YA or NA?? thoughts please!!

Price of everything has gone nuts over the last 2 years.

 

OK time for a reality check.

Sounds like another clueless fleet owner or wannabe fleet owner acting like this is like buying a car.

I will go through this AGAIN because no one seems to get that the whole thing in this truck management game is to reduce downtime while making the truck as productive as possible.

NUMBER 1 - WHEN YOU PURCHASE A TRUCK, DO NOT CLING TO THE FIRST ONE THAT YOU FIND.

THERE ARE MORE TRUCKS OUT ON THE MARKET THAN THERE ARE OWNERS OF THE TRUCKS.

WE HAVE ALWAYS HAD TRUCKS LOOKING FOR OWNERS.
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Trucks are tools, they are tools that use consumables in order to fulfill their "mission" like oil, tires, and so on.

Tools can be abused but look great and be dogs ready to die or they can be taken care of, look ok, and will last a long time.

The one thing I can not stress enough is warranties only provide a limited amount of funds for repairs, but not a penny for operational costs including driver's pay. If you don't do your Due Diligence up front, then you increase the risk of the truck being in the shop and you losing money on it by not having it worked.

Second follow the right steps in checking it all out -

1 - Dyno it. Get it on a dyno, see what power it is producing, and compare that to the RATED power. A good buy will be at least 75% of rated power, anything less shows it is worn out.

1a - Blowby. NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE SAYS BLOWBY IDLING IS MEANINGLESS. Get a proper blowby test while it is on the dyno, it can only be measured while on the dyno UNDER A FULL LOAD AT HIGHWAY SPEED.

2 - Oil/fluid analysis. Pull oil from AT LEAST the engine, trans, rear axles, and hubs if you really want to do a good one. If it has an APU pull the oil too. Pull antifreeze from the truck. Do this after the dyno, and do it even if the oil has been changed, running it on the dyno pulls a lot of contaminants into the oil.

3 - Full ECM dump. Have a FULL not a summary ECM printout or PDF from the truck when it is on the Dyno. This pulls the past codes and specific info about the configuration of the truck that can be used to make changes, later on, to make it more efficient. It also tells you a lot of other info about the ECM and if you have to replace it, you can get it done a lot easier.

3a - Dealer Information. Take the VIN to the dealer and have the dealer print out any warranty and paid repairs that are in the dealer's network. Also, have the dealer print out the original order that has the serial numbers and component specs for what the truck came out of the factory with.

4 - Mechanic check out. Have a reputable mechanic go from the bumper to the mudflaps, check everything, tell them you want to find every possible issue with the truck and list them by the severity of the problem like brakes first and so on. A DOT INSPECTION IS NOT AN INSPECTION, it is a formality to have a piece of paper saying the truck was inspected and is MEANINGLESS.

5 - Negotiations. No matter what the market value of the truck is, there is always room for negotiations. I walk away if the seller isn't willing to. I use the mechanics report with serious things to fix and price out the repairs, then subtract the repairs from the asking price, 9 times out of 10, there is a reduction in price but I also pick my battles.

THE FREIGHT DOES NOT GIVE A CRAP WHAT HAULS IT, A TRUCK TO THE FREIGHT IS A MEANS TO GET FROM POINT A TO POINT B SO IF YOU WANT A HOODY, OR A FANCY INTERNATIONAL OR SOME BEATUP CENTURY THAT IS DUCT TAPED TOGETHER THAT MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE A BIG TIME TRUCK DRIVER, GET WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY BUT REMEMBER IT ISN'T THE FANCY TRUCK THAT MAKES MONEY, IT IS THE ONE THAT IS ALWAYS RUNNING RELIABLE THAT MAKES THE MONEY.

 

Great post. Maybe that could be pinned?

 

Nope, 2 reasons:
1) it makes too much sense.
2) no pictures (for those that are not well versed in the language)

 

I’m surprised nobody asked about how he’s going to pay his driver doing the north east area as a new company.

 

I assume he will be another 1099 owner where they will pay after they get paid.

 

I think he meant 1850 idle time.

 

This looks good on paper, but in the teal world is expensive and time consuming. Probably you'll have to repeat it multiple times. Then you may not agree on the terms of selling, mainly the price...

 

Another Newbie on this forum that DIDNT read the rules before he starts a NEW thread. Meaning: if he would’ve use the search box above, he would’ve got his answers. What does this make, around 100,023 threads of the SAMETHING !!!!!!!