On his daily commute, Clint has seen a shuttle bus sitting in the back of a lot for months now. Every time he'd see it, he'd think, "That would be PERFECT for our family." It was not for sale, but it had not moved in months. Clint figured it couldn't hurt to ask about it. He called yesterday afternoon and the man wanted to sell it--bad. The garage doesn't have room for it and it is very much in the way.
It came from an apartment complex where the tenant who purchased it was violating their parking lot rules. The landlord told the bus owner to move it. The tenant ignored the landlord, who had it towed to this garage's lot. The tenant was forgetful and the lot fees grew to be more than he could afford to pay. Before that, it was a Ryder rental and has a good maintenance history.
Clint checked it out first and then took me to see it last night. There is nothing wrong with it other than needing two front tires and the a/c coolant charged (Clint is certified to buy the coolant and can do the work himself). We believe the brand new tires we saved from my white van will fit it. It shows some age which is not a big deal to us-we have children who will contribute their wear and tear to it. The driver's seat has a hole in the corner, but the seats look easy to reupholster. I've done that before. It has dust bunnies inside but I can clean those easy....plenty of experience!
It is similar to this 1989 one selling for $9,900 but is a 1990, has the light blue stripes (that blue that SCREAMS "airport"-ugh) and a diesel. Clint is excited about the diesel because he's been told time and time again the engines last longer, get better mileage, hold their value better than gas and have fewer problems. People have been urging him for years to try one and those who have had them seem crazy about them. Now he'll find out for himself. He's also going to look into a vegetable oil conversion.
It is shorter than this 1990 one that sold on eBay for $13,900 but again looks similar.
While he wanted at least $2500 of the $8,000 worth of fees (!!!), Clint talked the man down to $1900. They shook on it yesterday evening and Clint is going to pay him the cash, title it with DMV, pick it up and bring it home today.
Yep, it's big and ugly but PTL we'll have a vehicle big enough for the teens, car seats and groceries with room to stretch out, room for the portapotti (going to make a bathroom similar this one), snack cabinet and more. I shop at Sam's Club and there have been times we had to open boxes and stuff toilet paper or food around the car seats! It will greatly cut our expenses when we get books for our stores (we had to rent UHaul's trucks), pull our trailer for camping, make day trips much easier on everyone, etc. Most importantly, our whole family will be together to escort our newest addition home in January.
And, we found someone who wants to buy the engine out of the conversion van. We'll keep the van in case the home elevation happens...it has a queen sized bed and four sleeper chairs that will come in handy. Clint may sell the chair lift out of the shuttle bus, but might keep it to load the boxes of books.
We didn't expect to even be able to go looking again for weeks so this came as a total surprise and was so simple. God does provide. Thank you to everyone praying with us.
