Paying cash for an older semi tractor vs. financing a new one

I feel like there is some confusion about the 14L Series 60 that was only made for a few years. We had a 500 hp 14L in a 2001 Sterling....might have been a 2000. Anyway it’s a stroked 12.7 and not the same as the new EGR 14L. I don’t know what the differences are because all engines after 2003 are #### and I hope to never buy another.

Just search for all makes and models 2003 and older and go from there. I looked for my 359 for ~3 yrs. been looking ~7 yrs for a IH 9800 110” Eagle flat floor Cabover. Still looking for the Eagle

 

One slight correction. Trucks built in early 03 had 02 model year engines in them. So if you see an 03 truck its worth looking at the engine data plate to see what model year the engine is.

 

Good thread and discussion. For many years I was able to keep my transportation expenses to a minimum because I drove cheap junkers around and never had a car payment. However, I am capable of bending a wrench and never took anything to the shop to get fixed and that is what made driving junkers economically reasonable. First time in my life I had to pay to get a car repaired by a mechanic, I was 54 and living in an apartment complex so I didn't have a place to work on my car (1999 Buick LeSabre, needed a power steering pump).

 

Excellent point. The only thing that has burnt me in this scenario (owned my own auto repair shop, worked in truck repair) was downtime when I needed the truck to run. I had a 82 Chevy C70 and I now have a 2013 Ford f750 and it generally needs much less screwing with to stay on the road. The Chevy was relatively cheap to fix (cheaper than the Ford) and easy to work on but when the wipers wont work because the wiring is bad and you have to haul a load of cars you can lose a truck payment or more of income. It's a balance that you have to find a happy medium in. There are ups and downs to newer and older, it's just what and how you are willing to deal with it that matters.

 

Found a pic of the old beast. It was a pretty rad old truck that got me started but really wasn't a great choice because it had a 350 with a 4 spd. I later machined adapters to put a Spicer 5 spd in it which bumped my gas mileage up to a solid 5. Split rims.....that was fun....I eventually found some aluminum 19.5" wheels that fit it so I could get tires and do them myself without a fear of death. I know it's medium duty but the principal still applies to anything you drive, old is fine if you can take care of it yourself but just remember that you will eventually hit a point where it wants to be an old pos when you need it to make money.

 

Yet again another non semi truck story but I think it relates so I apologise if it doesn't but here it is. This was my second truck. 93 Ford F Super duty (before they called it a 450). Worst vehicle I have ever owned. I bought this to start doing road service calls on dumptruckers that were using me because I could store tools and a compressor in it. It liked to chew up rear calipers ($450) my cost, slave cylinders, anything injection related (smelled like kerosene no matter what) and the 5spd that was in it liked to mulch 5th....it did it more than once. There are a million IDI guys out there that will argue that a Ford with a non turbo 7.3 was the best truck ever but that wasn't my experience. I dumped so much money into that crap pile it still makes me sad. Not saying that will be your experience with an older truck but are you ready to deal with that because I honestly wasn't financially at the time and that thing set me back a year or two. Yet again I know everyone has a different experience and I'm not trying to be negative here but I don't wanna see anyone get burnt by a truck. I actually made money with the big Chevy (could have made more with a more economical truck but still made money) but the Ford killed me. If you look at age, equipment, statistics of both trucks the Ford was 100% the better truck but that's not how things worked out.

 

Good Point. My situation worked because I was just talking about my POV (And, I KNOW it is a very different situation from a vehicle you need to depend upon to make money). Also, I usually had 2 junkers (and a motorcycle or 2) and could usually manage to keep at least one running at most times. And, often once you get a junker 'tuned in' so to speak, they can be ###### reliable.
I guess the point I was trying to get at is if you can do your own repair work and not have to pay a mechanic for everything, it may be cheaper to run older stuff, since you typically don't have a payment (or at least not a big payment). However if you have to pay a mechanic for virtually all your repairs, might be better in the long run to get newer, more expensive but less likely to break down often and then perhaps be covered by a warranty (or be able to purchase a maintenance warranty).
I have no experience with semi-trucks and do not profess to know anything about whether those dynamics still apply, other than common sense would suggest it still holds.

 

correct of course but didn't want to confuse the issue......speaking in basic terms