Rev, I was in California with a new Volvo with 22,000 miles on it and had a problem with the fan clutch, a/c and heater. The fan clutch was a programming glitch and had to be reprogrammed by the Cummins dealer. The cost of programming had to be paid on the spot and a claim filed with the dealer for reimbursement. A a/c sensor had a wire that corroded and was broken. It wasn't covered under warranty and had to be replaced. The heating problem was caused by a piece of plastic that was left in the heater hose preventing hot water from getting in the cabin or sleeper of the truck. I don't recall whether it was covered under warranty, but it should have been. These were on a NEW truck. The fan clutch problem had to be paid in full at the time the work was done. I don't recall whether the dealer reimbursed the owner for the repairs. It wasn't my personal truck. About 1 day was lost in California trying to find someone who would fix the truck. I had a heavy load on the truck and didn't want to go across those mountains without the fan clutch working. The air and heating problems were repaired at the dealer. Another day was lost due to the repairs at the dealer. Even if the repairs were reimbursed, you are still down 2 days with the accompanying loss of income. It doesn't matter if the truck is new or used. It still costs money if you are down and in the shop. I have known of others who have had similar problems with warranties. Some may be covered, others may not. It depends on what breaks and what is covered on your warranty. All three of these problems should have been covered under warranty. It cost $133 for about 10 minutes to reprogram the computer for the fan clutch. Just because you buy a new truck, doesn't mean that you won't have a breakdown. If it is mechanical, it will break. If a new truck breaks down on the side of the road, you may still be responsible for the wrecker bill, even if the problem is covered under warranty. In some instances a warranty could cover the parts but not labor costs. Others may cover the entire repair bill. And there are instances where the entire repair bill falls on your back. For someone to buy a new truck thinking that anything that happens to it will be covered under a warranty could be in for a rude awakening. If the dealer or manufacturer feels that the problem was caused by negligence on the part of the driver, they will not cover the warranty.

 

Those of you who buy used trucks should be thanking those of us who buy new trucks.

After all, if we didn't unload our new trucks after we felt they had all the useful life driven out of them, you wouldn't have any of our castoffs to buy. :lol:

 

Rev before I was a driver I was an ASE MASTER HEAVY TRUCK mechnic and more than one time the company I was working for would have stuff break under so called WARRENTY that the manufactor REFUSED to pay for. We had one truck at PFT Roberson that was 3K overdue for a PM and spun a bearing. Truck had a grand total of 100K on it get this Cummins flat out refused to warrenty the overhaul on it. When I was a driver I had a brand new pete with multiple problems and pete refused to warrenty any of them my company had to eat about 5 grand in repairs on a new truck to keep it on the road.

 

This warranty stuff makes a good argument to rent like Bandits Cousin does. Penske and Ryder could use this in their ads.

 

Not sure, if you guys talking "extended" warranty, than, it might be the case.
I've never had a problem, with "original bumper to bumper" warranty, cause if it fits between those two,-it's covered!

I've had exactly the same argument, when Volvo pushed me to the CAT, and
they discovered problem, but since it was not CAT related, they charge me for the time, and send me back to Volvo.
Volvo fixed the problem, but didn't wont to reimburse for CAT, took me some phone calls...but i got my money! 8)

 

The problem I have found with warranties is that no one wants to take care of the warranty. For instance, if it is the fan clutch then Cummins doesn't want to warranty it because it isn't a Cummins product, even though it is attached to their engine from the factory. If you buy a truck in Amarillo and have a problem in Fontana, the dealer in Fontana may not want to cover the warranty since you bought the truck from a dealer in Amarillo. Even though it is the same brand, the Fontana dealer may not want to take a chance that he will not be reimbursed from the factory or perhaps even the other dealer. As Solo mentioned, it may be a challenge regardless. With a used truck, you may only need to deal with the dealer where you purchased the truck, providing there is a warranty when you purchased it.

If you check out a used truck, there is no reason to think that it will nickel and dime you to death. There will be aggravations with either. At least with a used truck, the aggravation will likely cost you less money while it is down. I don't have a problem with anyone purchasing a new truck, providing they can afford it. The problem is that most people starting out cannot afford to make the payments unless they live on the road and are getting good rates. It will be difficult to make money starting out with a new truck payment and run for $0.90/mile. The smart thing to do is get a good used truck, save your money and either pay cash or trade your old paid off truck in and pay a substantial down payment on your next truck so that your payments won't kill you. There are a lot of former owner operators who thought they could afford to start out with a new truck who lost everything and ruined their credit just so that they could say that they owned a new truck. Remember, until the truck is paid off, it isn't yours. It belongs to the lender.

 

I will have to agree with the used truck. This is what I have. Only if I was really doing very well, with a nice down payment and my trade in I would do it. My next truck will most likely be something a couple of years old. 2004 to 2005.

Steve, I might get out of here also. (Northeast) I may move to Georgia. Just outside of Atlanta. Close to TN, mabye I can hook up with G-Man
The money I get for my house here will put me with a very low new mortgage down there. I will also be able to pay off my truck or trade up.

I will not be going into geriatric community. :lol:
I just love being next to the water though. I will have to be next to a lake
I guess.

 

You have several lakes around Atlanta. Lake Lanier and Altoona are nearby. Chickamauga Lake is in Chattanooga.

 

I've never had any problem getting things taken care of under warranty, either at my dealer or dealers across the country. The problem most people run into is not understanding their warranty to begin with. I'm not saying that's the case with anybody here, but I've seen it time and time again.

 

Huh?

I've had my truck into several dealerships throughout the country, and have never had a problem with them not wanting to do warranty work.

Who is talking about getting a new truck and hauling for $0.90 per mile? :?