To Keep or not to keep,that is the question
 

I would like some insight on the following. I have a paid for truck and by yr end I am looking to rebuild the engine, and other things such as rims , tires etc.

I would like other opinion own to buy a newer truck $20,000 to $30,000 range. The type of hauling I do is short haul, around 2000 to 2500 miles weekly ( 2500 being high). Weight avg about 5000 to 42,000 lbs)
42 pulled twice weekly for about 100 miles. All other 23,000 lbs or below. Home almost daily out maybe 1 night. I avg between 1.20 to 1.30 to the truck on hub miles, leased to a carrier.

This I will run past and accountant but would like other opinion before I do since I have some time before I have to make a decision.

My truck is a 2000 frliner fld 120 with a Detriot engine, has been very good truck. I like the old truck, some of the newer Detriot engine 14.0 have been getting mixed reviews on.

As always Thx in Advance

Vontrial

I say "KEEP"
 

Greetings. I'd say keep your truck. You know it well. You know where the problems are, what it needs and when. New trucks bring new headaches and questions.

I rebuilt my Pete (new engine, Trans, clutch) and love it. Well worth the investment.

We are still not out of the recession slump. You may be fortunate enough to stay in your current haul, or, it may change. You probably don't want to kick yourself with a new payment then have your haul change.

I know "new" trucks bring that feeling of "I got a new truck" making it fun and exciting again. But there are other ways to bring that excitement back. Try a different interior, maybe add some different appliances, a new fridge.

Hope this helps...

I would keep the old truck and rebuild the engine. I have one truck that has 980,000 and still running strong. I have rebuilt the rears, transmission, clutch and turbo. I hope it lasts many more miles, but I will probably rebuild the engine when the time comes. It has been such a good truck I hate to get rid of it. Used trucks are not bringing much money. There will always be things to do to a truck. You don't know how well another truck has been maintained. Who knows you might need to rebuild the engine in another truck. We don't know what will happen with this economy. It would be best to have as little debt as possible.

I'll second that.

.

better the devil you know.....

What if the old truck is costing you $1,000/mo in repairs and upgrades? My truck's payment is $1,600 per month and will be paid off in December 2010. A friend recently suggested I trade the truck in and get a brand new one for - let's say $2,200 a month. The sale will provide funds for the downpayment and will possibly provide some extra cash to spend. The new truck shouldn't cause $1,000 a month to maintain for at least 2 or 3 years. Plus the higher initial price will allow for some nice tax write-offs at the end of the year. What do you guys think?

I doubt any good used truck would cost $1000 per month except for special one time circumstances. Even maintaining a new truck isn't cheap, you can pretty much eliminate regular maintenance items from your comparison such as:

- oil changes
- grease jobs
- air dryer servicing
- engine air filters
- coolant services
- tires
- brakes
- overheads

These items represent the bulk of maintenance costs yet have no difference in frequency between a new and a used truck. Now granted a used truck may need a brake job in 6 months, but overall the lifetime CPM for new/used will be exactly the same.

I say keep it..


But if you were rosty i would say buy NEW :lol::thumbsup:

keep the used.

I recently ran into an interesting tip concerning personal car purchase. This guy was recommending to buy used if you like cars, and buy new if you don't care what you drive. His argument was that those who like cars would like to change them often, so it makes more sense to buy used. Those who view cars as transportation and don't care much about their vehicles should buy them new and keep them for as long as possible.

As most truckers I like trucks and I enjoy upgrading/improving them and I bought my 2004 International 9400 used in 2007. Here's an incomplete list of improvements/upgrades/repairs:

headlights
wiper motor
clutch (Lipe, 2000 lb-ft torque rating)
a/c unit
air dryer
transmission upgrade (1650 torque rating to 1850)
starter
cooler tank
engine rerate 435 to 475
engine rerate 475 to 550
performance dyno (3)
driver's seat
sleeper heater
sleeper heater rebuild
roof air deflector (whale tail)
roof air deflector (full)
roof air deflector removed
batteries
half fenders
exhaust
muffler
exhaust stack
extrude honed exhaust manifold
rear axle ratio change: 3.70 to 3.42
under-cab chicken lights removed...

All in all, it's now a totally different truck than what I bought in 2007 for Cnd$64,000 :) But then you look at the new technology in the form of a International ProStar, and it's like a different ball game altogether. I like the new Maxxforce engine (even though it only has 1,700 lb-ft of torque) and I like the fact that you can spec a new truck from the factory exactly the way you want it thus avoiding expensive upgrades and improvements in the future.

When you buy used, you buy someone else's spec's that might or might not work for you.