Should I buy a bus?

[Chessic Sense]

I have the unique opportunity to purchase a public bus for less than $1,000. It's a real, regular, operational bus that, y'know, stops at the corner to pick up passengers. I do need a new vehicle, and for a smooth grand, I can't see a way this could go wrong. Do you think this is the right purchase for me?

If you owned a bus, what would you do with it? I'm thinking I might just drive around and see who gets on.

[Duckster]

Have you ever driven a vehicle that large?

Are you planning to take it through the restaurant drive-thru?

[DCnDC]

Are you going to be tooling around DC in this thing?

I'd make it a bar-hopping party bus. Just drive in a big circle from Georgetown to Adams Morgan to U Street to H Street and across K Street back to Georgetown. Not sure how you'd make some of those corners, but if the Metrobus can do it, you should be able to manage.

[Chessic Sense]

I've driven a tank before, so how different could this be? Maybe I'll just treat it like a really big taxi. You hop on, tell me you want to go through the drive-through, and off we go.

[74westy]

Originally Posted by Chessic Sense

I do need a new vehicle, and for a smooth grand, I can't see a way this could go wrong.

It will go wrong the first time you get a flat tire and find out how much it costs to fix it.

[Seanette]

Parking would be a royal pain.

[ASanders]

My brother owned a bus for a while. He's a bus expert/professional, though, and put a lot of time into it. Are you that type?

He used it for joy rides, family outings, and once or twice it had bit parts in movies. Parking was a pain; he had to rent space in a lot. And though lots of folks tried to flag him down, I think there are rules or regulations against pretending to be mass transit when you're not.

ETA: You need a special license, too, I think. You can't just hop in a bus and drive it away legally.

[DMark]

Fuel could be a major cost. I don't think a bus gets great gas/diesel mileage...
Then again, you could be the greatest car pool driver in the USA if you got some of your co-workers to chip in for costs. Granted, it might take you two hours to pick everyone up and drop them off each day, but still.

People have turned these into great RV campers/homes...if you wanted to go that route. But again, sort of losing that cheap factor if you do that.

As far as just using this to go to Walmart to buy milk, not so sure if this is such a wise idea. I do see going to a drive in movie theater with 35 friends would be kinda cool, although I am not sure you will still get that deal of "$5 for everyone in the vehicle." they sometimes offer. And parking it sideways might cause some friction with other drivers in the drive in theater.

Oh...and can I watch when you take it to your local car wash?

[jackdavinci]

That's a good deal but unless you are going on a road trip or touring with a band I doubt you'll get much use out of it. I suppose you could turn it into a cool guest house.

[beowulff]

There's a reason it's only $1,000.

[campp]

Originally Posted by DMark

Fuel could be a major cost. I don't think a bus gets great gas/diesel mileage...

People have turned these into great RV campers/homes...if you wanted to go that route. But again, sort of losing that cheap factor if you do that.

This is the best use of the bus IF you want to go RVing and IF you are the type who wants to DIY. It would be a fabulous project for the right person.

And yeah, you have to be able to park the beast somewhere, preferably at no cost.

[Emtar KronJonDerSohn]

You probably need a commercial license with an airbrake certification and passenger endorsement. As previously mentioned, tires are expensive ($300 each for recaps, more for virgin tires) as are brakes and engine parts. It'll probably get less than 6mpg. Insurance is expensive. You'll have to perform a pretrip inspection every day that you drive the thing, and commercial vehicle enforcement can harass you whenever the feel like it.

Cool idea, but a giant expensive pain in the ass. I'll bet the bus is worth for than a grand as scrap though, if you wanted to make a few bucks.

[RTFirefly]

Originally Posted by jackdavinci

I suppose you could turn it into a cool guest house.

That would be about the only use I could see for it, and only then if you live in a place where zoning doesn't prevent you from doing that.

But if you did, then you could take out most of the seats, put a bed in the back, install some sort of makeshift divider, put curtains over the windows, etc. Turn on the bus engine intermittently when in use during summer/winter to cool/heat the bus.

[antonio107]

Originally Posted by Emtar KronJonDerSohn

You probably need a commercial license with an airbrake certification and passenger endorsement. As previously mentioned, tires are expensive ($300 each for recaps, more for virgin tires) as are brakes and engine parts. It'll probably get less than 6mpg. Insurance is expensive. You'll have to perform a pretrip inspection every day that you drive the thing, and commercial vehicle enforcement can harass you whenever the feel like it.

Cool idea, but a giant expensive pain in the ass. I'll bet the bus is worth for than a grand as scrap though, if you wanted to make a few bucks.

+1.

I can't imagine any of the replacement parts are going to be within the realm of affordable. Since it's probably got a $1,000 worth of scrap metal in it, the only way I (personally) would buy it would be if you were going to park it on a vacant lot, rip off/boot the tires, tear out some seats and turn it into a makeshift trailer. THAT would be badass.

[Grumman]

Originally Posted by DMark

People have turned these into great RV campers/homes...if you wanted to go that route. But again, sort of losing that cheap factor if you do that.

I've always thought that was a really cool idea. But that might just be because I'm Australian.

[Jaledin]

I think it's cool, despite what OP says. I've known two people with buses -- one an old Harvester thing she lived in and then got razzed by parking it behind our house in Missoula, and another some other kind of bus he went and maybe still is just cruising around the country and picking up people and wiring it for sound and electricity. These weren't exactly people with straight jobs and all that.

As an RV it's good, I should think. Take it to New Mexico.

[Jophiel]

Originally Posted by beowulff

There's a reason it's only $1,000.

I'm reminded of the Simpsons where Homer gets a free trampoline. After it turns out to be a disaster, Homer goes to return it and Krusty steps out with a shotgun, telling him to just keep moving.

Anyway, good luck finding someone to buy your bus for $750 should you decide to purchase it.

[Jaledin]

Yeah, there is that. I've seen the back/engine area of a city bus open before. Those fuckers are immense. This is not some replace the plug wires type thing in an hour, I'm guessing.

What's a reasonable budget for one of these city buses -- maintenance for, say, a year? 50K? More? Less? There must be someone around here who knows that kind of thing.

[Belowjob2.0]

Originally Posted by Chessic Sense

I have the unique opportunity to purchase a public bus for less than $1,000. It's a real, regular, operational bus that, y'know, stops at the corner to pick up passengers. I do need a new vehicle, and for a smooth grand, I can't see a way this could go wrong. Do you think this is the right purchase for me?

If you owned a bus, what would you do with it? I'm thinking I might just drive around and see who gets on.

One caveat: if this was a great deal at the price, a charter bus company or some other private transportation outfit would have bought it. Even municipal public transportation agencies will buy used buses to augment their fleets.

[Lanzy]

Buy it, then start a band man.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

This could be one hell of a lunch wagon.

[Colibri]

Originally Posted by DCnDC

I'd make it a bar-hopping party bus. Just drive in a big circle from Georgetown to Adams Morgan to U Street to H Street and across K Street back to Georgetown. Not sure how you'd make some of those corners, but if the Metrobus can do it, you should be able to manage.

Make it into a chiva parrandera (party bus) like we have here in Panama. The bus carries a band or a DJ in the back. All of the seats have holders for bottles of rum and mixers. You cruise around the city with flashing lights and booming music, and periodically the bus stops and everyone gets out and dances (or more likely staggers) around. Heaven or Hell? You decide.

I did it once, and while it was kind of fun, I don't think I would do it again unless someone got a group together.

Here's some more ideas for decorating your bus.

[Rhiannon8404]

I feel the need to link to this:
Magic Bus

[TriPolar]

I think you get more than $1000 scrapping it. Hard to believe it goes for that little and can actually be driven to the scrapyard.

[Rick]

Originally Posted by Colibri

Make it into a chiva parrandera (party bus) like we have here in Panama. The bus carries a band or a DJ in the back. All of the seats have holders for bottles of rum and mixers. You cruise around the city with flashing lights and booming music, and periodically the bus stops and everyone gets out and dances (or more likely staggers) around. Heaven or Hell? You decide.

I did it once, and while it was kind of fun, I don't think I would do it again unless someone got a group together.

Here's some more ideas for decorating your bus.

I know what will be on the schedule for the first Panama international dopefest.

[cynyc]

Sigh. Reminds me of the time I took a trip with the "Hog Farm."

And I'm ready to hit the road again, but in something smaller and ready to go.

ANother thread coming.

[cynyc]

Originally Posted by TriPolar

I think you get more than $1000 scrapping it. Hard to believe it goes for that little and can actually be driven to the scrapyard.

I got a perfectly fine USPS step van once for 175 bucks. No car I've ever had had a motor that purred perfectly as that did. I flipped it for resale.

[astro]

Originally Posted by Chessic Sense

I have the unique opportunity to purchase a public bus for less than $1,000. It's a real, regular, operational bus that, y'know, stops at the corner to pick up passengers. I do need a new vehicle, and for a smooth grand, I can't see a way this could go wrong. Do you think this is the right purchase for me?

If you owned a bus, what would you do with it? I'm thinking I might just drive around and see who gets on.

Maintenance and replacement items (tires, batteries, filters etc) on a bus is likely to be a lot more expensive than a car. Unless you have a definitive plan for it it could be a cost sink even if you got it for free.

Per beowulff's warning there's a reason it's so low priced, and it's not because you are just one lucky fella.

[engineer_comp_geek]

When I was young, our church bought an old used bus that they got cheap. The plan was to use it for occasional trips for the youth group and other church groups. It broke down on the first trip they took it on, and they had so many problems with it that they gave up on it a few years later and got rid of it.

That's my only old used bus experience.

[Yookeroo]

Name if Furthur.

Or paint it like this.

[Jackmannii]

If you get to be good at parallel parking that sucker, no other vehicle will ever seem like a challenge.

[njtt]

I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it.

You can't have it!

Think how much I'll save.

[robert_columbia]

Originally Posted by Emtar KronJonDerSohn

You probably need a commercial license with an airbrake certification and passenger endorsement....

I was under the impression that 15-passenger vans (frequently seen as "church buses", and sometimes used by tour groups) like the Ford E350 were generally the largest vehicle that could be driven with a regular, garden variety non-commercial driver's license.

[TriPolar]

Originally Posted by cynyc

I got a perfectly fine USPS step van once for 175 bucks. No car I've ever had had a motor that purred perfectly as that did. I flipped it for resale.

When was that? Scrap prices are pretty high now, one of the reason used vehicle prices are high now. But it could be one of those deals.

[El_Kabong]

City buses have fairly crude suspension systems and struggle to reach 60mph, plus as we all know, they are rigged to explode if they get up to that speed then go under 50 miles per hour again ; so, it's not really very practical as a camper conversion or to take on road trips. What you are looking for there is an intercity bus or a coach/tourbus conversion.

I've met someone who has one of those things (supposedly Julio Iglesias used it at one point) and it's a beast. The owner has shown up in it at a couple of suburban parties I've attended, and I imagine he had to do a bit of planning to make sure he could navigate the streets to his destination. Likewise, I haven't asked whether it requires a CDL (Commercial Driver's Licence), but he tools around in it as though it was just a really big car, so either he does have one, or doesn't and is a bit insane; I'm slightly inclined to the latter.

Re: the OP's object of desire, if it's something like a classic GM 'Fishbowl' (the 'Speed' bus) various transit museums might be interested in it as a donation.

[Spiderman]

If it's used as a private vehicle it can be registered as such, no commercial enforcement, no CDL required. But that also means you can never have a paying passenger or as ad on the bus either. Can't charge even $1 for gas to get your buddies to the game.

That & parallel parking is a b$%^&.

[SpyOne]

Looks like we've hit the high notes:
1) operating expenses will be high
2) maintenance/repair will be costly
3) it almost certainly weighs enough to require a special license. (It varies from state to state, but in Connecticut it was anything over 18,000 pounds, and a School Bus weighs 26,000 pounds empty.)
4) it takes up a lot of space when parked, making it hard to keep unless you've got some land
5) it weighs enough to do some serious damage, meaning insurance will be costly.

On the other hand, I've always wanted one, and owning one could be cool. If you don't want it, tell us where it is.

[SpyOne]

Folks are confusing a Commercial Driver's License with a license for a different class of vehicle.

My data is out of date, but something very similar will still apply:
Before there was a CDL, Connecticut had what they called a Public Service License. Anyone who carried passengers as part of their job needed one: cab drivers, limo drivers, bus drivers. But having a Public Service License only allowed you to carry passengers for a living. You also needed a license for whatever type of vehicle you were driving.
A Class Three License covered passenger cars and the like. Specifically, it covered vehicles under 18,000 pounds.
A Class Two License covered non-articulated vehicles over 18,000 pounds, so big trucks and buses.
A Class One License covered semi-trailer trucks over 18,000 pounds.
Class One included Class Two, and Class Two included Class Three. Each was also available in a version that basicly added "and motorcycles" onto the end, which IIRC were Class Six, Five, and Four.
So, if you were looking to drive a semi-truck cab, with no trailer, and the cab itself was under 9 tons, your passenger car license would do. And if you were using a semi-trailer setup by putting a 5th-wheel hitch in the bed of your pickup, you could do that with a passenger car license so long as the combined weight of truck and trailer was under 9 tons.
And if you wanted to drive a taxi, you'd need a Public Service license and you standard Class Three license. But if you wanted to drive a school bus, you'd need a Class Two license in addition to that Public Service license.

Getting a Class Two License was apparently very easy, though, as you just had to show that you had some clue how to not run stuff over, and then show that you could back up using just your mirrors.

[Quercus]

When I was a kid, my Boy Scout troop had a bus (and then another). It was great for bringing a wild pack of kids off to the woods or wherever without needing lots of parents to drive three hours there and then three hours back.

So, if you're involved with some kind of youth group, it might be worthwhile. Get the other parents to chip in, and go for it.

[Lukeinva]

If you can park it on your property for $1,000 heck yes you should buy it, provided it works. Trick it out into a camper or rock star mobile and go places, e.g. camping or gigs. Paint it up all cool, too.

[Leaffan]

Is your last name Partridge?

[TriPolar]

If it runs, and you can drive it to a scrap yard, you should take the $1000 and scrap it. The parts will be worth a lot by themselves, and the you should get more than $1000 for any metal that isn't valuable as a part (maybe not if you've sold the engine, but then you would have received a lot for that). If it's old enough, the parts may have no value, but the metal still will. You can't lose on the deal, unless you fail to get rid of it as soon as possible.

As an alternative, if you have the space for it, and need a little outbuilding, or even extension on your home, it would work fine, so you could just keep the body and sell or scrap the parts. I've considered a couple of times purchasing a train car diner as an extension to my house (I'm weird). A full size bus could serve the same role.

[Omar Little]

What could you do with it?

You could start a Party Bus business with it. Put in a decent sound system and rent it out with a driver for around $100 to $150 bucks an hour. Allow people to bring their own coolers with booze on it. Negotiate arrangements with local clubs (strip or otherwise) that would allow your patrons to get in without paying the cover charge. Win Win for you and the clubs.

[Colophon]

Put a real route number from your town on it, drive the usual route and pick up passengers, then partway through the journey, turn onto the interstate and announce you will be diverting to Florida. (If you live in Florida, make it Minnesota. Or Tijuana.)

[control-z]

I would think the service/maintenance costs would be astronomical. If you're well off financially and want a hobby, go for it.

[ducati]

I'm for merging the party bus and car pool folks.

Rent it out to your local sports fans going to the game. They can party and don't have to park.
You drive them to the arena/stadium and pick up after. Or, stay and have the typical tailgate thing. The college fans are nuts. I'd get a deposit.

What could go wrong?

[FlyingScotsman]

I work with several transit museums, some of which own, or have members who own, transit buses. One acquaintance of mine for years had a "bus yard" out in the country with twelve vintage buses stashed out back. Most of them got "parted out" for parts for museum buses after he died.

You fail to specify whether the bus in question is a school bus, a transit bus, an intercity bus, a tour coach, or what. It pretty much doesn't matter; the advice I give will apply across the board.

On top of all the other factors mentioned above--cost of fuel, driving training/experience, cost of tires, cost of engine parts, etc.--let's throw in insurance. Affordable insurance is available provided you register the vehicle as an antique, vintage, or whatever "out" the state/province gives you on licensing. But said vehicles are restricted in mileage they can accumulate, and/or in age. If your vehicle is not old enough or you expect to drive it more often than, say, once a month, forget it. Most larger vehicles like this will only get insured in a commercial vehicle setting, which is FAR more expensive than normal auto insurance, for good reason.

One other thing that will hit you big-time: if you ever break down (let's be real and say "when you break down"), you'll have to call a truck towing company, not your average tow truck. Think cubic dollars again.

The only way to justify something like this is something like, for example, an "ultimate tailgate party" bus, set up with kegerators, grills, etc. This has been done successfully at many college and pro sports stadium events. But at this stage of the game, you are, indeed, talking commercial-scale dollars, not a whimsical "I can drive to the supermarket in this" deal.

I have also seen some serious kit-bashing of former school buses into hay haulers in the Western states. Basically, you cut down everything behind the first two rows of seats to the floor and turn it into a flatbed truck. Additional welding and reinforcement will be needed, and I think the few I've seen operate under farm-truck provisions in state laws. This is something you could do if you're driving rural roads in Montana or Arizona, not down Broadway or Main Street. And you're still burning a heck of a lot of fuel.

Finally, I understand scrap prices have diminished in the past year because of the depressed Chinese economy. I've heard reports that scrappers are now offering as little as 50% of what they were a year or so ago.

Basically, buying a bus like this is in the same order as buying a vintage British sports car or motorcycle or Airstream. You're joining a cult, not getting a bargain, and that cult will quickly consume as much of your time and money as you let it.

[ducati]

Originally Posted by FlyingScotsman

Basically, buying a bus like this is in the same order as buying a vintage British sports car or motorcycle or Airstream. You're joining a cult.

As an owner of many vintage British cars, motorcycles, and 1 Airstream, I resent your use of the word "cult". We are merely unique collectors of overlooked and undervalued examples of mobile art and history. It's not a gang, it's a club!







All Hail British Leyland, Miguel Galluzzi, and Wally Byam!

[billfish678]

Paint it jet black. Darken all the windows. Throw some satellite dishes, antennas, and various pipes and do hickies on the roof.

Paint some random collection of white letters that appear to be an acronym for some gubment thing.

Gather up a few friends. Make sure you all dress in Back to the Future hazmat type garb.

Stop in random subdivisions, have all your friends jump out, appearing to take soil samples, various geiger counter measurments, scribbling a few notes and grabbing a few quick photos. Make sure someone in the neighborhood sees you.

Jump back in and dash off quickly.

[DesertDog]

Lots of folks convert busses into RVs but they mostly use retired school busses. Cheaper to acquire, cheaper to run, less stuff to throw away when it's being stripped out. They got a forum, http://www.skoolie.net/