80k- 90k budget, where to buy 2nd rig?

Just get a gig hauling toilet paper and hand sanitizer!

 

Look at Schneider.com, they have units for sale as does Ruan.com also Ryder, but I would not buy from Penske.

 

Id just buy a new one. It’s hard to find trucks with less then 300k. Most trucks are trouble free for the first 300 and then somewhat trouble free until 500.

Before I could afford new trucks I did exactly what your thinking but it sucks only getting 200k out of a truck before offloading it again. In the mean time that 85k investment goes way way down to more like 35k.

Looking back even though in my mind I couldn’t afford it, the truth is I would have been equal or much more likely money ahead to just pull the trigger on brand new stuff. Only with much less headaches and uncertainty.

 

My first new truck purchase was in December of 2017. Here we are December of 2020. The truck has 293k miles on it as of today. So, let’s say I sell it in 7,000 miles for 85,000. The purchase price was 145,000.

So, 60,000 depreciation / 300,000 = 20 cents per mile cost of owner ship not including tires and services.

It still has 200,000 and 2 yrs left on factory warranty. It’s never seen a shop other then service and a set of tires.

Let’s say you buy it for 85,000 and run it for 2 yrs 200k then get 35,000 out of it. That’s 25 cents per mile for your ownership minus tires and service.
Unfortunately, at some point in those 200k miles it’s going to have some down time and repairs. That’ll increase that 25 cents to ? What’s the down time worth? What’s the headaches and road calls worth?

Just thinking out loud here. Maybe I should sell at 300k? Should I keep running it as planned to 500k?

One thing I do know from experience is after 500k things take a MAJOR turn and cost of ownership goes up a lot. Warranty falls off, etc.

Why some people say to buy old trucks and that it’s cheaper does baffle me. I’d only do that again if starting from scratch with little funding. The truth is the truck will cost you far more, not to mention down time and headaches. This increases your chances of going broke right when your business is most vulnerable.

So, in conclusion new is best, what your looking for now is 2nd best, and over 500k is a distant 3rd IMO.

 

Awesome!!!!!! Here’s somebody that puts numbers to it instead of guessing. That’s how to make it work!! Sometimes it surprises you what’s the best thing to do.

 

I absolutely lucked out on my last two trucks. They were rare gems..one with low mileage original engine, and the second with a low mileage factory Cummins engine and new 18sp. transmission, but high mileage chassis. They've been good to me, but not without issues. I searched high and low for another truck like them this year, but found nothing. I bit the bullet and bought a brand new truck. Hopefully I made a good decision. I paid for enough warranty to get me through the next 5 years, but down time still kills you, so I'll keep an old truck around for backup and running while we PM the main truck.

 

So you paid cash for that truck? If not, the interest should be in that calculation. Trucks only turn 1500 rpm with 22 inch tires. They are made to go a million miles. I have driven Volvos with over a million. The freightliner I was driving with 984K lost a rod bearing going over Mounteagle. It was in great conditon but the company didn't want to fix it.

 

3.99% but I doubt that many newcomers are going to buy outright either. Although I acknowledge what your saying, less principle, less interest. I’ll make that up in revenue with your first tow though. lol. Not you personally but I’m general.

I started with very old trucks and it was literally always something. It was really stressful. The inconsistency and overall lack of never knowing what was going to happen really wore on me.