Which truck/engine is least expensive to fix VS most expensive.

Several things will factor in.

1. Your area of operation. Had a buddy that drive a Volvo at Swift. He wanted a Volvo for his first truck. However, he normally runs between Minnesota and northern Alberta and Saskatchewan. You don't see a lot of Volvos in that area. A breakdown costs him 3x as much.
2. Your mechanical knowledge and skill level. If you're one of those drivers who have no mechanical skills, you are going to pay twice as much or more for maintenance. Why? A lot of the shops with their service writers want you to bring your truck in so that they can experiment on your dime. That's you handing over a blank cheque. You have to pay them to troubleshoot for you. If you can troubleshoot, you cut down on the price. Had a transmission grenade on me. Lost 9/10&17/18 gear. Limped her 30 miles back to the nearest town in 16th gear. Put her in a shop, and told the service writer that I wanted a Specific transmission, no core exchange, price quote out the door, tax included. They want to know my whole vin number, to see what engine I have in the truck, what transmission came with the truck, new clutch...etc. They're going to try to pork me. I said, "Sir if you cannot do, what I am asking you to do, let me know. I will take my truck to another shop that can." The service writer has me speak with the shop manager and the shop manager tells me about core charges, and finding out what's wrong, and look into either rebuilding or buying another transmission, and other options. (Sigh) "Sir, I did not ask about options, I want this XXXXXtransmission put into my truck. I'm not looking for options." Well, they give me an estimate, and a new clutch is in the estimate. I ask the service writer about the clutch and he calls the tech forward and the tech says that I need a new clutch. "No new clutch. Take it off the estimate."

3. Designs. The Cummins 3 piece head has an advantage...especially for head gaskets, cracked head, engine sleeves. It's worlds easier to repair a 3 piece head than the one piece.

 

I'm no mechanic but I've owned a couple of trucks as well as spoken to a few mechanics in my time. I ran a Cummins N14 and a 12.7L Detroit 60 Series. I had better results and less problems with the Detroit 60 Series over the years. The majority of mechanics I've spoken to agree that the Detroit 60 Series engine was and is the better engine economy wise to go with. They say that Detroit engines are easier to work on and the parts are cheaper than Caterpillar and Cummins. Plus you can find a Detroit Diesel mechanic just about anywhere. Caterpillar engines are known for their power but also for their high expense to maintain as well. Hope this helps.

 

Right on TripleSix, Did you want a Large fries with that? (If I wanted a large fries, I'D ASK FOR ONE!)

 

Once again someone that's never had one telling everyone else how "expensive they are to maintain" cause they heard from somebody that parts were expensive.

 

Well maybe if the mechanics that I've spoken to over the years were registered members of this forum then maybe they could answer the question. As they would be more suited to answer the question being as though they work on these engines for a living. But they're not and I am. My response to the lead question of this thread is just an opinion. Just like many others on this forum. If you (rollin coal) didn't agree with my response then you have the floor to express a more meaningful answer to the lead question versus your one sentence response that didn't help anyone out. Stick to the topic at hand instead of bashing someone else whose opinion doesn't agree with yours. I am in no way saying that Detroits are better than Caterpillars, or Cummins or vice versa. But there's a matter of consensus on that. Hopefully someone found an answer to their question or an opinion on here helpful... even if you didn't. Thanks.

 

When used there really is no better than the other. An engines life and expense depend a lot on the driver, the care giver, and the owner caring. I am CAT thru and thru but I have seen a couple that were neglected and would dollar and 5 you to death. Same with detroit, Cummins, etc. Also find a shop that is competent in diagnosis and repair. If you have to tell them what to replace they don't need to work on it. So many variables come into play here there isn't a cut and dried answer. Sometimes you gotta roll the dice and take your chances.