Bad choice?

ok, with all this been said. keep trucking, its impossible to prepare for the unknown but I would say if its holding together then keep going, but like everyone said, if your to the point of borrowing to fuel up, then maybe its time to give it up..in all honesty only you know the situation...good luck

 

It'll get better Pete... To a certain degree. With a truck with that many miles on it there will always be something to fix. Always. You bought used... Repair is what you get. Need to look at condition of everything on truck and read owners manual, maybe time to start replacing some things at home before they quit you.

 

How much of this could you of done yourself? Just curious.

I park next to a guy that went through what you did... $35,000 in repairs on Prostar. He said it almost wiped him out....he is doing much better now. Got dealt a bad hand but dude is tough and made it through.

 

A rule that has served me well is budget $10k every year for truck maintenance and double that the first year you own it. Seems like you're on track.

 

Couple things...

Yes, buying a new truck does involve a larger monthly payment but it also buys some amount of peace of mind for breakdowns during the warranty period. The other even more important consideration to my mind is that you aren't inheriting someone else's problem truck that may not have been maintained to your high standard during the time before you bought it. Given the numbers you were quoted it sounds like you're paying for a new truck in terms of dollars out the door but getting a used truck with a lot of down time.

Now, if you are a cracker jack diesel wrench turner and just love getting underneath and getting dirty taking care of everything, a used truck can be a great investment.

It sounds like you've figured out that aftermarket warranties aren't worth the paper they are printed on, so there's that at least.

The good news is that if you are getting things repaired as problems crop up you are slowly getting on top of the maintenance curve and eventually it will run well enough with the money you've put in to it to be a real money maker.

Good luck,

Jim

 

$11,000 over 5 months is not unusual -- especially for a truck you just bought used.

What does the income side of the equation look like? Are you running on a mileage+FSC contract or are you getting percentage?

 

I'm right around $17,000 for maintenance 10 months into the year so far. Conventional wisdom dictates about $0.15 cents per mile for maintenance max on a truck-- any more than that the owner must consider getting rid of it. I span it over years rather than year. Say I spent $0.09 last year then I can afford to spend $0.21 this year and year over year 2 years still sitting on $0.15 average.

Another way to look at it, is if it (part) was replaced at 650,000 miles, chances are pretty good, it will last another 650,000 miles.

 

He's on percentage here at mercer. Pete what's your monthly payment? I think if it's under $1000 per month you may be alright keeping the ole girl. Call up Heartland express shop and ask them to email or fax over the maintenance history for your truck then you'll have a way better idea of what they did the first 640k miles vs what your doing. I'm not the best wrench turner by far but my buddy that owns a shop here in Orlando is my go to guy. Find a shop that you trust for a extra set of eyes while its in the shop. I make a list of things I want fixed and he'll fix em then call me and show me parts that are affected by what I fixed and tell me to replace now since he's already got right there rather than taking it off again.

 

$11000 down for a 8years old international 9400i with 600k miles.im on the wrong business