Purchasing our first truck...

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by tandltrucking, Oct 6, 2018.

  1. tandltrucking

    tandltrucking Bobtail Member

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    1. Hello everyone! I'm not sure I'm starting this thread in the correct area, so let me know if I should do this on another forum. My wife and I have been company drivers and most recently we are contract drivers for a small fleet owner. Having had the chance to see both sides of this fence (somewhat), we're taken the first step in becoming owners. We're starting small, and trying to be smart. We have good credit, and we've saved enough to put 20% down on a used tractor. We've been looking at trucks in the $50k - $60k range. We're leaning towards a 2015 Kenworth T680 with a Cummings, with around the 500k mileage range. Before we take another step in this direction, I was wondering first, are there better places to seek financing options out there? Our best offer so far is from Stearns Finance. Also, I realize that many of us have our personal preference on models and set ups, but if anyone can give me solid feedback on this particular model of truck, would be a huge help. We are by no means married to this model truck...we've driven several of them and don't really have any complaints, except we've had some bad luck with paccar engines. Any advice, suggestions, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!
     
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  3. DUNE-T

    DUNE-T Road Train Member

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    Bad decision with truck choice. 500k miles is when everyone is getting rid of their trucks. Cummins motor is especially bad, half of them need a rebuild at 400-600k miles
     
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  4. Opus

    Opus Road Train Member

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    As far as financing goes, try your local bank. I went from 15.5% at Damlier, to 5.5% at my bank. Good luck
     
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  5. TallJoe

    TallJoe Road Train Member

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    If you do buy that truck, better be prepared to spend 20K on it the next year or so. May be less maybe more but it is better to have the cash. The first thing I'd do would be to "overhaul" the whole emission system: new/cleaned DPF, doser and sensors. Otherwise it is a ticking bomb.
     
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  6. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    Do your due diligence on selecting the truck, expect to spend a grand on the testing and other things to make sure it doesn't crap out on you.
     
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  7. tandltrucking

    tandltrucking Bobtail Member

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    Thanks DUNE-T...we appreciate all of the honest feedback. We want to be successful, and listening to already successful people is our best bet I think!
     
  8. Dave_in_AZ

    Dave_in_AZ Road Train Member

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    Sigh. I'm tired right now.

    Why are you choosing the 680??

    Please don't tell me because of the interior.

    The Cummins haters will tell you it's all evil, not true.

    Here is my number 1 tip for buying a used truck, modern truck -

    Find one with an APU.
    Why?
    The number 1 destroyer of these modern engines is idling.

    If you find one with an APU, chances are it hasn't been idled a whole lot unnecessarily.

    I wouldn't buy a truck that has come from Schneider or Melton if you gave it to me. Or any flatbed carrier for that matter.

    Log onto Penske used truck website. THOUSANDS to choose from and some very good deals.

    AND you can use it as a research tool to see for yourself what tends to break on what models and when because they post all the maintenance records.

    You can bargain them down as well.

    There's a bunch of trucks on there I'd be very comfortable buying, and may even if I get enough drivers lol.

    Do this research for yourself please. Form an informed opinion based on your own research not hear say.

    Good luck.
     
  9. Johny41

    Johny41 Road Train Member

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    Buying a used truck EPA 2010 and newer for 60 grands and 500k miles is bad risk management , a recipe for personal bankruptcy, high payments , zero warranty and the emission maintenance is going to bleed you dry.
    Btw ,stay away from automatic transmissions on used trucks, i learned in a hard, expensive way.
    See what Dune-T said above about Cummins, from what i know he is right ; search these forums.
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2018
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  10. tandltrucking

    tandltrucking Bobtail Member

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    A couple of the trucks we've looked at has an extensive maintenance log available, and the emission system was pm'd in the last couple of months. I hear it's very expensive to do, so it would be nice to find a truck that has had that done recently. Is there a better make/model for us to look into than the T680? Is the Paccar typically a better choice than the Cummins? We wanted to stay under $60k on price, so is it unlikely we will find a quality truck around the price? Appreciate ALL the feedback! We really appreciate it!
     
  11. Opus

    Opus Road Train Member

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    Personally, I'm a Detroit fan.
    2014 or newer. Just about anything you get on the used market is going to come from a fleet. And almost all of these fleets have the exact same maintenance schedule, because they know they're going to ditch it at around 400k.
    Again, I've had very good luck with Detroit. Select Trucks will give you a 1 year warranty on the big stuff. I bought my second truck there, and I'm not unhappy.
    Shop around. Get a warranty
     
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