How much does a Mexican luxury bus, cost?

General Discussion
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I hope it is not a violation to talk about buses. ADO, one of the best Mexican bus companies, just announced the purchase of 200 new buses. They will be used partly on regular ADO service around much of the central Mexico. And, partly on ADO Platino, a really luxurious bus division of ADO.

The stated purchase price, as reported in El Sol de Puebla was un mil mdp, which means 1,000 million pesos. Where I come from that is one billion pesos. Divide that number by 200, then by 20 for dollars and it comes out to 250,000 dollars for each bus. Wow! I had no idea!

I do not mean to imply the Volvo buses cost as much as the MB. Heh, heh. But, all the data I had gave an average prize of the 250,000 dollars.

The two models purchased are Irizar i8, which is made by Mercedes Benz, and Volvo 9800.

The regular ADO service has normally been Volvo, so my guess is those will be regular service.

And, Platino has in the past been MB, so it is sort of obvious which goes where.

The MB buses are sleeper buses. They have seats for 27 passengers. The seats lay down like an easy chair.

Here you can see a tour of the MB bus, except in use the windows will have heavy drapes over them so the inside is dark in the brightest day. And, you also cannot see out the front so traffic problems do not bother you. I have used both lines.

Volvo buses pack in more passengers, of course, but they are still rather comfortable for short, day trips.

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That looks like a fairly nice bus

Many people probably have no idea how well represented MB is in the commercial vehicle market. They are not a bit player. And they didnā€™t get their market share by building overpriced garbage. Their products . . . Iā€™m talking commercial . . . seem to be regarded as among the most capable, and longest lasting. Sure, their stuff isnā€™t cheap, but youā€™re buying quality

Now if we start talking about MB automobiles and small suvs, thatā€™s a different story :smirk:

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Very nice rig. Based on the seat description it sounds a lot more comfortable than an airliner even if A to B does take longer.

About 5 years ago a long time friend of mine who lives just across the border in KS bought an early 60s Trailways bus on a whim. It shows its age but the old diesel fires right up and runs like a charm.

He yanked a few seats out and replaced them with a bed. Not long after he took that old relic on a trip to OR and back with no issues.

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Iā€™m not at all surprised that the buses cost about $250k. They have to be heavy duty, built for hundreds of thousands of miles. $250k is nothing unusual for a fancy class A motorhome.

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Iā€™ve ridden on ADO buses (not platino) and they were very, very comfortable. Iā€™m not surprised they cost that sort of money.

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I am guessing they have Internet. Last March I took a bus from McAllen back to Mexico, on a much lower rated line. It had a monitor for Internet at each seat. So, I am guessing ADO will, too.

The reason I was surprised was total ignorance of what one would cost.

In Cordoba, a town in Vera Cruz state where some family live, there is the main parking lot for a local bus line in the same block.

Several years ago, I asked the owner how long they lasted. I thought it was a reasonable question until I learned better. Those very low class local buses, I call cattle trucks, never are considered out of date or worn out. Unless they are cut in two pieces and rolled in a ball, they start cutting and welding.

I found out some of the local buses like that have run almost every day for 30 or more years.

Another factoid. A few years ago, ADO donated some of their old buses (first class buses are replaced for poor condition) to a school district for class rooms out in the jungle area. Doors; windows; roof; seats; what more could one want?

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In my town in the USA, they are buying new city buses at $450K each! Seems ADO got a bargain.

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Some of the best motor homes out there are bus conversions. I saw one in Montana once. The guy had taken an old GMC bus - the one with the step-up roof - and had made it into an unbelievable rig. He had full-length slideouts on one side, and two slideouts on the other (only the bathroom and the part of the kitchen where the sink was didnā€™t slide), so when it was parked it was absolutely huge inside. Marble, granite, expensive woods, and leather everywhere. And all that with over 500,000 miles on the clock because commercial buses run forever.

Itā€™s something Iā€™d love to do some day, but I canā€™t get the SO interested in the RV scene. Oh well.

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Sorry, but the more I read the more interesting this became. I have spent many an hour in an ADO Volvo bus. Going east out of Mexico City, in less than an hour you have climbed nearly 4000 feet. MC is around 7000 feet above level, and Puebla is the same. But, you go over a mountain peak that according to my hand-held barometer is around 11,000 feet. You see cars stalled from overheat along the highway.

This may sound hokey, but I love the sound of those big Volvo diesels. Even on that horrid climb, they sound as if they are really doing their business. No strain at all, as you hear on most buses.

Here is a page on the Volvo 9800, alas in Spanish. You might want to copy and past stuff into https://translate.google.com/?hl=es if you are interested. Here is some data which I translated.

http://www.volvobuses.mx/content/dam/volvo/volvo-buses/markets/mexico/our-offering/documents/140-0695_Volvo%209800_Mexico_ES-MX_FINAL_LOW.pdf

13 liter diesel 460 or 500 hp

automatic emergency braking for collision avoidance

power steering

12 speed transmission

air conditioned sleeping room for backup driver underneath

560 liters of diesel, and 64 liters of ā€œadblueā€, I bet someone here knows what that adblue is, I do not.

Apparently two models exist, one weights 19,500 kg or 42,900 pounds. The other weighs 27000 kg or 59400 pounds. I think that is loaded gross weight with fuel and all passengers and luggage aboard.

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@irlandes I think the adblue you mentioned is the same as DEF here in the states.

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Once, my wife was concerned about special stuff she checked on ADO on a trip. She fussed at the driver how important her luggage was that day. He finally pointed at the ADO logo on his shirt and said this is why I can guarantee you your luggage will be safe. He was not joking.

Another time we were rolling back west coming down the mountain to Mexico City. A big chrome piece fell off a truck we were passing, and there was a horrid thunk in the back. He announced the cooling had been lost but there was no safe place to stop right here. He kept going several minutes until he finally found a pull-off place. I assumed that motor was fried, but ADO put our safety before a horribly expensive diesel motor.

Within 5 minutes, another ADO bus headed for TAPO as we were, pulled in behind us. Our driver jumped out and started carrying checked luggage to the new bus, which had room for all of us. I ran out and helped, then a big kid joined us. Within ten minutes of being stopped, we were on another bus on our way again.

I wondered how they would move a heavy bus like that. A VTR? :smiley:
Sorry, but as I said the more I read the more enthused I got.

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Okay, thanks. I assumed someone would know.

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A heavy duty tow truck.

I once saw a strange tow setup on the highway. A tow truck was towing a bus, and had broken down, apparently. So a second tow truck was hooked to the first one, lifted the front off the ground, and proceeded down the road, two tow trucks and a bus all hooked together.

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Wow!

I will try after this posting to stifle myself as an ADO fan.

Once we were going from TAPO bus station in Mexico City on east to Cordoba. You climb from 7000 feet to 11,000 feet, then down to 7000 feet again for Puebla. As you go on east, you climb to around 8200 feet, then in 17 miles drop to around 3000 feet. This 17 mile stretch is where my 2002 Sienna developed a cat efficiency code some years ago.

East of Puebla, still at 7000 feet, the driver pulled off at a tollway medical building and a passenger rushed inside.

After while, the driver went to the pay phone and called someone. I guessed he called home for advice.

After another while, he called again.

We did not move until that passenger got aboard again. I think we waited a full half hour on a 5 hour trip.

This did not aggravate me, nor as far as I could tell did it aggravate anyone else on board. It gave me the warmest feeling to know if I got sick on a trip, ADO would do as much as possible to take care of me, instead of instantly abandoning me.

As far as I could tell, those lovely Mexican people were not bothered by the time spent to take care of their fellow people. it was just part of the day in Mexico.

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I think adblue is actually a trademarked name for def

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@db4690 You may be right about the trademark . I am not sure but I think Mexico has a lower grade diesel fuel than we have here in the states, The reason I was thinking of DEF is @irlandes stated that it was a mercedes. I think they build the same engine no matter what country they are shipped to.

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Mexico doesnā€™t use ultra low sulfur diesel . . . ?

I thought everybody had jumped on the bandwagon by now . . . ?

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@db4690 I might be wrong but it is my undrestancing that they do not perhaps, @irlandes can shed some information on the subject.

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I donā€™t know what grade of diesel they sell here, to be honest. I could guess either way. The low sulfur I assume costs more, which would tend to inhibit a more expensive fuel. But, at the same time, Mexico is ā€˜deathā€™ on vehicle pollution, especially in the Valley of Mexico.

Also, a clarification. This large purchase involved both Volvo and MB. I think the specific one I referred to that you commented on was the Volvo that used adblue. Sorry about the ambiguity.

Oh, wait a minute. On the question on low sulfur (I assume we are talking about ultra low) see

Not yet, but in the near future.

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