Buying truck need ideas.

Consider your mechanical ability first.There are lots of bargains around these days.Look for something with documented engine work and as many records as you can find.Try to find something that is spec`d for what kind of work you will be doing.Another consideration would be dealership and used part availibility.Look at EVERYTHING on the truck yourself and take a trusted person with you.Crawl under the truck and look at everything-check fluid levels in trans and rears and look for leaking seals,worn brake drums,broken frame crossmembersor gussets,frayedor dryrotted airbags,worn bushings,dryujoints,oil leaks,etc,etc,etc.The less you find now the better.Look at all the electrical/electronic stuff.If this is your first purchase,and you have limited mechanical skills,I suggest looking for something that has been fleet or lease maintained.Save your dream truck for later after you have more experience.Be leary of aftermarket warranties that you have to pay extra for.And a final piece of advice-the grass isn`t always greener on the other side.Good luck with your future.

 

a good used truck can be found, but if you are sticking to a budget, like it does appear you are, i hope you got money for repairs, because you will need it. for good used trucks, you can try Ryder, Penske and "the truck paper".

if you only have (say) the $15,000 (or so) and that's all you have.........well, i think maybe you might want to re-consider buying till you have saved up more...?? just sayin'.....

 

I bought my '95 Pete in '03 with just under 1,000,000 miles on the clock. $18,000.00 out the door... no warranty. 3406E Cat... I rebuilt the trans after about one year... did one cylinder pack after I overheated the engine in '05.

Two months ago I did an in frame after 1,000,000 on the last major. The truck now has 1,626,000 miles on it and it's been the best truck I've owned or driven in 38 years.

Ask to do a dyno check when you get serious on a truck. Lots of good used cheap trucks on the market right now... many are Pete's and KW's, too.

 

Also buying a truck next week. These are my options:

-Frieghtliner columbia '07
-cat c13 ; 430hp; 10spd ; 3.36 gear ratio
-auto-matic with 470,322 miles ; apu installed
-$37,950

volvo 670 '06
-cummins isx 10 spd; 400hp; 3.36 ratio
-511,165 miles
-$39,950

frieghtliner columbia mid-roof '06
-det. 14.0L; 10spd. automatic; 455 hp; 3.42 ratio
-507,415 miles
-super singles
-$32,950

There's also a couple of frieghtliners with merc 4000 engines, but not a big fan of them. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. As far as what im running, it's between two types of jobs. One would pulling wal-mart frieght, coming from Reno, NV. (so a lot of hill climbing) The other job would be pulling intermodal frieght, mostly local in Northern Cali.

 

Truckcenter.com has a three coming up before Christmas. Most all are open to the public and offer online bidding. I've seen a lot of fleet trucks from the likes of "Walmart" etc. Most I've seen seem to retire their vehicles at around 500k miles, and since they have been fleet maintained have a lot of life left in them

 

You have to have cash in hand...no financing

 

Those prices are 50% above REAL retail... forget the Volvo... too many problems after a few miles. Freightliner customer-no-service is ridiculous so I'd forget those, too.

And I wouldn't touch a used truck with an auto-shift... again too any maintenance issues. There are HUNDREDS of posts about these problems here... do a search.

Here are some real-world prices...

http://www.truckpaper.com/list/list.aspx?pcid=2000718386&etid=1&dlr=1&bcatid=27&catid=210

If you are running local a $10,000 truck will do everything you want...