buying used

that's a very old truck. have a trusted mechanic go with you, or have the owner take you along for a ride to YOUR mechanic. do not trust the owner's mechanic, afterall, they are friends.........for many years.....

that old of a truck i wouldn't touch with a 25' pole................

 

how much $$$$ are you looking to spend..........???

 

When looking at a used truck from a private party, probably the most important thing is you are evaluating the owner as much as you are the vehicle. Does he seem to be on the up and up, telling the truth. Does his description of the things he says he has done to the truck match up with your mental image of him and his abilities. You can evaluate the truck, and a good mechanic can render an opinion, but you have to judge the owner as much as you are judging the truck.

Don't forget to look in the "Yard Sale" section on here. There are trucks and equipment listed there that can be worth looking into.

 

and if you live anywhere's near a Penske, or Ryder truck rental place, you can go shopping there as well. those rigs are usually under 300,000 miles and come with warranties as well. but, they will most likely be "fleet spec'd" rigs.........meaning no fancy frills.........

 

10K is a very low price for finding anything reliable enough to head onto the highway with. I would suggest that you concentrate on trucks that are somewhat out of fashion, such as cabovers, conventionals with smaller sleepers, smaller engines like L-10 or C-12, and other things like that which will limit your investment costs. You would be in somewhat better shape if you can up your price a little bit. With some searching, there are some decent machines that you can start with in the 15-20k range, but they do take some searching to find.

 

then i'd say don't do this. you have no CDL yet and no experience as well....??

you need to get experience first to see what life is like out there on the road. i had my suspicions about your thread, now i am sure of it. if you needed to ask questions about how to buy a truck, you're prone to failure right out the starting gate. you have nothing to fall back on like good old fashion experience.