Hi, I'm very new to diesels and my autox club is looking at a vehicle to use for hauling our gear from event to event, and also to run registration and timing from. The vehicle in question is a short bus that has a 7.3 in it. It has 442,792 miles on it. What is left of the engine at this stage of life? I'm assuming good service through out it's life because it's been owned by the local transit group.

Here is the bus if you are interested.
Public Surplus: Auction #1035819

Our use will be minimal, a few thousand miles a year at the most.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks
Brian

 

a couple thousand a year sounds like a diesel would be more trouble than it's worth.

 

i have seen well maintained 7.3 powerstrokes with 700,000 miles on them that still run like new, and i have also seen abused 7.3 powerstroked throw connecting rods through the side of the block with 60,000 miles on them.

 

Like tjc said . Hat toss . Another 200k or 20 miles ... Who knows . Have it inspected by a good shop before you consider it . If they won't allow you to have it checked out ... Walk Away !

 

gas or diesel ... an abused or neglected engine usually has a short life span. a pampered, well-maintained engine can go for a very long time indeed. i have gotten some good buys by picking up high-mileage vehicles that others wouldnt even go look at because of the numbers showing on the odometer.

 

A gas engine will be cheaper to maintain and fix, and you're not driving anywhere close to enough miles per year to offset that.

If you choose a diesel, you must understand that this is turning into a "want" more than a "need", and it's almost certainly not going to save you a cent in the long run.

If you were putting 10x the miles per year, this might be debatable.

 

Could be, Diesel wouldn't be my choice but it seems to be what's available in the small bus or box truck lines. We had a Chevy box truck that was barely serviceable until vandals got to it a couple months ago. I think they added something to the oil, it made it 7 miles and threw a rod.

 

Thanks, that upper end was what I wanted to hear. as with anything it;s all about the maintenance and how it was treated.

 

The only want/need we have is something to carry our junk by early March that fits in the budget we have set at $2500. We have seen some of these short buses go for under that, This one didn't it went for 4K, so gas or diesel doesn't really matter as much as getting something to use.

Thanks for all the replies,
Brian