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REFURBISHMENT rental fleet," says Pek. "If we have a client that brings in a bus, either for refurbishment or repair, and they're short a bus in their rotation, we lend them or lease them back our refurbished bus. It works well as a client perk for us." Photo Courtesy Big Rig Collision Group The Big Rig Collision Group offers extensive structural, mechanical and cosmetic services to its refurbishment customers at bus body shops located across the U.S. and Canada. "The majority of our buses are supplied by customers," says Wayne Wolf, VP of Coachcrafters. "This may not be practical for many smaller motorcoach operators who don't have the luxury of having several coaches down for six weeks." LOANER VEHICLES AVAILABLE Having a coach in the shop for two months can become a major incon- DETERMINE THE 'SCOPE OF WORK' Once an operator has decided to refurbish a vehicle, the chosen refurbisher will start "the process of determining the scope of work," says Louis Hotard, director of technical services for ABC Companies. In many cases, the geographic location of the vehicle will determine what needs to be attended to. In snowy regions, "those coaches will traditionally see more corrosion challenges," Pek says. "So, a lot of what we'll do for that coach is the usual structural repairs." BRC will often start by cleaning up dents on the body of the vehicle and replacing the panels and rear wheel tubs. Corrosion, Pek points out, can start under the vehicle flooring — especial- venience for operators. However, it doesn't have to be a deal breaker, according to Pek. Although BRC does not sell refurbished coaches, it does have a small fleet of repaired vehicles that it loans out to clients. "We do have three coaches that we've acquired over the years that have been in collisions. We repaired the coaches, and now, we loan them out as part of a Do you own refurbished coaches? Have you considered refurbishing any of your coaches, rather than purchasing new ones? No 71% Yes 29% No Yes 76% Are you aware that refurbished coaches can be financed? No Yes 79% 21% 24% If you were not aware of the financing option, does knowing that make refurbishing more appealing to your operation? No Yes As part of METRO's annual motorcoach survey, we asked operators their thoughts on motorcoach refurbishment. 44 < mETRO mAGAZINE JANUARY 2013 52% 48% metro-magazine.com