Upgrade or Rebuild?

Lets dig a lil deeper here...........This is a pretty significant decision that needs a lot of thinking.

Firsy of all..How old are you? Are you still young,Or are you near retirement age?

what kind of savings do you have..Are you secure with a retirement account?

Not trying to get too personal,But those should figure in to your decision........me,Personally,im in my mid 40's...my equipment has been paid off for over 10 years..I fix/rebuild when its time, I Take NO shortcuts...The Money I save by Keeping my equipment Goes into my Retirement,Healthcare and personal savings account

I would NEVER in a million years take a loan out on a tractor new..high risk,With Little to No return on investment (example $140,000 new-in 4 years its worth $50,000 at trade in)

You do what you feel is the best thing for you........The way I have done things, I have enough right now to retire if I chose......This is a business and you have to be smart and treat it like a business,And put monies in the right place

 

He mentioned buying a glider & I hope it bothers no one with me asking this question. The company I worked for many years ago built several gliders that tuned out right good.

With a glider & no emissions on the diesel engine what states would such a truck not be able to enter? I know that Californian is very strict, are any other states that strict?

 

OldHasBeen,
I think you can still operate in California as long as you don't reside there and you can get a 5,000 mile per year exemption....
Im pretty sure that's what Ive been told,

 

hawkjr,what is your truck worth as a trade in?
Have you asked dealers what they would give you,if bought a new truck with them?

Do you run a lot off miles or not so much?

How much off repairs can you do yourself?

Do you gross enough to comfortly pay off a new truck?

The glider vs new truck is basicly a gamble.
The gamble being :will there be any places on your freightlines that will "bite" you by having a ban on older engines.
Having a glider will limit you,the question you have to answer is will you suffer from that limitation?

The gliders bring us to the next point.
Fuelprices,MPG and the future.
Aldough oilprices have dropped lately,it is a safe bet to assume they will rise as soon as the global economy picks up.
The only question is when.
Will any amount you spend on your old truck bring it to a MPG that comes close to a new truck?

Have you calculated how much a new truck would really cost you?
I mean the savings in taxes +better MPG vs the payment.
Do that ,you might be surprised how the numbers turn out.

I personally have started with a new truck and ran it till the numbers showed me that it was cheaper to buy a new one.
The second truck (a '06 bought new) is now showing it's age but is till doing fine.
Most likely i will trade it somewhere around '17 and buy another new truck.
Run that one till retirement.

Make a plan for your longterm future.

 

OK before I would buy a 04-07 I would overhaul my truck. The accerts have some glitches but guys are getting a lot of miles out of them. There are ways to get fuel economy out of them too. A friend bought a new paccar with the paccar motor and is getting 8-9 MPG. Geared right and drives slow. He has had some sensor problems but has a dealer with some good mechanics and is happy overall. As far as money goes you have to have some kind of deductions or you are going to give it to the IRS.

 

Hi hawkjr, listen to stayinback, he hit it right on the head. There is no free lunch with owning a truck. You'll pay either way. Personally, I'd rebuild the old horse, and try and stash some money away. I always ran older trucks, but did a lot of repairs myself, and while you do get the tax advantage of a new truck, they still breakdown, and there's nothing worse than making a big payment when your truck isn't moving. It takes a long time to recover from that. Million mile trucks are not that unusual anymore, and if you want to take a break, you can, and not have the bank hounding you for that payment. Good luck.

 

A fleet owner once told me, and I quote ' YOU CAN PAY TRUCK PAYMENTS,OR YOU CAN PAY REPAIR BILLS. YOU CANNOT DO BOTH, IT WILL BANKRUPT YOU'. I bought one new truck in my life, a 1984 COE KW. Big mistake at the time, but I struggled through it. Since then I have bought 5 to 6 year old trucks, run them for maybe 8 years, then sell them myself and buy another, after looking for several months.Never bought one in a hurry, took my time looking for a deal.
I currently drive a 2001 Freightliner ( yeah, I know. But it has been an excellent truck ). Had it 8 years now , and can sell it for about 70 % of what I paid for it.
Keep what you have, if it is not shot. Get that one paid for, and then you are in a position to trade if a great deal comes along.

 

The 3 phases of trucking; Phase #1 You plunk the money down and are a truck owner, run your guts out making payments, IF you are so lucky to survive this, Phase #2 begins; You will still work as hard but part of that will be at home in the shop rebuilding everything you wore out during phase 1. In the event you survive phase 2 and don't give up Phase #3 begins ; you actually make some money from completing phases 1 & 2, stand proud you earned it.
20yrs now in the biz, over 9yrs same truck 97 KW T800 , not going to trade now. Starting the transition from phase 2 to phase 3. Knowing your equipment inside out has some keen advantages. I don't like payments......period.
J-J