Small Passenger Bus prices

[herd]

Hi, this is not quite about Rving but I think I'm putting in the right forum. I am on the Board of Deacons at my church and we have been saving for a new Church bus, something in the 15 passenger range as I think over that the driver would need a CDL. What we would want would be like about the size of a Class C, roomy with room for luggage, etc.

Since everything I read about Class C's being such a bargain these days, I thought maybe it's a good time to go after this church bus. We have $24k in our bus fund, and can tap another 5-6 or so. We are a small (100 active) church and most of us would prefer not to borrow, so I'm wondering how good of a bus or how close to new can we buy for 25-30K. Aren't the dealers giving big discounts as well on these things. tks you all for input.

[Marsha/CA]

Hi welcome to the forum.

I'm a little confused on your question.  Are you asking if a Class C would work as a church bus for approximately 15 people for your congregation? 

If so, the first thing to consider is that a Class C will not have seating for 15 people, who also need legal seat belts.  So, I'm not sure a Class C would fill your needs.  Perhaps a passenger cargo van would be a better solution.  I don't have any good information on passenger cargo Vans, but perhaps someone else on the forum would have some information for you.

Marsha~

[Ron]

You might want to look at the small buses that some communities use for a senoir bus.  Like Marsha mentioned a class C just doesn't seem to fit your needs.

[herd]

I only referenced the Class C as I thought it would be similar in model, chassis, framework, engine specs, etc, as  would a 15 passenger bus type vehicle. Pls, omit the reference to Class C, I am just wanting to know if dealers are now discounting these bus type vehicles in a similar manner to how they're discounting Class Cs or other similar trucks/vehicles. tks again.

[baadpuppy]

You might want to check with one of the bus conversion groups out there such as skoolie.net.  I've seen similar questions posted there before.  Frankly, assuming you don't require a brand spanking new bus, with that kind of budget you should be able to get exactly what your looking for with a little patience.

When I was shopping for my bus to convert, I saw several that matched your described needs for under $10,000 on auction sites like ebay, publicsurplus.com, and govdeals.com.

It sounds like what you want is a small shuttle bus, probably on a ford E350 or E450 chassis.  These are the little busses you see at the airport for hotel shuttles.  Something like eBay item # 320340473790 might do the trick for you.

I hope this helps,
jim