Sold my bus today

richard5933 · May 24, 2022, 05:52:41 PM

The deal's been in the works for a while now, but my bus headed down the road today to its new home in North Carolina. It will be owned by a guy with in the motor sports industry who will use it trackside alongside all the million-dollar Prevost and high-end conversions. Should get lots of attention in that world.

Can't get into the details on this right now, but thought I'd let others know that there is still value in these old buses and the right one can still bring a good sales price.

Sad to see it go.

luvrbus · May 24, 2022, 07:33:14 PM

Low milage factory conversions always bring 20 to 40% more than a DIY conversions,2 Eagles sold lately a 80 model for 140k and 82 model for 139k both were top notch conversions though

chessie4905 · May 25, 2022, 07:25:10 AM

Time to start looking for that Prevost!

windtrader · May 25, 2022, 10:06:29 AM

Richard,
Can you share your experience marketing and finding a buyer? You had it listed on BCM, likely other places. Sharing your insights on the current market would be interesting to me and probably others here. Thanks

freds · May 25, 2022, 10:09:04 AM

Dang Richard and your bus was such a clean looking one!!! Thoughts on what you are doing next and please don't tell us that it will be a skoolie....

6805eagleguy · May 25, 2022, 10:46:01 AM

I believe he downsized to a airstream

richard5933 · May 25, 2022, 03:51:56 PM

Quote from: windtrader on May 25, 2022, 10:06:29 AM
Richard,
Can you share your experience marketing and finding a buyer? You had it listed on BCM, likely other places. Sharing your insights on the current market would be interesting to me and probably others here. Thanks

I had the bus listed on both BCM and RV Trader. Got quite a few leads from BCM, but the one that ended up buying was from RV Trader.

How'd I do it? I wrote a description ad with lots of detail, included good clear photos showing inside and out, and included a printable PDF with all the specs. Nothing really spectacular. Give reasons to buy and show the features and benefits - just like they teach in care sales 101.

Not being in a hurry to sell, I listed at a somewhat silly price. Along comes someone who loves it as much as me and who was willing to write a somewhat silly check, and things just worked out. His plan is to park it trackside - he is involved in the motor sports industry - where it will attract lots of attention. Nice that he has a soft spot for 70s vehicles. The fact that he has a team of drivers to bring their trucks (and now bus) to the track as they travel made the 4-speed a non issue, but the driver who picked it up seemed excited to learn how to drive it. He did pretty well with it in short order.

Aside from having a nice bus to start with, I think something that made it possible to bring top dollar is paying attention to detail as I did anything on the bus. Always on my mind was trying to stay true to the Custom Coach design of the bus, as well as how things would play with the next owner.

There are people out there looking for unique vehicles who are willing to spend money. One potential buyer early on had his wife's okay to pay full price, but in the end he decided that he didn't want the responsibility of caring for such a unique bus in such good condition. I get it - there were times over the past years I felt more like a caretaker of a museum piece rather than an owner.

Quote from: 6805eagleguy on May 25, 2022, 10:46:01 AM
I believe he downsized to a airstream

For now, this is correct. Due to some personal suspension issues (back problems) it was getting difficult to drive the bus for more than a couple of hours. With the Airstream I've got a co-pilot that can help with the driving duties, something not possible in the bus. I might consider doing a truck conversion on a vintage truck later on.

fortyniner · May 25, 2022, 07:15:18 PM

How was driving the 4108 compared to the 4106?

richard5933 · May 26, 2022, 01:44:46 AM

Quote from: fortyniner on May 25, 2022, 07:15:18 PM
How was driving the 4108 compared to the 4106?

I felt the power steering in the 4108 was much better, likely due to the integral nature of its design. Other than than, they both drove pretty similarly. Of course, the 4108 only had 41,000 miles on it when I bought it, so it's difficult to compare with a 4106 with many more miles. But, they both went down the road with very little effort maintaining control.

The 4108 has a Spicer 4-speed, which I found provided more of the engine's output to the drive wheels. I thought that the Allison auto stripped quite a bit of power.