When your business requires a bus—or a whole fleet of buses—you're going to make a significant investment with a bus manufacturer. Therefore, it pays to study up on working with bus and charter manufacturers and how to obtain the best deal on the buses your business needs.

There are several ways to go about buying from bus manufacturers and dealers, but the process may be broken down into three basic steps:

1. Research current prices on tour buses for sale, charter buses for sale or other types of buses you may be interested in.

2. Approach the right bus manufacturer or dealer.

3. Negotiate a deal with bus makers or dealers.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Compare bus manufacturer and dealer prices

The first step to working with a bus manufacturer or dealer is to research the possibilities. First, determine which type of bus best suits your needs. Then, consult websites and blue books to discover what current prices you can expect.

I recommend: Midwest Transit Equipment is a great place to check prices on new and used shuttle buses, school buses, church buses and more. Bus Solutions sells a regularly updated blue book for school buses.

Approach the right bus manufacturers and dealers

Many manufacturers and dealers specialize. For example, there are charter bus manufacturers, tour bus manufacturers and transit bus manufacturers who sell only those bus products. Seek out one or more manufacturers or dealers who carry the sort of buses you require.

I recommend: Daimler Buses North America and Champion Bus both offer direct sales on their buses.

Negotiate with bus makers and dealers

Armed with your research about reasonable prices, negotiate a great deal with the bus manufacturer or dealer sales team. Don't be afraid to show the bus salesman copies of your research to back up your position.

I recommend: InsiderCarSecrets.com and NewBuyer.com offer lots of free tips on negotiating a vehicle deal; the tips are geared toward consumers buying cars, but are often applicable to buying commercial vehicles, as well.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When negotiating with bus makers and dealers, always reject the first offer made; it's never the best price you can obtain. It's also a good idea to choose some small thing you are willing to 'give up' near the end of the negotiations, so you--not just the bus salesperson--are making compromises.

Bus manufacturers have been around since 1826, when Stanislas Baudry set up his “omnibus” shuttle line between downtown Nantes, France, and his public bathhouses. Two years later, he expanded to Paris; the year afterward, bus makers began service in London and New York. In 1895, German manufacturer Netphener Omnibusgesellschaft modified a Benz truck into the first “autobus.”

Early bus manufacturers made carriage buses that let people travel freely between the inner city and suburbs, encouraging urban socializing. Bench seats forced passengers to sit together and get to know one another, further encouraging social interaction.

Today, bus makers manufacture many styles for various transportation purposes:

1. Transit bus manufacturers make double-decker and extended “bendy” buses to carry large numbers of people within cities, as well as heavy-duty models for intercity and interstate transit.

2. Tour bus manufacturers build in comfortable seats with extra leg room and equip tour buses for performers.

3. Shuttle bus manufacturers typically build small, fuel-efficient units designed to carry small groups of people between two points such as hotels and airports.

4. Charter bus manufacturers equip either a transit or shuttle bus body with more comfortable seats and improved suspension to give a luxurious ride.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Ride with bus makers who offer more bus for the buck

Bus manufacturers who've been around for a while know how to apply their expertise to consistently deliver transit, tour and charter buses for sale that deliver more value for less cost.

I recommend: The largest volume commercial bus manufacturer, El Dorado National manufactures eight lines of commercial buses from its California facility. Blue Bird Corporation has been a leading bus manufacturer since 1927, offering innovative design in commercial and school buses. Its Ultra LF combines European styling with North American sensibilities, while its Xcel 102 offers more features at a value price.

Chart your course with charter bus manufacturers

Because people hire a charter bus for a specific purpose such as a group vacation, those who ride it expect more than they do from a transit bus. Charter and tour bus manufacturers add both visual styling and amenities for passenger comfort.

I recommend: Charter bus manufacturer El Dorado National makes seven different charter bus models in its Kansas facility. Prevost offers dependable, flexible charter buses for sale that feature ergonomic seats, panoramic side windows and optional hot or cold galleys.

Get from here to there and back in a shuttle bus

Shuttle bus manufacturers may build smaller buses, but quality shuttle buses are no less safe or reliable and are more varied in size than transit or tour buses.

I recommend: Glaval Bus manufactures transit, shuttle and tour buses in lengths from 21 to 38 feet and passenger capacities from 15 to 45 passengers. Units feature welded square tube steel subfloors covered with pressure-treated plywood.

Ride the bus again

While reputable bus manufacturers offer good products at good prices, sometimes buying a used bus and refurbishing it makes better sense.

I recommend: Transit Sales International has been buying buses from reliable sources, refurbishing and reselling them for more than 50 years and even offers the option to lease used buses. CR Buses completely refurbishes its buses and can configure a used bus to any user’s needs.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Look for bus manufacturers who incorporate diesel-electric hybrid or compressed natural gas fuel technology in their buses to reduce pollution.
• •  Look for used buses that originally came from areas with mild climates, such as the western United States.

Whatever your bus needs are—whether you need to find charter buses for sale, tour buses for sale, school buses for sale or some other kind of commercial bus for sale—there are several options for obtaining one bus or a whole fleet of them. Before you approach any dealer or bus manufacturer, be sure you understand bus and charter manufacturers basics.

It's always wise to do thorough research before setting foot on a bus manufacturer's or dealer's lot. This research should include a complete understanding of what your needs are, what sort of bus will best fulfill those needs and what your budget is. Then:

1. Research how best to buy from luxury bus manufacturers or other commercial bus manufacturers.

2. Buy from a charter bus manufacturer or other commercial bus dealer.

3. Lease from charter bus manufacturers or other commercial bus dealers.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Research bus and charter manufacturers basics

If your business has the means, buying a new bus has many pluses, including less likelihood of mechanical problems, more attractive appearance and a vehicle under warranty. When buying a used bus, you must take extra care; never purchase one without first having a qualified mechanic look it over thoroughly. Also, ensure that replacement parts are readily available.

I recommend: For pointers on buying used buses, be sure to read "Bus and RV Prepurchase Checklist" at Bus for Sale Guide. Other articles on this website also offer useful tips for purchasing new and used buses. American Chronicle has a concise and useful article on buying buses for churches, but the ideas presented are equally applicable to other organizations.

Buy from tour bus manufacturers or other commercial bus sellers

Once your research is complete, there are a wide variety of manufacturers and dealers to choose from. Look not only for a business that can sell you the type of bus you need, but one that also offers outstanding warranties and service.

I recommend: Transit Plus sells both new and used buses for commercial use and has national delivery and nationwide warranties. Nations Bus sells a wide variety of new commercial buses for almost any purpose.

Lease from commercial bus makers and sellers

Sometimes it makes more sense to lease a bus, particularly if you want to free up cash or credit lines. Other benefits to leasing include the fact that the bus will always be under warranty, it will carry a lower tax rate (at least in many states) and perhaps you will have the ability to use a newer vehicle because there is no down and your monthly payments are lower.

I recommend: BusGroup offers commercial bus leasing and provides good basic information on the benefits of leasing. Creative Bus Sales also offers leasing options.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When purchasing used from bus manufacturers and dealers, try to find vehicles from states with mild climates.

When you work in the bus and charter manufacturing industry, it's imperative to be knowledgeable about the differences between all of the styles and models of buses. While some terms, such as school bus, are common knowledge, there are many industry-specific terms, such as special and articulated, that you need to keep straight in order to be successful. As you brush up on your bus and charter manufacturers key terms, don't forget to learn about flat front, big cowl and chassis, as well as advanced design buses.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Articulated

Articulated describes buses with two passenger compartments that are connect by flexible a section able to bend and twist when the bus turns a corner. Articulated buses generally run 55 feet or more in length.

I recommend: Read a description of articulated bus and other related terms at the University of Michigan website.

Big cowl and chassis

Big cowl and chassis describes buses that are mounted on a truck-based, flat-back cowl. Big cowl and chassis buses do not include school buses.

I recommend: TheCDLtest.com provides a great definition of big cowl and chassis buses.

Flat front

Flat front describes transit and shuttle buses that have a flat nose and either front, mid-ship or rear engines.

I recommend: Get an expanded definition of flat front buses and a host of other bus-related terminology at idrivetrucks.com.

Special

The term special describes a bus manufactured for a specific task. Such buses include promotional buses, prison transport buses and hospital buses.

I recommend: Used-buses.net describes the term special as applied to buses and provides examples.

School bus

School buses are buses manufactured to meet a specific set of federal motor vehicle safety standards for the transport of children. There are seven types of school buses.

I recommend: School Transportation News offers a website where you can learn about the differences between the seven types of school buses.

Advanced design

Introduced in 1977, the advanced design bus ushered in a new era of transit buses with new designs. Prior to this renovation of design, buses used the same designs, which originated in 1959. General Motors Corp.'s RTS was a significant example of the new wave of transit buses that came into operation during this time.

I recommend: To learn more about this term, read the definition of advanced design at the American Public Transportation Association website.