Gman, others, looking for advice on selling truck
 

First, let me say, I actually do need advice and I'm not just fishing for prospective buyers, ok?

I haven't posted in a long time, I haven't had my own truck on the road since last year. After an 8 month layoff, I took a local job which hub is three miles from my house. I don't get back weekends much like I want but I do get home frequently without asking. But, there's this issue of this tractor in my driveway.

No plates on it and I can't drive it, supposedly something about solenoids in the transmission that went bad AFTER I parked it. May be something wrong with the key switch or whatever, too. Truck was running a couple weeks ago, and running well, though I think the mechanics jumped the starter solenoid, or whatever.

So, here's the deal, I let this go for cheap or, I don't know, have it towed to Freightliner, have it repaired- but how am I going to do all that without plates?

The mechanics want to tow it away, they'll give me 4k for it. The question now is whether I should just take that and be done with it or spend another 2, 3, 4 thousand dollars on it and I guess try to get more.

2001 Century class ST. Condo. Just over a million miles. Cummins ISX 470 hp. 140 gallon tanks. Chrome outer rims. Autoshift. Pump, compressor, hose rack, 5 hoses, fifth wheel riser, axles lock both ways, $400 brand new air bags, Espar (new, though it's not working, maybe a fuse), side door to sleeper, spotlight, new kingpins, new batteries, very good xza3s in front, Bridgestones in back are good. tilt. Some engine work at 650,000 miles, needs no oil between 14k mile change interval.

Needs a new driver's seat, new fender mirrors, as well as the above mechanical problems.

What do you guys think? Anyone have any idea what scrap value is? I'll check truck paper but what are these things actually moving for when they're running? As I said, truck was running great when I parked it.

It's possible to hang onto it in case I decide to go with my own truck again. That said, I'm just enjoying the break of worrying about all the extra. Like I said, home a lot, all north/south lanes, 2010 company tractor...

Sometimes I just get tired of buying at retail and selling at wholesale all the time. I can't really say that, though, I got a good deal buying my sister's used lease car (good deal for everybody). Still, the pump and all those modifications alone cost me $7800. Truck has $400 of diesel in it. On the otherhand, it won't get better sitting in my driveway another winter.

Lastly, perhaps most important, I never did find a local mechanic with the knowledge, talent, tools and shop, to take care of my truck, at significantly less than dealership prices. That hasn't changed and I haven't had any interest in working on it since I tried changing slack adjusters and an exhaust elbow a couple years ago.

Thoughts? Advice? TIA

try ebay. i did it with my dad's old volvo. did a 10 day auction and at the end it was gone for more then what he wanted. be dead honest about everything. even talk it down a bit. take pics of everything as well.

Woah, now there's something to think about. I could 'splain everything and a lot of people would see it. One guy hasn't much mechanical ability and he's completely skeered. Another guy, he's confident he can fix it and the mechanical problems are a minor hurdle.

Has a really good engine. Is a complete truck. Lots of extras... Not the truck for everyone but a bargain for somebody... I'm going to have to think about this one. Thanks!

My thoughts are if you don't think you will use the truck then there is no use in keeping it and allow it to deteriorate. There is nothing worse on a truck than letting it sit. It would help if the truck were running, but there are some decent mechanics who would love to get a deal in a truck that they can tweak and get going again. You won't need plates to have it towed to a mechanic. It could be risky to drive it home once it was repaired. Ebay or Craigslist are a couple of options should you decide to sell. You could sell it and put the money aside to use toward another truck should you later decide that is what you would like to do. If you wanted to part it out yourself you could get much more than selling it for salvage. You would likely get more by selling it to someone who is very mechanically inclined. If it was running when you parked it then it should start now. One thing about those autoshfts, if you didn't put it in neutral prior to shutting it off that could be the reason it won't start. If that is the case you might try moving the truck slightly and that could get it to start. It would also be much less expensive than having it towed.

How have you been, Gman? And, thanks for the reply. They got the engine running (no one pressing the clutch) so I must have done what I always did and put it in neutral.

Not sure which way to go. I hate to break up a good truck, but what would guys pay for a couple 140 gallon tanks on Craigslist? Then you look at everything else that could be parted out- like I said 400 bucks worth of diesel just sitting there. You've got me thinking, the parts ought to fetch quite a sum.

Well, this guy was supposed to bring $4,000 in cash by the house Monday. I've got a couple days to decide. I suspect he'd come up on that, but we had a verbal deal and I'd probably just tell him I decided not to sell it.

Home repairs/remodelling would gobble up $4,000 in a skinny minute. Right now, I just don't know when, if ever I'll want to buy another truck.

Are you keeping busy, Gman? I'm under the impression flatbed has been the hot freight this year perhaps due to finishing up fighting Israel's wars (bringing back military equipment) and companies like Arrow shutting down.

I have been staying fairly busy. I could have done more but had to take 4 weeks off with my wife. Rates are not what they should be but we still have freight to haul. Rates are not flat, but there are still many who try to move their loads for $1.50-1.70/mile. I turned down a load going to the Bronx for $2.25 this morning. It isn't enough considering the tolls and deadhead. So far they are having difficulty finding any takers. I don't know about flatbed freight being hot this year. A friend of mine was getting better rates with a van than I was with my stepdeck the first quarter. Initially, I thought that Arrow would have had much more of an impact than it did. When you stop and consider the number of trucks on the road, Arrow was nothing more than a blip. I felt that the psychological impact would have helped, but with the economy being down so low anyway it didn't seem to have a noticeable impact. We have been doing very little with the military this year. I seem to be hauling everything but military lately. Menlo Logistics took over much of the military shipping and killed some of the rates to the point where it isn't worth hauling. Menlo is a division of Conway.

I am not killing myself running, but am having some good weeks. Hopefully, the freight will hold up for a few more months. We usually see a drop off in the winter for flats and steps.

It's been dead here today. While I was posting this I had one come through for decent money so I'm off to work.

PS. Some one needs to wipe UTi Solutions off the face of the earth. Their rates are insulting. 1.20 mile freight. :roll: What's worse than that is some one is taking it. :roll: :roll:

There are rates for .80 from the North East that Swift and TMC are taking.

Install a EOBR and your rates will go up.

It isn't uncommon for UTI to take 40% or more off the top. They could not move them at that rate unless some poor desperate owner is willing to run for fuel money. I really wish these people would just close their doors, sell their trucks and find something else to do since they obviously don't know how to run a business. A business should be able to make a profit. If the load isn't profitable for the carrier then it should sit. UTI could not make as much money if carriers turned them down. They rarely call me any more since I won't haul their cheap freight. On the rare occasion that they do call I tell them that our rate for that particular lane is and they thank me and hang up.

Don't start partsing it out! You'll be stuck with junk that nobody wants and then may be have to pay to have it hauled away. Sell it on Ebay you never know, I've sold some stuff on there and got more than it cost new.

Just FYI.... make sure your batteries are good and the starter is most likely the culpret. I too had a autoshift in my IH and had lots of problems with it, EATON even replaced the whole damn trans under warranty and I still had problems. New wires, ECM, cables, batteries and it still acted up. Finally I replaced the starter and it worked perfectly fine. Just some FYI.....

If you don't want to spend the $$$ to fix it (it does have a crap ton of miles) then toss it on Ebay, I can see you getting $5,000-$6,000 for it.

I know the feeling.... my 99 FLD sat in my driveway for 2 years with the turbo and manifold removed. I don't know how but by god's good graces, I put the new parts on and she fired right up...... ran a bit rough thru the 2yr old fuel so i added some Lucas to it for the next 3 fill-ups and she is my daily work horse now... 9mpg and floats down the road. Replaced all the tires and brakes (rust-jacking) and good to go. I have no cluehow i pulled it off LOL

I'm surprised the wheel seals didn't leak.

:lol:

I also might threaten to have Steel Horse Cowboy come down and smear cheeseburger on their office windows if they don't pay me what I demand.

Man, I'm just so unplugged with everything. What's an oil change cost nowadays? No idea. Price of fuel? I just go to any TA Rates? I just know my rate, 30 cents per practical mile (32 cents per rip off mile, but I like to go by the actual rate). Yeah, I know that's a low rate, but it's all no touch, great lanes, and there are all of one companies with a hub 3 miles from my house.

I guess I should have know about the impact of Arrow, I just remember Landstar was pushing flatbed hiring when I was considering them again last spring.

I hear you on the wife, God bless her. I'm glad to hear you're working, too.

The guy wanted to come by with $4,000 cash today, I just told him I decided to keep it. I'll probably get to work on ebay and Craigslist this week. I did find a guy willing to give me $5,000 and let me keep all the tanker stuff, but he needs to tow it to Ohio and all the while he's driving his own truck. Doubt he'll be able to put all that together.

Part of it is just all this tanker equipment. The new price on the hoses alone is over $1,000. I know when I pulled tankers, I'd have been very interested in anyplace I could find a like new 3" hose for maybe $100. So, there is potentially some profit in tanker parts without stripping down the tractor itself. Appreciate the advice on parting it out, too. Hey, it could be I should have taken the $4k and closed that chapter so I could start another. Gotta make decisions, sometimes they're right and sometimes they're wrong.

Starter is new, must be the starter solenoid. And the transmission, something called XY shifters, something like that. May do the ebay.

It doesn't sound like you're needing to squeeze every last bit of value out of it, you just don't want to feel like an idiot for letting it go too cheap. If it were me, I'd just want the thing gone. Ready to move on and the last thing I need is a truck cluttering up the drive. I would take off the tanker gear and try to sell that separately. Guys in that niche know what it's worth and will know a deal when they see it. Otherwise, set yourself a deadline, put ads in all the usual places, including Truckpaper's free 3 weeks...maybe run an auction. I'm sure you'll be leaving money on the table, but it doesn't sound like it's truly the money that's the issue.

This is a great post, you're somebody who really understands me. Indeed, I do just want it gone, but I don't want to be lazy about it. We had an old pickup out in the drive and I wanted that gone, too. I was going to put it on Craigslist for a $100 and somebody said put it up for $300. It sold the first day for $250.

For awhile now, I've wondered if I might find a "future" buying and selling on places like ebay. My instinct is to shy away from negotiations- just take a job and get a paycheck and be done with it. I see that "shyness" as a weakness, not something to give into, something to overcome. I know if I had dependents, I'd be motivated to fight for them, an extra buck is an extra buck for them. I don't have dependents, though. I don't want to be lazy about something that has value, not getting the value out of it.

The cheapest oil change that I have seen lately is $169.99. Most will be around $225-250. The price doesn't seem to change much. Fuel seems to be running between about $2.82 to $3.09 most places where I have been running. Your company may be getting some discounts at TA. At least when you are a company driver you don't need to worry about repairs, fuel costs and all the other things that an owner needs to be concerned about.

It's not necessarily a "weakness"; sometimes it's just a matter of priorities. I know guys that will spend days, weeks, or months agonizing over selling something because they don't want to get "taken." In the end the end up making a couple hundred extra bucks. Was it worth it? Sometimes to them it is because the idea of losing out on that money is too much to handle, but the time value...to me it was a big waste. It's the same as the guys that will sit an extra day in order to get another $.25/mile. Was that $250 worth the added road expenses and day away from home? Not in my book. Sometimes I will trade in a piece of equipment rather than selling it myself. Sometimes it might amount to a few thousand dollar difference. But to me, I'd rather be done with it than have to spend a month or two working on selling it. Not to mention storing it and working out the logistics of the sale. It all comes down to how much you value your time and effort...I tend to overvalue mine :)

I really do appreciate your perspective. I went looking for the title yesterday and couldn't find it. That makes things easy at this point!

I do understand the buying and selling process somewhat, at least mentally. I'll never be a slick talker trying to jam somebody into something that may not be best for them, and I've run across that. But, there is this matter of communication to a broad audience, casting a wide net. One guy just doesn't care much for what you have so the value to him is little. Another guy likes what you have and is willing to pay the money. It's finding the right guy. I communicated my desperation to move the truck to these mechanics and their offer reflects it, they figure they have no competition. I work a couple weeks to net $1200, or so. I may just need to do the work to take the pictures and run the ads. What kind of hurts is advertising that it isn't running because it isn't too far from doing so.

My sister and her husband are all up in this buying and selling game as realtors. They'll work with a client for a couple years, using their gas, and they won't make one dime when the client takes another option. Another guy, he lists today and his house sells tomorrow and he does the math in his head and he's upset because the realtors are making so much for doing so little. It really sounds like a tough game, but they have each other to keep their courage up. And, their house and cars suggest they're doing just a tad better than a trucker's wages.

We've taken to watching American Pickers, Pawn Stars and Hardcore Pawn around my house. I just like to watch the haggling, but the history of the artifacts they bring in is interesting, too. It's funny how set up for TV it is. Some guy brings in an antique and says "I really don't know what it's worth, I just want to sell it". The guy replys, "I have a buddy who is an expert in this stuff and he'll come in and tell us both at the same time what it's actually worth"....Uh huh, that's the way it works in the real world! LOL

Hardcore Pawn looks the most real. Not ancient treasures but something worth just enough cash to get you a dime bag!

Yes, the X-Y shifter was bad in my truck as well, thats what EATON covered under warranty. The repair price would have ran me $7,500 but luckily I didnt have to pay it :)

If you decide to part it out, just remeber that your going to need some equipment capable of handling an engine, trans., drive axles, etc. etc. You could have it towed to the garage and pay them to disassemle it as you sell stuff (probably what I would do).

No doubt, you could part it out for more than you'll get by selling it whole, but it's a lot of work. If you want to play with and hone your marketing skills, what better way to start? Take a look on ebay and you'll find several salvage yards are selling the smaller pieces on there (seats, hoods, etc., etc.) You will be amazed at how much the small stuff adds up to. There may well be $4,000 worth of small stuff on a truck.

If you do part it out, you need to formulate a plan on how your going to handle the shipping (small stuff on ebay), and the labor to disassemble.

Here's another very good post, thank you. This is kind of what I expected, there's money to be made on ebay. I hadn't imagined stripping it down that far, but I'm looking at giving up a whole lot of truck for the sake of convenience. Having said all this, talking about ebay and what not, right now I'm back leaning toward just brooming the thing. LOL

I have one job, I don't have either the time or the motivation for another. (we don't exactly work 40 hours per week) We'll see, first I have to get back to the house long enough to find the title.

You also have to take into consideration that ebay charges seller fee's and a comission too, that you have to pay.

I'd suggest just getting it running and then marking it up to $7,500 w/o the tanker stuff, or if you are so busy with the other job, then just call that guy up and tell him to bring $4,500 and he can have it. The extra $$ you'd make parting it out isn't worth the time and effort. Especially since you don't seem to have the extra time to tear it apart. And once you sell all the parts off it, you will still have to pay a wrecker to haul it to the scrap yard.

I just thought I'd share how it turned out, because the truck is gone, now. I was out in the yard getting ready to go into the crawl space to do some work under the house. The leaves were brightly colored, the weather was great, but there was also this coolness in the air that gave a slight warning of the harsh, unforgiving "ice age" that will soon descend upon us. I've got my driving job, I've got my home restoration projects, I just wanted this truck dealy over with. Just done, just out of sight and out of mind. When that cold descends, I want my duckies all lined up, a toasty warm little house, the leaves raked and the yard ready for snow, 3-4 months of icy roads, gray skies and short days, my eye and my mind already on March. I called the guy up and took his 4,000 bucks. Done. Finished. Finito. If I get another truck, and I don't expect to, I need to go new or nearly new and make my money running it up and down the road and not trying to find someone to replace this thing or that- at $85-$100 per hour. Ebay will have to wait, I guess.

You can always make more money...can't get back lost time.

Congrats, and I think you did better than parting it out.