Purchasing a Truck

My last older truck the maint. and repairs in the last year I owned was as much as a payment on a brand new one. So I went out and bought a brand new one. Which I realy like my truck but if had to do it over again would not buy new. I might do a glider but most likely a 1 or 2 year old truck.
The problem with a new 1 is the last year or 2 of your payments you start to have some higher maint and repair cost BUT you still have the new truck payment.

 

3rd & 5th year's of owning a new truck are the most costly if you keep it past 5 years. Thats why most fleets dump their trucks at the 30 - 34 month period.

 

considering charging you with plagiarism. this is advice I give folks. G.M. think alike

 

how come no truck under 475 hp?
i love hp just as much as anybody--but 318--400 hp used to get the job done a few years ago--would a 435 now not be enough?
or would you notice more fuel burned in the lower hp?
i really hate crawling up hills with the 4 ways on

 

Where are planning on running has a lot to do with the power your going to need.

I have run NY , PA for years with 400 or less HP , then had 425 , 500 HP ( got good deals on new trucks )

 

last truck was a neutered 515 detroit--it wasnt bad --hauling van mostely grossed out----but now do you think i would use more fuel with say a 435hp?
am thinking of the used walmart trucks as a first truck--mainly cause of the price and the previous maintenance

 

Zero... but this is the first BIG repair in seven years... and it could have been avoided if I had used a better engine coolant.

I did one cylinder in '05 when I let the engine overheat while in a traffic jam...my fault. And I rebuilt the trans a year earlier. that's it.... nothing else in seven years other than brakes and tires. One year I only had $1200.00 in repairs to claim on my tax form... drove my CPA crazy.

Bought my '96 FLD with 890,000 miles on it and spent zero on it in 18 months. Had a '90 Pete 379 (1,200,000 miles) that cost me about $2K in repairs in about 14 months... sold it to buy my current rode.

If you do your homework you can find a great, older truck and save those big payments for the rich guys. But if your the kind of guy that never does any of his own small repairs you will be sunk... new truck or old.

 

I'll take a hundred dollars a mile....Anytime!



Now as far as running an older truck....Mine is 10 years old and has 1.5 million miles on it. The last couple of years I have spent aroud $10,000 on repairs and replacements of some things that wear out at about that age on a truck...New radiator, new charge air cooler, new brakes and drums, King pins, tie rod ends, re-bushed the rear suspension and some other stuff like that.

In 2 years that $10,000 breaks down to less than $450.00 a month and because I know my truck and try to catch these things early enough to fix them on my schedule, I have not lost any running revenue due to these repairs.

I don't run re-cap tires and I don't run cheap tires! They will just cost you more money in the long run.

If you are easy on your equipment and take care of your equipment...It'll last you a long time and cost you much less than buying a new truck...

Shop carefully though....A buddy of mine bought a used 379 a while back and almost went broke trying to keep the P.O.S. on the road!
The best bet is to buy from a good, successful O/O that bought it new and has taken care of it because a good O/O will always care for his equipment better than a fleet will and won't beat it to death the way most fleet drivers will.

 

me too... Mercer had a $500.00 minimum when I was there plus FSC... I ran some 15 mile loads that paid me $375.00 plus FSC... could do that everyday.

 

Well I have no truck payment , but I set aside the amount that I would be putting into a payment so that when I buy me next tractor the $ is there.

I lucked out switching to WESTERN STARS , buy them in Canada and saved big $ when the EXCHANGE rate was to our advantage.

Sold my last W900 and walked into a new WS paid cash for it , saved nearly $38,000 on the exchange rate at the time , then sold that WS for US$ and repeated the process.

Bought 5 of my 9 trailers in Canada , same deal .