No experience but getting Authority

You may want to check The Truckpaper. Many dealers and some individuals advertise in the publication. You can find copy of the paper at most truck stops. You can also check them online at www.thetruckpaper.com. If you can work the cash out, they have equipment auctions all over the country. I see that you are from Georgia. They have an auction near Atlanta that they sell class 8 trucks and trailers. Sometimes you can get a good buy, but need to check anything out before buying.

 

Moving right along the last couple of days. Looks like I've got to follow up again with FMCSA on that name thing again. I also worked the phones this afternoon a little and got some 3.4% financing lined up without a hitch today, so that's a relief. I'm not getting stupid with borrowed funds, but now have some breathing room and enough to work cash deals on my equipment with some flexibility.

Blood: That's another good consideration on the pre-04 trucks. I'll probably put a lot more weight to that. Anything I get is going to get a thorough check-out before any money changes hands. -If- the thing passes my own inspection and my driver's test drive with a trailer on it, the next stop will be at a shop of my choosing for a look-over before anyone gets money.

G/MAN: I'm surprised truckpaper hasn't banned my IP address from over-use LOL. Yesterday was a holiday so my day job was slow enough to work the phones. Every truck I found within 500 miles that looked like a prospect was either already sold or a full voicemail or bad number. Most of the dealers are either overpriced or their inventory is obviously junk. Since I don't have the time or frankly the trained eyeball for it yet, I'm going to pass on the auctions for now. I've spotted a couple of solid looking trucks in the area that won't be as good a deal as a straight o/o sale, but have earned an in-person look. I've got enough experience with mechanicals and heavy equipment to be able to decide whether one is worth spending a couple hundred to have a real expert give it a once over or just run away.

So for now, things seem to be progressing on plan.

 

Red, one little tidbit about the model year, it's the build date of the engine you need to look at, not the truck. October '02 is the magic date, Cummins and Detroit had EGR after that (Cat kinda went their own way, eventually to the two turbo Acert setup). There were a lot of '03 trucks built with '02 engines, but some '03s do have the post-October engines, so you can't just judge it by the model year.

 

There is a publication you can find at many convenience stores called "Big Truck Trader" you might want to check out. At least I believe that is the name. The company has several publications it puts out under similar names. You will need to purchase the magazine, but I have seen class 8 trucks advertised.

I don't know what part of Georgia you live, but if you live near Atlanta, there are several dealers south of Atlanta. Arrow has a dealership on the south side along with other dealers. There is also a Freightliner dealer in Charlotte, NC that used to deal on trucks. Sometimes you can get a better deal going with a smaller dealer that isn't affiliated with any of the major brands. These dealers don't always advertise all their trucks.

When I look for a new truck I make a list of things that I must have and another of what I would like to have. For instance, I prefer CAT, but would consider Detroit or Cummins. I don't want any of the brand specific engines. I would like to have a 13 or 18 speed transmission, but would buy a 10 speed. I prefer 354 rears, but might consider something slightly higher. I prefer International, but would consider other brands if they had other features that I like and was a good deal. I look for a truck that has been well maintained. You can often tell a lot about maintenance by checking out the interior. If a driver hasn't taken care of the inside, you can pretty well bet that he has not kept up on his maintenance. I don't get in a big hurry when shopping for a truck. When you get in a big hurry, you can over look things that may not be what you want or need and make mistakes.

A couple of other places you may check out are Craigslist and eBay. Some have had success with those two websites. I would not get hung up on miles too much. You can find high mileage trucks that have had recent overhauls at a good price. Several years ago I paid less than $21,000 for a truck that had less than 100,000 on an overhaul. The overhaul cost the owner over 18,000. It had also had the transmission replaced about 6 months earlier.

You can still find good deals. I would say that as the price of fuel continues to rise more will leave the business. Fuel is heading up and rates are moving down this week. Not a good combination.

 

All true.
The engine makers were building every engine they could before the cut-off. I've even heard of a few '04's without EGR (haven't actually seen one). EGR is easy to spot on a motor. There's a lot of extra 'plumbing'.

 

It's been a busy couple of days. I've looked at a dozen trucks and taken in all the good advice offered on this thread, as well as many others. In the end here's how it worked out.

Shopping in the sub-$25k range with limited time and direct contacts is tough. Pretty much everything I looked at had something major wrong or signs that major problems were not too far away. Motors that you could hear the crank flopping around in the mains at cruise idle. Flavors of smoke you never thought a diesel could produce, coming from places you'd never thought it could be coming from. Nasty crud in the corners you can't get to with a pressure washer. Steer tires with wear patterns that defy common sense as to what in the he11 would be causing it. Coolant in places you can't reach with a rag. Drivelines flopping around. Drive tires with enough tread that if you wiped across them with a rough paper towel, you'd fail a DOT inspection. Cabs and sleepers that looked and smelled like mountain lions had been living in there. Wow. I've seen and even owned a few 4 wheelers that were shot out. But nothing has compared to what I've seen big truck shopping.

Then I found it. Downside, it's an EGR motor. Upside, everything is tight and it's spec'd out as if I'd placed the order myself. 2004 Freightliner Century, 500hp Detroit, 13 speed, 3.58 rears, 229" wb, 635k mi. Everything passed the sniff test, and I went over it top to bottom. I got the dealer to hook up a trailer and we did a 15 mile run down the freeway and back. No funny noises, no gear whine or grind, the range selector and splitter shifted noiselessly, tracked straight, braked straight, all the accessories work, and best of all - hardly any rattles from the interior LOL. I had the driver hammer it in top gear and the clutch held fine. The dealer will be delivering it with a fresh DOT inspection, a new mattress for the bunk, and a turnout for the straight top exhaust stack to cut down on rain water getting in there.

The steer tires are about 70% and look good to go, but it will be getting new drives before it goes on the road. I also got a tip on a dealer with some good prices on trailers. The plan is once the authority goes active, I'll send the driver down to pick up a trailer and go directly to a service garage. It will get a regular PM, filters, and drive tires. The best leftovers between the take-offs and the trailer will get mounted on the trailer.

On the business side, it's been a hustle. Getting all the taxes and fees paid, quotes on stuff, it's been a handful. The upside is things are moving along without too much trouble. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed that trend continues. I'll post more later as we get closer to getting on the road.

 

That was pretty quick. I am glad that you found a truck. Did you have an oil analysis and dyno performed on the engine? It could tell you if something is going on that would require your attention. A small price to pay for a little peace of mind.

 

Seems quick, but mainly due to me not posting every step. I've been looking for weeks. Thing is, I don't shop vehicles like a lot of people. I don't waste my time or someone else's unless they have pretty much what I'm looking for sight unseen, and I'm ready to either buy or at least be honest with them on my timeframe. On the other hand, when I'm ready to buy I don't horse around. I know the deal that I want and if a seller is on the level with me we get it done. Otherwise I go find someone else that has what I need. I've probably called on two dozen trucks, actually took the time to go kick tires on a half dozen, and out of those was the one I ended up buying. On the rest of the short list, I found something that was a deal breaker on every one of them in less than 15 minutes. On the one I bought, I went over it for about 2 hours before I even bothered them to put a trailer on it and put it on the road. When we got back, I had the bill of sale done by the time the driver dropped the trailer and parked it back in it's spot.

I may or may not do oil analysis or dyno on this first go. I'm getting maintenance and filters so I'll probably get them to grab an oil sample and send it off just to see. I'd have to take the analysis report with a grain of salt not knowing how long it's been in service. If the shop finds anything amiss, I'll look for a dyno or dig deeper to make sure we know what we're dealing with.

The way this truck ran out and the overall condition of it suggests to me that it's been cared for. There weren't any decal shadows on the side to guess a previous owner and I haven't seen the title yet (meet on Tuesday for that). If it was titled in Georgia last, the dealer will have a transfer on the back of the original. I'm not too worried about that. I've got the mechanical know how and the tools to do the service myself in my driveway. I'd do it if I had the time and wasn't considerate of my neighbors not to have a semi torn down facing the street. I don't have an HOA to worry about, but it is a close neighborhood and I already push the limits with the bikes and cars I do work on. They really like it when I pull my 25' trailer out of the back through the side gate across the front yard . The good news is it's not out front enough to make 'em mad at me. And I pretty much stop using air tools and big hammers when the sun sets.

My better half is hustling up an insurance policy today, so with that filed we just get to wait a bit more for the authority to go active. With that we can get the plates and get it out for service and pick up a trailer to get it on the road.

 

You can tell a lot about a truck by the way it looks and drives. I can usually tell in a few minutes if the truck has been well maintained. It sounds like you take a similar approach as I do when I am looking for another truck. I look for a while and when I find what I want and at the price I want to pay, I am ready to move.

You should have your authority back in 2-3 weeks, from what others have mentioned. You can go online and check the status of your application. Once you apply, you will be given a docket number. Unless things have changed, that will be your MC number. You should be able to get your signage done in a day or two. I often walk my base plates through. It seems to take all day when I go to Nashville. This year I decided to do everything in advance and only drove up to give them a check and pick up my new base plate and cab card. It helps to do things ahead. It is a shame we can't do this locally at our local tag or title office. Next year I may do the paperwork and then just have them mail it to me rather than making a special trip to the capitol. FYI, you may want to get all the paperwork from them and have everything filled out before you travel to get your base plates. I would also suggest going early if you plan on walking it through. It will save time to go in person rather than going through the mail. My state just started allowing us to do our IFTA and IRP online not long ago. That will help to speed the process next time.

 

FMCSA is a little slow been 3 weeks I havent got mine yet but looking at the secquences HERE I should be activated monday or tuesday. You can get your KY numbers as long as you have a dot number but NY and NM you have to have your plates and active. Thing havent changed your docket number is your MC number. I dont know if all states are the same but here in NC you cant get plates unless your MC numbers are actived or you are leased to a company and plate it under their MC Authority.