2010 Freightliner Columbia

If somone specs the truck right the first time, then they will probably keep it for a while. I would not buy a truck based on resale value. When I get a truck, it is for the long haul. When I get done with it and want to sell it, it will not get that much anyway. Of course those that like to stay in debt to the finance companies and trade every 3 years, it is quite a different matter. But even then, with today's economy, does anyone actually believe that they will get in resale what they think a truck is worth? Better to just spec out the truck to your liking and so that it is a money maker and keep it around for quite a while.

Even if a glider will not get as much in resale, it is approximately 30% less to buy up front. And, there is no FET tax on it as well. Anything that may be lost on the back end is more than made up for on the front end. Not to mention, the decreased cost just to operate the darn thing compared to a modern EGR, SCR, DPF equipped engine that won't even approach the fuel economy or reliability of a pre emissions engine.

And you are worried about resale value?

 

No, I am not worried about resale, I'm not the one buying a glider. Was meerely pointing out one small idiocincracy, which is why I prefaced my previous post with "I wont denounce the merits of a glider"....................

 

KW does not make a glider As I understand it Peterbillt, Western Star and Freightliner are the only ones

 

this has been my point since I got into trucking over 11 years ago. being new to the industry I was always confused why people would tell me I made a mistake by paying cash & buying a 95' intl coe. although new to trucking I was not new to busniness sense. other drivers would tell me, YOU have nothing to write off. huh? paying cash & having no payments is not as good as having a payment, cause I dont have a write off ? I would tell them I am going to drives till the wheels fall off. I just had a inframe done 4 months ago at over 1.3 mil miles. I still get people telling me I should get a payment to have a write off.makes no sense to me. not in my circumstance. one of the arguments I get besides the write off is, I wont get anything on resale. hell after 11 years of driving & no payments, I could care less if it had any value.

I have acccomplished very much over the years in my inexpensve, bare bones truck. including making money. my success in trucking has more to do with my personal outlook & habits ,more than trucking in & of itself. I am the type of guy who does not buy a new car every 3-5 years. I dont buy new furniture for my home, just because I get bored looking at the existing furniture.I am on my second new couch on over 20 years & I waited for 9 months for it to go on sale before I bought it. I may be on of the few or the only truck driver to start out & retire in the same truck.

 

I agree! I owned my own for 15 years and did buy one new truck. I learned this lesson, resale is only important if you plan on trading often. Very very few truck owners can make a positive ROI on a truck in under 36 months. Even large fleets don't make a good ROI, I heard of a couple that were making a 2% profit margin. I think anyone foolish enough to buy a truck on the merits of its resale value hasn't spent enough time talking to his accountant and other business advisers. The day I realized how much more money I could have made in a different kind of business was the day I started looking for somebody to buy my last truck.

 

The first Columbia I drove was in 2001 for IWX C-15 with a 10 speed, put about 250K on it had no problems what so ever. Then I went into a Pete for another company and it was the worst rattle trap, rain leeked in around the drivers door and windshield, left there 7 years ago for the company Im at now, started off with a older Classic, then moved into a new Columbia, Im on my 2nd Columbia here and never had a problem. Quiet inside going down the road, the detroits seem to run good with little problems.

In any case way better than the tractor with the peter on the hood. If you want to make money instead of spending trying to impress yourself go with the Columbia. If you like telling yourself how cool you think you are then go with a Pete.

And of course this is all just opinion . If you want the best then it would have to be a W9.

 

Every mile in a paid off truck is money in the bank,

 

You got it right, guys! A paid off truck is pure profit. Now, true, you will pay taxes on that profit as opposed to a write off, but.....

Why would anyone spend $1 to get $.20 writeoff? That's right, those of you who think things are good because they are writeoffs are only saving 20 cents in tax for every dollar you spend for that write off. And if tax writeoffs are the cat's meow for some, then repairs, rebuilds, etc are just as much a writeoff as purchasing a new ride that will probably break down more often than your older, well maintained truck, because it now is laden with all kinds of emissions stuff that likes to screw up and sensors in every nook and cranny of the engine that seem to take a bite at the most inconvenient times. Sure, they may be covered by warranty, but the lost revenue of sitting around twiddling your thumbs at the dealership isn't covered.

At least with an older truck (that has been well maintained over its life by the owner) the risk of unplanned breakdowns is minimal and you can plan times to shut down on your own terms to have major work done. And you don't have a truck payment hangin over your head. Don't like your interior, then pay a few bucks to have a professional detail shop go over it and put in new creature comfort items. Heck, they will even spray it down with new car smell disinfectent and make you feel like you are driving off the lot with a new ride. Don't like the paint? You do know that you can repaint a truck, right? Go with that metal flake fancy paint with high UV protection and double clear coat like that new truck you have been drooling over. There is a lot you can do to that older ride without breaking the bank and putting yourself in debt again. And it is a write off as well. And more times than not, it is more cost effective than buying one of those new trucks.

But some just got to have that new truck to strut on down the road with and try to impress all the newbies out of truck school. Those of us that have been at this game for more than a decade aren't quite so much impressed. We tend to be more impressed on how you manage things and what your net revenue looks like. Then maybe we might learn a thing or two from you.

 

No, he didn't want the boss riding with him, You figure out who that is in everyones different situation.. TD.