Buying Penske Used Tractors??

Well I am glad you guys have success with them.

If you saw what the company I once worked at put them through, I guarantee no one would be buy them. And of all the rental companies we used, Penske followed by Ryder, sent us the most dilapidated, broke down, miserable pieces of junk. But at least we cleaned them up before we gave them back.

 

@Toomanybikes, perhaps they sent your outfit "beaters," because of how you guys used them?

 

That is a logical assumption. However, the trucks were leased by a rather large national corporation with a great safety record, not some fly-by-night trucking company. When they were returned, they 'looked' better then when we took delivery, and with a multiple full service shops running 24/7 anything that would look sketchy would get fixed.

And it wasn't that all the drivers were pigs with no respect for equipment. Of course some were, that just happens some time before you can weed them out. The nature of the job had us running heavy loads, up and down mountain passes with a lot of off-road time. Just everything that can wear down a truck, thats why the trucks were leased. It is just you wouldn't guess the nature of the work if you did't know the company more then a lease broker should.

The Penske and Ryder trucks were always just bombs from the first day we got them. If someone was broken down you just always assumed it was a Penske or Ryder. The stuff we leased direct from Paccar, or one of the other local dealers just never had the problems.

 

I looked at what seemed like 1000s trucks for months, sifting through all the maintenance records.
I always drove Freightliner, except the mixer was a Pete, so I was definitely leaning that way, but the records showed the Volvo's with a Volvo engine definitely had the least problems.
I concluded you'd have to have a screw loose to mess with a Cummins, some trucks had gone through multiple turbos just for starters.
The DDS seemed to have rear main seal and clutch / tranny problems. Radiator replacement a lot also.
The Volvo's had some EGR valve replaced a lot, and that was about it.

So my thinking was the trucks that didn't already have those items repaired, how long until it needs it?

Blackie was a great truck, no complaints here.

 

All the trucks we returned from the lease looked like that when returned. For months on end before they were returned you couldn't recognize them. Windows cleaned and our logo cleaned on the door so the DOT wouldn't pull us in, but the rest of the truck you couldn't tell one from another.

In my opinion, Volvo is a very underrated truck. I think the fact Volvo sounds so much like volva gets some driver's panties in a pinch. The don't want to be mistaken as having a vulva instead of a truck.

 

We have two 2015's, two 2016's and one 2017 with two more coming in shortly; all Volvo day cabs and brand new.

Our smaller trucks are also from Penske, most of the junk is gone!

Love our Penske Leases. the drivers are much happier too.

South Brunswick, NJ takes pretty good care of them too.