How did you get your 1st Truck
 

Inquiring minds wanna know. Traditional financing? Cash? Lease Purchase?

How much did you pay for your 1st truck? Would you go about it differently if you had to do it again?

Thanks in advance.

G-man tiped me off, that if you have a bit of cash saved up, auctions can be a he$$ of a lot of savings, and he was right.
Obviously lots of risk involved, so wear your jeans and go preparing to get dirty for sure.....they were all dealers there and I felt like a sheep among wolvs, but I was the only one crawling under them to do inspections.
Yeah peps here say its risky ...n cant arque much....but its just as risky dealing with shady truck sales people too IMO.....I was a car mechanic years ago and what those car Fn dealers said in private to mechanics was scary so I would bet the same crude happens withtruck dealers....no personal Exp. there just a hunch.
Ohhh yeah...I payed 19k and a comparable model here in So Cal runs about 35k ...I was pricing some at a dealer before...offered him 30k for a truck priced 39k....n he turned me down...he can keep it for that much difference.

I paid cash for my first truck and trailer. I paid $6,500 for it. I knew a guy who dealt in car haulers and we did some trading around. I could haul 10 cars on that rig. You would likely not be able to buy something comparable for the same money today. You could still pay cash.

Originally Posted by pepe4158:
G-man tiped me off, that if you have a bit of cash saved up, auctions can be a he$$ of a lot of savings, and he was right.
Obviously lots of risk involved, so wear your jeans and go preparing to get dirty for sure.....they were all dealers there and I felt like a sheep among wolvs, but I was the only one crawling under them to do inspections.
Yeah peps here say its risky ...n cant arque much....but its just as risky dealing with shady truck sales people too IMO.....I was a car mechanic years ago and what those car Fn dealers said in private to mechanics was scary so I would bet the same crude happens withtruck dealers....no personal Exp. there just a hunch.
Ohhh yeah...I payed 19k and a comparable model here in So Cal runs about 35k ...I was pricing some at a dealer before...offered him 30k for a truck priced 39k....n he turned me down...he can keep it for that much difference.

PEPE lives !!!!!

I was a company driver for six years and saved the $4,000 down payment on a new 1973 International 4070A. The dealership set up the financing through International Harvester Credit. The tractor sold for $23,600. My monthly payment was: Principal $408.34, and Interest $117.06. I paid it off in 3 years, 6 months; but depreciated it for seven years to take advantage of the investment tax credit in effect at that time. There was no sales tax on trucking equipment in Illinois where I bought the tractor, but when I licensed it in Michigan, I paid Michigan sales tax. Fortunately, I had saved an additional $2,000 for tools, fuel, plates, etc. Then, the company to whom I leased required premium steer tires. A tire dealer took the first-line steer tires in trade.

Nine years and 920,000 miles later, I sold the tractor for $4,950 to a man who owned a convenience store. We met with his banker and he put up his motor home as part of the collateral. That saved me the trouble of selling the tractor at the Chicago auction. The company to whom I was leased laid off all of their single-unit owner-operators. As deregulation began to have an effect, it was not a good time to buy a later model tractor, so I continued with the same outfit as a fleet driver. Years later, I saw my old tractor in Detroit where it was working for a cartage company.

How much did you pay for your 1st truck? Would you go about it differently if you had to do it again?

paid $15,250 cash for truck & $9,200 for trailer. a 95' intl cabover in 99' would I do it differently ? not a chance. the success & luck ive had is unbeleivable & a bit rare... story here...


I have wondered how 2 people can be looking at the same thing but each see something totally different ??? now I know why.

when I first saw my 1st & only truck, I saw a low mileage(412,000) very well maintained, & everything worked flawlessly, for 1/2 the price of other trucks with mileage in the 600,000 to 700,00 . I saw success, profit, peace of mind. e.t.c. some other drivers saw... that truck aint cool.. man!! aint got no chrome, no hood, no status!!! yes it's true i dont have status, I dont have a hood or even a cat. but I do have peace of mind. along with a det ser 60 that gets great fuel mileage.

did I mention no payments & driving for over 9 years with the same truck? :lol: it's a nice feeling.. especially when I could better prioritize my earnings towards my family & our future. rather than a cool looking truck. there is nothing wrong with wanting a nice truck. you can get one too.. you just have to be realistic about how to get one. like a nice big home.. one day, one day... plan, & trade up maybe o.k. but dont have champagne taste on a beer budget, starting out... as I've stated this before. :D

Heavyhaulers.... Your avatar is pretty, Unmmm, Cool looking :wink:

It is much better to save your money and pay cash for your equipment starting out. It takes a lot of pressure off when you don't have to be concerned about making monthly payments.

Heavyhaulers.... Your avatar is pretty, Unmmm, Cool looking



this avatar is an imposter... someone else had it first. I just liked it so I adopted it for my own. hope i dont have to pay royalties to anyone on here for copying avatar. :lol:

We purchased our trailer in cash and financed our truck from the bank at 8.5% interest which made our truck payment below $600/mo.

Well lets see my 1st truck is a 2003 T-600 that looks and drives like a new truck compared to all th 900s ive driven over the years and thats been a bunch of them.

I paid or will be paying $29,950 it has 807,000 miles on on it, but wait i havent yet signed on the dotted line ,thanks to wells fargo im in the 6th week of financing and at this point they say my dealer will get the check next wednesday!!!

Now Volvo finance OKd me in 3 days at 3 years at 14.7% 5000 down and 900/ month Wells fargo is 660/month 4 yrs 5000 down. So as it stands i have allready paid 5,000 to Bennetts truck source, $169.00 for physical damage insurance. :shock: No job /lease commitment yet :oops: And no truck in my yard! :sad:

Originally Posted by GMAN:
It is much better to save your money and pay cash for your equipment starting out. It takes a lot of pressure off when you don't have to be concerned about making monthly payments.

Works for some but i think if you do that and that truck breaks down, youre out.

I went with new and i am never buying used. Even with this payment am still doing a bit better than a buddy of mine who has his payed off..

If i end up doing some things this year that am thinking about, i am again buying new, this time itll be Volvo.

What kind of truck you operating now Dejanh and why a Volvo for your next new truck? Just curious thats all.

I have Columbia by Freightliner. It is a nice truck man, no problems whatsoever. It has 475 HP and am really happy with it but if i end up with a contract that am working on with Interstate i want a bigger and more comfy truck with better turning radius which V is the best at..

I love Volvos just because its proven brand and all of the people i know are very happy with them. When i first started out they were too expensive for me to buy going up in high 120's....

Now, they are more reachable.. 8)

475hp Mercedes or Detroit. The fleet I use to work for washing their equipment had Columbia's with Mercedes rated at 450hp I think with straight 10's. We're not a bad truck at all. I heard alot of positives about Volvo except for the 03-04 Volvo's. Even though I grew up around Freightliners I prefer Kenworths since they hold a more special place in my heart cause the first truck I remember driving was a KW T600.

[quote="Double L"]475hp Mercedes or Detroit. quote]

Oh, even though i love german technology, i think they just missed it with their Benz engine. When it comes to commercial muscle i am detroit man all around, no Cat no Cummings, even though they are awesome too.

I love my Columbia.

I'll agree with you on that, I rather have a 500hp Detroit any day of the week. So for me I can't choose which I like the most Freightliner or Kenworth, but I do feel that Kenworth is the better brand over Peterbilt, the biggest things I love about Kenworths is the daylight doors and I've always liked their interior but I think Kenworths best interior was the pre 2000 before the first interior change. But I do think the biggest mistake Freightliner made was stopping production of the FLD120. I think after they did that they went downhill, I'm not knocking down Freightliner but the Columbia is the best looking tractor they have besides the Classic XL but that Cascadia is a eyesore in a way

Originally Posted by Dejanh:

Originally Posted by GMAN:
It is much better to save your money and pay cash for your equipment starting out. It takes a lot of pressure off when you don't have to be concerned about making monthly payments.

Works for some but i think if you do that and that truck breaks down, youre out.

I went with new and i am never buying used. Even with this payment am still doing a bit better than a buddy of mine who has his payed off..

If i end up doing some things this year that am thinking about, i am again buying new, this time itll be Volvo.

Well, it would be a good idea to have additional money set aside to make any repairs. It will still cost less than buying new or on time. You can save a lot of interest when you pay cash. If you can pay cash and put the equivalent truck payment aside, you could buy a really nice truck in two or three years and pay cash. If you put $1,600/month in a money market account or savings for 3 years you would have a nice amount of money saved. That is about $20,000/year plus any interest. You would have at least $60,000 to pay down plus selling your paid for truck would give you even more money to pay down on a new truck or buy an almost new truck and pay cash. 8)

I left the family business, went to truck driving school, would not work for a coolie carrier. Went to work for a O/O who took me under his wing and taught me the biz. Worked for him for 3 years then he sold me the truck and trailer I was running.

Originally Posted by GMAN:

Originally Posted by Dejanh:

Originally Posted by GMAN:
It is much better to save your money and pay cash for your equipment starting out. It takes a lot of pressure off when you don't have to be concerned about making monthly payments.

Works for some but i think if you do that and that truck breaks down, youre out.

I went with new and i am never buying used. Even with this payment am still doing a bit better than a buddy of mine who has his payed off..

If i end up doing some things this year that am thinking about, i am again buying new, this time itll be Volvo.

Well, it would be a good idea to have additional money set aside to make any repairs. It will still cost less than buying new or on time. You can save a lot of interest when you pay cash. If you can pay cash and put the equivalent truck payment aside, you could buy a really nice truck in two or three years and pay cash. If you put $1,600/month in a money market account or savings for 3 years you would have a nice amount of money saved. That is about $20,000/year plus any interest. You would have at least $60,000 to pay down plus selling your paid for truck would give you even more money to pay down on a new truck or buy an almost new truck and pay cash. 8)

I could get mine paid off right now but if a do my tax rate will replace those extra savings you are talking about.
Since i claim 0 on my tax returns, i would pay alot more right there. My payment is deductible so is the interest associated with it. If i cannot claim anything ill just pay more to someone else. I rather pay it to the bank and know that am driving trouble free..

I paid $78,000 after leasing it for 11 months.

'06 T600 loaded. Not the best choice for a first truck, but its got warranty and goodies 8)

But atleast you got a fuel milage advantage over a large car BC! :wink: 8)

I thought so...

...but I get 5.5mpg :cry:

Dang man, I'm sure if you had a 3406E or a 3406B your fuel milage would be atleast 7-8 mpg.

Originally Posted by BanditsCousin:
'06 T600 loaded. Not the best choice for a first truck

Why is that? :roll:

Originally Posted by Double L:
I'm sure if you had a 3406E or a 3406B your fuel milage would be atleast 7-8 mpg.

And what makes you say so?:roll:
You both manage to surprise me...
:)

Cause the pre emission engines before 2002 got way better fuel milage and performed better than the new emission engines.

Re: How did you get your 1st Truck
 

Originally Posted by fishmonger:
Inquiring minds wanna know. Traditional financing? Cash? Lease Purchase?

How much did you pay for your 1st truck? Would you go about it differently if you had to do it again?

Thanks in advance.

1972 International Transtar Cabover single axle 671 detroit 10 speed, 4,000 cash, pulled a dump trailer

Solo, the truck is a great truck. The reason i said it wasn't the best choice was the year, hence the price tag associated with it. i wouldn't buy anything else and am quite happy with it.

BTW, it has a Cummins 500hp and a 3.70 rear end, so i spin to win if I need to do the speed limit in Wyoming 8)

I thought you had a CAT in your T600 BC.

My Dad's clone '07 has a 475 Cat and he hates it. Wants his Cummins back.

On topic though- My Dad got his first truck around the late 70's and it was a ugly orange GMC Cabover single bunk. He bought it after running it percentage as from a owner operator.

Why don't you two trade, you get the 07 and you give him your 06...Problem solved! :lol:

He's tried that, but I'm not giving it up. I told him to throw in his 6 car enclosed and its a deal, but he's not budging :lol:

Ahhh hell, so much for that deal. I take it you don't want the CAT either! :lol:

yeah, ole larry there is quite the character...he jumps around on decisions it seems more than a guy with incontinence and anal leakage changes underpants. never really been impressed with the cummins motors...they like rpm and can't be lugged, like you can lug a cat and still be able to pull. but on topic....how did I get my first truck? daddy bought it for me :)

[quote="Teal 95 KW"]yeah, ole larry there is quite the character...he jumps around on decisions it seems more than a guy with incontinence and anal leakage changes underpants.quote]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

lease purches through central transport, 96 volvo daycab.
paid for :wink:

Originally Posted by Double L:
Cause the pre emission engines before 2002 got way better fuel milage and performed better than the new emission engines.

Well, my experience is different. And tho you are right in general, i still very sceptical of "7-8mpg" figure for CATs... :roll:

I paid cash $9,000 for mine on e-bay 95 Inter 9400 DD60 365hp, with a 96" sleeper.
I rebuilt the entire sleeper (to RV standards) and added a ton of goodies. $20,000 worth, I went throught every hose,every bolt and repaired everything I thought looked like trouble.
Truck paper for my 48/96 all aluminium flatbed $9,000.
All in all with everything I have approx. $45,000 invested,all cash.
I would do it the same again.
So far so good the truck has run like a champ, and even though I have had to do a fair share of repairs,......I still feel like I'm ahead of the game,......unless this driver backing in next to me hits my hood!!!

I have gotten over 7 mpg on a CAT, but not consistently. In fact, it has been rare. I will consistently get over 6 mpg. I would love to get 7-8 mpg.