Made The Decision On My New Truck Today

Mike

Well-Known Member
The lease on my current truck (signed a one year lease) is up in a few weeks (mid September). The decision on what to do at this point has been in my mind for the past few months. Do I keep the truck, buy a glider, buy a different used truck, or buy a new truck from the dealer, or lease a truck with the goal of fully purchasing it?

I narrowed the field down a while back because I decided that I had no intentions of crossing California off my list of locations to deliver freight. So, that took away the glider option, as well as an older pre-emissions truck.

I crossed off the idea of keeping my current truck. It has been a dependable truck, great fuel economy, but just not what I wanted. When I got this truck, my intention was to get a new truck, and I guess I just never got that out of my system. I hope the decision to let this truck go doesn't bite me in the backside. If you are looking for a good used truck, and interested in the Schneider IC choice program, this one is a good opportunity for you.

I spec'd out a new truck, got all the specifics on the financing, and kept those numbers for reference in my decision.

While waiting to have a sit down with Schneider Finance and get the complete numbers on a lease purchase, I spent the last few months researching important things such as Emissions warranty issues for the various engines (cummins, paccar, and detroit), and fuel economy numbers. With that said, Cummins was marked off of my list because I have too much concern over the emissions problems and various other internal engine problems that have been reported.

So, I am left with engine choices of Paccar and Detroit, leaning towards Detroit (which forces me into Freightliner if I make that choice).

------------------------------------------

Armed with all of this research, I made the call to Schneider Finance to get the numbers on the trucks available for lease purchase, since now was the time to be making that final decision and getting a truck set aside for me if I was going to lease a new one.

We have some Cummins powered trucks, Paccar powered new freightliners and Peterbilts, and of course, the Freightliner Cascadia with the Detroit DD15.

My main question was regarding warranty issues with the available engine options. I found out Cummins was completely out of the question, as they refused to buy any more cummins powered trucks after 2011 based on a high volume off warranty issues (emissions). So, the new trucks had the option off Paccar power (KW and Pete), or Detroit (Cascadia).

I then asked about the comparison between the two engine options, basically asking which one had the most reliability issues? Without hesitation, Paccar was having a much higher percentage of emissions problems, primarily EGR related.

Basically, they have a much higher percentage of Detroit powered Cascadias, but far fewer problems.

So for me, it boiled down to a numbers game. The percentage of Detroit breakdowns was far less than the Paccar. The Freightliner Cascadia costs less than the Kenworth T680. Fuel mileage related, from all the data I can find online by people who are truly tracking their numbers, fuel economy is better with the DD15 than the Paccar or Cummins engine.

The final numbers to crunch? Cost to purchase via financing from the dealer, or Leasing from Schneider Finance. That, and the tax difference of leasing vs. buying.
  • I won't give exact numbers, but I am able to lease a new Freightliner Cascadia from Schneider Finance for less money than I can buy it through the dealer when you include financing. No joke. The numbers for me came in over $3k cheaper for the Cascadia through Schneider Finance, and that was before any final surprises that were likely to show up from the dealer before I ultimately took delivery and signed the final papers. This is also with a better APU option than I was getting from the dealer. Also, the price I was given for the dealer purchase was with the basic warranty. With the lease purchase, I have a really nice extended warranty that is specially setup between Freightliner and Schneider. It's basically the top level extended warranty you can purchase through Freightliner with a couple extra perks.
  • Rather than depreciate the purchase price of a new truck over 3 years (conventional purchase), I can fully deduct every penny of the lease payments from beginning to end. If you are good with numbers, and with taxes, you know that this is a very big savings on taxes.
So, my decision is made and I will be getting a new black 2015 Freightliner Cascadia Evolution on the 2nd week of September. Nothing fancy, but not looking for fancy. DD15 engine, 10 speed direct, 2.64 gears. Same engine and drivetrain that I am running now and a very optimal setup for fuel economy.

APU is going to be an IdleFree sysem. Choosing this over the parksmart because it handles heating and cooling, 1000 watt inverter, and will run off of shorepower rather than it's own batteries when shorepower is available. Unlike my current APU and Espar heater setup, I will now also have the engine heated.

The lease is set up where after 3 years,I have the option to continue the lease until payoff (total of 72 months), or I can pay it off at that point via the infamous balloon payment. My goal is for complete payoff at the end of 3 years.
 
So did you get trade in credit, or just giving it back because of lease completion?
If Schneider is like Swift, there will be no trade-in credit because Mike doesn't own the truck and, therefore, has no equity in it. He's been renting it for the past year. He may have a maintenance (or "escrow") account built up that will be used to cover any repairs that need to be done to his current truck, with any leftover balance going toward the down payment or kept in the same maintenance account in his name, but for the new truck.
 
So did you get trade in credit, or just giving it back because of lease completion?

No trade in, just giving it back because of lease completion, which would be expected.

If I were purchasing and traded away this early, I would likely be upside down on the loan and losing money in the deal.
 
Would there be a lease completion bonus such as at ATS? If so, can you cash that out or roll it into a new maintenance or escrow account?
 
The lease on my current truck (signed a one year lease) is up in a few weeks (mid September). The decision on what to do at this point has been in my mind for the past few months. Do I keep the truck, buy a glider, buy a different used truck, or buy a new truck from the dealer, or lease a truck with the goal of fully purchasing it?

I narrowed the field down a while back because I decided that I had no intentions of crossing California off my list of locations to deliver freight. So, that took away the glider option, as well as an older pre-emissions truck.

I crossed off the idea of keeping my current truck. It has been a dependable truck, great fuel economy, but just not what I wanted. When I got this truck, my intention was to get a new truck, and I guess I just never got that out of my system. I hope the decision to let this truck go doesn't bite me in the backside. If you are looking for a good used truck, and interested in the Schneider IC choice program, this one is a good opportunity for you.

I spec'd out a new truck, got all the specifics on the financing, and kept those numbers for reference in my decision.

While waiting to have a sit down with Schneider Finance and get the complete numbers on a lease purchase, I spent the last few months researching important things such as Emissions warranty issues for the various engines (cummins, paccar, and detroit), and fuel economy numbers. With that said, Cummins was marked off of my list because I have too much concern over the emissions problems and various other internal engine problems that have been reported.

So, I am left with engine choices of Paccar and Detroit, leaning towards Detroit (which forces me into Freightliner if I make that choice).

------------------------------------------

Armed with all of this research, I made the call to Schneider Finance to get the numbers on the trucks available for lease purchase, since now was the time to be making that final decision and getting a truck set aside for me if I was going to lease a new one.

We have some Cummins powered trucks, Paccar powered new freightliners and Peterbilts, and of course, the Freightliner Cascadia with the Detroit DD15.

My main question was regarding warranty issues with the available engine options. I found out Cummins was completely out of the question, as they refused to buy any more cummins powered trucks after 2011 based on a high volume off warranty issues (emissions). So, the new trucks had the option off Paccar power (KW and Pete), or Detroit (Cascadia).

I then asked about the comparison between the two engine options, basically asking which one had the most reliability issues? Without hesitation, Paccar was having a much higher percentage of emissions problems, primarily EGR related.

Basically, they have a much higher percentage of Detroit powered Cascadias, but far fewer problems.

So for me, it boiled down to a numbers game. The percentage of Detroit breakdowns was far less than the Paccar. The Freightliner Cascadia costs less than the Kenworth T680. Fuel mileage related, from all the data I can find online by people who are truly tracking their numbers, fuel economy is better with the DD15 than the Paccar or Cummins engine.

The final numbers to crunch? Cost to purchase via financing from the dealer, or Leasing from Schneider Finance. That, and the tax difference of leasing vs. buying.
  • I won't give exact numbers, but I am able to lease a new Freightliner Cascadia from Schneider Finance for less money than I can buy it through the dealer when you include financing. No joke. The numbers for me came in over $3k cheaper for the Cascadia through Schneider Finance, and that was before any final surprises that were likely to show up from the dealer before I ultimately took delivery and signed the final papers. This is also with a better APU option than I was getting from the dealer. Also, the price I was given for the dealer purchase was with the basic warranty. With the lease purchase, I have a really nice extended warranty that is specially setup between Freightliner and Schneider. It's basically the top level extended warranty you can purchase through Freightliner with a couple extra perks.
  • Rather than depreciate the purchase price of a new truck over 3 years (conventional purchase), I can fully deduct every penny of the lease payments from beginning to end. If you are good with numbers, and with taxes, you know that this is a very big savings on taxes.
So, my decision is made and I will be getting a new black 2015 Freightliner Cascadia Evolution on the 2nd week of September. Nothing fancy, but not looking for fancy. DD15 engine, 10 speed direct, 2.64 gears. Same engine and drivetrain that I am running now and a very optimal setup for fuel economy.

APU is going to be an IdleFree sysem. Choosing this over the parksmart because it handles heating and cooling, 1000 watt inverter, and will run off of shorepower rather than it's own batteries when shorepower is available. Unlike my current APU and Espar heater setup, I will now also have the engine heated.

The lease is set up where after 3 years,I have the option to continue the lease until payoff (total of 72 months), or I can pay it off at that point via the infamous balloon payment. My goal is for complete payoff at the end of 3 years.
DD15 good engine a workhorse. I was getting around 8.5 mpg running dedicated never had a problem with it
 
Delivering in Valdosta Ga tomorrow, then reloading in Albany with my final load in this truck headed for Green Bay.

At the last minute, I am now considering a t680 instead of the Cascadia. I knew I would end up doing this to myself.
 
At the last minute, I am now considering a t680 instead of the Cascadia. I knew I would end up doing this to myself.
Did you do any research about the reliability of the PACCAR engines? I know you said that Schneider told Cummins to stuff it...
 
Were getting three new T800's in November with 500hp Paccar MX's. I don't think I'm slated for one but at this place, small as it is, we will be able to tell pretty quickly if the bugs are just new truck bugs or the engines are complete junk and dont fit our need, and I'm sure everyone will hear all about them quickly.

@Mike have you made considerations about downtime in the new truck, and how that will affect your weekly trip through home? There WILL be shop visits in the break-in period, and it might screw up some stuff you got scheduled at home if you have to run extra loads here and there.

Food for thought.
 
@Mike have you made considerations about downtime in the new truck, and how that will affect your weekly trip through home? There WILL be shop visits in the break-in period, and it might screw up some stuff you got scheduled at home if you have to run extra loads here and there.

Food for thought.

Yep, we talked about that yesterday. Hoping I won't have any issues, the last new truck I got was completely trouble free (2012 cascadia).
 

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