Price is a fact. Cost is a forecast. Two quotes on a desk are not a comparison until somebody puts a second table underneath them — so here is the second table.
We are not going to hand you a maintenance figure we made up about somebody else's bus. You know your routes, your shop rates, and what your last bus actually cost you. Put those in.
This is arithmetic, not a promise. It uses your numbers, not ours. What it is good for is making the shape of the decision visible to a board or a committee: a lower price with a higher annual cost crosses over at a knowable point, and the hold period decides which quote wins.
Three costs move the maintenance number more than anything else, and all three are decided the day the bus is built rather than the day it breaks.
| What fails | What it costs you | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| Floor rot | Soft spots, then a floor replacement, then usually the end of the bus | Sub-floor material. Ours is PerformMAX 500, warranted 7 years. |
| Beltline seam corrosion | Rust that starts inside the wall where you cannot see it | Whether the sidewall has a seam. Ours is one piece, pressure-laminated and bonded to the steel structure. |
| Water intrusion | Electrical faults, mold, interior damage, warranty fights | Whether anyone actually tested the bus for leaks. Every HLE bus is rain-tested with an inspector riding inside. |
Nothing on that list prorates. Before you sign anything, ask every builder on your desk two questions: how many separate warranties am I actually getting, and which of them prorate? Then read the schedule. Some competitors publish a paint warranty that steps down to 50% at year four and 25% at year five — it is in their own downloadable PDF.