Three Cents on Repossessed Trucks

Weave · Oct 20, 2001

Have any of you heard the old quote that "A used car is someone else's mysery?"
A used or repossessed truck can be very much worse.
Yes, there are a lot of good repo deals out there now. Not knowing a thing, I think I'll jump right into that repossessed '99 Freightliner FL70 with 3126 and Spicer 7 speed for 15 grand and be an expediter.
The fact is, the truck isn't worth 15 cents.
Fact #1- The FL70 isn't that great of a truck for the long haul.
Fact #2- The Cat 3126 is one sucky engine
Fact #3- The 7 speed Spicer is the WORST MECHANICAL THING IN THE WORLD
Fact #4- The people the truck was repossessed from most likely didn't take the best care of it due to the fact they lacked money to take proper care of it which was why it was repossessed.
Fact #5- The dealerships don't know or do anything to let the buyer know these facts.

Another one of many good reasons to read the Expediter's Online forums!

-Weave-

Olko · Oct 20, 2001

RE: Three Cents on Repossessed

At least the guy in your scenario is only stuck for $15,000 if things don't work out for him, or the truck turns out to be a total piece of junk. It would be worse if he went to Alumi-Junk and dropped $90,000 for one of their pieces of junk, and then had to get out of it. At least the cheap truck might be able to be used in a local position, and still cover it's cost, but that nice new truck with the hefty $1,500 to $2,000 or more, monthly payment is going nowhere but back to the finance company. When ours was Repoed, the oil hadn't been changed in at least 45,000 miles (10,000) was the normal change time)and there were many other things that needed to be fixed to justify anyone buying it for any price. OK, to sum it up, used might be a clunker, repoed most likely will be a junker, and a new one has a good chance of becoming a junker before it becomes a clunker.

teacel · Oct 20, 2001

Hi Weave! I realy hate to disagree with you on this one but you said that the fl70 was worth 15cents. you had it right in the topic, it is only worth 3cents. You are 1000% right on reading the forum, you can get it all right here. Later:7

SecondChance · Oct 20, 2001

Normally I would agree with you Weave, but right now we are seriously considering turning ours in, but it isn't because we haven't taken care of it, rather because we have put so much $$ into it, we have scrapped the bottom of the barrel. But truck runs great now!

Larry · Oct 20, 2001

Weave. I have purchased one new car in my 55 years, and promptly sold it. I currently have a 4 wheeler which I purchased with 54,000 miles on it, and now have over 250,000 miles. The point is, if you don't make an emotional purchase, you can still get a good deal on a used truck!!

Yes, the Spicer 7 speed has a horrid reputation and should be avoided. And yes, the Cat 3126 has had more than its share problems. The FL70 is a cheap truck, and if it was within our budget, we would of bought a different model.

However, to go out and purchase a $70 - $80,000 truck and jump into the middle of the expediting business is not only foolish, but a recipe for financial disaster.

Now, we could of purchased a used KW or other truck of the same vintage as the Freightliner, for about $12 - $14,000 more. But we have other places we would prefer to put our money. We had a 25 yr. certified mechanic (all on commercial trucks), run every possible test on our purchase (as well as on trucks that we ended up rejecting). We would of used him on any purchase, not just Freightliner. No guarantees, but it does add some comfort to our decision.

We may yet regret our decission. But we are not taking a financial risk, and will not be ending up in bankrupcy court or loosing the business, home or any other assets. In two years, we will reassess the situation and decide if spending more for a truck is a financially prudent decission.

This web site has been a tremendous asset. Thanks.

Bigtyme · Oct 20, 2001

Hey I kinda like my so-called hunk of sh#t 99 FL70 it does decent with the 3126 other than the fuel mileage, and now with a new spicer 7 speed in their it should last another 100k, without huge expenses. I wouldn't say I'd purchase another one but it was right in my price range and gets the job done

, Andy

Bearcat · Oct 23, 2001

Weave, Sounds like you got burned by this kind of set up. My 2000 runs great. No problems at 94000. I am glad I got the eaton 6 speed though. It may not be the most perfect truck out there but don't think any truck is perfect. If you treat them right and service them on time, should last you a long time. I will recommend to anyone that if your going to live on the road, stretch a class 8. Will last you a bit longer. As for this forum, one of the best tools for any straight truck operator, local or OTR. Sure don't find any info about mid size trucks in the trucking magazines.
Have a safe trip!
Randy

Weave · Nov 2, 2001

I think at 94,000 it's just broken in. My '95 w/Cummins and E/F 6 speed has 630,000 now. I just want to see if these new FL70's with 3126 and 7 speed Spicer can make that. There is no way.

RichM · Nov 3, 2001

My 95/96 FL 70 with Cummins C Series and Eaton Fuller 6 speed just turned over 552,000,Uses virtually no oil between changes,still gets 11.5 mpg,and while the ride is lousy the truck just chugs along.We need to tremember these are basically city/regional delivery trucks.Just last week I accompanied a truck all the way from LA California to Huntsville Al.He had a Century Class 8 D truck, great sleeper,Rig Master Generator, Chrome everywhere,but they had to really watch what they spent on basic things like FOOD. The payement was around $2400 a month and they said they were driven by that payment.They simply could not take any time off and were dire afraid of getting sick etc.I would definetly stay away from a repo,as the one post said "If the owners couldn!t afford to keep it they probably didn!t maintain it".But it!s still possible to bargin for a new Class 7 truck and be able to sleep at night.Just my thoughts.