Looking to buy a Minibus: EDIT- AL Stag bought. Pics on Pg. 8 & 9

greatmana2000 · 24th April 2010, 22:08

Being a tour operator I would suggest that you look at a lot of vital points like mileage , life , and technology
.The Tata chaisis described here dont come with an air brake , they come with an oil brake ( i might be wrong ) The eicher and the swaraj mazda also happen to have oil brake ( may be eicher is changed ) . With air brake the braking is more effective . Even though the mitsubishi engine specs are lower , you can see that the eicher vehicles carry more payload . The reason being that the engines are heavy on torque and are low speed engines .
The AL SWB chaisis are the best compared to any other because they feature full air brake , an After market Air conditioner can be fitted , the elctricals are much better ( dunno if it is 24V ) .
The only deciding factor would be the KMPL . I think the AL bus would return less kms to a litre of diesel compared to a mazda or a Canter .

raj_5004 · 30th April 2010, 10:52

Finally we are going for the plunge friends. we have shortlisted the AL stag - 4200mm wheelbase/ 8124mm length & the eicher 10.90K - 4800mm wheelbase/ 8205mm length.

the eicher comes with air brake as option.

the advantages & disadvantages of both remain the same.

now everything depends on the final quotation AL gives.

raj_5004 · 5th May 2010, 09:50

hey guys, a small issue. We spoke to S M Kannapa (Prakash) yesterday & they said that they would not be able to build a mini bus for now as they have a huge backlog of buses. so they can accept a chassis only in september which is too late for us.

So is there any alternative option guys? which bus body builder in kerela is good? i know there is Ojes but are they good enough?

teamveevee · 5th May 2010, 10:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by raj_5004

So is there any alternative option guys? which bus body builder in kerela is good? i know there is Ojes but are they good enough?

Shillibear, Trichur Shillibear | About Us and Ojes, Kothamangalam : Ojes Builders :are the 2 good bus body builders based in Kerala.
Both makes imitation Volvos on AL chasis.

raj_5004 · 5th May 2010, 11:58

thanks buddy. which one would you rate better among them?

binaiks · 5th May 2010, 19:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by raj_5004

So is there any alternative option guys? which bus body builder in kerela is good? i know there is Ojes but are they good enough?

Why don't you have a look at Veera Vahana as well? (I don't think they would be free either - they have a huge backlog of JNNURM orders - but would still be worth a try).

I'd recommend Shillibear - their designs are too good.

BTW, what chassis have you finalised on? What ever chassis u go for, pls get us some pics of the chassis - before the body comes on

urzdeepu · 5th May 2010, 21:23

i too would suggest you to go for shillibear in which i have heard that the experts are ex SM Kannappa employees themself. has to say they provide way too good design which are unique.

an AL stag chassis on their body would look awesome..

teamveevee · 5th May 2010, 21:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by raj_5004

thanks buddy. which one would you rate better among them?

Hm, Not an expert on the subject, but lookwise Ojes is better. Do not know the quality. Also they are getting lot of publicity after builting actor Suresh Gopis Caravan. : Ojes Builders : It looks cute though. Not sure what chasis this is built on?.

raj_5004 · 5th May 2010, 21:59

ohh, one recommending the ojes & the other shillibear! adds to my confusion!

tomorrow i am leaving for kerela, atleast i will be finally which chassis i am going to buy. this i will decide after i talk to both ojes & shillibear.

i am not considering veera as i feel its not worth transporting the chassis all the way to bangalore and suffer all the hassles involved in it just to get the body done by veera. veera is no prakash right?

if that is case, i can get the body done in kerela itself, dont you think so?

greatmana2000 · 5th May 2010, 22:17

Why dont you try body builders in karur ?

Mpower · 5th May 2010, 22:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by raj_5004

hey guys, a small issue. We spoke to S M Kannapa (Prakash) yesterday & they said that they would not be able to build a mini bus for now as they have a huge backlog of buses.

Can you give us an idea on what they charge to do the body?? Thx

binaiks · 6th May 2010, 19:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by raj_5004

ohh, one recommending the ojes & the other shillibear! adds to my confusion!

Shillibear is run by an experienced hand - an ex-SMK Guy. They buses speak of quality.

Quote:

Originally Posted by raj_5004

i am not considering veera as i feel its not worth transporting the chassis all the way to bangalore and suffer all the hassles involved in it just to get the body done by veera. veera is no prakash right?

While Veera is no Prakash, Its atleast equivalent to Prakash. Veera bodies command a premium in the market (very similar to Prakash) and quite a lot of new buses are coming in with Veera bodies. Finally, its you, who has to decide where to spend your money.

raj_5004 · 7th May 2010, 08:34

hey guys, one thing is fianal, we are going for a AL stag. reasons are-
1) it enjoys better reputation in kerela in terms of reliability & maintainence
2) resale value is better
3) we already have two ALs.

yesterday, we visited Sisira kalady for body building. They quoted a price of 6.75 lakhs for the entire body & interiors which will look like a clone of prakash's body. i am not aware of their quality of work. what is your opinion guys?

today or tomorrow i am planning to visit shillibear too.

we are not considering Ojes as we have heard a lot of negative reviews about them.

DWind · 7th May 2010, 16:55

On a related note there was some news last week that MTC will go for Mini-buses to be used as feeder services on neighbourhoods which may not have enough traffic / broader roads. Not sure if Veera, PMS and Prakash are eyeing it now.

Transsenger · 7th May 2010, 20:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by raj_5004

hey guys, one thing is fianal, we are going for a AL stag. reasons are-
1) it enjoys better reputation in kerela in terms of reliability & maintainence
2) resale value is better
3) we already have two ALs.

yesterday, we visited Sisira kalady for body building. They quoted a price of 6.75 lakhs for the entire body & interiors which will look like a clone of prakash's body. i am not aware of their quality of work. what is your opinion guys?

today or tomorrow i am planning to visit shillibear too.

we are not considering Ojes as we have heard a lot of negative reviews about them.

I had earlier posted images of minibus built by Sisira in this thread. The quality of work done by Sisira is good. Meanwhile you should check out "Saxs Coaches" also. Many leading operators like Rani, Princy, TravelLink, Valliyaveetil, Coral, Remya (TVM), Skyarch (Alpy) and many more have buses built by them. Their a/c buses are having good market in Kerala. (Saxs Coaches, South Chittoor, Ernakulam). Here is sample images.

24th April 2010, 22:08	#46
greatmana2000 BANNED Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: chennai Posts: 703 Thanked: 58 Times	Being a tour operator I would suggest that you look at a lot of vital points like mileage , life , and technology .The Tata chaisis described here dont come with an air brake , they come with an oil brake ( i might be wrong ) The eicher and the swaraj mazda also happen to have oil brake ( may be eicher is changed ) . With air brake the braking is more effective . Even though the mitsubishi engine specs are lower , you can see that the eicher vehicles carry more payload . The reason being that the engines are heavy on torque and are low speed engines . The AL SWB chaisis are the best compared to any other because they feature full air brake , an After market Air conditioner can be fitted , the elctricals are much better ( dunno if it is 24V ) . The only deciding factor would be the KMPL . I think the AL bus would return less kms to a litre of diesel compared to a mazda or a Canter .
	() Thanks

30th April 2010, 10:52	#47
raj_5004 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Dubai/Mumbai Posts: 5,238 Thanked: 3,138 Times	Finally we are going for the plunge friends. we have shortlisted the AL stag - 4200mm wheelbase/ 8124mm length & the eicher 10.90K - 4800mm wheelbase/ 8205mm length. the eicher comes with air brake as option. the advantages & disadvantages of both remain the same. now everything depends on the final quotation AL gives.
	() Thanks

5th May 2010, 09:50	#48
raj_5004 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Dubai/Mumbai Posts: 5,238 Thanked: 3,138 Times	hey guys, a small issue. We spoke to S M Kannapa (Prakash) yesterday & they said that they would not be able to build a mini bus for now as they have a huge backlog of buses. so they can accept a chassis only in september which is too late for us. So is there any alternative option guys? which bus body builder in kerela is good? i know there is Ojes but are they good enough?
	() Thanks

5th May 2010, 11:58	#50
raj_5004 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Dubai/Mumbai Posts: 5,238 Thanked: 3,138 Times	thanks buddy. which one would you rate better among them?
	() Thanks

5th May 2010, 21:23	#52
urzdeepu BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Thrissur Posts: 188 Thanked: 108 Times	i too would suggest you to go for shillibear in which i have heard that the experts are ex SM Kannappa employees themself. has to say they provide way too good design which are unique. an AL stag chassis on their body would look awesome..
	() Thanks

5th May 2010, 21:59	#54
raj_5004 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Dubai/Mumbai Posts: 5,238 Thanked: 3,138 Times	ohh, one recommending the ojes & the other shillibear! adds to my confusion! tomorrow i am leaving for kerela, atleast i will be finally which chassis i am going to buy. this i will decide after i talk to both ojes & shillibear. i am not considering veera as i feel its not worth transporting the chassis all the way to bangalore and suffer all the hassles involved in it just to get the body done by veera. veera is no prakash right? if that is case, i can get the body done in kerela itself, dont you think so?
	() Thanks

5th May 2010, 22:17	#55
greatmana2000 BANNED Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: chennai Posts: 703 Thanked: 58 Times	Why dont you try body builders in karur ?
	() Thanks

7th May 2010, 08:34	#58
raj_5004 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Dubai/Mumbai Posts: 5,238 Thanked: 3,138 Times	hey guys, one thing is fianal, we are going for a AL stag. reasons are- 1) it enjoys better reputation in kerela in terms of reliability & maintainence 2) resale value is better 3) we already have two ALs. yesterday, we visited Sisira kalady for body building. They quoted a price of 6.75 lakhs for the entire body & interiors which will look like a clone of prakash's body. i am not aware of their quality of work. what is your opinion guys? today or tomorrow i am planning to visit shillibear too. we are not considering Ojes as we have heard a lot of negative reviews about them.
	() Thanks

7th May 2010, 16:55	#59
DWind BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Singara Chennai Posts: 804 Thanked: 238 Times View My Garage	MTC going for Mini-buses as well On a related note there was some news last week that MTC will go for Mini-buses to be used as feeder services on neighbourhoods which may not have enough traffic / broader roads. Not sure if Veera, PMS and Prakash are eyeing it now.
	() Thanks