Bussy is a 1979 model bus and I am the 3rd owner. He "grew up" in the dry easter part of Washington but has lived on the "wet side" (except this year!) since I bought him back in '91. Any way you cut it, the bus is over
25 years old. Anything can and does go wrong from time to time. I have a pretty good working knowledge and can usually figure a solution to almost any problem that comes up. Almost is a key word here.Towing and road service insurance is the other key word. If you don't know how everything works and how to either make it work or figure some sort of 'work-around' to get yourself either back home or at least to a safer or better place to fix it, you'd best have a good towing insurance. Be sure to read and understand the ins & outs of the policy, too. You may not be very happy if all they'll do is tow it to the closest building with a "service bay" and a guy who wears coveralls and has a big red toolbox!
The other best insurance if you love your car but don't know a darn thing about it is to take a night course at a local community college in automotive mechanics. A lot of colleges offer courses designed to provide the car owner the basic working knowledge to keep the car running and to recognize trouble when it's starting. Typically you'll come out of the class with enough knowledge to do simple diagnostic procedures and basic maintenance. Contact the instructor before signing up and see if the course will be beneficial to your particular needs.
What hammers this home to me now is the 1973 Duster I am selling. I'm asking $500 for it. The car is probably worth $500, but in this marketplace, that is unreasonable. A neighbor offered $250 for it. I explained to him that although the car has been dependable for me, if a person expects to use it they need to know how to drive it, for starters. It has one of those carburetors from the era when they were trying to get more gas mileage and they tried all sorts of ways to squeeze more mpg while sacrificing simplicity and actual workability (pre F.I.) It has 4-wheel drum brakes that the previous owner never repaired properly (changed shoes but never turned the drums!) If you get the darn thing to get you down the road to the first intersection, it will likely swerve when you brake to stop - never the same way twice in a row - and the engine will die as you step on the throttle to pull away! Everything on the car is worn - if not worn-out! Anything could fail at any time. An enthusiast who collects 'old' cars has offered me $200. I will take that offer because I know that HE knows what he's getting and has no unreasonable expectations about using the car as a commute vehicle in Seattle traffic or some such lunacy! (Without spending a hundred hours and a couple thousand $$ to get it back to as safe as it can be - still not a modern car!)
Meanwhile, I make sure my cell phone is charged up and my AAA card is in my wallet! -BaH