Excerpt:
"With the new technology required to meet emissions standards, today's engines simply are more problematic than the previous generation. So, while it's possible that manufacturers can continue to improve the quality of the engines, it's unlikely that they'll quickly get back to the pre-2004 levels."
"More problematic" means more reapir bills. New generation engines cost more to build and maintain, thereby increasing the cost to own and operate trucks with such engines in them. Yet another reason to pay attention to your costs and the price per mile at which you will run.
You might buy a newer truck that runs fine for a year or two, leading you to belive that your costs are fine. Then the EPA demon wakes under your hood and all at once you have a big repair bill (thousands of dollars) to pay. The engine is fine, its the EPA add-ons that fail.
If you are running a newer truck but have a maintenance and repair cost per mile built into your spreadsheet based on an old engine, it might be wise to bump that number up a bit, even if your engine is running fine today.
Our engine is a 2006 model. After EGR problems developed and are projected to persist, and after the warranty expired, we had to add a penny a mile to our maintenance costs.
Newer SCR engines are still new. Their components are even more expensive than EGR valves. If I had an SCR engine now and planned to drive it for a long time, I would want $10,000 at the very least tucked away somewhere to cover the cost of EXPECTED SCR component failures.