Darned few people just drop off cash and pick up a truck.

Heavy Truck Finance and Equity Issues

  CUSTOM SLEEPERS & Quick Tips (a specialty area and possibly the best entrance to this maze of useful information)

Amortization and trade cycle calculator

PREMIUM HEAVY DUTY TRUCK & TRACTOR INVENTORY -some of what is now or was on my lot not too long ago

Old Trucker Fuel challenge

News n Views

GENERAL TRUCK RESOURCES(some great stuff but many broken links)

  FAMILY RESOURCES (some great stuff but many broken links)

  DAILY TRUCKER RESOURCES (some great stuff but many broken links)

While you pay as much or more for most new heavy duty trucks as you might pay for a house often you can drop off a credit application by noon and pick up the truck the next day.  A wise and wealthy man once told me "About the only thing one can do quickly is spend money."  With trucks, quick spending certainly has long lasting results.

• Finance

1. History in the industry. Lenders are typically interested in knowing that the buyer has experience with heavy duty trucks, either as an owner or driver. Successful previous truck ownership experience is always a plus and will often result in a lower interest rate and lower required down payment.
2. Financial history. Truck lenders will want to know that you have a history of paying off time payment loans as agreed by your contract. Your home, your automobiles, for example, but credit cards are not normally considered unless of course you haven’t paid your credit card bill on a timely basis. A recent bankruptcy does not necessarily disqualify a buyer, truck lenders will consider and often approve deals where poor credit is an issue, particularly if the credit problems are due to medical reasons.
3. Down payment. In truck deals, nothing speaks louder than cash. The higher the percentage of purchase price the less lenders count on the other two factors. With Paccar products, the typical minimum down payment is in the 10%-15% range. See; How much down should I pay.

You will see in the examples that by chopping the term,  you, in effect, create a new truck savings account.  Most of my new truck buyers go with 54 months and it has worked out very well, even in these difficult  times   (spring 2001)

• Equity

Predicting future truck values and trade points.

It is nearly difficult or impossible to predict values within 10 or so thousand dollars at some point in the distant future. Historical information is about all you will have to go on. That said, historically the trucks that bring the best trade (resale) dollars today are the ones to bring the highest values tomorrow. Buyers perceptions change slowly. If the truck auctions for more today, chances are that it will do the same in two or three years. The converse is true as well.

One way to estimate a trucks value in so many years is to average the asking price for the truck make and model you are considering buying, for units 2, 3 or 4 model years older. Subtracting 25% from that number should yield something close to the current wholesale value of that age of truck given the current economic conditions.

In our market economy, supply / demand rules. With used equipment, generally higher perceived value always sells first and for the highest dollars. If the economy strengthens, your trucks value should be worth more, if it weakens, less. Trucks that have a lower market perception of quality will move further down in relative value than their higher perceived counterparts in a down market.

WWW truckWeb.com