Which to buy?

I think your off on the gliders. It is going to be your most reliable truck. Wouldn't want a used emissions truck gonna me expensive, complicated and there's 4 years of new technology that I would want in a new one. Funny story another company in my business went out and bought 2 brand new peterbilt day cabs with paccar. Been in the shop weeks at a time with emissions problem. Good thing they held onto their old Freightliners with Detroits. They get used more than the new ones. Also gliders don't have fet and a Freightliner with Detroit should be around $120000. Still get a warranty but I doubt you'll use it. I'd set aside a couple grand in fuel for a new emissions truck for all the fuel you'll burn up running back and forth to the dealer

 

Sometimes that's the case..yes. There are used trucks out there that cost no where near a new one, even after putting in thousands to bring the truck up to solid running standards. My current truck cost me less than 70k and it runs better than most new ones: no emissions headaches . I pass level one inspections with no problems.

 

people are going to hate me for this but ...

NO matter what the allure is to a specific brand of truck, they are pretty much the same - a tool.

The problem I see with many of you guys wanting to buy a truck is you think it is a car or a pickup and run out and buy it by just looking it over or test driving it.

The worst buyer is one who just buys it off an add and flies out to pick it up, that's got to be the dumbest thing you can do.

There is a solid process to buying a truck, it involves MONEY and you will spend it up front to get the right truck that will last you.

When you look at a truck, you have some things done to it to test it, an ecm dump (compete one not a summary), a dealer vin check, a dyno and blowby tested and a few other things (like reading maintenance records to find trends). I do this and more on used trucks to ensure my failure rate with used trucks are low -- AND THEY ARE.

 

You can get the T660 in a glider. As for the paccar motor,you need to do some research. Guy I'm leased to bought three brand new 2013 pete's he liked them so much,he bought three more. They did good until they got close to the 400k mark. Then all of them started having problems that no one can figure out. One can't make it more than 250 miles without breaking down.

 

@Ridgeline As someone who is looking to buy, perhaps the first of the year, it would be very helpful if you could post a thread with a used truck buyer's checklist, suggestions regarding where to have these various things done, and ballparks of what they should cost. I know you have posted similar comments in various threads, but the whole thing is a little overwhelming for someone who's never done it and has no local mentor to guide them. That may be why some people just take the path of least resistance (along with being impulsive). I know I would appreciate that info.

 

Please read this entire post - I added some stuff at the end.

Read this (the link is at the bottom of my post.)

Here is the post - I will post it again.

OTRReeferRunner wrote this and he is right in target.

FYI! A lot of problems could have been avoided if you guys would have spend the extra $1000 or so to get the truck fully checked out! That is why you should have a 3rd party repable diesel mechanic or dealership check the truck out from the front bumper to the rear mud flaps! The following things a the least should have been done before you took procession of the truck:

1. Oil samples (detects any internal problems with engine, transmission, and rearends)
2. ECU download (detects fault codes, idle hours, actual miles on the truck, and etc.,)
3. Blowby Test (piston & rings, compression test and etc.,)
4. Dyno test ( a full report on the complete health of the engine)
5. Obtain maintenance reports.

If you don't do the following things you are sure have serious problems with truck! Buying CMV is not like buying a regular passenger vehicle, just walk around it, kick the tires, drive it round the block and sign the paperwork! You are setting youself up for guarantee failure with this approach!

So you can get this.

The truck is spec'ed for the work you do, it does not matter what brand it is because they are all the same. But it does matter on what you are going to use it for.

The truck is cheap part. The repairs and maintaining it isn't.

There are a lot more trucks chasing owners than owners (potental or real) chasing trucks.

You have the check out costs on the front end to fix the problems and then negotiate the price if the truck is acceptable. I wrote up some really good info on how I buy a truck and what I did for a few on the last few used ones.

If you are not willing to put in the $400 to $1000 to check out a truck, then you are asking for problems down the road.

I have bought trucks for $5k and I ran them for 5 years. On the other hand I have junked a couple trucks that were in better shape than those selling for $20 or $30k I've seen advertised.

ADDED

I have grown very suspect of dealers because when I would see their dyno results, take their word on it, then get the truck home to do mine, it is completely different. One reason why I just pay for it by someone who isn't related to the dealer/company or person i'm buying it from.

ECM dumps are also a PIA, many times you get a summary and I want a detailed dump. I finally went out and bought a properly license system to use that I can actually use on all of my trucks. It was expensive but now I don't have to depend on someone else to get a report.

A while ago I wrote up a real detailed piece on what is what but I am transferring my data onto new computer(s) and it is lost for now, when I find it, I will post it.

I can't stress this enough - a truck is a tool, you need to do what you can with Due Diligence to make sure you get a tool that works for a while without dumping money into it.

One of the other pieces of advice I can ready share is if you guys don't have mechanical experience, do NOT buy a truck that you have to dump money into to get it road ready. It is a waste of time and eventually money.

Link
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...ne-delt-with-otr-leasing.245383/#post-5495187

 

Great info @Ridgeline. Thanks!

 

I'm looking at a Schneider glider. You can only test drive in their lot, and have a mechanic look at it on their lot. That's it. The price they are asking g is a little below what a 2012 of any other make would be, but is a stripped basic fleet truck also. I'm still going to go look but this is pretty much a deal breaker. At best I would pay (basically sight unseen) is low wholesale which would be 15k below their asking. Was looking on here for someone who actually bought one and if they did under the same circumstances, how did it turn out?