New Here and looking for answers

[Peabody]

Hi,
New here and need some advice actually.I'm looking at a 1965 MC-5A conversion with 40,000 on rebuilt 8v71 right now it has a 4speed tranny but owner has a 5speed automatic that I can have installed if I want.He is asking $20,000 for the bus. IT seems to be in excellent condition but it does need a new seal in the power steering pump has small leak and he has a new pump for that.I guess what I want to know is,is this a good price and is there anything specific to look for when I go do a thorough inspection. Any help would be appreciated.  Thank-You,Peabody

[HB of CJ]

Dunno about the $price$.  I'm not up on MCI's.  Perhaps others will log on.  If I had to do it over again buying my Bus Conversion, I would have spent the $money$ up front and hired a professional or very knowledgable person to completely check out the coach before purchase.  Welcome to our world. 

[mccarlk]

hi , and welcome , im no expert on buses but the number 1 thing i would check for is rust, i was told before i bought my 5 that they were bad for rusting out, i found that you will get a wide range of answers about the price , but if its in good shape and you have shopped the market to see what the average is and you like it , i would go for it, i have the 4 spd in mine and was told the 5 speed has the same final drive , the only difference is in first, its a lower gear, again welcome to the nut house , these guys on hear are very helpfull and very knowledgeable, ken

[NewbeeMC9]

Find a professional bus mechanic to check it out!!!  most will for $2-300,, money well spent.


Dont know state of conversion, but compared to any $20K stick and staple RV you might find.

[Busted Knuckle]

I can only add please find a BUS qualified mechanic to check it out for you!
I can't tell you how many times we have driven, flown or side tripped all over the country looking at buses for our charter company. Only to find out that what in email & pictures and over the phone was supposed to be "the perfect ready to put in service unit", was actually a HUGE POS!
We have spent $3,000.00on a week long journey to FL checking each and every bus on the way and every dealer lot and EACH AND EVERY possibility off eBay with CASH in hand only to come home with no bus and still cash in hand!
We have flown in a friends private plane only for the cost of fuel, and expenses to CA and all over the western states again with cash in hand. Only to fly home again with no bus and still have cash in hand!
We know and are known by many national bus salesmen coast to coast, and several have told my dad and I that they have never seen anyone go over buses like we do. (Especially when we are cheapskates and looking at low budget rigs in the first place!)

But if I'm gonna buy it and run it in service I want to be sure it is a sound bus, and I wanna know what faults it has up front.

In my opinion we have only bought one bus that I have not necessarily made a mistake buying, but had I known more of the truth would have not paid as much for it, or would have had the owner make certain repairs to it before paying what we did.
Never the less we still didn't get hurt either! After all we ended up with 2 running driving SETRA's that we drove home 1676 trouble free miles for less than $100,000.00 dollars and one is a 45'er with 60 Series and B400 trans. On top of that they threw in an additional 40'er that needed hauled home for parts!

And then we have bought other buses that we feel we stole at good prices and put straight into service on the way home before ever making it to the shop.

And as a matter of fact we really stole the last bus we bought and brought it home and washed it before sending it on it's first charter and have turned down 3 times what we bought it for and have not put ANY $ into it!

So my honest opinion is to PAY someone too be EXTRA critical for you. And totally honest to you! Once all the cards are on the table and you know what yer up against then you can decide if it is a good price or not!

I read post after post about somebody buying a coach only to have it blow up on the way home. Or find it is rusted out from the inside out, or is breaking in half, or has wiring problems from HELL, or etc, etc, etc.

And everytime I read them it makes me sad that someone got a bad deal or at least a major headache. But at the same time I know that many times these people buy it with their hearts instead of their heads! Of all the $ we have spent bouncing here there and everywhere NONE OF IT WAS WASTED! Because we didn't buy that bus that wasn't just right for us!

So trust me and the other who tell you this it is $ well spent to have it professionally checked out before buying! That way you know what your going to have to spend on it IF you buy it!
Just my totally honest opinion for what it is worth!   BK

[Lin]

There are a lot of things that can turn an apparent good deal into a bad one.  You really need a competent, thorough inspection.  A couple of hundred dollars could save you many thousands.  At the very worst, you will know where you stand.  I did have my bus checked by a mechanic before I bought it.  Unfortunately, he was not very good, and he missed things that ended up costing me quite a bit.  

[white-eagle]

just keep in mind you get what you pay for and verify.  like they already said, get it inspected.  Look at lots of buses in your price range and some over as well as under.  make sure you know what your dollars will buy.  if you have a low budget, don't expect it to be like new.

We paid to have ours inspected and mostly it was ok.  he missed a few wall problems from water, and some rust in the front, but overall worth the money.  i would not have noticed them and would have offerd more.

just like any other major purchase, do your homework.  there are some great deals and some snake oil miracles.  look at enough to know the difference and get a knowledeable busnut to assist.

[Busted Knuckle]

Oh yeah I forgot have fun shopping! Right now it's a buyers market, buses aren't hardly selling at all! And the ones that are selling CHEAP!

Good luck and have a great day!   BK 

[Peabody]

I think getting an expert is a good idea was thinking along those lines myself. Where do you find a bus expert? DH is a truck driver and he has a book full of certified diesel mechanics (Freightliner) would they do? This will be are home when he retires so it has to be in good shape.Thank-You,Peabody

[Busted Knuckle]

It would be better if the mechanic really knows buses! While I'm not saying that a truck driver or a truck mechanic can not or would not do good job of inspecting one, it's just that there are things on a bus that are way different!

What part of the country are you in? Where is the bus you are looking at? If it were me I'd ask here on the board "who knows who where?" when you find one you want looked at. I guarantee someone here on the boards will know someone to recommend to ya!

Again good luck!   BK 

[Peabody]

I'm in the beautiful Northwest, Washington state.The bus is in Shelton Wa. if any one here knows of someone that could inspect this bus for me I'd appreciate it. Thank-You, Peabody

[Dreamscape]

Welcome Peabody,

When my friend Doug and his Wife bought their MCI 102A3 last Saturday I got lots of great information from these guys. Even talked to BK on the phone for while. It is not a converted coach.

Listen to what everyone is saying, better to spend a little now than a whole bunch later. If you do decide to go ahead with the purchase then you are ahead of the game because you have a head start in getting to know her, (The Bus).

I was glad I was here in Vancouver WA on business to help them. It was a great eye opening experience. You guys should get together as they live in Vancouver WA.

Good Luck and God Bless,

Paul

[Jriddle]

I bought my bus with only pictures and conversation with seller not owner. I drove  400 miles home and was very happy with my buy. $6200 for 1984 mc-9 with no rust and drove like a dream. I have well over 20,000 thus far invested and will end up sending at least another $20,000 ++++ before done. With all that said I could still have mechanical problems I do not know about. I am very mechanically inclined. I can fix about anything. If I had to do it again I would not hesitate to hire a mechanic to do inspection. There are a lot of buses out there and you need to come home  with something that will not break the bank fixing. Follow the advice above,spend some money up front and don't drive 400 + miles wondering what you just did.  Make sure you spend your 20,000 well.

[RJ]

And then we have bought other buses that we feel we stole at good prices and put straight into service on the way home before ever making it to the shop.

BK -

As one industry professional (retired) to another:  How many coaches do you currently operate in revenue service?

[Busted Knuckle]

BK -

As one industry professional (retired) to another:  How many coaches do you currently operate in revenue service?

4 with # 5 going into service with in a week =/-. Also # 6 should be in service before the end of the year. And we may even buy another 1 yet this year also!

Also I have 3 close associates that I deal with that when needed I bid/book their buses as well as mine on multi-bus deals and when we do that  we have a pool of 25-30 buses available between the 4 of us! The other 3 don't do near as much internet booking as I do. (they are all sorta "old school" + they don't like the headaches involved with trying to coordinate large moves)
So they love it when I book us on multi-bus moves or when there ain't much going on locally, but I find us all work in other places where local buses are scarce and we still make good $.   BK