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merrick4 · Joined: 08 Nov 2006 Posts: 853

Well I went over to the local Freightliner dealer today to look at some trucks. The economy is bad, credit is tight, nobody is buying anything so I just wanted to see some prices.

I looked at some 2005's. They are within a few thousand of what I paid like 9 months ago (low 60's). At least when I bought it I still had factory warranty.

I would say it's Florida where nobody wants to realize that prices have dropped (like Real Estate) but even looking at Truckpaper and they aren't so low.

I told her what my friend just paid for an 09 or 08 Kenworth ($124,000 out the door with FET and APU) and the saleswoman starts telling me that's because they can't give them away due to bad fuel economy. By the way the Kenworth he just bought was one of those green ones. Apparently they can't get enough of them at the local Kenworth Dealer.

Who knows the truth, she's a salesperson after all.

I will say one thing, I'm not paying $60,000 for an 05 that's for sure.
She was talking up the new DD15 engines. She was saying that Publix was getting 8mpg with their daycabs. But then she said the new DD15 doesn't come out til this summer so maybe I missed something.

They had an 08 Colomia for $98,000 with 12,000 miles on it. Might have been a lemon, why would someone get rid of that so quick unless they just couldn't afford it.

no_worries · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 800

I talked to my local KW sales manager a few weeks ago. He said that they really weren't seeing much drop in the used truck market. OTR sales of new trucks were brutal, but they were doing ok in the local and vocational market. If you're going to find a deal right now, it's going to be from a private party sale. There are guys out there trying to get out from under their equipment. The dealers are trying to make up for poor new truck sales with their used trucks still. I passed a small trucking company near Cookeville (I think), TN the other day. There was a sign out front that said, "Everything for sale" that's where you find your deals.

Bigmon · Joined: 13 Jan 2006 Posts: 677 Location: S. Cal.

merrick4 wrote: Well I went over to the local Freightliner dealer today to look at some trucks. The economy is bad, credit is tight, nobody is buying anything so I just wanted to see some prices.

I looked at some 2005's. They are within a few thousand of what I paid like 9 months ago (low 60's). At least when I bought it I still had factory warranty.

I talked to a guy from GE Capital and they are selling 2005's in the 40's. No warranty.

BigDiesel · Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:33 pm Post subject:

It is a buyers market IMHO... I am going to add truck #3 ( don't want to, but need to) another 387 w/ O/O specs. There are great buys out there, fortunatly I have resources to take advantage of it.

GMAN · Joined: 13 Feb 2005 Posts: 9113 Location: Tennessee

You will be able to get better buys over the next several months. These dealers have been sitting in the catbird seat and now don't know how to deal with the realities of the current market situation. You can probably get a better deal from an owner operator who is in trouble or simply tired of fighting the high costs of doing business.

merrick4 · Joined: 08 Nov 2006 Posts: 853

Bigmon wrote: merrick4 wrote: Well I went over to the local Freightliner dealer today to look at some trucks. The economy is bad, credit is tight, nobody is buying anything so I just wanted to see some prices.

I looked at some 2005's. They are within a few thousand of what I paid like 9 months ago (low 60's). At least when I bought it I still had factory warranty.

I talked to a guy from GE Capital and they are selling 2005's in the 40's. No warranty.

Few things I want to comment on here, but I'll have to do that later, but this GE Capital must have been what the salesperson mentioned today. She said something about , well I thought she said CEG but it must have ben GEC trucks. She said I don't want those. We were talking about repos.

Here's the link http://geasset.com/Application/Storefronts/EventsSubHomepage.asp?Category=TRANSPORTATION&

Great info on this board, that's for sure.

merrick4 · Joined: 08 Nov 2006 Posts: 853

Double post

Bigmon · Joined: 13 Jan 2006 Posts: 677 Location: S. Cal.

Merrick,

That's the same GE Capital thing the guy was talking about. Everything is sold As Is. If you want to turn the key and go then it's not the place. If you have the time and skills to make repairs then it can be worth it. I suspect the dealers are buying some of these.

merrick4 · Joined: 08 Nov 2006 Posts: 853

Bigmon wrote: Merrick,

That's the same GE Capital thing the guy was talking about. Everything is sold As Is. If you want to turn the key and go then it's not the place. If you have the time and skills to make repairs then it can be worth it. I suspect the dealers are buying some of these.

Anybody every buy from GE? Looks like they have some good deals. Of course I would take a mechanic with me beforehand. Some of the Freightliner 2005 had extended warranty.

I wonder if these are all repos, or if they lease them to big companies. You would think the big companies lease directly from the manufacturers or their finance arms I.E. Paccar for Kenworth, Peterbilt.

GMAN · Joined: 13 Feb 2005 Posts: 9113 Location: Tennessee

Companies can often get better terms leasing or financing equipment from sources other than the manufacturer.

rjm522 · Joined: 03 May 2007 Posts: 18 Location: Atlanta, Georgia

I work with a very large used truck dealership as a salesperson. We only sell used trucks....nothing new. Our inventory ranges from 2002 to 2005 and we sell all manufacturers. I would not agree with the statement that it is a buyer's market. At least not in the used truck market. What I will say is that if you have good, solid credit, cash to put down and want to take the truck the same week you look at it....then a good deal can be made. We are not giving our stuff away. We continue to sell at a fair price. Are some deals more favorable to the customer then others...yes. Our trucks are PM'd DOT inspected and reconditioned and detailed. We put a high quality truck on the street that we stand behind with a 30 day engine/trans/rear warranty.

I can tell you that what I am seeing is more drivers that cannot buy a truck but want to. I had a man come to me yesterday with $3,000 in cash to put down on a $40,000 truck.....and he had no credit. Tax, title and tag would have been more then his $3,000 so he really had no money to put down. This guy was unrealistic in his expectations. Business has slowed but not stopped.

Our store cannot lose money on a sale. I have had really low offers on trucks, which I bring to the boss and if a deal can be worked out it is. It won't be at the low ball offer number but rather a reasonable number where the store can make a modest profit and the customer gets a 'deal'. As long as the buyer has reasonable expectations typically something can be done.

To all those O/Os looking to purchase a used truck...be careful what you buy. You do get what you pay for. Good luck out there.

asdfghjkl · Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Posts: 2 Location: rochester ny

Merrick, it seems that most trucks are pretty much the same. Add fuel, add driver, hook to trailer, and go down the road. I would recommend establishing a good relationship with a dealer or larger company that turns trucks every few years. If you plan on really growing your business that seems more important than saving a little money. If you demonstrate loyalty to a dealer they may steer you clear of lemons and trucks with poor histories.

Bigmon · Joined: 13 Jan 2006 Posts: 677 Location: S. Cal.

If you can save 20k from a place like GE that pays for a lot of repairs. One school of thought.

I think if someone has a quality product the warranty should be more than 30 days.

no_worries · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 800

I don't know, you still get whatever manufacturer's warranty is left. The dealer's obligation should be to sell a truck that's running well and has nothing broken. That should be apparent within 30 days. A new truck dealer doesn't give you any warranty above and beyond the manufacturer's...why should the used dealer be expected to?

Bandit102 · Joined: 22 Nov 2006 Posts: 234

I've always thought 30 days was a B/S warranty. But on the other hand, you can get some miles on a truck in 30 days and should really have a handle on what the truck might be needing.

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