bus grease monkey

[windtrader]

Early on while searching for a bus, an owner directed me to the shop that had been servicing it. I asked if he'd continue working on it if sold. He said NO.
His reason made sense and still does. If you bring in an old bus bus for "repair" the shop owner is going to suffer due to disruptions in his workflow in the shop. Parts especially take a lot more time and effort just finding and locating the correct part and getting it to the shop. Meanwhile, the bus sits in the yard, not bringing any money, and just becomes a huge PIA.

His parting remark is these old buses never come in for repairs, just different levels of restoration!

[richard5933]

Early on while searching for a bus, an owner directed me to the shop that had been servicing it. I asked if he'd continue working on it if sold. He said NO.
His reason made sense and still does. If you bring in an old bus bus for "repair" the shop owner is going to suffer due to disruptions in his workflow in the shop. Parts especially take a lot more time and effort just finding and locating the correct part and getting it to the shop. Meanwhile, the bus sits in the yard, not bringing any money, and just becomes a huge PIA.

His parting remark is these old buses never come in for repairs, just different levels of restoration!

I can see where that might apply to a good percentage of buses out there, but not all. At the rally in Blytheville my bus wasn't the only one in such good condition, better I'd say than many late model buses.

It's really about establishing a relationship with the shop before you need them, especially with regard to setting up how parts will be handled. Surprises are not a way to get the shop on your side, for sure.

My hunch is that this is also somewhat regional, as I've got two shops which have worked on my bus and which I've got a good relationship with, but I've had conversations with other shops as well for some things they don't do and have options. We're quite fortunate to have a great infrastructure in this part of the country which is large enough to handle the occasional oddball job like an old bus.