Buying a New Semi Truck!

Are you sure your friend isn't going to take you for a ride? If my brother or a friend with little to no trucking (business) experience were interested in buying a $100k truck and expecting/looking to me to keep their truck moving I believe I'd run away from that deal. Reminds me of what they say about loaning friends or family money, don't do it because it changes things for the worse. Or the only kind of ship that won't float, a partnership. He ever talked "going rates" with you before? I could never book any freight from family or a true friend the way I always aggressively press these people for way more money. And not because I'm a bad person. Just because I know going rates will break your ###. And this guy may be your friend but he is a broker. Not very many of them have ever seen the inside of a truck. Even the ones who have their idea and yours of a good rate will be much different. I dunno. Maybe you got this one all figured out.

 

You say you have to follow strict DOT compliance rules, haha you're funny!!

You mean like all those mexicans. eastern europeans and ##### ##### hauling cans all over the state in their 10-20 year old junk freightliners!!

 

The down sounds kinda stiff. Go talk to Arrow Truck Sales, the one here in Cincinnati, will bend over backwards for someone with $15,000.00 in their pocket and a credit score like that.

 

As a first time buyer that's the way it goes with the down payment. You can either put down around 20% and buy a brand new truck with higher monthly payments or gamble at the " casino" and buy a used one with a very good chance that you're going to have a multitude of repairs. Sometimes it's penny wise and dollar foolish.
I thought I was onto a winner with my 06 Pete with only 270,000 miles on it, only to find out it caused me so much trouble in fixing. An old timer of a truck salesman did warn me so I've only myself to blame.
He flat out told me to get myself into a new truck ASAP otherwise suffer the consequences. In the end, he was right.
And as a footnote, if you do buy new, buy a truck with a Detroit. Do yourself a favor. I'm not going to go into details about why but after talking with industry professionals about trucks in general, that's the only way I would go now. I talked to guys who know what the truck market is all about right now. Sometimes it's difficult to get the right information that will help you on the road to success.
Go and check out freightliners. I bought a '15 Cascadia Evolution, with a 500hp engine. Love it.
Good luck.

 

Karma123 have you talked to lone mountain yet? I am curious how that went..... I may be talking to them soon as well.