buying a cheap used truck?

They have 4 a year in Marietta PA. They post them on there sight

 

Try Damiron. they gave me good deal and a good truck. 2 year lease, no credit check $1.00 buy out, and no hidden fees

 

I would think so. Shouldn't too hard to find.

 

Note off caution.
Buying a old truck has 2 drawbacks:
1°have at least 20 000$ in reserve as you never know when something major will break.
TTR is full off threads off people not being able to repair their rigs after a major breakdown.

2°check with your insurance how much they will pay out if/when you get into a wreck.
A truck you have invested a lot off $$$$$ might be worth a lot less to the insurance.

 

What cost 20k on a truck?

 

Read up on threads about people who bought older trucks.
They nikkle and dime you till more i spend then you ever imagend.
@Hurst is a example that springs to mind,but there are more.

 

An engine job could easily run you up into the $20k range depending on what lets go inside.

 

If you're not planning to go into Cali I would be looking for pre-emission setup. You might have to throw a little more $$$ at the start up but once she's fixed right you'll spend less to maintain it than a newer truck. If you fix it right from the get go it will not nickle and dime you. If you're the duct tape and hammer guy well that's a diff story.

http://www.commercialtrucktrader.com/listing/2001-Freightliner-Fld132-Classic-Xl--117879647 Worth giving them a call, supposedly fleet maintained and 726k on the ecm. Only thing suspect is the 14k asking price gotta be a catch somewhere

 

I spent $20k for my truck. Had 875k mi with pre-emissions CAT Acert C15. I'm at 1.3 million mi now with roughly $60k into it all said and done.

I dont think buying a newer or more expensive truck with less miles would have resulted in saving any money. Either way you go.. you will have expenses and repairs. The key to survival is to cover your bases and be prepaired for anything that can happen.

My first year was not too bad. Only 1 major incident, ECM fried ($2100), $1300 to have towed with loaded trailer, broker pissing a fit wanting to have my trailer repowered. I ended up not getting paid for that load as they reloaded it to another carriers truck while mine was in the shop. Roughly $7800 all said and done.

Last year was a difficult year for me. Started out great, then in April another carrier backed in my hood taking it out. Took 6 weeks to get repaired.. no income.. the 2 weeks back out on tbe road I blew a coolant hose and ran the motor hot. Blew head gasket and cracked the head. No choice but to get inframe done. $16,000 all said and done. I was out roughly $35k covering bills and repairs while the truck was down. Entire summer shot. Did not get my truck back till Sept 8th.

Trucking is not cheap. Since Sept.. my operating costs have been minimal. I have finally gotten on top of everything. I recently spent $3000 for new radiator, CAC and a few otber things. No complaints.

I would not hesitiate to buy another older truck. With the experience I gained owning this one.. I know what to expect.. how much money I need to cover down time. For me I feel this was a cheaper route than buying a new truck,.. although probably a few more headaches.

Hurst