I am going to jump on board with keeping the older truck. If you have maintained it well, then you will be dollars ahead sticking with it and rebuilding the engine. One thing about getting a newer one, even a newer used one...... you have got a lot more little things that can go wrong with all the emissions stuff. Sure, a new one will cause a larger tax writeoff, but rebuilding the engine on yours is a writeoff also. And why would anyone want to spend a $1 just to be able to save $.20 in taxes? No one should view a tax writeoff as one of the primary reasons for buying a new truck. If you want to save taxes, then put extra money in an IRA, 401K, or Health Savings Account and avoid the taxes. And you got to factor in the down time, even on a new truck, just to get that stupid EGR or DPF replaced or some other bug worked out. Even though it may be covered by a warranty, you are still not making any money and you still have a larger truck payment to meet. On a used one, we all know that getting any used truck will involve a maintenance expense larger than most of us would like the first year you own it. It is rare to find a really superbly maintained used truck.

Unless your truck is downright falling apart and rusting away, I would keep the old girl running. You could totally rebuild that older truck for way less money than the cost of a new truck.

 

Well.... what would be the value of your older truck? Take that off of the price of a new truck. Let's say, for arguments sake that there was a $40,000 difference (probably more). How many repairs would $40,000 get you on the older one? You can still deduct expense either way. And there is no guarantee that you will be ahead with the new one. Let's say the ECM went out, the DPF doesn't work like it should, the EGR needs replaced, a million little sensors crammed everywhere that seem to quit working at the most inconvenient time, whatever. Now look at the downtime and lost revenue getting that crap fixed, even under warranty. I know a lot of owners that wish they had just spent the money and fixed up the older truck. Man, I could really do a lot with an older truck and that $40,000 and have one reliable ride.

Forget your friend's advice on a truck. Something like that, you would be farther ahead talking with an accountant or financial advisor. There are no friends when making sound business decisions. You are on your own and you have to suffer the consequences. That is unless you friend is willing to front you the cash when things go wrong.

 

Nah, I don't his advice too seriously He's a company driver for one, and secondly, he decided to buy a new house first and "maybe later" buy a truck. He's on the other side of the fence.

 

In my experiences I have found it to be a wash between old with breakdowns/repairs loss time off work(lost revenue) and the extra taxes as it is to have a newer truck w/payments.

So I just decided if thats the case if I am gonna be spending the majority of my time in the truck that I might as well have a newer/nicer truck. Do I lose some flexability? Yes.

 

Well, if you listen to big carriers - like USA Xpress - they all claim their maintenance costs go up when they start keeping the trucks longer than 36 months. So, there is something in your method.

 

OLD truck ? mine is a 95' and it is in the shop now having engine inframed. with over 1.3 mil miles. I would not want to have a expensive repair done while still having payments on it. having a truck paid for to me is like having your home paid for. I would not not to run out & sell my home to purchase another one at a higher price & use my home's sale for a down payment. peace of mind for me are no more payments. there are times where it makes sense to upgrade. you have to consider comparable repair cost. example, one had to have a turbo on a cat replaced. it may have been 2, this was 2 weeks ago. $3900. I can get one for $575.00 sensors, & all kind's of other stuff may cost 4-5 times as much on a newer or different truck. I know mine, I like mine, Mine is paid for. going on long runs, being gone all week ? I would lean towards considering a upgrade. I stay close to home.


if it cost me a grand every month to keep truck going, than I would rather have a 1,500 a month payment. if that were the case. I know one thing I hear of more truckers upgrading & regretting it than drivers keeping there own & regretting it. how many times over the years have you heard of a driver that had an older truck & just had to have a newer one & lost it? mor than

 

if you don't upgrade, you can always still do it later. once you sign on a newer one. it yours. lot easier to change your mind if you keep what you got.

 

Another thing to consider is that the emissions junk on the newer trucks will cost you a lot down the road either in lost revenue, actual cost, or both. Of course, if California a requirement, you would have to get a newer truck. If not, then it is far less expensive to rebuild and maintain the older engine.

You could get the best of both worlds by buying a new glider kit truck, put in a rebuilt pre emissions engine and get the new truck you want with a rebuilt engine that will need little repair work in the near future. About 20,000 - 30,000 bucks cheaper and no Federal Excise Tax.

 

Good used trucks are cheap now. You can buy a 2007 with under 400,000k miles on it for around $33,000 dollars from the major fleets. Warranty still on them. I bought a 2006 last year this time and the rear end went a few months ago. Repaired under warranty, under a load yet and still made on time delivery. (Did put driver in hotel for night).

I'm actually moving now to Ryder leased trucks now anyway, no more worries about repairs. $.065 a mile and they fix everything. I'm up to 9 trucks now (and hopefully 2 more cominig shortly) so I would need a mechanic anyway.

 

No used truck should cost anyone a $1000 a month in repairs unless you really have a POS and you are paying a mechanic or shop to do all your repairs. One thing about owning your own truck is to learn how to do most or all of the repairs yourself, unfortunately alot of drivers, Company and Owner/Ops don't know the difference between a Phelps screwdriver and a Flathead.