good used truck
- Thread starter perkey02
- Start date
I suggest you stay away from any truck with the air filters mounted outside the hood. While you can find these at low prices now, it is because demand for them has fallen due to fuel economy reasons. I know dealers that won't take them in as a trade period, let alone at reduced value. They are already stuck with more than they want. Owners of conventional-style trucks who justified their purchase partly with future resale value are facing up to some nasty surprises as fuel prices stay high.
While this article does not talk about used trucks, news about new truck sales and market trends may be of interest to you.
While this article does not talk about used trucks, news about new truck sales and market trends may be of interest to you.
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greg334
Veteran Expediter
Well obliviously you have a plan, so you need good solid advice from one who has been there.
Yes you can find deals for under - $25,000. I would go just a little more then $20k for a few reasons that I won’t talk about here.
What kind of truck depends on a couple things, what company you are planning on being with (or did I miss that) AND how much you really expect your standard of living is going to be like while on the road. It really has to do with opportunity costs in this business.
A few companies will not accept anything older than say 5 years old. They feel that they either have an image to up hold or they don’t think you are capable of maintaining the vehicle properly – both are BS but it is something that you have to live with. I personally don’t see anything wrong with an older truck, to be exact operating costs may be cheaper but again it is a company thing.
Now your standard of living is a completely different thing, either you don’t mind living in a small box or you want to be an RVing style expediter, which if it is the latter, $20k or $25k won’t buy the stripes of one of them quarter million dollar porcelain palaces on wheels. Also I would not expect anything outside of a box with some insulation and well worn interior but again it does not bother a lot of people who make a living out of this stuff. I would not worry about the sleeper except for a place to put a fridge, hang your cloths and so on.
The last thing I want to mention is you are the buyer, don’t be pressured into buying the truck until you have it checked out, especially when you talk about a lower priced truck. Take your time, get a mechanic you can trust to look at it, get the oil analysis, got the ECM dumped and printed out, go to the dealer have them run the VIN and so on.
It is right now a buyers market and you may find something a little bit more in the money area but more equipped.
Oh before I forget, you may pick up one of them trucks with that air cleaner thing outside for cheap, I was offered a tractor a while back for well really cheap and turned it down because I have no place to bring it too or the time to clean it up to sell it. Don’t worry about that air cleaner thing because if you invest $15k into a truck like that, you still can operate cheaply enough because your payments will be nothing and dump the truck if it don't work out.
Yes you can find deals for under - $25,000. I would go just a little more then $20k for a few reasons that I won’t talk about here.
What kind of truck depends on a couple things, what company you are planning on being with (or did I miss that) AND how much you really expect your standard of living is going to be like while on the road. It really has to do with opportunity costs in this business.
A few companies will not accept anything older than say 5 years old. They feel that they either have an image to up hold or they don’t think you are capable of maintaining the vehicle properly – both are BS but it is something that you have to live with. I personally don’t see anything wrong with an older truck, to be exact operating costs may be cheaper but again it is a company thing.
Now your standard of living is a completely different thing, either you don’t mind living in a small box or you want to be an RVing style expediter, which if it is the latter, $20k or $25k won’t buy the stripes of one of them quarter million dollar porcelain palaces on wheels. Also I would not expect anything outside of a box with some insulation and well worn interior but again it does not bother a lot of people who make a living out of this stuff. I would not worry about the sleeper except for a place to put a fridge, hang your cloths and so on.
The last thing I want to mention is you are the buyer, don’t be pressured into buying the truck until you have it checked out, especially when you talk about a lower priced truck. Take your time, get a mechanic you can trust to look at it, get the oil analysis, got the ECM dumped and printed out, go to the dealer have them run the VIN and so on.
It is right now a buyers market and you may find something a little bit more in the money area but more equipped.
Oh before I forget, you may pick up one of them trucks with that air cleaner thing outside for cheap, I was offered a tractor a while back for well really cheap and turned it down because I have no place to bring it too or the time to clean it up to sell it. Don’t worry about that air cleaner thing because if you invest $15k into a truck like that, you still can operate cheaply enough because your payments will be nothing and dump the truck if it don't work out.
arkjarhead
Veteran Expediter
If you ask me he needs to figure out where he's gonna lease on first. It seems he's going to be running solo so I'd suggest looking into a few of the smaller outfits that run solos more than the larger outfits do. With that being said alot of the smaller outfits will sign on an older truck.
D Team Brothers
Expert Expediter
Several good points have been brought up for the benifit of the poeter; What are your plans for the truck, are you running solo or team, is $10,000 enough for a backup to start off with a used truck. I can think of another question; have you thought about signing on with an O/O to gain the experience and build that nest egg? Perhaps driving for someone for a while will lead you to re-think buying a truck.
most important maintance records if they don't havn't have
don't buy
maintance records are a must so you will be able to see what has been done in past so you will have idea for the furture
good luck also look here on eo in want ad's
did great here when sold my star and bought my sprinter
don't buy
maintance records are a must so you will be able to see what has been done in past so you will have idea for the furture
good luck also look here on eo in want ad's
did great here when sold my star and bought my sprinter
moose
Veteran Expediter
Hi , ARK...
where the heck have you been with this line , 3 months ago as i was shopping for a carrier to lease for...
U could have saved me thousands ...
now i know : running a solo St. truck is bather with a small outfit...
oh well , live and learn...
Moose.