2012 Cascadia ISX 450

[AHMLLC]

Is purchasing a truck from a lease company(ryder) with an extensive maintenance report a smart idea? Just about every truck I've came across has been in the shop or needed work every 3-4k miles. Is that normal?

Im just an company driver trying to jump in to the OWNER OP dark side!

Suggestions PLease! Cummins RULE!

[Rawze]

start by reading my book.

http://rawze.com/book

[Chamberpains]

Rawze's book is well worth the read.
This is gonna sound crued but its a very real comparison. Buying leftovers from rental/lease companies can be like marrying a hooker. Everyone had a turn and they didn't care how they treated her. So be careful. They don't maintain them as good as their records may show. They are horrible at throwing parts at a vehicle and never solving the actual problem. Like clogged emissions systems or maintenance intervals that are outrageously long. Like 50,000 mile oil changes. Ryder and Penske both do this. A lot of knowledge and checking before you buy is almost required. Fortunately, both those companies are surprising accommodating for allowing you to look real deep and extensively at the vehicle your interested in. Just talk to the service department Manager they're the good guys and will help if asked. not the sales rep or manager they're snakes and absolute morons. I have very close friends that run shops for both outfits. So I hear some inside Shenanigans and idiocies that go on in those companies when they sell vehicles. It's either dumb mechanics not knowing what to do to repair something or other idiotic departments being penny-pinching or micromanaging and not allowing a unit to be repaired correctly.

[Waterloo]

(05-23-2018 )AHMLLC Wrote:  Is purchasing a truck from a lease company(ryder) with an extensive maintenance report a smart idea? Just about every I've come across has been in the shop or needed work every 3-4k miles. Is that normal?

Im just an company driver trying to jump in to the dark side!

Suggestions PLease! Cummins RULE!

Yes, this is normal. Been there, done that and still doing it. Figure two to three weeks up time, a week or two down time. Pretty normal with these EPA government issue trucks. The 1997 Freightliner I drove for two solid years in the ND and MT oil fields went down once, a failed pinion seal, I had it back that evening. The truck turned 2 million miles with me behind the wheel. -30 to 100+ temps, it ran every day. Old Series 60. My 2008 ProStar, she cant make it around the block.

[Nilao]

Everyone has a different story. My prostar just runs. I take time every time I go home to give the old girl a once over and fix anything suspicious. Next time I get to the house I have to replace a timing actuator....it was ticking (but that could be because I fueled with the engine running on empty tanks and it might have ingested air) and I noticed fuel at the connector yesterday.

But other than a day or two every couple months to work on it it has been rock solid for years.

My thanks to Rawze and Haggai for all their help on here.

[Chamberpains]

Waterloo might be a little jaded in his assessment of how current trucks run. He has ran into some exceptional problems. I believe with his current way of tackling these problems he will see similar results of Nilao and myself. I have an 06 9400i International and Nilao's description is pretty common for most trucks. Basically, you should expect every week to be turning a wrench, performing preventive maintenance or thoroughly inspecting something on the truck at least one day but often times less than that.

Having something repaired every 3-4k miles is usually a sign of poor planning with maintenance or not properly diagnosing and fixing a problem. Your true maintenance intervals should be somewhere between 8-10k miles. At which time you should tackle ALL problems in preparation to go another 8-10k miles. Mega carriers and lease companies set policies in place to operate like this but NEVER follow them. This is from a combination of under trained, unqualified, and uncaring techs working on the units, penny-pinching management not wanting to spend the money and a corporate structure that's only thought is to push the truck 24hrs a day.
When looking at Maintenance Reports from these companies you kind of have to assess everything and say can this be better organized. Or is it showing a problem that they have yet to cure properly.

This is why I personally like looking at and possibly purchasing trucks from these companies. You can tell alot from their detailed maintenance records without ever looking at the truck. You just have to know how to properly look at it.

With all that said, I still shy away from actually purchasing most of them because of my hooker analogy. It is real hard to judge how hard something has been abused and how deep it has been damaged. Not everything can be easily seen. And these companies often times distract you from looking Too Deep by giving you other things. Like brand new Tires and Brakes. Or replacing nitpicking items that don't cost a lot.

Just so you know, My current truck is an old JB Hunt truck then was a lease truck for a company. I bought into a hooker. But with my knowledge and experience I knew exactly what I was getting into. And it has performed exactly the way I knew it would.

I hope this helps and good luck with your choice.

[Rawze]

How you drive it, what it is used for, how hard you push it, and who you let work on it are the biggest factors in how much trouble you have out of any piece of equipment. Simple as that.

You inspect it, fix on it, run it down the roads as slow as you can to make delivery, take some time off and drink a few beers,... rinse and repeat... such is the life of owning a truck if you want to be successful.

If you want to sink like a rock and have nothing to show for what you do, then you do like the rest of the industry ... Sit behind the wheel running as fast as you can get away with, run off to the nearest shop every time there is a CEL light, and complain that every problem you have is everyones else's fault but your own poor business planning.

[Waterloo]

A little jaded? Very jaded is more like it. Never have I had so many issues with one piece of equipment. But, hopefully this is the turning point. Granted, most all of my problems were engine related, the liners and head. Items you cannot see upon a simple visual inspection. This truck has never been right mechanically, hopefully with me taking my time, not rushing and replacing many old parts, this baby will give me some trouble free miles in the coming months and years. I don’t mind fixing things on the truck, but after awhile, the entire affair just becomes overwhelming. I’ll be purchasing more tools when the bank account is replenished, along with building a shop in my backyard.

[Chamberpains]

Mr. Loo's Backyard Full Service Station. It has a certain ring to it. I believe you should have a huge sign that all must read stating... WHAT NOT TO DO AND WHAT IS EXPECTED IF YOU ENTER THIS FACILITY. Then a rather long detailed explanation under it, ending with the statement. I KNOW ALL THIS BECAUSE I'VE BEEN THERE DONE THAT. TAKE MY WORD FOR IT.
This sign may also take up more than a few trees before completed.