Psst, want a good deal on a used rig?
Time of year, tough times in oilpatch make it the perfect time to buy an ‘experienced’ truck
Today, right now, as you read this, is a great time to buy a used truck. Or as luxury car dealers like to put it, an ‘experienced’ big rig. However you say it, a truck that is new only to the next owner.
Personally, I’m having a hard time accepting the terminology of ‘old’ as rigs of the 2012 to 2014 vintage. Wasn’t that just yesterday? I also found it difficult to get my head around the fact that of the 132 rigs pulled over by ICBC in Metro Vancouver Sept. 14, just seven passed safety muster. Makes me think there are 125 drivers our there who really need a new/old truck — today.
Spring and fall are normally the best time to make this major purchase. New and leased rigs are coming in and being exchanged for brand new models. So selection is ever changing and there are always lots to choose from.
And with Alberta’s oilpatch hitting a slippery patch lately, there are even more units than normal on the lots. Alberta is just a short drive from B.C., especially when the price is right. Thousands of dollars in savings makes the trip very worthwhile.
Another factor for the greater-than-normal selection this year is because of the slightly slumping U.S. trucking industry. It’s not as robust as years past and many, many fleets are being downsized.
That usually puts 10 to 20 rigs from any one company onto the market. And these aren’t worn-out units, but good money. Even with the daily changes in our two currencies, it is often a great deal to buy a previously owned rig from across the border.
Dealers I recently talked with about this subject spoke of some buyers expressing interest in pre2007 units, rigs that hit the pavement before super-expensive emission devices were installed, then made mandatory.
So prospective buyers are afraid the costs of maintaining these newer systems will be too expensive, but they forget that a 10-year-old rig will most likely have quite a few problems to fix or replace, too.
The other side of the emission equation, particularly when fuel was in the $1.30-a-litre range, is many owners disabled their emissions system to achieve better fuel economy. Now that it’s trade-in time, they are confronted with the financial fact their rig is now $15,000 to $20,000 less because of that disabled system.
In that case, most have to wholesale their rigs. Some dealers are putting the old owner in touch with a wholesaler who will either re-install the system or sell the unit to a buyer who will use it off road. It is the only place where federal regulations will not apply. Very limited market.
I just hope those who did disable the emission system kept all the parts so they can re-install them, before trade-in, or they will take the hit.
Of course, this is a worse-case scenario for these owners. There is an oversupply of used rigs. There is a downturn of the economy, especially stateside. The emission regulations are here to stay and impossible to bypass.
It is especially tough for those who now have to take the hit for the emissions system delete gamble they made a few years back. They gambled and lost. That’s the trucking industry, in three very simple and words: gambled and lost.
I could fill a newspaper with stories about road life on the road, but why not share yours? Send them to Driving editor Andrew McCredie at amccredie@postmedia.com.