Bus buying advice needed

[user 14594]

After doing some enquiries about a RHD Sunroof deluxe, i have found out that they are rarer than Hen's teeth and the Mrs doesn't want a LHD as she hasn't been driving very long. For the time being i have had to forgoe the sunroof and have a RHD Tin top.
I have found this bus on Volkzone which looks good.

http://www.volkszone.co.uk/VZi/showthread.php?t=666775
It's also on Eblag
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270637441077&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I don't think the seller is on this forum but what should i be asking him and looking out for? Does anybody know the bus The description isn't any good and he doesn't seem to be in too much of a rush to send out further pics?

 

[Clem]

From the pics it looks like its a converted panel van? (Unless Im mistaken)
If it were a late bay then it could be an ex- Devon, Viking, Danbury or Holdsworth, but Im not sure about such an early ...
This will mean non factory window seals and no factory rear seat belt mounts, it 'may' mean the vehicle has seen life as a commercial vehicle, it 'may' be the van is a non-walkthough, or has been modified into a walkthrough?
Id guess its a UK van that has been repaired/restored?
Its strong money for a non OG camper, so worth checking over.

 

[user 14594]

Whats OG stand for? It's a bit more than i would like to pay for one as well. How do you know that it was a panel van?

 

[Clem]

Whats OG stand for? It's a bit more than i would like to pay for one as well. How do you know that it was a panel van?

OG - original

The windows seals sit proud of the van body, this is a sign of conversion windows being fitted - Im sure they are, but small pics and my bad eyesight may be wrong!

 

[easy]

Defo a converted panel

 

[user 14594]

So a converted Van isn't as good as a bus?
Are the original paint buses worth more than a freshly painted shiny bus?

 

[AGC]

Shiny busses like this are SO tempting BUT beware

 

[user 14594]

Shiny busses like this are SO tempting BUT beware

Of....................?

 

[Araon]

So a converted Van isn't as good as a bus?
Are the original paint buses worth more than a freshly painted shiny bus?

1 Not necessarilly it depends on if the bus in question ticks all the boxes

2 Again not strictly as simple as that and pay heed to AGC shiny often means a lot of cover ups though not always, OG paint un touched and you see all the previous sins

you need to sit and think about exactly what you want to spend
think about what you want from your vehicle
think about what version you like, van, bus, Kombi, camper
then break it down further into specific conversions and styling
then you can research fair prices
shop around and approach sellers and go for the jugler they'll laugh at you and respond in kind a bit of tooing and froing on the price a signiture and you drive away.....
remember its the condition of the metal work you want to check out, the mechanics etc the engine is a "minorish" item to consider and paint can always be sorted later

 

[AGC]

BEWARE of the following

First of all beware of what your heart says over your head... I cant count the number of people who were blinded by what looked to be a beautiful painted bus only to find out later that they had paid good money for filler and rot... unfortunately the saying "learn by your mistakes" is one that comes back to bite lots of newby bay owners... I know thats true from my own bitter experience with my first shiny rust bucket bay. So for me original paint is best. At least theres a fighting chance that you are buying what you think you are buying.

As Araon says its the quality of the metalwork thats more important than the mechanics.

I would also add, its the quality of metal that you should look at over things like lowering jobs/ alloy wheels/roofracks etc etc

Beware also of falling for a good story such as "this barn find bus was owned by a 90 year old lady who only used it for summer hols and never drove it in the rain etc etc"

Beware also of some of the terminology used to describe condition such as

"some signs of useage with dings and dents only to be expected on a 40 year old bus"

Whats one persons signs of useage (slightly rubbed paint near door handle and grubby seats) is not the same as anothers...(been used as a builders hack for the last 10 years of its life after being pulled out of a farmers ditch and bodged up to sell) Good luck

 

[froggy]

Ask what the chassis number starts with.
My van is an ex-panel and the chassis number starts 211.
If its a resto he has done himself then ask for some pics or to see if he has done a gallery thread (readers rides) so you can see the work done, failing that go and view and crawl under it/over it/through it.
Price seems a tad high but i'm sure theres room for haggling (although if he gets that money then maybe its time mine went for sale ) and there do seem to be less RHD buses around unless its a South African import.

 

[AGC]

Where is Rustyveedub going to get an unrestored or first paint RHD bus from? When I was in the Splitscreen scene around 15 years ago the only place was South Africa or Australia. But now I think the quality from there has dropped to almost scrap!

Certainly you hardly ever see a UK bus come up for sale that hasnt been restored in some way

Salt on our roads and 40 year old metal dont mix too well

 

[user 14594]

Thanks for all the replies. I now see the negative points of a nice and shiny bus. Good job I've found this forum, I think the search for a bus is going to be long one.

 

[mjknight71]

...buy mine....throw £3k at it for a respray..........any colour you want and you know what is under the paint

:mrgreen:

 

[user 14594]

...buy mine....throw £3k at it for a respray..........any colour you want and you know what is under the paint

:mrgreen:

I'm assuming yours is a pop top. Sorry tin tops only.

 

[mjknight71]

...buy mine....throw £3k at it for a respray..........any colour you want and you know what is under the paint

:mrgreen:

I'm assuming yours is a pop top. Sorry tin tops only.

it is :mrgreen: ..........so throw £3.5k at it respray and Paris sun roof........
:lol:

 

[froggy]

Thanks for all the replies. I now see the negative points of a nice and shiny bus. Good job I've found this forum, I think the search for a bus is going to be long one.

Not all shiny buses are bad
http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4916&hilit=1971
If the bus you fancy is shiny ask for proof of the work carried out, reciepts, pictures etc etc this should give you a good idea if the bus has had a resto or a blow over