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No wipeout story, just a helpful hint. This applies to those who have been burned by people, especially Gibbs Connor's circumstance. What transpired in Gibb's instance is known as "curbstoning", meaning that the seller acts only as a private middleman and doesn't have his name on the title or any financial interest in the car. The state DMVs are adamant about stopping this practice because legitimate dealers complain that the middleman and seller avoid paying tax and pass the tax burden on to the buyer. DMV would love to hear about stories like this. I wonder
if any of these unscrupulous sellers have a dealer's license? In most states, selling 5 cars under your name in one year requires you to have one. Of course, this is bypassed by not having your name on the title!Hope this helps. lou gaz, steger, il
I wish I could say that my experiences with buying buses have been good ones.
I own three now, soon to be 2, & of the 4 I have had all together, only one has been a good deal. Having said that, I don't regret buying them completely & I've learnt alot along the way.....much of it the hard way. But as well, I've had a lot of fun as well.
Our first bus, a 76 factory-windowed panel converted to a camper, we paid AUD$4500 for her. The PO had driven it a long way & had added the poptop, bed, some cupboards & a stove & fridge himself, all in a rather rough manner. Still it seemed o.k & we couldn't see much rust. When I got it to the mechanic he told me to go & get $1500 back off the PO(like I could!) because I'd need to spend that much for the bus to stay on the road. So we parted wih the money & drove her for quite a while, & while the floor rusted, the gas pedal broke & I had to replace the battery & clamps & most of the fuses, we had a lot of fun & a couple of nice holidays. Then 3 months before rego, around a year after we had bought her, I took her for some seals to be replaced & to get a check on what would need to be done for the approaching registration. I got back to pick her up & the mechanic put her up on the hoist & showed me all the rust....floor, steps, wheel arches, front skirts.....& the exhaust & tyres really needed replacing plus a list of other stuff like the gearbox & eventually the motor. We'd been duped but it took a year to come home to us.
So, we parted with her for AUD$2100 - more than she was worth - but we lost including repairs about 5 & a half grand :-( This time I was going to be a little more careful. We searched through the local classifiedsÊlooking for a 9-seater Microbus this time........bingo!ÊOne appeared, a 77 model, & my wife & I went to have a look.
It looked rough....rougher than the camper, & the quarter windows were rusted, there were little dings all over & bad panel repairs......but there was NO oil on the engine. It was clean as a whistle......I couldn't believe my luck! I drove it.......the gears compared to my last bus were like waving a magic wand, not arm wrestling an 18 wheel truckÊdriver. But I wasn't going to caught out. I booked it into a reputable VW mechanic & had the $100 full check. The result.......it was rough & needed some body work, but the engine was the original & had never been rebuilt......in fact, the polution gear was still on, something most mechnics remove early on. So yes, the price was fine so I forked out my AUD$3500 for what I believed was aÊgood bus. The PO told me he just putted around town never above 90kmh(55mph).........I should've paid closer attention. After 2 weeks of driving her frequently on the freeway at speeds of 110kmh(65mph) I noticed a little noise in the engine develop. it was just a rattle & didn't seem bad & I couldn't even be sure it was the engine.....in fact it sounded like a loose nut in a panel. One night heading up the mountains, the bus suddenly began running VERY rough. We pulled over, but she didn't stall & when we turned her off & started her again she did start, but there was no improvement. A fellow bus driver pulled up, listened to the engine & told us we were stuffed. He was right 15 mins later we had to stop & give it up.....the cam gear had gone. I had an old 1800 I had put in that week costing me $700 but it blew up in 2 days(the mechanic had warned me it wouldn't last) & so we ended up paying $4500 for a newly rebuilt 2.0l engine......OUCH! Anyhow, the body is o.k. still & she's our daily driver now, but it was nasty shock. In between all these expenses, we were looking for a second car.......o.k., I'll own up, second bus. I found a 72 Single Cab pickup lurking behind a row of shops & paid $500 for it with the intention of not spending too much & putting it back on the road. Then I paid $160 to have it tilt-trayed home, $50 to get it to a panel beaters to get a quote for $4000( just the rust!) & then another $50 to get home again. I then toyed with the idea of fixing the panel work myself & my wife & I did a welding course where we enjoyed ourselves & learnt alot. But even still the job was beyond me & rust just kept appearing; in the cab floor, battery tray, dropgates, rear tray, undertray compartment, brake light frames, doors, sills, skirts, wheel arches, you name it.
I also had paid about $400 on parts for the pick up. Fortunately, I scored a 1600cc bus engine that is in incredible condition & only has done 20,000kms(12,500miles) & other parts that thankfully are interchangable with the Microbus.andrew wood,
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