Want to own this beat up 60-foot Muni bus? Bidding starts at $500

This 60-foot transit bus sure looks like it once prowled Van Ness Ave., or some nearby location. Now it will belong to the winning bidder of a June 8th auction. This 60-foot transit bus sure looks like it once prowled Van Ness Ave., or some nearby location. Now it will belong to the winning bidder of a June 8th auction. Photo: Bar None Auction Photo: Bar None Auction Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close Want to own this beat up 60-foot Muni bus? Bidding starts at $500 1 / 10 Back to Gallery

Imagine a future where you can pick out any spot you want on a Muni bus, including the driver's seat.

That will be the reality for the winner of an online auction based out of Sacramento. The top bidder will take home (tow truck permitting) a plastic seat-filled, articulated transit bus with a few bonus traffic posts thrown in.

While the 60-foot vehicle appears to be scrubbed of all references to Muni, including the Clipper Card reader, the unit carries all of the hallmarks of a San Francisco electrified bus trolley, and online forums suggest the model - the New Flyer E60 - was only ever produced for Muni.

Interested Burning Man regulars buyers can inspect the vehicle for themselves on June 7 and 8 at the Bar None Auction lot on Power Inn Road in Sacramento. The auction, scheduled to take place over a live webcast, will include commercial trucks, tractors and other vehicles. It begins at 9 a.m. on June 8. The auction house says this particular item may be bumped to next month if paperwork does not come through.

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Though potentially an enticing conversation piece for San Francisco nostalgia buffs and art car creators, the auction house wants you to temper your expectations of converting the vehicle and getting it permitted for a drive to The Playa.

"A lot of these vehicles have used up all of their lives. It's typically pretty worn out stuff," said Josh Seidel of Bar None, who would not confirm or deny that the bus was once used by Muni. "The city of San Francisco buses tend to be very heavily used."

The vehicle does appear to have climbed a San Francisco hill or two over the years (see the photos above), and Sidel suggested most bidders in such vehicles are just interested in scrap metal.

The successful bidder has three days to completely settle up and a week to get the rig off the site. That may prove difficult. As you can infer from the words "TOW" currently painted across the front windows, this vehicle is not currently operational. And notice that this is an electrified trolley, so the ideal buyer needs a lengthy network of overhead power lines sprawling out from the garage.

"They are incredibly difficult to move," said Seidel. "You basically can't use it."

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The format for the auction will allow people to bid online in $100 increments. The opening bid is currently listed as $500. For some, that may be a small price to pay for the right to yell "step down" at every guest attempting to exit your personal bus.

If that all seems like too much hassle, consider buying this familiar looking "Meter Maid Cart" at the same auction. Traffic enforcement helmet not included.