they will even consider insuring it is because I already own the same basic bus with no claims in more than a decade.

The car lot has contacted a couple of heavy duty mechanics to come look at the air leak.  I am planning to just be there for a couple of days to repair the air leak.  There is a Fleetpride that would hopefully have any valves and such for air system.