Cost of ownership

[orbitalsolutions]

Hello, Gardner.

The biggest factor in the cost of ownership of a 25 year old, or
older 'Bird, lies in the condition of the bus that you buy.

Remember we are talking about older buses here and no two are the
same. You will find "project buses" on the market that may need
everything replaced on them from the motor and electronics to the
fridge and carpet ect. However, from time to time, a very nice
highly updated example will be offered for sale that will need next
to nothing.

Obviously the cost of ownership will be much higher on a "project
bus" than on a Cheery example with newer motor and everything else
in the bus having been already updated and in good working order.

I guess my point is to buy your bus wisely! The project bus at a
rock bottom price that needs everying replaced will not be your best
value. Rather, find a bus that has had on-going care by folks who
were enthusiastic owners.

Take my bus for example ... the motor is about 4 years old with
15,000 miles on it. At the time the motor was replaced so were all
pumps, fan assembly even the main started motor. All belts and
hoses are two years old. Trojan batteries less than a year old.
Twin 55 amp Iota charges less than a year old. Xantrex pure sine-
wave inverter less than a year old. High deffenition Direct TV
system less than a yera old. 27" Samsung LCD TV less than a year
old. Refridgerator about 4 years old. AC units about 3 years old.
Roof deck rebedded, refastened and painted less than a year ago.
Polished Aluminum wheels that you can comb your hair in. New carpet
about 2 years ago. I could go on and on, but you get my point.

If I were to sell my bus tomorrow I could get around 25 to 27
thousand.

Now think about that "project bus" that has been sitting behind a
barn for 8 years before someone pulled it out, polished it up and
hung a for sale sign on it. These are two very different pictures
arn't they? Certainly you would experience a very different cost of
ownewship betweeen the above examples. Now you may be able to buy
the project bus for 16 thousand bucks, but get ready to spend that
much again, and more, to make it into a good looking reliable runner.

So shop wisely, and buy the best bus you can find in your price
range.

Good Luck.


James
78FC33SB "Old School"
Orange Lake, FL (Mid-Eightys, total over cast and raining)








--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "gcyeaw" wrote:
>
> I have asked other questions on this forum and I do appreciate
the
> responses I have received. I have been building a spreadsheet to
try
> to estimate the real cost of owning a vintage Bluebird. I love the
> look and would enjoy repairing/restoring the systems at my leisure
> prior to retirement.
> The price range I am looking at is under $30,000 for a 1984 or
> older FC 33 TO 35. Given that price range I would expect to have
> lots of small things to fix. Also given the age, I would expect
> higher incidence of failure in in basic engine/transmit
ion/chassis
> systems over say, a 10 year time span..
>
> Would it be reasonable to estimate $700/year for routine
> maintenance and $1000/year for unplanned maintenance averaged over
a
> ten year time span? (assuming I don't need an engine rebuild)
>
> I am really trying to determine the value as the clock ticks on
> 20 to 25 year old coaches. They may be well built, but so was I 40
> years ago!
>
> Gardner
>