Year of truck to purchase

nothing but problems with the new emisions motors. You couldn't give me one. If you want to go out of business sitting at the shop then go for it

 

Didn't show on your profile where you are from. If not from California, why worry about it. Just get a pre-egr engine and forget California exists. Or better yet, if you got the funds, get a pre-egr engine, rebuild it, buy a new glider kit and put the engine in it and you have a new truck that will last a lot of years.

Getting an egr engine is a hit or miss proposition. I have an '06 Cummins ISX that is not really a problem. I know of a number of owners that have Detroits that are not really having any major problems. Now when you get into the '07 stuff, the problems are only compounded by the DPF and stiffer regulations. Definately stay pre '07 and, if possible, pre '02. A lot of egr problems were caused by the higher soot caused when using LSD. Now that ULSD is everywhere, some (not all) of the egr problems have been reduced. Also, Cummins improved the egr cooler for '06 and newer, so there seems to be a few less occurances of the coolers taking a dump.

It is mostly sensors that seem to go out more than they probably should.

All that being said, no doubt staying with a pre emissions engine is your best bet. However, you will probably have to do an in frame or rebuild on it before long since they are all getting up there in miles. Also the maintenance cost of keeping a truck going that is 6 or more years old needs also to be weighed, depending on how it was taken care of. If you stay regional, then the choice is easier.

Good Luck.

 

Well if it was me. It would either be brand new with a budget planned to replace the truck every 4 years, or else something old enough to have a mechanical engine.

Don't kid yourself into thinking that a 1998 electronic truck is going to be more reliable than a 1988 mechanical truck.

 

My only concern with him getting a mechanical is operating it. If he has been used to only electronic engines, he will probably have a difficult time with a mechanical. Issues like prefueling for a hill and such that were pretty much taken over by the electronics. It is not hard to overfuel a mechanical and pump too much fuel into the cylinders and create a fuel wash situation and thereby really contaminate your oil and do some real damage. I would much rather have an electronic, even though I have a lot of years in mechanical engines. The electronic ones have tended to get better fuel mileage overall and something like a pre egr 12.7L DDC is a real good engine with a strong reputation for excellent mpg's. Even the electronic N14 Cummins engines are pretty rock solid. I took a 1996 N14 to 1.4 million without having the engine opened up. When I got out of it, it still got a 7+ mpg and only used a gallon of oil in about 12,000 miles. If I would have owned it at the time, I would never have gotten rid of it. Still was a fairly strong engine. It is still being used today and hasn't been torn down yet.

I still contend that only a driver that has experience with a mechanical engine should consider going that route. A ruined engine is mighty pricey. I will concede that they are real reliable in the right hands.

The new trucks have so much going on with emissions that they can be a nightmare. I can't understand why anyone would trade every 4 years, though. Warranty? heck, get an extended warranty when you purchase the truck. If the truck is a maintenance problem, then get rid of it before the extended warranty runs out and you will have a better trade. Taxes? Why would anyone spend a $1 to save $.20 in taxes. I have always been an advocate of keeping a truck until it becomes cost prohibitive to maintain it. You can get quite a few miles out of a good truck after it has been paid off and that is just more net income. If you are trying to avoid taxes, then take the extra money you are not throwing at truck payments and put it in a individual 401K. It is out of the government's hands and you can still borrow from it if you have a severe need.

 

Personally I run mechanical 855 Cummins. I would run an N-14 electronic.

I just would warn against the assumption that a late 90's / early 2000's truck is going to be more reliable than an older mechanical truck is probably false.

Nothing worse than an electronic that has been butchered up by idiots.