5 tips for choosing the right bus for your church

By Josh Davey

Churches rely on buses to transport their members to and from church, kids to youth events, and travel for outreach or mission trips.

When the need arises to purchase transportation (to start or add to the fleet), it’s important to know what to look for when you begin making your selection.

Here are 5 tips to get you started on buying your church bus:

#1: Start with your budget

When you know what your church can afford, you can begin your search with a pre-determined set of buses in your price range. Without knowing your budget (whether it’s a monthly payment or a cash purchase), you might waste time looking at buses that are out of reach, which can be frustrating.

#2: What do you need?

Determining what are your “must-haves” versus your “nice-to-haves” can continue to narrow down your list.

Think about what kind of transmission you need, whether or not you’ll be transporting cargo, how many wheelchair spaces you’ll need, how long your trips will be, and if you’ll be making frequent stops.

#3: Upgrades and amenities 

Now that you know what you need your church bus to have, it’s time think about what you want. Seat style, head clearance, audio/visual options, and lighting can be considered at this point, when you finalize your selection choices.

#4: The final choice

Once you know what you want and need, you can browse a reputable bus dealer’s website and schedule an appointment to test drive.

Talking with your sales representative will give him a great idea of what you’re looking for, so you can have a good lineup of buses to check out in person.

#5: Think about it 

You might have done all the research and had a perfect test drive of the right bus… but you’re still not sure.

Take a break and think on it for a day or so. Ask every question you have, and allow your representative to review your options to ensure that you have all the answers you need.

Buying or leasing a bus is a big decision for your church, and one you should be happy with. Following these steps will get your church on the right path.

Josh Davey, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, comes to Davey Coach Sales from Minnesota. 

Josh is an invaluable asset to Davey Coach, and is quite adept at helping customers with developing the specifications and build-orders for specialty coaches.