Best Place to buy a used truck

Craigslist
truckpaper

The rest is just driving by and seeing one that catches your eye.

Personally I would avoid dealers if you can. Each one I have stopped at they made me feel like a freight broker was trying to sell me a truck. As usual,.. I walked away.
At least with an O/O you can look at who owned the truck. And get a good idea of his/her character to get a feel for how the truck was maintained or not maintained.

Paperwork,.. receipts,.. oil samples,.. I have ever single receipt, paperwork from everything ever done to my truck. I do annual oil samples and keep those as well. Who ever gets my truck will know exactly what they are getting. If someone cant be organized enough to keep track of their paperwork,..then I would be of the opinion the truck probably has some hidden reasons as to why its being sold. Walk away. No one ever sells a perfect truck. Its being sold for a reason. Finding one you can live with will be the trick.

Hurst

 

As for load boards,.. there are a few. You will get a lot of suggestions.

I use only 2, TruckStop and DAT360. Both are subscription based. Both offer service tiers. You need to pay extra for certain services and refresh rates.

Basically,.. they are lists of 3rd rate loads being offered by 3rd rate brokers with rates to match. You see somthing you like, you call, give your MC#, if the rate was not posted ask,.. and always be ready to counter. Know the miles, weight and how long its going to take to load/unload. Base the rate you need to do that load on the total package. If the broker will not negotiate or only offer something ridiculous like $50 or $75 more,.. say thank you,.. have a nice day. Click. When terms can be agreed on,.. the broker will need a carrier packet from you,.. your insurance etc. You then get a rate/con,.. you sign and send back. You run the load,..after delivery you send the broker an invoice in order to get paid. That could be 5 days or 90 days. You can give up a percentage if the broker offers quick pay,.. or if the broker has a good credit rating you can use a factoring service that works like a payday loan to get your money quicker. Honestly,.. have at least 90 days of operating expenses before buying any truck. That includes fuel, tires, repairs, maintenance, plus living expenses. This is not a cheap business to jump into.

Due diligence, patience and persistence will help when dealing with load boards. Knowing which lanes are paying, know how much to go into a bad/slow lane will be key to survival. Take a load for $1.80 from say Mobile to Miami may look like a decent gross number. But realistically its not. You will dead head back to at least Orlando, Tampa or Jacksonville,.. maybe even all the way to Ga or Al. Unless you feel like hauling 44k lbs out of Miami for $.95 mi. I dead head out on principle. I made my money coming in. Every load I've ever taken south of I4 paid $3 minimum. They will scoff,.. cry about your number being $900 more than the posted rate. I never blink,.. thats what I need to go there. Your in this to make money,.. not break even or make company driver wages. Too many develop the attitude of 'Well if I dont take it,. then someone else will'. Let them,.. those that do are on a slow but definitive decline that will eventually put them one break down away from bankruptcy. Dont get me wrong,. you are and will eventually need to take a cheap rate to get into a better lane. But have a strategy and plan for it. Going from one cheap load to another and so on will lead to failure. You have to make enough to cover your expenses as well as your own personal living expenses.You need to know your numbers.

A lot of it will be a learning curve. You will make mistakes. Learn from them and move on.

Hurst

 

What I would do is this - figure out what you want, first, and then search for that.

Find out what your budget is, that will narrow it down. Figure out what brand truck you want. That will narrow it down. Figure out what kind of engine you want, that will narrow it down. Transmission. Specs. Condition. Etc. etc. etc. And then you will end up with a smaller list of trucks that you can zero in on, and then pick from those.

That's what I did when I went about finding a truck, and I've narrowed my list from 7,000 to 3.

 

Seen my truck on Craigslist.

 

I prefer truck paper. When I need a truck I look at it 2 to 3 times per day. If it's good and clean they'll be a ton of offers as soon as it hits. As far as brick and mortar places I prefer Ryder. There used rental trucks are as well maintained as you will find. No bells and whistles but a good entry truck that is likely dependable

 

That's the best answer I've heard in a loooooooong time.

 

Ok, not heard....read.

 

When you purchase a used rig I don't care how many inspections and test you have done, Its still a crap shoot choose wisely!