2011 vs 12 vs 13 Freightliner. Must decide!!

Watch the pre def engines..as they were being overhauled at low miles..I've heard like 2-3 hundred thousand..they claim the near trucks are better..

 

Most Day Cabs Do City work and according to the maintenance schedule that comes with any truck it advise the owner to change the oil and replace filters etc a lot sooner than the long haul trucks.How many of these trucking companies wana be a Mechanic care a bout The maintenance of the truck his company owns when his boss only wants to pay him $1/hr because that Dumb boss of his wants to be competitive and insist on Hauling Cheap Freight. Or Let's Get By Freight It May Get Better Next Week.
Every Time I go to change the oil on my truck I see a werner a schnowzer or any of these cut throats trucking companies giving the TA shop The run around when the job is done and it is time to pay the bill.They maintain their trucks only because they fear The DO Do Man or They May Loose The warranty or something like that. so what do you think your chances are getting a good deal on a well maintained company truck. 50/50 I much rather buy me a LOTTO TICKET

 

bear in mind the prices you see are the asked prices, not the sold prices. Also each truck is it's own different truck. You may see an '11 priced for the same as a '12 with comparable mileage, but the '11 might have all new tires and the '12 might need new tires tomorrow. Same with brakes, seats, clutch, etc. By the time you narrow things down and skip the trucks that sketch you out for some reason there may only be 3 trucks anywhere near you that you'll want.

My recollection from renting penske semis is that the majority of what they have has the ISX 450HP in it. I assume to limit the amount of learning the techs have to do and computer BS & parts they have to keep on hand. If you're buying penske, get the maintenance printouts for the individual units and bring those to your mechanic for blessing/damnation. If you're going to be running mostly locally maybe pick your maintenance shop FIRST, and then get the truck/engine combo they're good at fixing. If your terminal is 2 blocks from a dealership, I'd think seriously about getting whatever they sell there. Helps with turnaround time hiking trucks, waiting for parts, etc. Also you'll want to build a relationship with whoever is fixing your equipment, they're going to be real important to you, and you want to be important to them. There are certain brands of trucks I will never buy because the local dealership is terrible, and sometimes you HAVE to go to the dealership.

If you end up with a truck needing lots of little 1-2 hour fixes like another poster mentioned they have, parts turnaround and proximity to your yard can make a big difference by the end of the year. Remember, if your mechanic is 30 minutes away, that means TWO guys will spend no less than 2.5 hours round trip if a truck has a problem. If it's during rush hour, double it. If you have to get guys in to hike trucks on their days off because you need the truck for Monday or something, or if they're taking cabs, or whatever the collateral damage from running a truck to the shop just increases.

 

I don't have specific experience with that equipment ( we have a mix of pre-emissions gear) but it sounds to me like you're on the right track. Maybe don't concentrate on the individual year so much and more on the individual condition of individual trucks you're looking at in you area. Run oil analysis, do some pre-purchase inspections and narrow it down that way. Freightliner can tell you how actually different the 11/12/13s actually are. Maintenance is key.

 

If you can't get oil analysis done on time my experience has been that a real solid inspection by someone in the know goes a LONG way. A good mechanic knows what a good truck drives and smells like. If you're on a short timeline a real serious inspection by someone in the know who you trust is good enough. And don't tell your mechanic you learned a bunch of stuff on the internet, they'll think yer a jerk, they know way more than the internet does. Really, the internet knows everything, including a lot of things that aren't true or where made up by some 13 year old kid just regurgitating stuff he read elsewhere here on TTR.