Truck Comparisons

Another thing that some will consider is the resale value after say 3-5 years. There is a reason why you can buy a 4 year old $h1t spreader for cheap because they do NOT have any resale value. their egr engines are absolute JUNK!!! that's coming from several techs that used to work at the local INT dealer, but have jumped ship to PB!!

 

What a lot off people forget is that even the best truck in the world is only as good as the dealer/workshop supporting it.

Think about where you will service and/or repair your truck when needed.

 

Well, resale should maybe play a small part, but if a truck is spec'd out ideally for what one is using it for, there seems to be little reason to consider resale, because such a truck should be kept around for a million miles and get the most out of it. At that point, resale is not that big of a consideration. Unless one has a lot of cash lying around they don't know what to do with, trading a truck in every 3-4 years is a tremendous waste of money. I know fleets do it, but they have contract deals with the OEM's and they do not spec out a truck for the longer term anyway.

And it is very true that when one gets a truck, the dealer and shop should be a major consideration, right up in the top 5. Dealer support can be extremely critical, especially since we have gotten these newer emission equipped monstrosities.

 

I'll still be running my pete 10 years from now hell or high water. I refuse to buy anything new. Nothing beats a pre emmission anything imo.

 

Any thoughts of buying a glider.

 

If the truck ever got to the point it wasn't worth fixing, maybe. I just don't see that happening anytime soon. I don't think they make the trucks any better than the motors today either.

 

Freightliners were called Freightshakers before air ride came in, I worked at a dealership and with a guy that did interior work, he did have units that had rattles none that he could not find and fix, we did every brand not just Freightliners, the worst I ever saw was a Peterbilt the dash was busted into pieces, he ended up replacing the whole backing assembly, and that is a big job.
When you buy a truck you buy the hood ornament the rest is the same, your biggest expense is fuel you want to go to sites that rate truck engines not some site full of people that drive a Pete with a Cat and love it even when they are going broke.
In my area most trucks on the road are first Freightliners, Western Star, and then a few KW's.
Every engine has a EPA tag and it tells you how much fuel per MM3 it burns to make the HP. Those are real numbers not some BS, and they mean money in you pocket.
You want a truck that is aerodynamic, The dealer can give you a spec sheet that tells you exactly the % if extra fuel every option adds, knowledge is very important and easy to find if you know who to ask.
I know Freightliner is willing to explain things to you, talking to them costs you nothing, not talking to them could cost you a lot of money.
If you are going to live in the truck get an APU factory installed, they can give you the pay back period.

 

What engine do you have under the hood?