Never buy a Bus

Hey,
That bus i just bought for four grand three months ago,,,,,that i worked so hard for, thinking it was gonna be a place to live in and travel in,, guess what?????
ITS BROKE!!!!!!! oh yeah,, the mechanics told me that the engine is gone,,, its so far wore out that theres no saving it,,, i just drive it till its done, which wont be for very long. Four grand to last three months,,, only one month of being on the friggen road. I got SCREWED!!!! Now im trapped in denver spanging the red rocks shows for funds to get nmy bus back from the mechanics shop so i can make it ((((HOPEFULLY)))))) to tulsa and park till i find a new one and start all over again, Im sleeping under a bridge, no food , raining everyday, trying to get to my kids, and YAY,,,, my homes dissapearing soon... Just A heads up to anyone out there...... NEVER BUY ANYTHING ON GOOD FAITH!! YOu'll just get bent over like i did. just another happy milestone. Luvn everyone,,,,, chevy

 

Aw man, sorry dude. That really sucks.

 

sister buses are high maintanance....I wouldnt trust that mechanics opinion, get a second one.
just dont let them talk you into leaving the bus. its worth so much even with a dead engine.

you can get a used engine installed for 1500
I have some lined up if you need help.

 

yeah, man, the same thing happened to me! i bought a vanagon to live in, with my boyfriend, and it broke after like a month. then we ended up on the streets, because we gave up our places to live to go on the road, and our parents wouldn't take us back. now i'm in a homeless shelter, and my life is a living hell. i want to fix the van, but it will cost more than i can afford.

 

its not easy livin on the road,
breaking down SUCKS!!!
it does happen though.
we broke down more times then I can count in many of my buses, though usually you get a feeling when something is going bad and you try to fix it before it becomes something major.
when our clutch went on us we built a barn for three weeks to raise the funds,
when the starter went on us we push started the bus threw 4 states before finding a town we could get some work in to fix the starter
when we broke down in the middle of the desert on the way to las vegas, we flew a sign at a rest area until we had enough to fix it....shit happens
I have faith in ya chevy
I know you'll figure it out!

 

Ive learned not to just buy any bus. i bought a VW bus 4 years ago, and i could never get it to pass inspection.

today i just finalized a sale for an 88 GMC school bus. (pictures in my gallery)
it runs great so far and was well taken care of. it has new everything, and a rebuilt engine. it has a generator, an ac, water reserve/pump, sink, refrigerator, and 4 bunk beds. it only cost me $5000. the guy i got it from needed the money, and was willing to part with his baby(the bus). his father just had a stroke and he needs money to take care of him.

it took me a long time to find the right bus, and only time will tell how things pan out. i plan on getting a veggie oil conversion kit, and in a year from now, taking it on the road and finding a commune to live and farm on. the bus is my new home.

 

I sold my perfectly good car for a vw bus once...the bus was pretty much a piece...needed a new gas tank and many other things. But it was a California Custom...so, so beautiful. I drove it for about 6 months, until one day my husband (at the time) was driving it to work and he noticed a funny smell. He pulled over in the parking lot of the local YMCA and looked under the van. It was on fire! He ran into the building and got a fire extinguisher but when he got back out to the lot it was up in flames. All our camping gear, gone. What can you do? His friend happened to be driving by and pulled over. He had a camera on him so he started snapping shots. I never got to see those pictures, but I'm sure it was a sight! Needless to say I was devestated.

There is something so special about VWs...something magical almost. They are so fun to drive and they have so many quirks that set them apart from any other ride. I dont think I'd purchase one though until I was in the right situation financially....like with a backup car, or a man who knows how to fix them. Dont sweat it too much sister...find your center and get your head straight. Put good things into the universe and you will recieve the same. Dont worry about things you cant control. You'll make it back to your family soon, dont lose hope. Much love

 

chevy if you haven't heard of airs yet it's certainly the right time. it's a group of bus owners that will help you out while you're on the road. you can find the list at http://www.type2.com/. look in the left frame for AIRS and then go to the map. i looked through colorado briefly and saw three people from denver, one is offering a couch to the non-psychotic. i hope this helps you. i'm sorry to hear that your trust was misplaced and you're having such a harsh time. just keep pushing on and hoping and i know you'll get through it. if you need any advice, mechanical or otherwise, i'll be glad to help out. (zen.loki AT yahoo.com.) best of luck to you. peace too.

 

zenloki thanks so much for that, chevy should be callin me soon & i'll pass that on to her
i have a feelin the mechanics tryin to scam her
so maybe i any of those bus ppl know deisel engines they can take a look at it for her

 

i hate to say it,, but you took it on the road for 3 months when ya knew it needed a few things done to it when ya bought it. as i recall glow plugs were a issue for 1.

as i recall you were going to sit in Tulsa and get the bugs worked out before ya went on the road. now here it is 3 months later,ya type as if ya been on the road the whole time and you wanna make it out like you were duped??

how many miles did you put on this bus in 3 months? 5,10 thousand?? an what maintenance did you do?

my guess is a big fat 0.
a used bus is no different than a used vehicle of any kind.there is almost always needs that need attending to. so ya paid 3500 for something that is broke down 3 months later.. 3500 ain't a lot of money for any kind of vehicle,much less a bus.even if the motor is shot its still a fair price.

seems to me you screwed yourself by not going straight back to Tulsa and fixing what needed to be fixed. you should learn to take responsibility for your own actions rather than looking for a scapegoat.

an the whole,the motors gone now i gotta get another bus statement is very irrational an not thought out. as stated a new motor is much cheaper than a whole different bus.

as far as sleeping under a bridge,, so fucking what? im sure most everyone that reads this has done the same shit themselves.no food?? what kinda self respecting rainbow cant find food in a city?

you will survive we always do.

my advice,
quit trying to blame another for your own misfortunes,quicker ya do that,the faster things will look better and the more you will learn from this experience.

may many blessings come your way an help ya threw this.

love n light

 

Very well said HBH.

 

That would not be very smart. Listen to these brothers and get'ur done. Where there is a will, there is a way.

 

How many times did you check the oil while you were on the road?

 

I took it back to north dakota as soon as i got it and had everything done to it,,, oil change, and all that shit,, fixed everything that needed it,,, just didnt know the engine was wore down ,,, but yeah,,,, I fucking did the work,,, Im not an idiot,, I did everything that i could do to that fuckin bus. Im pretty sure that youd be upset as fuckin hell if you bought something for that much money that you worked so fuckin hard for, just to have it be useless. and yeah, i dont mind sleeping under the damn bridge, but i was trying to get home so i could see my daughter on her birthday, and now im back in the fuckin ghetto, so please dont tell me im looking for a god damned scapegoat. Im not stupid. I know how to take care of a vehicle,,, thats why i kept it in north dakota and fixed the fucker up.. and no the mechanics arent trying to screw me... if they were trying to screw me they would be doing useless work that wouldnt help my bus... but instead they told me""" im so sorry sweetheart but trying to fix that engine would be useless,"" so they lowered the price of looking at it and trying to fix it for me. All i was trying to fuckin say is that before anyone buys a god damned vehicle they plan on traveling in or living in to take it to a mechanic and have them look at the wear on the engine,,,, Ok?? Or would you like to fuck with me some more and tell me how stupid i am and how all of this is because im an idiot.

 

Oh yeah,,, and one more damn thing,,,,, I checked the oil every fuckin time i fueled up or stopped,,, and yeah,,, got the second ,,, and THIRD opinion,,,

 

So sorry this happened to you. Obviously you got taken. It sucks that people will do anything to make a quick buck. A bus without an engine isn't worth s#*t.
I wouldn't give up on bus life alltogether though, our bus still runs strong after 4 years, and I know busses that have been on the road longer than that.
I don't know much about Denver, but Colorado Springs is a homeless friendly town. We spent a week there fixing the water pump and found people super cool.

Blinkin..how mich damn maintanance is needed for three months??? If you change and check the oil, keep the radiator filled you should be good to go.

Hillbilly, she would have had to cross the country 4x to put 10k on the engine.. I doubt that happened in three months.


Sending good vibes, I hope that all goes well. PM me if you need anything.

 

Ball back in Blinkin's court I believe...

 

hmmm i think someone needs some sort of a refund! Sorry Chevy that this happened to you. Phamily shouldn't do this.

 

maybe blinkin should buy that engine for 1500 and have installed for her that would be fair

 

Maybe 50-75% of the engine repair cost. Technically speaking all vehicles are sold as is. You take a certain amount of risk buying a used vehicle. I am assuming that Blinkin didn't know the engine was about to go. Thats why I say 50-75%.