Regardless if the bus does come either from a large company fleet or a small one, most fleet manager/owner, before the bus is advertise for sale will change/replace the following parts:

  1. Tyres: They will always try to get rid of the oldest tyres in the fleet. Just because they still have thread it doesn’t mean they are any good. The age of the tyre is very important. The spare tyre will be probably old and flat. Not many new buyers often check the spare tyre and same thing apply to jacks and emergency triangles..
  2. Batteries: Again the oldest batteries in the fleet will find their new home in the bus that is for sale. After all, as long as the vehicle does start the day it sells, it is all it matters to them..
  3. Gas Struts: Again a part that’s often replaced before the sale. Most bin door have two struts, and it takes  only a minute to replace them with worn out ones..
  4. Screen Wipers: Yes, sadly enough, I have witnessed a previous owner replacing even the screen wipers with worn out ones to save some money..

It may seem not like much, but just those four items will set you back up to $3,000.00 to replace. Just remember that the day you are there,  purchasing the bus.. Don’t be afraid to use those four as a bargaining tool to get the price down.. The owner won’t lose any money either way, and he is still getting rid of old stock for free..

If you can, try to buy from a small fleet or at least a bus with a “real” logbook history.. Small company do tend to take better care of their fleet, and they also have less chance of having several old tyres and batteries to dispose of.. Also, a highway bus will always be in better shape than a city bus both in the body and the chassis wear even if the highway bus will possibly have the higher mileage..

Finally, unless there is the proper paperwork, from a workshop, signed and dated, do not ever trust a seller telling you that the engine was just rebuilt.. You will hear that a lot, but without proper paperwork, that’s just bullshit! Most buses used daily are kept by most companies until either the contract runs out, the bus is getting closer to the max age allowed in QLD, or the bus has more than a million km.. Most engine will easily do more than a million km, but the rest of the vehicle will start to be really worn out and require more frequent services, therefore become more expensive to maintain in the fleet..