Daimler/Chrysler First Time Buyers Program
 

I just got back from a Select Truck dealership. I as some know am looking to buy a truck. I would like a Columbia Freightliner but I may only be able to afford the Century class. The Century Class was more in my price range. The salesperson showed me a few Freightliners between-34K and 35K.

The trucks were a part of a first time buyer program sponsored by Daimler/Chrysler.Utilizing the program the payments would be higher but the perks of it were many. If anyone needs more info on the perks I will post later.

I was wondering is anyone familiar with this program? What have your experiences been thus far?

All advice is appreciated:)

I have never gotten involved in the Select program, but I have looked at it. It is a way to get a truck, but you may get less than you expect. I have found that their trucks are priced about $20,000 over retail. In addition, you may also pay a premium interest rate. There have been a couple of people on the forum who have bought trucks through Select. You will be much better off if you can secure your own financing elsewhere and then find a truck. Most of those trucks have been in fleets and some have not been that well taken care of by the company. I am not saying that is always the case, but you will pay a premium for the truck and probably pay a high interest rate.

buying
 

figure out your finacing and then call your local bank that you use, talk to an account manager and book an apointment to disuss the finacials,
normally a bank can get you a better rate, or more adjustable payment options.
also think about looking online at www.truckpaper.com for better deals.

most dealerships will fly u anywhere and put u up in a hotel to try to sell u something that your intrested in, and even help you with the diffrent types of finaceing

Also, fleet trucks are all poorly maintained regardless of what company ran them. I had friends that worked for Central Transport here in Charlotte and they changed their oils every 40K miles :shock: :shock: , Werner when i was with them as a company driver, on a average changed oil every 25-30, i do mine 12-15 !

oil
 

o/o you do maintence more often, fact of point, ya have to.
a company with a few dozen or even hundreds of trucks dont have the time and have figured out how much the expense of maintenence costs them wont bother to do maintence, sometiems it makes almost more sence to fix i huge problem then to fix a lil tiny 1.

Some of the fleets will either buy or lease new trucks, do as little maintenance as possible and then sell or turn them back in before any major maintenance problems occur. Then, it is the unsuspecting guy who comes along and buys one who gets stuck with the repairs.

GA1803, dont be that unsuspecting guy, see if Daim/Chry will approve you, then go looking elsewhere. They will sell you a truck later if you dont find anyone else to finance you. I have a buddy who sells fleet trucks for Werner, I was sitting in his office once when he got a call from the local Select dealer, he ordered about 14 Classics gave him the colors to paint them and closed the deal. Beware of those Select trucks. Drive your own business that makes you a profit, not makes you a slave.

GA1803 RUN! As fast as you can RUN! Selecttrucks is a huge scam. Sadly, I speak from experience :oops: but don't take my word for it, do some research, go to Ripoffreport.com, call OOIDA. They give you all this BS about a great deal, warranty, blah, blah, blah.

THEY DO NOT HONOR THEIR WARRANTIES! This is standard Freightliner business pratice. They will fix little things, but if you blow a motor, they will say it is not covered due to improper maintenance. They won't even look at your maintenance records. They have done this same thing time and time again. Freightliner is not an honorable or reputable company. Do not fall for this rip off scam.

I, as many others have, been sucked in by the SelectTrucks deal. Read the fine print on the warranty and you will see why. They don't cover what they consider normal wear! I purchased a 2001 Century Reconfigured Daycab in March of 2006. It had 476,000 miles on it when I took delivery. Drove it home and found that a fuel line was leaking.....had it repaired at my local Freightliner dealer,at my cost. 1st load out the alternator quit within 10 miles of the terminal. Local Freighliner dealer repaired under warranty. 6 months later the transmission lets go. 2 weeks downtime and a fix only whats broken repair,under warranty, and $1500 for a clutch I'm back on the road. Now my truck is in a local dealership with a worn out engine and a possible $13,000 engine job and SelectTrucks, Freightliner, SelectTrucks of Massachusetts(truck was purchased here) can't run away from me fast enough! The truck has 516,000 miles on it right now! Regular maintainence since I've owned it!
They'll drive your business right into bankruptcy!

JD

I run Freights with my company, we lease out a new batch of a 100 every 2 years and turn them in with 400-600K on them. I would strongly advise not buying anything fleet ran, the prioirity is just not there for long tern maintenance, period.