What would an experienced o/o buy?

I would not worry so much about the miles as the maintenance. You can find trucks with less than 300,000 miles that have had an overhaul. You can find others with well over 1 million miles that are still going strong.
Restricting a purchase due to more than 500,000 miles will keep the selling price up.

The Truck Paper is a good start. Check with dealers and some of the online sales such as Craig's List or eBay. You might also consider attending some of the truck auctions, but you will need to have cash or an irrevocable letter of credit. Just driving around can locate trucks being sold by individuals. It takes time and patience to find the better buys. If you like International check with some of the regional facilities that are corporately owned. These stores will usually offer trucks for less than your local dealer. I bought a truck several years ago with less than 500,000 miles and paid $18,500. It was a one owner and being sold for the guy who purchased it new. It was also not a stripped down model. It had all the bells and whistles. Deals are out there, you just need to look a little harder.

 

where are you looking for these trucks? 6-8 years old 0 miles on a rebuilt for 30 to 35k? please post the web so we can all take advantage of this.

 

The previous owner was probably a lard *ss that just wore out the air ride seat, lmao!!!!

 

If yoiu think thats neat you should check out the Nikola One on youtube!!!

 

another perk is you get to sit on your tail alot at the dealer to get it fixed also!!!!

 

I'm new to trucking but I have a degree in business. Even if you pay cash, you have to demand a certain return on investment. If your hard earned cash doesn't produce a certain amount per year you'd be better off putting it in the stock market and avoiding the hassle of running a truck.

 

What are "owner operator" specs?

 

This. Right here. You are already ahead of most people who figure they can buy a truck with their savings and therefore the cost of said truck is zero.

"Owner operator" specs are basicly more options than how a fleet specs a truck. Fleets buy lower hp engines with fuel economy in mind, auto transmissions, aerodynamic, etc etc. Pretty basic. Owner operator drives for fuel efficiency and can achieve good mpg even with higher powered engine and 18 speed. Manual trans last longer and can get fixed anywhere. More reliable in that regard. Owner operator may spec his truck with fast rear ends so when he needs to giddy up and go, he can. Company trucks geared for typically about 65 mph and are also often governed. Historically the "hood" trucks aka Pete 379 or kenworth w900L had vave good resale even when they age and have lots of miles on them (if they are meticulously maintained which many are) resale much higher than aero counterparts. So the thinking is yes burn some more fuel, drive a more comfortable truck that looks cool too, sell it for good money at some point. That's more or less what "Owner operator" specs mean.

 

And when you count your return on investment, you subtract the wages you paid to yourself as the employee. You can make that same wage working as a company driver, so being the owner, taking the risk, supplying the capital, and directing the whole enterprise, at the end of the day, you need to get paid AS THE OWNER with profit that is not counted in the wages you paid yourself as well as retained earnings/equity that builds up over time. Accumulated depreciation looks good on the books, but physical assets, their tangible value, cash in the bank, what you could actually sell your business for today minus all your debt… That is your return on your investment.

 

I am a fleet owner, with a huge amount of business experience and one thing that I've found is people with business degrees are not always the most successful ones.