Pre-Purchase Inspection - Why It Is So Important
FOX TRUCK & TRACTOR LLC
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I know many of you are looking for a semi-truck to enter the trucking business. No matter you are the first-time buyer, or you have bought trucks before. Let’s talk about some of the reasons why you should get a pre-purchase inspection or a third-party inspection when you are looking for a truck.
EMOTION
This is the # 1 reason I would see that you'd want to get a pre-purchase inspection. I can relate to this personally. I love trucks and tractors and equipment. When you go and you see it and you fall in love with it. And you're like i don't care if I am gonna push this thing out of here. I'm gonna buy it. This is the emotion that will get yourself into a lot of troubles by just seeing a nice paint job and not really looking under the skin. There are many people who go out there and you see your dream trucks and you love it so much that you don’t care about anything else.
So, it's good to have somebody that's kind of neutral and somebody knowledgeable.
You know, obviously, a seller on one side, is wanting to sell the truck and make the commission. A lot of times they don't know everything that's wrong with it. They might not know legitimately or might not care; all they want to do is to sell a truck. Then, you, a buyer, on the other side, want to buy a truck, and each party may not know a whole lot about it. So, it's good to have somebody else come in and check it over, and really help you make an educated business decision without personal emotion.
TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE
A lot of guys might be coming over from company driver side. You've never owned a truck before. You don’t really know what goes on behind the shop doors. It is good to have someone who has been around trucks to come in. It could be an owner operator friend of yours, or just a friend that has been around trucks long enough to provide you with some insight knowledge. Of course, a truck mechanic in ideal who can bring a little bit more dollars to the table, who know what to look for on the semi-trucks.
I recently looked at a truck here in Ohio for a client. The truck has a nice paint job, but the radiator is rotted out. I am sure you have heard that the older pre-emission trucks are hot right now. They want big money for them. When you are looking at a truck with a million or 2 million miles on it, and 20 years old. Yeah, you won’t have the emission problems with them. However, when trucks are up in age, you will have to worry about other parts that might become a problem. You might have to spend 5-10 thousand dollars to just to get that truck back up to where you’re not in the middle of Wyoming, and the radiator falls out of it or you are losing transmission clutch, etc. A lot of older trucks especially need someone to be able look under the hood, underneath the truck and go through it with a fine-tooth comb.
In 2022, the older trucks, including early 2000s model Peterbilt and Kenworth are near or over $100,000. You basically put your life savings or stretch your credit out to buy these trucks. You never want to see the truck break down a month after you get it. You might already know what a break-down on the road means for your wallet and your trucking business.
With a pre-purchase inspection from a truck mechanic. You will have a list of items called out, some needs to be taken care of immediately and some might need your attention down the road. The best part is that you will also be given a rough price to get each problem fixed down the road. Equipped with the initial information and knowledge about your “new” truck, you will feel more comfortable when you are driving your truck. It will also help you to strategically set aside a certain amount of your business income to take care your truck. Again, buying a truck is more of a business decision than personal preference.
Now it is time for us to introduce the Pre-Purchase Inspection packages our business offers. Check out https://bit.ly/3BBuCPP for the packages we offer that suit for your business!
NEGOTIATING POWER
When you walk into a dealer by yourself, and you are excited and unprepared. The dealer will try to take advantage of you. However, if you walk in with a professional mechanic, and spend 2-3 hours to inspection the truck. Then you have a nice report with a list of items that need to be fixed along with a cost estimate for each item. Wow, that can give you much more negotiating power and that shows the seller that you are serious. With the cost estimate, you can negative a much better price. The saving you get from the educated and prepared price negotiation could be many times greater than the price you paid for the pre-purchase inspection.
SUMMARY
Buying a truck is a business decision. Hire a professional to help you to make an educated business decision is key to the long-term success of your trucking business!
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