I have seen quite a bit of o/o with new dot number stranded on the side of the road with trucks that they just bought and are no good .
Here are few things you should check before buying A USED truck .
1 DONOT MAKE AN EMOTIONAL DECISION WHEN BUYING A USED TRUCK.
if you see something that you feel like it might give you problems in the near future run away. SAY NO TO SALES PERSON .you might think that you can get it fixed once the truck start rolling and money started coming in but it wont work.
2 DONOT BUY A 500,000 MILE TRUCK FOR $100,000.
Dealers are trying to offload overpriced trucks and trailers right now. they will give you alot of incentives ,warranties to buy those trucks but watch out. Those are most abused and neglected trucks by mega carrier.they change oil every 50,000 miles and their PM schedule is a joke.
3 TAKE A MECHANIC WITH YOU
most of the new guys skip this part because the think they have seen enough youtube videos to know if the truck is sound or not. Well truck might look sound minimal rust and clean body but the engine and trans might be abused to death. If you have never owned a truck or have never worked on one you will not catch stuff that a trained eye will. PLEASE SPEND THAT 300$ AND TAKE A MECHANIC WITH YOU.
4 SET ASIDE $40,000 FOR MAJOR REPAIR AND WORKING CAPITAL.
yes thats right if you buy a 500,000 mile truck that’s neglected more than a truck driver at target dc you will need an inframe, aftertreatment replacement or transmission repair sooner than you expected. That fund will keep you afloat, pay for the repairs and that expensive tow that you WILL need .
5 DONOT BUY A TRUCK WITH 0 DOWN
yes thats correct . Donot buy a truck with 0 down . If you can not afford to put as little as 10% down,You are not ready . Go work and save some money . Because that first big repair will take you out .
6 CHANGE WHATEVER YOU CAN BEFORE YOU PUT THAT TRUCK ON THE ROAD
here are few things you can do .
Oil change ,trans oil change,diff oil change,coolant flush,replace shocks,chaffed air bags,any corroded wiring or connections,bad batteries,barely legal brakes and tires, inlet and outlet nox sensors.def filter,coolant filter, air filter, cabin air filter,get the dpf cleaned . 3 axle alignment and address any air leaks .
90% of o/o fail their first year in business. Be smart because the cards are stacked against you .
Please add if I missed something.
