Mid 90’s Kenworth w900L??

I’m getting ready to purchase a few new trucks for my company and I’m thinking the best best is to go with trucks pre DEF/DPF. 1994-1999 is the year range I’m thinking.
So my question is this in y’all’s opinion which trucks are the longest lasting with experience.
Kenworth w900L most likely cat engine
Peterbilt 389 same
Freightliner classic or FLD Detroit 60 series

 

What do you want to do? Because as someone that runs a 1997 down the road every day, it will cost you just as much as a new truck to either buy one restored or even do it yourself, you just have to be slightly ####ed in the head like a few of us here to do it

 

I’ve found quality w900’s for 45-60k range, the Pete’s are more of course and the freightliner I can find all day for 30-40k. I’m personally in a 2019 cascadia that I paid 120k for. It kills the profit margin and the insurance is more on the newer trucks. And I’m tired of dealing with computer issues. I just want something more mechanical than computer.

 

I bet I could spend 5 minutes with a “quality” 45k-60k truck and come up with $8000 in repairs and maintenance right off the bat.

I played that game before. My first truck was an old 377. 435 N14 with a 13 speed and a 63” standup bunk. She wasn’t a show queen by any means at 700k miles and I paid dirt cheap for her. But over the 6 years I drove that miserable ##### I spent roughly 17 cents a mile on repairs. Not to mention the downtime and lost revenue and the few times I had to pay someone else to re-power my load while in the midst of a repair. Old trucks wear out too. Yeah a computer is less likely to strand you in an old truck, but an old truck can strand you all the same. You’ve also got to take into account how hard parts are to come by for any of them anymore.

The only way you are going to beat a new truck is if you buy the old one and completely rebuild it down to the last nut and bolt, inside and out. And even then you’ll be in it for the same amount of money.

 

Where ????
Quality W900s for 45 to 60k ... yeah right...
So you post that you want to buy 94 to 99 trucks to get away from computer issues...
You do realize you talking about buying 28 year old trucks and you expect not to have to deal with major mechanical issues
That a boy keep living the dream

 

I get what you’re saying, but repairs are coming no matter the year of the truck that’s the trucking industry. Anyone in it for 3 months should know that. Finding parts was a concern of mine though,especially for the Kenworth. I don’t see to many older ones rolling around in Texas. On the the other hand parts for the older freightliner are a dime a dozen. From what I’ve noticed freightliner has more older trucks on the road than any other truck. And the old Detroit 60 series is held in pretty high regard

 

Cant go wrong with Freightliner.
Reliable.
Parts cheap everywhere.

 

Are you serious?? Ohio Truck Sales are the first that come to mind

Are you serious?? Ohio Truck Sales is the first place that comes to mind. And they have over 5k reviews on google,Glassdoor,Bbb, etc. and have a 4 star rating which is pretty good for any company. TruckPaper also has a bunch of trucks in that range. Don’t come on here to make fun of something if you haven’t taken the time to do your research.

 

Yeah thats a good outfit .... if you enjoy getting bred
Mr... why don't you do some archive digging on this site and read the raving reviews from the members here about Ohio Truck Sales
Their famous for the Dupont overhaul
I wouldn't buy a glass of water from them.if I was die'n of thrust in the Mojave desert

 

I’ve spent a smidge under $7000 in repairs on my 2019 389 since I bought it three years ago. It has just under 310k miles on it now. That’s 2 cents a mile. 2. And those repairs were things I were able to get home and fix myself or have Peterbilt fix. No downtime. No road calls. No tows. No hotels. The longest I went in that 377 between downtimes was maybe 2 months.

If you’re concerned about parts in Texas, you should only be looking at Peterbilts. The plant itself is in Denton. Big dealer network down there. Also, being PACCAR, Kenworth dealers stock parts and can work on the truck just the same. Call up your local dealer networks, Freightliner, Volvo, Pete/KW….ask how quick they can get a truck in or how fast they can get you a part. Guarantee Pete or KW will be able to work with you better and faster than Freightliner.