mpg VS cost of repairs?

1500 is less than half of what I pay. But I am on an aggressive payment plan, have a flexible lender (if needed), and prefer it that way.
That's in cdn $ though. Which, today, is about 2500usd. 23 payments to go.

 

Like I said, pretty sure that would be the bottom end, as in very good credit and a fairly long term loan.

 

Just tell him to buy you a hood and be done with it

 

New truck, spec'd nice is close to 180K. It'll depreciate to 50K$ at 500K miles. Last two years of running "old reliable" I spent close to 24 c/mile on maintenance and repairs (not including tires). New trucks come with new tires, too. Insurance on a 180K truck is substantially higher than on a 40K truck. DEF truck maintenance is not inexpensive (proper maintenance includes DEF filter cleaning, sensor cleaning / periodic replacement, etc).

At the OP mileage rate, the payment will not be larger than the savings, but fairly close (assuming he has, say, a $40 K trade in). Yes, you can do a full maintenance lease, and that'll drop the payment down to about 70% of the purchase payment (think $2,400 instead of 3K at your mileage). They will do the absolute minimum on maintenance and put on recaps when you need new tires.....

 

lulz

 

A simple rule of thumb I use is half the original sticker price after 4 yrs. And 500 k miles. Seems to be normal average for semi trucks. Of course so many variables due to economy, supply and demand of certain Trucks, some being plentiful some being scarce.But that’s my usual starting point. Same with cars. Trailers, boats, Campers, 7 yrs half price of orig.

 

I think there are some older trucks you buy and some you don’t. 359s, 379s, T800s I can vouch for but we have our own shop.

Bought a ‘98 T800 M11, 13 speed 62” Studio O/O truck in 2007 for $15k. Put ~$15k into it in the first two yrs chasing a sunken liner. Average no more than $2500/yr maintenance since then. 6.5 USMPG. 1.2 million miles on the chassis and I bet I could get $20k today. But that is all about the driver. Any other driver than me would have wrecked it 7 yrs ago.

Bought a ‘86 Pete 359 long hood in 2014 for $28k. Mechanical 425 B model, 15 OD. Put a rad, CAC and water pump on it and that’s it. 5.5 USMPG and I know it’s worth at least $28k.

Bought a new 2008 T660 DPF truck for $100,000. 13 speed, ISX. Spent over $7500/yr on maintenance and It’s worth less than $15k today. 5.5 USMPG.

It’s a no brainer for me.

 

2 out of 3 ain’t bad!! Always a gamble, educated guess at best.I like the first deal numbers best, second deal too soon to tell, probably only going up in price, nice Truck. 3 rd deal ain’t too bad since it’s been 10 yrs. You never know for sure, only in retrospect.Sounds like you’ve done well, compared to the horror stories Very well

 

.......other trucks over the years.

1995 T600 N14 435 HP red top. Paid $45k in 1996. Not a bad truck but the Plastic fell apart. Rear diff let go. I always hated the single disk clutch. Sold for $4000. Probably should’ve kept it for the engine but I wasn’t impressed with the fuel mileage from that truck. 4.8-5.0 MPG from a supposed aero truck

2000 Sterling with a 14L 500 hp DD60 and 18 speed. Probably should have kept that one for the engine and trans.

2000 T2000 with a 6nz. Paid $60k in 2002. Trouble free engine but the plastic fell apart around it. Worthless today except as a 6nz core.

2005 T2000 with a C15 Acert. Bought in 2006. Catastrophic VVA housing failure cost $10k. Constant wiring harness issues. Plastic parts fell apart.

In the trucking world, plastic is not fantastic.