new truck or used

howell1000

Active Member
I was thinking of getting my own authority and becoming a owner operator so should I get a new truck with a warranty or take a chance on a used one??? thanks
 
you should go and get the new KW W900 Icon, and then a new TK Spectrum Reefer unit in a brand new Great Dane stainless steel 12' Spread axle trailer. Make sure you get all the bells and whistles on things too.
 
you should go and get the new KW W900 Icon, and then a new TK Spectrum Reefer unit in a brand new Great Dane stainless steel 12' Spread axle trailer. Make sure you get all the bells and whistles on things too.
overdose on the smartass pills today? ;)
 
I was thinking of getting my own authority and becoming a owner operator so should I get a new truck with a warranty or take a chance on a used one??? thanks

Where are you planning on running?
What are you planning on hauling?

Are you paying cash for the equipment?
 
I see there is a lot of a holes on this I was asking a simple question just figured somebody would know instead of being pricks I guess there in every type of job I see why truckers get bad rap all the time and ive worked and built kenworth w900 icon at there plant I know there crap and mike going through bank and flatbed steel , aluminum, lumber
 
I'll put this out to the O/P.....

Unless you pay BIG cash for a NEW truck, a payment will be $2200-2400. That's even with $45-50K down either in trade/cash or a combination of the two.

I bought a $30,000 Freightliner and just got a 2016 Great Dane Reefer trailer with my old 2002 Carrier Reefer (11,000 hours on it). My payments are still under $1500 per month. ABout HALF of what a NEW tractor only would cost me.

Maintenance wise in the lase 3 years, I have been averaging about $1000 per month in repairs to the truck. Some of it to "rebuild" it like a tranny/clutch rebuild and some of it for actual routine maintenance like brakes, tires etc.

If you follow the "fleet" mentality of equipment purchasing, you'll get the newest equipment you can get ahold of on a lease from like Ryder or GE Capitol and run it for 3 years and capitol expense it out. 100% tax deductible. If you get into it from an O/O point, you'll finance it and purchase it out and you'll depreciate it over 3-5 years. Either way, it will be about the same benefit tax wise.

But the risk is....

You have a slow month or you are laid up for a couple 2-3 months, y0u'll be forced to continue to make those monster payments on a new piece of equipment. and a HIGH fixed expense like that can kill you quickly.

Or you can go and get an older truck, pay a lot less on your fixed expense of a payment and run the balance on a variable maintenance expense each month. The risk? A possible road break down. Honestly, I don't see that being a big issue if you follow a good PM plan and re-invest in the maintenance on YOUR schedule and not on road break downs. I went this route.

By the time I am done paying for all the repairs etc, I'll have a NEW driveline from Radiator all the way to the drive tires. Total cost for that "new" truck will be about $70,000. But that's running a new engine, trans/clutch, drive shaft and new differentials as well.

Hoses, belts, brakes, tires, brake chambers etc are all consumable service life items. Doesn't matter if it's a 2012 or a 2000 model year truck. So long as your frame and body aren't a billboard for the DOT to pull you in. Can most normal folks really tell the difference between a 2001 and a 2014 Columbia or W900 truck?

Compared to buying a new "NEW" truck at $150-170,000.

I'll take the $80-100K in my retirement account please.
 
I see there is a lot of a holes on this I was asking a simple question just figured somebody would know instead of being pricks I guess there in every type of job I see why truckers get bad rap all the time and ive worked and built kenworth w900 icon at there plant I know there crap and mike going through bank and flatbed steel , aluminum, lumber


what you asked isn't a "simple" question. Especially for a business with extremely high operating and equipment costs. There is also the question of "what's your risk comfort".

with the simplistic question you came in here with at the beginning, it begs the same silliness that the celadon thread got that mike already stripped clean.

You want an answer? or help with a business model? because it's two different things.
 
what I asked was just that a question I did not need a smart ass remark I was just wondering about old truck break downs to new truck warranty
 
warranties are a salesman's nest egg. If you are going to rely on a warranty, then you need to just part with your money in an easier fashion. I can provide you with an account to send your money to.

warranties are a rip off.
 
when I worked for kenworth that's all they talked about was the millions they spent on warranties Im just thinking if I bought a used truck say im working a month and engine blows im screwed
 
you'd be screwed on a new one too.

It's a matter of doing your due diligence if you buy a used or new truck. My Century is pushing 1,000,000 miles. I figure it will be good for another 3+ years at the rate I drive of only 80-90K a year. I bought it with 708,000 miles on it. I had bigger issues from the kingpins failing 10 days after owning it than I ever did with the engine.

Buddy tried his hand with a 2010 Pete 386. The emissions on that thing about ruined him. Now he's in a 2012 Coronado. Has been running his butt off and doing just fine. When he DOES have issues, it's mainly the emissions that are the problem.

Unless you go to California where you MUST have emissions, avoid them.
 
I would buy a used truck for around $25k and see how it goes. If things go good think about either putting money into your used truck or going with a new one. Even if you have a new truck and the engine blows your going to be down for a while.
 
I just came back from CA on a 3 day permit for free from CARB. I assure you, there is nobody enforcing the CARB rules. DOT cannot do it. I would say 70% of the trucks I saw on the road were old. The truck stops were filled with everyone idling.
 
new truck warranty

Warranty is really a weak selling point for a new truck, at this point I am really speaking from experience. With my 2015 KW, I have been heavily educated at the school of hard knocks on this....

It is comforting to know that your truck is covered under warranty in the beginning, until your truck breaks down and you are at the mercy of the dealership for a warranty repair. The repair "might" be warranty, but the downtime is costly and when the dealer is doing warranty work, they are in no hurry to fix your truck. The downtime gets very costly.

Also, your warranty consists of your manufacturer warranty, which is basically the cab and electronics, which goes about 100k miles. The engine has a different warranty per it's manufacturer. Transmission, a different warranty through it's manufacturer, rear ends, through their manufacturer. And none of these companies play nicely with each other.

I'm currently fighting through my company and KW over a $3500 clutch replacement at 120K miles. Long story short, nothing was wrong with the clutch. I had a fuel leak contaminating the clutch and it was 100% misdiagnosed. Problem is, I had to dig that $3500 out of my pocket and it's now like fighting an army trying to get it back. Not only was I out the $3500, I was down for about 4 days in California, then once the clutch started slipping again a few hundred miles down the road, I ended up down another 7 days in Joplin, for a total of about $9k in lost revenue due to a dealer that couldn't properly diagnose a fuel leak.

All in all, I probably have close to two months of downtime at the dealership, in less than a year's worth of ownership. Had I bought this truck on my own, rather than going through Schneider, the downtime would be significantly increased because thankfully this company has pull with the dealers at the corporate level to get the trucks in and out of the shops faster.

I say all that to say this.

Either buy a used truck, and have some money on hand for any potential repairs. Be sure to have the truck checked out well, get maintenance records, and inspect the truck with a fine tooth comb.

or.

Buy a Glider so you can avoid the emissions BS, and to ensure you are not confined to the dealer for any repairs.
 
when I worked for kenworth that's all they talked about was the millions they spent on warranties Im just thinking if I bought a used truck say im working a month and engine blows im screwed

A non emissions engine, you are out $15k and a week of downtime. I know of people who have dropped their new trucks off at the dealer with engine lights on and not get the truck back for over a month. Payments don't stop though, and the chances of the truck being fixed upon leaving the dealer seem to be minimal at best.
 
so it would prob be good to get a mechanic to go with me to look at older trucks

Doesn't matter much. It's still a crap shoot. I have an older truck in that price range working every day and no problems. I sell it to you and a week later the engine could go.

Can you afford a new truck? You just can't waltz up to a bank and get a loan for one. That's pretty much the last thing a bank wants to lend money on.
 
Can you afford a new truck? You just can't waltz up to a bank and get a loan for one. That's pretty much the last thing a bank wants to lend money on.
20% down and an insane interest rate even if you have perfect credit for a first time truck buyer.
 

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