Should I continue to repair truck or trade it in?

A friend of mine just had a total rebuild on his Cat. Cost him $29000 smackeroos. Oh and then his tranny went south. That cost him another $9000. All work done by a Cat dealer and at least he got a 4 yr warranty. Well heck at least it's tax deductible. Another buddy of mine, his Engine blew up in LA, would cost him $25K so he fixed it, but bad timing because he got a tax bill 3 mths previous for $15K !! Life sucks sometimes. And he takes care of his truck.
There's no getting away from an old truck being a bottomless pit for your hard earned $$
you have a difficult decision to make my friend especially if your credit is questionable. If you don't fix your present truck and it's maintenance free, then guess what ?? The man at the IRS will glad perform open wallet surgery on you in the name of taxes. A friend of mine just recently got a tax bill for $36K and had one heck of a fight to get it reduced to $12K.
So I know what I would do but that's me. I would go in a different direction from most of these opinions because I absolutely despise giving any tax money to those clowns in DC just so they can spend $$ like a drunken sailor. I like the smell of a new truck, don't you? But that's me. I use my new truck purchase as one more significant tax avoidance scheme, perfectly legal. The more, the merrier. You have to go with your gut. You might not like a truck payment but that to me is old fashioned thinking. I'd rather do that than pay the IRS. Good hunting.

 

I'm with the rest, keep the old gal. That payment staring you in the face will kill ya. If you were doing OTR, that's a different story, but doing what you're doing, keep the truck. I've heard nothing but nightmares from people with newer trucks.

 

Break down repairs or preventative repairs; Ques: how many of your past repairs involved a wrecker bill? Preventing wrecker bills should convince you that preventative maint. is always the less expensive option...while also controlling when the truck is down for maint.i.e. during your home time.

Vibration & friction are the same thing, with vibration being more noticeable than friction, both issues create increased wear.

Shocks are supposed to be replaced @ 50,000 miles...how many times per year have you changed your shocks?

Tires must possess the same tread design & tread depth per axle & tire pressure maintained. Wheels balanced & alignments need to be done.

Crankshaft balancer & belt tensioners should be replaced proactively.

How often are the trucks electrical +/- connections cleaned: battery terminals, alternator, starter & firewall voltage regulator. i.e. at least, once per year. (all batteries must be of the same type & size, no mixing)

Filters need to be changed regularly and grease jobs must be done.

Air tanks need to be drained daily & the thimble sized air regulator's metal filter requires periodic cleaning.

All Trucks will last, its their maintenance program that controls how long that vehicle is serviceable.

Myself, i have a truck that will hit one million miles in Dec.14. Freightliner Columbia 2006 CL-120, MBE-460, auto-shift 10spd. Personally, with how the improvements i've been doing, i dont believe i would have a better truck in buying a used truck with half its mileage. 3 years ago, i would of told you my truck was stupid, alot of real dumb repairs being made by professionals whom should know better. Find a shop that you like & stay with that one shop for your repairs...sometimes, its not you, its not the truck...

 

No-one mentioned that you know the history of the truck. A new truck is atleast 125k with a minimum payment of 2200 a month for four to five years. Here it's less money, and worth it in the long run.

 

What engine and transmission do you have? More info would be great. I've seen the over haul for a Series 60 at a Freightliner shop, stage 3, which is remanufactured turbo, head, injectors and everything else for $12k with 1 year warranty. A longer warranty is going to cost, if you have less than 1 million on the rebuild. $29k for a CAT engine over haul? Another reason why I don't own one.

 

What kind of fuel mileage are you getting would be a factor too. If you run slower you will save in fuel and it's easier on the truck.
I run out and back from the house 5-6 days a week. 30 day average 7.8 with a mix of heavy to light loads. I drive 57 mph.

 

Hard decision,lots of variables, but the usual best answer is keep it and make repairs as you can. This newer stuff just does not seem to be holding up to expectations.

 

your friends apparently don't know how to do their taxes properly. you don't get tax bills unless you 1. just didn't pay em or 2. simply tried to take deductions you couldn't back up. or 3. you didn't file taxes.