Curiosity....O/O opinions on million mile trucks.

Had a few in the past that were trouble free , but being mechanically inclined and with a good shop I took care of a lot of the nickle and dime items as well as major stuff

 

Wouldn't buy one without an overhaul with papers - meaning cat, detroit or cummins inframed it - unless it had a dirt cheap price cause it's due an inframe and the rest of the truck would need to be reasonably sound.

 

I bought a 94 fld120 freighliner with 900k a 60 series Detroit and not much service history so had to drive it, check it out and take my chances. Didnt pay much, had to clean alot and make some basic lighting wiring repairs, add a few tires as I drove my first loads, have had some $ issues with AC but thats finally under control. If you can fix the basics on your own and are good at highway patching to keep you rolling. ( Had to straight wire headlights once until I got the load delivered and made it to a parts house couple days later, also have had to replace a blower motor for heat/ac on the road. Had a wiper fly apart, had to adjust the 5th wheel lock. Had a radiator hose cut at the clamp and leak.) None of that sounds like much but pull into a service bay and get hit for $135 an hour labor and it would kill you if you cant do it yourself. I'm hauling east of the Rockies and working 2500-3700 miles a week often pulling over 43k and so far so good. I am now at 1mil21k not bad for the investment of $7500 and parts to keep rolling. So far only the AC and tires has had to see a shop, I finally gave up after spending $500 in parts and freon and it failing again. Took another $700 to fix that, otherwise 2 new steering tires 4 retreads and a front end alignment have been the only shop repairs.

 

If it's had a recent overhaul or if you're prepared to overhaul it. - agreed

you will want to vigorously inspect the suspension, the bushings, saddles, etc... If they haven't been replaced once or twice they're likely shot. kingpins, bearings, etc... I think I would also want to drop the oil in the rear ends and tranny to take a good look at it if possible.

Of course it's all the little things with old trucks that can be pesky too. blower motors, windshield wipers, door hinges and locks. every switch, wire, bulb, screw, etc.. been bumping down the highway a million miles. It might be fine for you, but even if the major stuff is okay you know you will have plenty to do just keeping up with the minor stuff.

 

If it runs and drives and "feels" right, I would take the chance. $7k or so on an old truck beats the heck out of $80k plus and there is no guarantee that a lower mileage truck will treat you any better. Biggest key in my opinion is to stay on top of everything! Don't let the little things build up, fix what's wrong ASAP. I bought a high mileage truck 2 years ago....I stay up on my maintenance and plan on an inframe when the old girl tells me she needs it. If it aint broke don't fix it. I bought mine cheap enough if the motor blows I can move on to another truck OR spend the money on the inframe. My tranny was replaced shortly before I got it and the rear end fluids look good. I could spend a lot on maintenance now and still be money ahead compared to buying another truck. Plus, not having any payments helps you build up a maintenance or truck replacement fund pretty quickly. Good luck!

 

A lot go into mode with the IT NEEDS AN INFRAME , well like above poster noted it will let you know when it does

 

You're on borrowed time in a tractor with that many miles and the price ought to reflect that you might have to spend $10-$18K on an inframe. Mine was at 1.1 million not consuming excessive oil or anything when all of a sudden it "let me know" a couple of weeks ago.

 

I would not be afraid to buy a million mile truck. You can tell the ones that have been taken care of versus the ones that haven't. If I were to buy one I would find one that has had an overhauled engine, with the paperwork from the engine shop to prove it. I have looked at used trucks on dealers lots before that the salesman told me it had been inframed, but could not produce any paperwork to back it up. I just moved on and thought inframed my $$$. No paperwork it didn't happen. The best ones to buy would be from an owner op that has all the maintainence records.

Alot of the problems others have posted I have seen trucks with alot less miles have those same problems. My truck has 1.2 million on it now, been inframed once just over a million. All the bushings in the suspension and king pins are still the original ones. Truck drives great and wears tires like iron. If it got totaled out in a wreck or fire I would go find another with a million on it in a heart beat before I would buy one of these new trucks with all the problems that so many are having. And just getting started with your first truck you do not want to be strapped to big payments.