is it risky buying a used "fleet truck"?

[tomseeley]

I've found a used Silverado 2500HD crew cab duramax that I like enough to have inspected by an independent mechanic prior to dickering with the dealer.

 

It's a 2003. It actually entered regular service in July '03 according to carfax and by last month it had accumulated 61,000 miles! Carfax said it was originally registered to a "company" [not a "person"] as a "fleet vehicle".

 

It started smooth and ran smooth, on the lot. I did not have time this afternoon to take it for a test drive but I certainly intend to. When I gunned the engine a couple times, I did not see major unacceptable amounts of thick black smoke. What I saw looked normal to me.

 

Under the hood it looked remarkably neat and clean. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the dealer "spiffed it up" a bit, it looked so good.

 

Visually the truck is very clean, as near as I can tell. Body outside and inside are like new. No serious underbody rust that I could see with my amateur's eyes.

 

Spray in bed liner does not appear to have major signs of wear. If they hauled stuff it must not have been truckloads of rocks or boat anchors! The hitch reciever did not show signs of major wear.

 

How much risk am I undertaking, if I have it checked out by a competent mechanic who knows his way around diesels and it checks out from his viewpoint? Is a truck like this "rode hard and put up wet" or might it be the bargain it appears to be?

 

I should have mentioned it's being offered for $29,500. And NADA and Kelly both said retail is in the neighborhood of 30-31000 even taking the 61,000 miles into account. Hmmmmmmmm..........

 

What d'ya'll think?

[Mighty HD]

There isnt a chance in hell I'd buy a used fleet truck. They get beat to death, oil changes MAYBE every 7-12k.

 

I know my F150, has 65,000 miles, It idles 14+ hours a day so it'll keep me cool/warm, jumping curbs, hills, ditches, mud, sand, rocks, you name it, it sees it on a roadway construction site. 95% of the run time on the motor is idle time, 5% is interstate to get me home. We change the oil every 5,000 miles----but with the idle hours on it, it's more like 10-12,000miles (based on hours)

 

Stay far away.

 

I can clean that truck up so it looks like show-room brand spanking new, and so well taken care of, you'd never know it was a fleet truck.

 

Stay away!

[XTOAK]

Alot of it depends upon the fleet and it's manager. I manage a fleet at our location and can show the potential buyer a copy of the service records. We have oil changes done every three months/3500 miles and no exceptions. Regular tire rotations, tranny services, etc., and then the truck is sold between 50,000 and 60,000 miles. Our employees end up buying most of them as they know they are sound and well maintained. Ask for a copy of the records...if they produce them and they look good great....if they can't move on....could be trouble as not every fleet manager is as deligent.

[zach01]

We use PH&H fleet trucks and they have a very good

maintance program but I guess it's up to the driver if he cares or not to get it

serviced.

[mcreyaufmiller]

If you havea company that is able to spend the extras money on the Duramax HD, chances are they have the money for maint. The other thing to look for is interior wear, was the truck as long distance truck or was it 60k around town truck pulling a trailer? Look under the truck, see if it has a lot of dirt and wear there, then you know if it was treated like the truck in the above post. If you are happy with the truck and trust it, buy it. Get a warranty for it, then you are covered incase.

[dewfpo]

With 61K on the clock in 18 months ..... it hasn't been doing much idling. Probably mostly highway miles. You have to look at each truck individually. Check the oil and the ATF. You say it starts and idles fine, doesn't smoke much. Take it for a drive if the tranny shifts fine and the truck is still under some sort of warranty... offer them 27500.

 

DEWFPO

[lch0]

DEWFPO is right, it probably hasn't been doing too much idling. You could check the hour meter reading and divide it by the odometer reading to give you the average MPH of the truck.

[Trouttrooper]

It depends so much on what it was used for, even within a fleet agency. Trucks from places like Forest Service or BLM I wouldn't hardly take one if they even paid me. They get some serious abuse.

 

Do a check like the others have said. The thing that would concern me the most with a truck gaining a lot of miles quick would be premature tranny failure down the road. The duramax should have a ton of life in it still. The rest of the truck usually doesn't have enough time to get "worn out" in that short amount of time.

[Bgdsub72]

depends on who you buy the fleet truck from. I have a buddy that opperates a used commercial truck dealership. All they sell is ex. gov't fleet vehicles and they all recieve regualr maintence and oil changes every 3k miles. If the price is right I would buy that truck!

[tvandevelde]

I don't think the price is all that good. If it were a fleet vehicle @ wholesale it would be different. I don't consider $500-1500 under NADA to be a good deal on a $30k vehicle even if it was privately owned. Offer them $25k if it checks out.

[renolaw]

With 61K on the clock in 18 months ..... it hasn't been doing much idling.  Probably mostly highway miles.  You have to look at each truck individually.  Check the oil and the ATF.  You say it starts and idles fine, doesn't smoke much.  Take it for a drive if the tranny shifts fine and the truck is still under some sort of warranty... offer them 27500.

 

DEWFPO

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

 

 

my 01 HD was an Arizona 'fleet' vehicle and we're very happy. (so far...) we saw the service records and it got more attention than private owned rigs, so....

 

good luck.

mb

[KurtMcMouth]

Of course it's a risky endeavor. Making a decision would entail many things, but I'd be hesitant to spend a large sum of money on something like that. Saving a few bucks doesn't seem worth the risk to me.

 

My $0.02