Okay, I went and looked at a couple of trucks today. This place is basically a used parts dealer.
I came in to look at a 2000 W-9, but the owner was recommending a 2000 Freightliner Century for me. He said that the owner had taken good care of it. I checked it out. It definitely needs some cleaning up. The owner smoked and the interior had some wear. But it had power windows and mirrors, which I wanted. The tires looked pretty new, and I think he said the owner had replaced the shocks. It had about 700k on it. Price was $9500.



2000 Freightliner, 12.7 Detroit dsl, 10 spd, new brakes, Jake brake, lots of new parts, go to work
Vehicle Details

* New/Used: Used
* Year: 2000
* Make: FREIGHTLINER
* Transmission: 10 Speed
* Engine: 12.7 Detroit
* Category: Semi Tractors
* Sub Category: Conventional Sleeper - Tandem Axle



The other truck was a 2000 KW W-9. The up side was that it was more like what I wanted; more gauges, cooler styling, plus it apparently has a fresh engine with 100k on it. The downside was that it cost $20,000.

2000 Kenworth W900L, 460 Cummins, 13 spd, loaded with opens, fresh eng, 100K $20,000
Vehicle Details

* New/Used: Used
* Year: 2000
* Make: KENWORTH
* Model: W900L
* Mileage: 100,000
* Cab: Yes
* Heat: Yes
* Engine: 460 CUMMINS
* Category: Semi Tractors
* Sub Category: Conventional Sleeper - Tandem Axle


I'm trying to be sensible about this. The cheaper I can get into a truck the better but I don't want to buy something that is going to fall die on me either. Also, I want to be comfortable in the truck I buy because I'm going to be spending a lot of time in it.

I'm by no means ready to write a check. This was just an opportunity to start looking and seeing what's out there.
Thoughts?

You didn't mention the size of the sleepers so I will make some assumptions. I would expect the Freightliner to have a 70'' sleeper. The price would be attractive, but with 700,000 miles you are getting closer to an overhaul, unless work has already been done on the truck. It has been over 10 years since I have owned a Detroit, but at that time I was told the average mileage for a rebuild was about 750,000 miles. I have known of some who are now getting over a million miles on them. It depends on how it was maintained and should you purchase it, how you handle the maintenance will definitely be a factor. If you decide to proceed with this truck I would have an oil analysis and dyno performed before writing a check. A rebuild on a Detroit should run around $10,000, but could run higher, depending on what is done. The Freightliner should get decent fuel economy which is also a positive factor.

The most attractive feature of the W900 for me is the recent overhaul. The sleeper appears to be a 72", but it is difficult to tell from the photo. You will likely get around 5 mpg on this truck and that is a big negative for me. W900's are not known for their high fuel economy. You could have someone check the ECM and see how much fuel the truck uses.

You could get into the Freightliner for half of what it would cost for the KW. The lower cost would enable you to save more money in a short time so that if you do have a major breakdown, such as the engine, you could afford to pay for a rebuild. In fact, you should be able to save enough in 6 months to pay for the engine to be overhauled. You could put the money back and if you didn't have to do any major work on the engine for a couple of years you could buy something newer or better and not have any payments.

With the KW, you should not have to worry about any major expenses. Having said that, I dropped a couple of lifters on a newly rebuild engine soon after it got out of warranty. I had to pay almost $7,000 to have the truck repaired. $20,000 is not too much to pay for a truck, especially with a recent overhaul. A friend of mine had his Cummins rebuilt last year for about $10,000. You should be able to get several years of service out of the engine, but as I stated, there are other considerations.

Unless you have a major breakdown, you should be able to earn more with the Freightliner. Fuel mileage should be higher and you can get into the truck for less than $10,000. The KW will cost twice as much to buy but has a recent overhaul. The KW should hold it's value a little better than the Freightliner, but you will spend much more for fuel than with the Freightliner. I think you need to decide what is most important to you and go from there.

There's more to a truck than just the engine. Find out how many miles are on the KW. Trans, front end, etc. are some of the other components that can cost you decent coin to rebuild/replace. With high mileage trucks, your maintenance practices don't matter nearly as much as those of the previous owner. Look for indications of how the truck was taken care of. The great thing about buying a truck from a place like that is that you can see what condition the previous owner left it in. Sloppy truck means no pride...often shows up in other areas. If that KW was well taken care of and has a quality rebuild, it will cost you less over a few years than the FL if it was poorly maintained.

The KW will hold it's resale value longer, the FTL would be good for the rails since the turning radius is tighter (you WILL need it, just wait till you see some of the rail yards around Chicago) I personally would go with the KW but there are a lot of factors that are still to be determined.