How much would you recommend paying for a used truck as a new O/O?

Never buy a used emissions truck

it’s within cents a mile to run an old truck down the road vs a new one, if you are mechanically inclined a pre 2000 truck can be bought cash and you can go through it while you keep a company job to keep saving, once you get customers established you can either upgrade the truck or keep the old one running but Atleast you won’t have payments if the truck has to sit

I would price insurance before anything else, one year experience will probably be north of 50k

 

I wouldnt say never. But if you do buy used emissions. Your going to throw 10k at it as soon as you buy it to clean the emissions system, replace the sensors. Drop and clean the def tank, clean and regasket the EGR, fix any leaks, potentially a new wireing harness, decomp tube. all new doser/injector ect and so on. May need a new SCR or DPF maybe both if your unlucky.

Most people run a truck to 500k never bother to do the maintaince and then flip it for new. So if you buy a used one. YOU get to un#### all the damage. And if you dont plan that your emissions system is basically shot and needs a full rebuild day one. Your going to be on a hook in short order. If you get and rely on a used warranty. Your going to be on a hook getting dragged in with tons of down time hopeing against hope warranty pays for THIS issue all while your customers are pissed your you guessed it broke down again.

Used can be a viable option. But you gotta know what your getting and know how to spin a wrench.

 

Sometimes you can find an owner op or fleet op wanting to downsize.

 

Nope. They had EGR. Around 2002ish was the last year without EGR.

 

This is correct. I don't know why salespeople refer to Pre-Emission 2007. In October 2003, EGR started.

 

Those first generation EGR trucks were a mess. They did not ever know about plastic parts melting back then. Today they moved stuff around to get plastic parts like windshield water take moved. They had trouble with EGR valves sticking or getting too hot. All those first generation EGR and DPF and DEF trucks all had troubles.