Some Lingering Truck Questions

[gojack]

Thanks for all the advice/help on my previous posts (Both public and private)

I still have some lingering questions. I feel like I am missing something here.
I now understand that wet sleeved engines are cheaper to rebuild than the dry sleeved ones.

Most diesels seem to have a projected life of about 500K miles
And putting $8,000-$12,000 to rebuild or replace and engine in a 5+ year old truck may be economically unsound. Got that.

Significant possibility of problems w/Cat 3126, got that.

But... if it costs about $4,000 to rebuild an International DT 466 in a International 4300. Which is a nice truck with a nice cab
(and International has 25% market share in medium trucks, lots of dealers parts etc.,)

And... it costs between $7,000 and $10,000 to rebuild a Cummins ISC 8.3 (Local Cummins shop quote) Transmissions being equal, initial cost on the two trucks pretty close...49,500-53,000

Why can I buy several 2002 International 4300's 26,000 GVW 190HP Auto 50-75k miles for $30,000

And for $30,000 I am looking at 1999 Kenworth T300's 26,000 GVW with a Cummins and at least 100+K miles???
( and Kenworth and Peterbuilt combined have 9.5% medium truck market share)

One last comment, I have been watching, and it looks to me like Sterling is taking internationals lunch in the new class 7 straight truck market, the older trucks are mostly IHC 47-4800s But in newer trucks on the road I see a lot more Sterlings than IHC's Most of the New IHC's seem to be class 6.,

Is Sterling worth looking at?

Thanks

 

[Sterling_owner]

My sterlings have been great in the 5 or so years that I've had them, I'd say they are worth looking at. Peterbuilts are the best trucks in the industry but they are very expensive.

2 1999 Sterling Semis
2000 Ford F650 24ft box truck

 

[Weave]

The KW T300 and Pete 330 are exceptional quality small trucks, and the reason they command high resale is much the same reason why apples to apples a used Honda will fetch more bucks than a used Chevy. A lot of what sets a resale value is ownership rating (JD Powers and such) and popularity.

Names and popularity mean little if a truck has good credentials and serviceability. The Internationals have both, and are very cost effective trucks to own. Would you get "that much more" spending a lot of extra money to buy a higher mile used KW or Pete? Probably not. They will all wear out in the 600-700k mile range. I have driven in just about all of them, and I think the Int 4300 cab is nicer than that of the KW T300, and it's certainly roomier. The T300/330 are getting a little outdated by all the other manufacturers, most of which have caught up to their cab tightness and quality levels. (Okay, a few haven't and never will )

Sterling owners I have talked to like the cab's comfort level and quietness. As far as a new Acterra Class 7 goes though, you get your choice of CAT 3126 or MBE900 Mercedes engine. You know what the 3126 is about, and initial reports to EO have disclosed some problems with the MBE900 that Daimler Chrysler simply has no clue how to fix at this time. The same two engines are the only ones available in Freightliner M2's also. I found upon examining a brand new M2 a few weeks ago obvious problems with the chassis of the example I looked at that should have never left the factory, involving metal lines going to the engine that were contacting the frame. I wonder if that company has a quality assurance department at all? Chassis Hencho en Mexico.
The engines available in the International (DT466/530) and KW/Pete (Cummins ISC) I still feel to be the best for the buck on the new class 7 chassis that are available.
-Weave-