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Post by towertransit70 on Aug 8, 2016 8:55:55 GMT
I know this is similar to the Bus Preserve thread. So lets say you brought your chosen bus, but then what happens next? This will discuss all the different things you require into keeping your bus Enjoy 😉 PS: If it's a bad thread to make, I can always delete it. This is my 2nd thread. So I am quite new into threads. Comments are always welcomed!
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Post by M1104 on Aug 8, 2016 11:03:55 GMT
Before buying a bus consideration must be made on where the bus will be stored when not in use. Ideally such a storage place should be well secured and have electricity and water facilities for battery charging and mechanical requirements respectively. From what I was told storing the bus can be very difficult as sometimes one may have to travel a great distance to find a place that is affordable/available for your vehicle. Even if you find such a place it may not always be permanently guaranteed....thus back to square one in finding another place for your bus. If you happen to have a piece of secure land yourself then that is a great obstacle overcome. Keeping a bus would be the next issue to consider as there are the legalities (tax, Insurance, operation licence, strict safety issues) and maintenance of the bus which your financial pockets must be readily available for. Buying the bus is the easier part, in many ways like buying a car if you have done so. The above points are what have to be heavily considered (and what was once told to me when I had inquired)... and of course having the relevant licence and certificates to drive your bus on the public highway, especially if you plan to drive the bus with passengers.
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Post by towertransit70 on Aug 8, 2016 16:35:04 GMT
Great stuff there! Do u own a bus? Would a big car garage do for a 10.2m bus? Petrol is very heavy and by any chance do u know how much petrol does a bus require if or when I will drive it for couple of hours? Insurance could be a whopping £6-7000 annually but that's just a guess! Keeping a bus is. a huge responsibly!!
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Post by 6HP502C on Aug 8, 2016 16:43:38 GMT
Great stuff there! Do u own a bus? Would a big car garage do for a 10.2m bus? Petrol is very heavy and by any chance do u know how much petrol does a bus require if or when I will drive it for couple of hours? Insurance could be a whopping £6-7000 annually but that's just a guess! Keeping a bus is. a huge responsibly!! If you fill a bus with petrol, I think running out of the stuff will be the least of your worries
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Post by romfordbuses on Aug 8, 2016 16:43:56 GMT
It needs a LOT of petrol and you could fit a double decker in a garage
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Post by guybowden on Aug 8, 2016 16:52:22 GMT
I quite like AEC Regent 5s with Park Royal bodywork, some are manuals others are semi-autos. I'll use a manual one for an example here-
Have I got the right license? No. What do I need to do to get the right license? Get my auto PSV upgraded to a manual one by speaking to the DVLA, quite simple. If you don't have an auto PSV then you have to take a theory, hazard perception and practical PSV test most likely an auto one, so you will have to upgrade that to a manual. You also need a car license before you can get any PSV license. (If you have an auto only car license you cannot upgrade to a manual PSV without taking a manual car test)
Can I afford it? Having X amount of thousands in the bank to buy the bus is great, but can you afford the monthly and annual bills? Under cover storage within the M25 is anything from £100 a month upwards, outside storage £50 per month upwards. Naturally you would want undercover to best protect the bus from the elements. Then I believe just historic insurance on limited milage is starting from £250 a year but to use the bus at running days is more and if you wish to do private hires, weddings, parties etc etc you will pay commercial rates that is probably double and then you have all the operators license conditions which is a whole minefield, so I will rule that out to keep this post simple.
The cost of fuel for using the bus, 10 miles to gallon at £1.10 a litre is roughly £4.84 per gallon. So a 50 mile trip out is going to cost about £24.20, say you go out 15 times a year doing 50 mile at a time is £363 in fuel.
Maintenance, If used sensibly and regularly nothing major should go wrong regularly so bills could be low. A once a year inspection and oil and filter change could cost £300 depending on the type of oil used and how much the engine needs. Coolant depends on what type used and how much the cooling system requires.
Depending on how old the bus is then you don't have to pay tax as it is classed as historic but your insurance must match your tax class to keep everything simple. I don't know how much the tax is if the bus isn't a historic bus, so I can't put a figure in.
Lets say you park the bus undercover and get the storage for £100 a month so over a year its £1200, plus your fuel (£363), Insurance (£250) and maintenance (£300) your looking at roughly £2113 for a year.
Then you have the one offs, a half decent repaint without any panels being replaced likely to be £3000 upwards. Have the seats re-trimmed including material is probably £2000 upwards if the material isn't off the self or a roll has to be made up. A tyre and inner tube is probably £150 plus VAT and fitting if you can find somewhere that does split rims. (six on a bus). Then you have to think about parts and the availability of parts, the older the bus the harder the parts could be to find.
Having said all of the above, if you enjoy driving, buses and have the money and aren't afraid on spending it, then go for it because you never know whats around the corner and where life will take you.
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Post by towertransit70 on Aug 8, 2016 18:02:30 GMT
If u wanted to do private hire in London, do u need to apply for the London service permit or there's another way? would it be expensive for having insurance on buses that are made after 2000?
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Post by stubag on Aug 8, 2016 18:16:49 GMT
Your carrying passengers your gonna need an ops licence, so you need to have at least 6k as fluid capital in the bank for the traffic commissioner and pay a transport manager 200 a month (rates vary and I have space on my certificate if your serious) or do your own management CPC at at cost of 600 upwards...the costs spiral
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Post by RT3062 on Aug 8, 2016 19:55:31 GMT
There also the LEZ to consider unless the bus is built before 1973 i think
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Post by capitalomnibus on Aug 8, 2016 21:46:04 GMT
Great stuff there! Do u own a bus? Would a big car garage do for a 10.2m bus? Petrol is very heavy and by any chance do u know how much petrol does a bus require if or when I will drive it for couple of hours? Insurance could be a whopping £6-7000 annually but that's just a guess! Keeping a bus is. a huge responsibly!! A big car garage would not hold a 10.2m bus!! That is around 2.5 cars. Diesel wouldn't burn as much mpg as you would not be in passenger service (hence starting and stopping) nor carrying any passengers. So could return around 15mpg. Insurance would be around £300-600 a year with limted mileage, say 1000 miles.
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Post by twobellstogo on Aug 8, 2016 21:51:21 GMT
Why not start by joining an existing bus preservation group and helping out?
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Post by towertransit70 on Aug 8, 2016 22:20:38 GMT
If I was to just carry my family only and some relatives, would that be ok? Not public passenger service! What type of fuel would a bus need? Diesel, etc... Would a 8.9m bus fit in a big car garage? To fill it up, can u do it at any petrol stations? If I was using the bus whilst driving and I decided to stop somewhere, would I be allowed to park it at a bus stop or on the streets?
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Post by capitalomnibus on Aug 8, 2016 22:58:42 GMT
If I was to just carry my family only and some relatives, would that be ok? Not public passenger service! What type of fuel would a bus need? Diesel, etc... Would a 8.9m bus fit in a big car garage? To fill it up, can u do it at any petrol stations? If I was using the bus whilst driving and I decided to stop somewhere, would I be allowed to park it at a bus stop or on the streets? You could carry friends family on a comprehensive, social domestic & pleasure policy. You are better off having a PCV licence for this as it would reduce your insurance drastically. Otherwise, if you passed your car test after 1997, you would not have entitlement and need a PCV to drive a bus. All buses are diesel, due to diesel engines have higher torque figures than petrol plus would gain more miles than petrol. No bus would fit in a big car garage, seems like you need to "measure" your garage before you come up with these ideas. for a start the height, it would not fit, then the length is way too short. Many car garages are around 5 metres long or less. Yes you can use any petrol station. Although some double deckers cannot fit in all; so check the height. You cannot park on every street. Standard highway code parking applies. In London also most councils has a 8pm till 8am on most streets. You cannot just park it at bus stops as many of them have no parking except LT buses signs affixed.
My advice is to wait a few years before you are sure on all rules etc before committing to make any purchase.
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Post by towertransit70 on Aug 9, 2016 7:30:33 GMT
So a car garage wouldn't fit any bus? Were u suggesting to make a garage or to park it somewhere else? Do u know a website that shows the rules of keeping a bus?
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Post by twobellstogo on Aug 9, 2016 9:02:01 GMT
Without meaning to sound miserable : you need to think of the following :
1) do you have a lot of disposable income, or a number of other bus-loving friends who could contribute to the costs? 2) do you know how to look after a bus mechanically, electrically and aesthetically, or do you know others who do? 3) do you have somewhere to put your bus? 4) have you already learned how to drive a bus and have the licence to do so : or again, do you know someone who does?
If the answer is 'no' to any one of 1, 2, 3 or 4, join an existing bus preservation group first!
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