An observation

I am a Paccar guy myself, that said resale value on Volvo's is on par with Paccar fleet spec trucks. Yes W9's and 389's fetch more but 680's and 567's don't have the same residual value.

Volvo has been an integrated builder for a long time as well. Their engines are well regarded in equipment and boats. It is a sore subject but, Volvo also has the "best" automated transmissions.

Steve

 

Heavy and expensive. Most Volvos tend to have the team bunk on them, plastic fairings out the wazoo and are spec'd to pull 80,000 lbs gross with a van on the interstate (low power, low torque).

Flat deck requires a lighter truck with a bigger motor (15L is usually considered standard) and beefier drivetrain (i.e. full locking diffs, etc) to constantly run between 80-100k gross regularly (or even more in Canada).

Flat deck trucks spend a lot of time driving in less-then-ideal places. Pits of mud, gravel roads, steep grades, among other things, so a fleet-spec van puller just won't cut it.

That said, if you go to Volvo and sit down with them, they can spec you a mid-roof VNR 640 or VNL 740 without the fairings and a proper drivetrain for the work.

 

Have you seen the new VNX?

 

Not on the roads yet, no.

 

I checked limiting it to T680. 2014 and older

 

Still KW is nearly $20,000 more than a Volvo. Volvos simply do not hold the value of PACCAR trucks

 

How much more did it cost new?

 

Jordan carriers has a whole fleet of them. Extra wheel base along with the 53 ft trailer to haul 60 foot loads legally. They can scale almost 50000

 

It looks like Volvos are more expensive than KW, but I made a mistake before. I was looking at the auction price and comparing them. For 2015 to current, KW is a little more expensive, but the 579 is a LOT more expensive. I really can't understand why the average price without the high and the low is close to $136,000, and both KW and Volvo are $73,000. That doesn't make any sense, does it?

 

Bean,

I agree with you on the depreciation, I guess one wild card could be how many 680's are manual and how many Volvo's are? As fleet operators want autos, most OO's want manual transmissions. I am not sure that is the case it sounds good from here!!

There is the all Volvo issue as well, not as many independent shops have or had they are getting better have Volvo diagnostic equipment. I recall Volvo had a bad rap with electrical issues in the past, that seems to be industry wide now days. Unless fleet pricing is way below the Truck Paper prices it is an eye opener that Volvo's are that expensive.

Steve