Driving around the block was figurative, Rev. However, once a truck has been titled, it is a used truck and will begin losing value. Most trucks will take a hard hit off the sticker price the first year. Just buy one at full sticker price and then try to sell it in a year. Just because a truck is advertised at a certain price doesn't mean that it will sell at that price. It doesn't matter whether it is a 379 Peterbilt, W900 Kenworth or Freightliner. They all depreciate at a high level during the first couple of years. While Pete's and KW's tend to hold more of their original sales value, you will still take a hard hit on them during the early stages of ownership, just as any other brand. I have owned a Peterbilt. Frankly, I think they are way over rated. I love the look, but there are trucks which give you much more value for your money. And since I am a former owner, I can speak from experience. I have owned several different brands, and the reason I know is from more than 30 years of experience of owning, driving and watching prices over the years. Anyone who has owned a truck knows that the first years of ownership take the hardest hit on depreciation. There is more to valuing a truck than strictly mileage. I have seen trucks with higher mileage bring more money than one with lower miles. How a truck has been maintained can have a tremendous impact on the sales value of the truck.

OK....ya'all asked for it.....Because I was reeeely bored one night I went to truckpaper and made up a spreadsheet of the depreciation for 8 years of Volvo(770/780), W900, Pete 387, and the T600. I started with the 2007 prices listed and went backwards. I took typical high and typical low prices for each year and then calculated the "average" price for that year. I then compared it to the prior year to see the average depreciation. I averaged the depreciation for 8 years for each truck (yep...I told you, a boring night, but the beer was cold).

It was not scientific and it was me "eyeballin" to find a typical high price and a typical low price but it does point out the different depreciation rates for different makes. I was surprised by the 387 numbers...plus it sells for a lower overall price as well. Gman is right, the Volvo does lose quite a bit in value...good for someone finding a good used one but bad for the person buying new.

Avg Depreciaton Per Year (averaged over 8 yrs)
Volvo 770/780..$12,500/yr
KW W900.........$10,400/yr
Pete 387..........$8,900/yr
KW T600..........$11,900/yr

But Gman is wrong, that it's 20% - 30%. At best, it's about 10 - 12% per year, which I bet would be the same as if you bought a used truck to start.

Rev,
My comment was more pointed towards the Volvo relative to the others.

I suppose that you might choose entirely different trucks depending on if you were buying used vs new. Used, I would want as much depreciation already taken when I buy so the Volvo would be a good choice vs a W900 of the same year, mileage, condition etc. If it was new, I would want the least depreciation which might be the W900 or a Pete long nose (which I didn't run the numbers).

I suppose it just depends on where in the "value life" of a truck you are looking at. But why buy a new truck that has the highest depreciation? You're just handing over money.

Depreciation occurs more at the beginning and less as the truck gets older. Otherwise, a truck that's 10 years old would be free.

Fair enough, but as you stated, a Volvo depreciates about $12,500 per year. Since a new Volvo runs around $135,000, that is a depreciation of 9.6% per year, and not the 20%-30% that Gman was claiming.

There is more to it than that. There is a reason that a used Volvo goes for less than a used W900. It is because the W900 is a better truck, with a longer life. Used Volvos are known for problems, in particular, electrical problems. These problems will lead to higher repair bills when compared to other trucks (not to mention that Volvo parts are expensive)

And besides, what is to say that the Volvo won't continue to depreciate at the same accelerated rate that it does at the beginning of its life? So on top of a truck that is becoming more and more worthless as time goes on, you have a higher repair bill to boot.

Gman, in response to your question (You're keeping your eye on me and scratching your head, aren't you? :? ), I was only doing my homework, considering my options, etc. I thought a Volvo 780 that sold for well over $100k and had then depreciated to around (or under) $100k would classify as a "solid used truck" which is what you recommended several days ago.

Or were you thinking something more in the $70k range? 50? (This would be for contracting myself to a company for solo OTR duty.)

Cool Hand, while I believe a driver should be as comfortable as possible, I don't see spending a huge amount of money on your first truck. My theory is that you buy your first truck for as little as possible to get started. That doesn't mean that you buy something that is worn out, but it is important to keep your overhead low, especially starting out. Buying a good solid used truck has little to do with the selling price, but the actual condition of the truck. A big price tag doesn't necessarily mean that the truck is more "solid" or that it will be less problematic than one selling for much less. I believe we had someone post on here a while back who had a lemon in a new Peterbilt.

Personally, I think it would be prudent to not spend more than $25,000. You can find a good truck for that amount of money. The main reason is to keep payments low. You never know what can happen. If you have big truck payments, and something happens, you may not be able to make your payments. For instance, my wife has health problems which require her to have someone with her most of the time. Her mother used to take care of her until about 2 years ago when she passed away. There was no one else who could take care of her but me. So when I run, she needs to go with me, which takes some planning and I don't run as hard when I do take a load as I did before. That is not something which was planned, but if I had big truck payments, I might have had difficulty paying for it. I feel that you should not have so large of a payment that you could not make them as a company driver, should something unexpected happen. I think it makes more sense to have a payment no more than about $800. Regardless of what you buy or how much you pay, I would keep my payments at no more than $1,000. In fact, I would not recommend a payment that high starting out. The largest payment I have had on a truck is $1,200. Frankly, I think that is too high for someone just starting out in this business. You want to have a life away from trucking. You want to be able to take time off from time to time. If you have a big truck payment, you may not be able to take time off when you want. I usually take off between Christmas until after the first of the year. You need to plan for contingencies.

If you like the big Volvo's, you may want to check out an older 770. The 880 is pretty much an expanded version of the 770, from what I understand. I know, there are aesthetic differences. A friend of mine used to own a 770 and he loved it, but really took a bath in depreciation. He was upside down in the truck until he sold it. One thing about the bigger Volvo's is that they are usually a little heavy, which can impact your ability to haul some loads. You need to be able to scale at least 45,000 pounds. That should not be a problem if you pull a van. If you pull a flat bed it would be better to be able to scale more. I rarely haul really heavy loads, but with a flat, you are sometimes paid on the amount of weight you can haul.

Volvo had some problems with front tires wearing out at one time. It is my understanding that have worked that problem out. As I recall, it had something to do with the rear u-bolts on the drives. A solid used truck has likely had the "bugs" worked out. You have some people who will tell you that Peterbilt or Kenworth trucks are better than anything else on the market. I think they are in love with the look. Although there are some brands which have their own engines, such as Volvo and Freightliner (Mercedes engines), most trucks have the same engines and drive trains, so the main difference is in the aesthetics or the skin of the truck. There are also some differences in the interior, but from a reliability standpoint, I don't see one brand being more reliable than another. I would love to have someone show me hard statistics which show otherwise.

If you have a big down payment to get your monthly payments below $1,000, then I think you can buy most anything you want. I look at this as a business. I am not in love with any particular brand. Although one of my trucks is a KW, I only bought the truck because it had a new over-haul on the engine and the transmission had been replace the previous year. I also got a good deal. Trucks similar to the one I bought were selling as much as $8-10M more than what I paid. Had I not gotten a good deal on the truck, I would not have bought it. I wasn't looking for a KW, only a good solid used truck.

One more thing, about truck prices.
As a business commodity, it has a "market" price.
For example, the exactly the same truck, could cost quiet a bit different, in 2004, or 2006.
I've bought my 2005 T600, in may 2004, exactly the same specs truck, in 2006(not talking new EPA standards), would cost me about 15 grand extra! :shock:

Yes, trucks do depreciate quickly, but the price of a new, is going up every year, and that's in return, moves the price of used trucks up a bit.

Now, why is a "market" up, when business is not?
Cause everybody, and their cousins, wants to buy one, and make a quick buck! :D :P

zJust about every fleet is jam packed with Volvos. And when they trade them in the market gets flooded.

Pete's have a brand name and prestige and do hold their value just look at what Shelby Elliot asks for his Pete's. He's still in busness so I guess he gets the big bucks for them.

Its funny what trucks hold value. I see a guy all the time with a conventional Pete with no sleeper. He told me people are always asking him to call them when he wants to sell it.