Church buses can be a wonderful tool for ministry: transporting groups to mission trips, picking up children for Vacation Bible School, and taking seniors to fun outings. If you’re considering purchasing a church bus, you’ll need to factor in ongoing maintenance in your decision process. Having a dependable bus maintenance partner will help keep those programs, and your bus, running smoothly.
Be a Good Steward
Regular bus maintenance from a qualified service provider will help your church make the most of your investment. Many maintenance items, such as brakes and lights, are also directly tied to safety. Consider bus maintenance essential to taking good care of the people you serve and good stewardship of your resources.
It’s best to know who will service your bus before you purchase it. Ideally, look for a company that offers both sales and service. Other tips for finding a top-notch service provider include:
- Look for a facility that has certified bus technicians.
Staff at some facilities have only been trained to repair cars and vans, but will also take on repair of buses without the knowledge needed to work on a bus chassis or engine.
- Tour the service facility.
Meeting the service manager and taking a tour will help you get a sense of the qualifications and knowledge of the technicians who will be servicing your bus. A good service facility should be interested in building a relationship with you.
- Discover the level of customer-service and typical turnaround time you can expect.
How quickly can a facility provide a repair estimate and perform repairs? Do they offer mobile repair calls?
- Avoid the temptation to do it yourself.
It may seem like you can save money by letting a mechanically-minded church member take on the bus repairs; however, this strategy can prove more costly in the long run. With today’s electronic equipment and the complexity of a bus, you need someone who has the right tools, software, and training to diagnose and fix any problem.
Need to Schedule Maintenance or a Repair?
The full-service bus facility at Carolina Thomas in Greensboro, NC, offers complete maintenance and repair services for any church bus, no matter where the bus was purchased. Our certified technicians are also available for mobile bus repair service. Contact us today to schedule your maintenance or repair appointment.