The first step to building a bus conversion (apart from deep-breathing exercises, disregarding others questioning your sanity, and multiple down-sizing attempts) is to buy a school bus. Many people have trouble finding a school bus as they are trending and it’s not as if you can walk up to a dealership and ask for one…or can you? Listed below are some of the places that we’ve found you can purchase a school bus from. For a more comprehensive list, be sure to download our Where To Buy A School Bus freebie!
1. Facebook Groups
There are many Facebook groups that have been created to support other potential and active skoolie owners, whether it’s to answer questions, provide opinions, or to sell a bus. Some of these groups are Skoolies for Sale, Skoolie Planet, and Skoolies/Schoolies/School Bus Conversions For Sale USA. The benefit of purchasing a bus through a Facebook group like one of the ones mentioned above is that oftentimes other potential buyers will ask questions you hadn’t thought of, provide feedback on if they think it is a fair price, and point out any potential problems or flaws that they have noticed, like worn tires or excessive rust. Purchasing from a Facebook group is like having your own personal peanut gallery to consult with. The con of purchasing from a Facebook group is that you will be purchasing from an individual seller, which we do not recommend. If you were to purchase through a business or some of the auction sites that we’ll discuss below, it is more likely that you’ll get an honest description of the bus and complete transparency in regard to the condition of the bus and the maintenance that has been performed on it.
2. School Districts
School districts auction off their school buses rather often! Because school buses are a huge safety concern due to the kiddos, school districts regularly replace their older buses with new buses. The best way to find out if a school district is having an auction anytime soon (as the school doesn’t tend to advertise it) is to call the school directly and ask. A school bus auction by a school district is our number one recommended place to buy a school bus from as schools have regular maintenance schedules and cycles that they need to follow. They also tend to provide the maintenance records when selling the bus, and we’ve noticed that they are extremely honest about the condition of the bus. A con of this is that since it is an auction, you’ll need to be on top of the bidding and the picking up of the bus, as most auctions have a time limit of when the item needs to be picked up by.
3. Established Businesses
There are actual businesses devoted to purchasing a bus, cleaning it up, ensuring it’s mechanically sound, and then reselling it. Our personal favorite is AAA Bus in Phoenix, AZ. Hint: it’s not because part of our business name is in their city name. We have heard raving reviews about this place. In fact, it’s where our current client purchased his bus from. We’ve been told they are very knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly. The benefit of buying from an established bus selling business is that the business is concerned with getting repeat customers, meaning they care about you, your review, and any potential business you might pass their way. The con of purchasing from an established business is that, since the point is for the business to make a decent profit and there can sometimes be mechanical work done, these buses will tend to be more expensive. Remember, though: you get what you pay for!
4. Auctions
There are multiple vehicle and government sites that auction off school buses as part of a lot. The two that we are most familiar with are: Purple Wave and Gov Deals. It’s important to remember that, especially if you are bidding in a government auction, your identity will need to be identified. This does have a turnaround time of at least 24 hours. So, if you’ve got your eye on a certain bus, make sure that you provide all of the information required so that you can place a bid in time. Be sure to check our New Products page for a more comprehensive list of auction sites.
5. Other Selling Platforms
There are many, many other places to buy a bus, like from Facebook Marketplace (where we bought our first bus), Craigslist, churches, etc. We, personally, advise staying away from purchasing from an individual seller, but there are some perks to buying from an individual seller. We believe that these buses are easier to find and are usually cheaper than an established business or an auction, but there tends to be less information about the bus. On some occasions we’ve noticed that the seller doesn’t know the engine or transmission model. The seller could have absolutely no knowledge about the bus and only purchased it to “flip” it, or buy it at a low price, clean it up, and sell it at a higher price. You could get lucky purchasing from an individual seller, but we’d call it a gamble.
Don’t wait to take the leap. Be extraordinary and take the road less traveled; better yet take the road you want to travel. When you’re ready for more information, be sure to come back and review our blog post on tips for buying a bus and tips for driving a bus.