6 places to buy a school bus for cheap
We know that there is a large number of resources out there for where to buy a bus. Through our research, we are going to list the best places we’ve found. But before the list of places to buy a school bus, we also want to throw out a couple of extra tidbits of advice to keep in mind during your bus search:
1. Look to the south when buying a bus.
The northern regions get a lot of snow in the winter. This leads to heavy salts on the roads in these areas. While this is great for improving driving conditions, it really speeds up the process of auto-body rust.
As we’ve mentioned previously, we made the mistake of buying a bus in northern Iowa and the undercarriage was absolutely covered in unsalvageable rust. In addition, the floor under the rubber was heavily caked in rust from children tracking snow in during the winter.
2. Look for buses from schools.
Your best bet for finding a used school bus is to look for one that has been retired from a school district. You can expect that these buses have been well-maintained and serviced regularly. This is especially true because they were used to transport children, and safety was likely a high priority.
3. Look for red flags.
A bus is a huge investment and you don’t want to buy something only to have it immediately break down. Make sure to know the common mistakes to avoid when you begin your bus search.
Where to buy a school bus
This is where we bought our second bus. It is a government auction site. This site is great for buying just about anything from building materials to musical instruments.
Additionally, they show the contact information for the sellers of the product so you can contact them before placing a bid. As far as our bus goes, we found an incredible deal. It’s a 1996 International AmTran that had been retired from a school district the previous week.
We were able to get all of the information we needed ahead of time. When we picked up our bus it only had 107,000 miles and after the auction and fees, we paid just over $3,000 for it!
This is where we bought our first bus. This option can be a bit questionable, but you might have better luck finding a bus in your area that is affordable through Craigslist. Just be sure to be thorough about checking out the bus. There are several things that you’ll want to closely take a look at when making an inspection.
Public Surplus is an auction site. It’s open to the general public where businesses post their surplus items for auction. Public Surplus is a good auction site for a couple of reasons. For one, they show you the current bids without having to create an account.
Like GovDeals, they don’t only sell buses. Also, since it is a site for surplus items, all of the bids start very low. The auction items generally have detailed descriptions.
Additionally, when you click on an item for a closer look it tells you who is auctioning the item. If you decide that you’d like to place a bid, you will have to create an account to move forward.
4. eBay.com
This is another great place to search with the option of local pickup. eBay is a great resource as well for many reasons. The biggest benefit of using eBay is that they have a money back guarantee. This means that if you don’t get the item that you ordered, if it’s faulty or damaged, or if it’s not as described, you will get all of your money back.
This is a site that sells several different types of buses. This site is pretty interesting because you can buy used or new, and it even appears that you can build your own bus. The prices are higher on this one but if you can afford it, this would be another good route.
It appears that this site also offers financing if you are unable to pay in full. They have a great customer service setup and are quick to respond to inquiries. This is also a great place to ensure that you are getting a quality bus that has been maintained and fully inspected for safety.
This is basically Facebook’s version of Craigslist. This would be another way to find a great deal on a bus locally if you are unable to travel or already live somewhere in the south.
Hopefully one of these places will be the place where you find your future dream home! Make sure to also check out this article about mistakes to avoid when buying a school bus.
