Buying a used truck

[Mr Bill]

Has anyone put together a check list of items to check & test to do when buying a used truck?

How old of a used truck should one look at ? Years? Mileage? etc.

In the early stages of possibly doing.

Thanks in advance

Mr Bill

[GMAN]

I prefer looking at a truck before anyone cleans it up. It gives you a better idea of the trucks condition. It is a good idea to have a dyno and oil analysis before you sign on the dotted line. I check kingpins, fifth wheel and prefer checking the rears. Driving a truck can also tell you a lot about how it was maintained. If a truck is beat up inside then there is a good chance the rest of the truck has been poorly maintained. Unless the tires are new you should be able to check for excessive wear. Unusual wear patterns could indicate a number of things that should be checked from an alignment to something more serious.

[Mr Bill]

GMAN

Thank you for the input.

Mr Bill

[GMAN]

You are welcome, Mr Bill. One other thing to consider when buying a truck. I don't worry too much about mileage or age of a truck if it has been well maintained. However, a lower mileage truck is generally considered best. I have seen some trucks with as little as 250,000 miles that have had to be overhauled. I have also seen some with more than 1 million miles that are still running strong. I have one truck myself with more that 900,000 miles that is still running strong. I hope to go well over the million mile mark. I have not had any payments on that truck for several years. There are some carriers who will not lease on an owner operator if their truck is past a certain age. Most will lease you on as long as the truck looks decent and can pass a DOT inspection. It is usually the lower paying carriers who care about the age of your truck. They probably know that an owner operator won't be able to afford to make major repairs for the rate they are paying.

[heavyhaulerss]

dyno & oil analyst is a must. also have the ecm checked. it can tell a lot about an engine, if any work was done what, when, e.t.c. for example, on my det ser 60 when i had a engine light come on & took it to my mechanic. the e.c.m. told him that my oil pressure went to a certain pressure at a specific time & on a specific date & even told him how long it stayed at that pressure. also how many times the water coolant level was low, all kinds of info. some dealers will have e.c.m reports. other you may have to pay to get. but if your serious about a particuliar truck, it is better to spend a couple hundred on diagnosis than to overhaul an engine a few weeks after buying the truck.

on tires.. I would rather see older tires on a truck, if they have bben on their a while. cause at least you can see if it's wearing even or not. with all new tires , especially the steers, it may need a lot of front end work, & it is cheaper to put on a set of new tires than to replace most front end parts. mine not long ago needed king pin bushings $1,500 total. the tires were only $850. so if a dealer had to make the choice they would or could just put on the new tires & you would not know about the uneven wear until a few thousand miles.

another thing when looking at pictures of trucks, beware of looking at pic's that are wet. some will hose down entire truck. it hides & camouflages a lot of negatives. I always look at the surrounding area. if it wet all over the ground then fine, but if everything is dry including the pavement, I wonder why the truck is wet with water everywhere.

[fatboytenn]

If you aren't qualified to make an assesment of the vehicle in question, it might pay you to hire a professional mechanic to look at the truck. This may cost you some, but will pay off in the long run. If they are serious about selling, they won't mind you taking it to the professional to get his opinion. The people before this reply told you many things to check, but if you had to ask the question in the first place.....maybe a professional is needed to help you with the truck..

[heavyhaulerss]

maybe a professional is needed to help you with the truck..


we are professionals here. we just dont charge anything. lol

[rank]

compression check.

[deep dixie blue]

I had an interesting conversation this week with a guy who appraises trucks for banks before/after they repo them. He said the values had dropped so badly at the big truck auctions (Nashville and Chicago were the two he mentioned) that many banks have stopped repoing them, figuring they are better off letting the o/o's continue to try to make payments.

Anyway, here's the interesting part: He said that 2006, 2007 trucks with 3xx,xxx miles were only bringing $12,000 to $15,000 at auction. A friend of mine bought just such a truck about a year ago and paid $52,000 thinking he was getting a pretty good deal.

Don't know if its true or not, but if it is then this would be a heckuva time to pick up a couple of trucks and sit on them awhile if one has the cash to do it... which I don't, unfortunately.

[allan5oh]

dyno test, oil sample, compression check, idle injector test, blowby test, charge air cooler leak test, get the front end checked out(if the truck hasn't been greased properly, the front end will be the first to wear out).

Drain a small amount of fluid out of the tranny and both diffs, if they're toast chunks will come out.

Check on the trucks history, and pull a full ECM report. This will give you a very clear picture on how the truck has been driven, as well as historical lifetime fuel mileage.

Make sure the clutch engages straight.

[Mr Bill]

Thanks to ALL that responded. Great guidance on items to check. Will do.
Thanks again

MR Bill

[slacker]

I bought my truck with 500,000 on it and had a blow by check, dyno, checked the ecm and matched it to the engine. I also had them check the bolts on the engine to see if it had been apart. I drove it around for three days and put about 300 miles on it. I also did an oil analysis on it.

In hindsight, i would not buy a used truck without new tires, new brakes and drums, and new batteries, unless that was considered in a reduction of the price. Those are all items that will most likely need to be replaced in the first year. I also would have the kingpins checked and get an alignment. You may need an overhead done as well

Basically, I would budget to spend about $3000.00 just getting to know the truck and getting it in shape for the road.

You live, you learn.

good luck