Forget The Ford F-350

angus242

Sorry, I'd never buy a HD truck with a coil spring rear end

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJZVUnOduH4

I'm not knocking Dodge's diesel or Hemi, but seriously, COIL springs on the rear end? If you want a smooth ride, throw 4000lbs in the bed of my F350. Rides better than my partner's mid-size car!

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Angus
L+M+O+P=C
"Promise only what you can deliver. Then deliver more than you promise"

BobsLandscaping

The RXT is gone, the listing is 2 years old. What a bummer, I liked that truck.

The sales man did send me a picture of a landscaping truck he sold last year. He can order one like it for me if I want.

We spec'd one out just to see what it would cost.

For an engine I'd get the 325 horsepower diesel coupled to a six speed Allison transmission.

4 door crew cab, drivers seat would be air ride. Remainder to be benches w/ undeseat storage lockers. Air conditioning , power windows and locks. AM/FM w/ CD. Cloth seats, rubber floor.

Behind the cab I would have a Knap Pack, which is a large toolbox the width of the truck. Then a 12 foot steel sided landscaping dump body. At the back in lieu of a standard tailgate would be a Tommygate Lift n' Dump hydraulic tailgate. Underneath the bed in front of the wheels would be large storage boxes by Delta. Tons of storage in this truck.

GVWR of the truck would be 25,999lbs and hydraulic brakes to keep it under CDL and IFTA.

Towing capacity would be 22,000lbs and they will install a Prodigy trailer brake controller and 2 inch hitch.

Delivered price would be $62,000.

Does that seem like a good deal? It's about twice what I was really wanting to spend on a truck...

It's not as luxurious as a F-450 King Ranch but I think it's more truck for the money.

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davitk

Car shopping really puts you on that "slippery slope", doesn't it?

My advice would be to shop around for the "almost perfect" truck used, maybe 2 years old with 35K on the clock and save yourself $31,000.

And to answer your question, no. $62,000 for a VEHICLE sounds like a crappy deal.

Greg Di

I agree. Don't let your emotions get in the way of a sound business decision.

There are LOTs of ways to get the capacity and storage for A LOT LESS MONEY.

Yes, I have a chrome bumper instead of a plastic bumper on my truck, but my "want" vehicle was a tricked out diesel Sprinter. Sanity prevailed and I ended up with a Chevy Express 3500 with a KUV body for about $15k less and it does the same thing, if not better.

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Winchester

How quick is that thing going to depreciate?

Here is a famous saying from some famous rich dude:

"Buy what appreciates, and lease what depreciates."

To me, that means never buy a new vehicle. If you want something brand new, lease it.

I've known people to buy used cars and have (1-2) years later sold them for more than they paid.
Last year I sold a car I bought for $2000 for $1800 after using it for nearly 2 years.

I would never buy a brand new vehicle unless I had money to burn.

I agree with Davit and Greg. Keep shopping, you will find a good deal. Don't fall into the trap.

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Ryan

BobsLandscaping

I want a truck I can keep for 20 years or more.

J F

Wasn't there a landscaper on here just recently saying "you can have good landscaping equipment or a new fancy truck, not both"

who was that?

Winchester

Well. If you can afford it, go for it bro.


It's your business so you should be able to tell if it's a good decision for your business before we can.

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Ryan

BobsLandscaping

That was me. I spent the last few years buying equipment, now it's time to buy a truck, when that's paid for it'll be time to replace equipment, and so it goes. It's a never ending cycle.

I can afford the truck, but is $62,000 a good price?

Winchester

I think it would be a great price up here. Stuff is cheaper south of here though, so I'll leave that for someone else to answer.

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Ryan

Schmidt & Co

Have you gone to truck trader to compare?

I did'nt catch if its new. If its new, whats the sticker price?

Schmidt & Co

It is a good looking truck by the way......

BobsLandscaping

It's new. The price would be $62,000 OTD.

Schmidt & Co

How about this?

http://www.comercialtrucktrader.com/...-f450-94746189

Schmidt & Co

I cant seem to get the link to work. Here is a picture, Its a 2008 with 38k on it. Asking $37,900.00


One more try on the link....

http://www.commercialtrucktrader.com...-f450-94746189

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BobsLandscaping

Is that a 550? 19,500 GVW?

Truck shopping is tough, but I really should get something bigger. I made a lot of extra runs because my F-150 doesn't have the capacity. With a Class 6 truck like the International I could save so much time, that truck should have a payload capacity of around 14,000lbs.

On the other hand it's pretty expensive.

Buying a big truck dedicated to my business (let's face it, it's awfully large to be a daily driver) is a significant stepping stone. I know I could be more productive, get more done in less time, and make more money with it. I'm reasonably confident it will go the distance. From the research I've done it's not unheard of for these trucks to go 600,000 miles before an in-frame. Fuel economy will overall be better, that International should hit 12mpg highway. Which is better than my F-150, also I'll make fewer trips back and forth for material.

On the other hand right now I'm paying very little for insurance, a new Class 6 truck is going to cost about $3,000 a year to insure w/ full coverage.

I want it, I think I can justify it, but I'm just not 100% convinced.

XanadooLTD

You are crazy if you get that size truck as a daily driver to pull trailers with lawn equipment. you will spend all your profit in gas alone. You need nothing larger than a 3/4 to pull the trailers and maybe this to deliver rock. How many people will you be driving around with in it? If more than one, you are again nuts to spend that on a truck that someone will scratch to crap. do what you will, but just speaking from experience. Unless you use this for yard debris or rock deliveries.

XanadooLTD

also checked the ford website and the gmc website. I wasn't wrong. depends on add ons. Gmc has add ons that ford does not. The 350 has 700 pounds more weight and carries 100 pounds less than the 2500. Towing is the same at 15k

Cole82

Are you doing that many hardscapes to need that big of a truck? 14,000 payload is about 4 pallets of retaining wall blocks. If you need that much go for it but that is from one extreme to another going from a f150 to xt.

Mike Finley

That's a tread mill to no where. That's like the payment buyer baffoons who sing the mantra, I've resigned myself that I will always have a car payment for life, so what's the difference as long as I can afford it.

Afford it doesn't mean you are on an endless treadmill. That is a sign that you can't afford what you are doing and need to spend much less.

F*&K a $60,000 truck you can keep for 20 years and put $25,000 into it over that time. I'd do that as long as I was banking about $10,000 a month and that $60,000 was nothing. Otherwise it's time to buy a used $10,000 truck, keep it for 10 years and have money to burn every month instead of slaving to a truck payment.