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Possible New to Me Truck??


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I am waiting on more info on a truck. It is a 2000 VNL660 and the owner claims 640,000 miles on it. Other than an ABS issue that he says won't let you see what the current gear is he says it is in really good shape. I do wonder slightly about it because he says it has a Meritor ZF transmission but says it is a 13 speed so I am guessing it is a 12 speed. What are some of the potential problem areas to look closely at? The other 'problem' is that I am about 1400 miles from it. I do have someone in the area that is a mechanic and state certified to conduct annual DOT inspections that can look at it for me.

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I am trying to find a physical address for it. According to the ad m future son-in-law would be pretty close. He is a big truck mechanic and is qualified to do annual DOT inspections! Time will tell if it is legit or not. I do have pictures now and it has a stick coming out of the floor so it would be a 13 speed.

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Good luck Tom.  Hope it works out for you.  You deserve it.😊

2006 Volvo 780 "Hoss" Volvo D12, 465hp, 1650 ft/lbs tq., ultrashift

Bed Build by "JW Morgan's Custom Welding"

2017 DRV 39DBRS3

2013 Smart Passion Coupe "Itty Bitty"

 

"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first!"

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I don't understand what the ABS would have to do with not being able to see what gear it is in.  ABS failure is often an improperly installed wheel sensor which is an easy fix.  On my truck with Meritor front hubs the tone ring is stamped sheet metal, not a gear.  This type is easily damaged by rust.  Severe rust is something I would suggest looking for.  Bottom of doors, air tanks, frame, nuts & bolts.  Try to get any and all service records that hopefully will tell you what items have been replaced or serviced.  First potential service item is full fluid change.  This includes coolant, oil, all filters (seven on my truck), PS fluid, trans and diff(s).  Just this gets pretty expensive.  BTW - what engine is in the truck?  You may need a new dryer cartridge and replacing the governor is good cheap insurance.  Brake shoes, drums, kingpins, drag link ends, front spring pins, airbags, front and rear shocks, cab shocks and airbags, batteries, belts and idlers, PS hoses, heater hoses, heater cores, air conditioning, U-joints, any active codes or faults, tires, headlight lens clarity, windshield pitting or scratches, hood struts, wiper blades, coolant tank, air leveling valve, exhaust system and clamps, and wheel alignment are all items that are probably candidates for replacement/service/inspection at 640,000 miles if they have not been tended to prior to sale.  IMHO, you need to budget at least $2,500 more than the cost of a "good" truck to take care of just the routine service items (excluding the cost of tires).

I hope all goes well for you and the truck.  If I knew what I know now back when I bought my truck I would have been much better prepared for all the items needed to ensure security, safety, and piece of mind.  It is much more problematic to fix these items on the road as they fail than to go ahead and do them up-front before you hit the road.

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Randy, Nancy and Oscar

"The Great White" - 2004 Volvo VNL670, D12, 10-speed, converted to single axle pulling a Keystone Cambridge 5th wheel, 40', 4 slides and about 19,000# with empty tanks.

ARS - WB4BZX, Electrical Engineer, Master Electrician, D.Ed., Professor Emeritus - Happily Retired!

 

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I think something is not right and you need them to provide you some more info. First, I think the Meritor ZF trans is the Freedomline which is a two pedal autoshifting transmission. If the truck has a stick shift in then then they need to take a picture of the sticker in the door jamb  that shows which trans came with the truck originally and see if they swapped it out. Also I did not think a stick shift showed what gear you are in on the dash, but I have never driven one to know. Can you verify that with some here that has a 2000 with a stick?

640000 miles on an 18 year old truck is only 35k a year which is very low for a working truck, I put more miles on my car in a year. Can you verify what they used the truck for? Can they give you an hour reading, hopefully the truck didn't just sit idling all the time.

Have them send you a picture of the brake a clutch pedals area. 

Also , I would imagine that frame would be spotless with those low miles.

Age may have caused the rubber items to be deteriorated, so plan to replace things like airbags, belts and airlines.

Have them give you the date code off the tires or send pictures of it.

Dave

2005 Freightliner Century S/T, Singled, Air ride ET Jr. hitch
2019 46'+ Dune Sport Man Cave custom 5th wheel toy hauler
Owner of the 1978 Custom Van "Star Dreamer" which might be seen at a local car show near you!

 

Check out http://www.hhrvresource.com/

for much more info on HDT's.

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16 minutes ago, Star Dreamer said:

I think something is not right and you need them to provide you some more info. First, I think the Meritor ZF trans is the Freedomline which is a two pedal autoshifting transmission. If the truck has a stick shift in then then they need to take a picture of the sticker in the door jamb  that shows which trans came with the truck originally and see if they swapped it out. Also I did not think a stick shift showed what gear you are in on the dash, but I have never driven one to know. Can you verify that with some here that has a 2000 with a stick?

640000 miles on an 18 year old truck is only 35k a year which is very low for a working truck, I put more miles on my car in a year. Can you verify what they used the truck for? Can they give you an hour reading, hopefully the truck didn't just sit idling all the time.

Have them send you a picture of the brake a clutch pedals area. 

Also , I would imagine that frame would be spotless with those low miles.

Age may have caused the rubber items to be deteriorated, so plan to replace things like airbags, belts and airlines.

Have them give you the date code off the tires or send pictures of it.

Dave

My truck is a 2000 Volvo 610 with 10spd manual. The only way you know what gear you are in is from the position of the gear shift lever and engine speed/rpm. :D . Maybe it has one of those gear masters in it that show you which gear you can select at what RPM/speed you are at, but I still don't see how that would be affected by an ABS issue? It could have been an auto transmission and they converted it to a manual perhaps? My buddies truck is a 2000 770 with the autoshift and I know it shows you which gear you are in in a little red gear display that sits just over the radio? It almost seems aftermarket, but maybe an option for trucks with autoshifts? Not sure?

My 17 year old truck only has 486k on it. It spent the first 4 years of its life doing commercial duty and racked up 462k, then when it got converted to RV use, it only had 18k miles over 13 years put on it. I've put 6k on it since about April. :D The previous owner took great care of it though, so I had very little to worry about.   

Dan (Class of 2017) - 2012 Ram 3500 & 2005 Alpenlite Valhalla 29RK
Contact me at rvsolarconsulting.com or Two Wheel Ramblin

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10 hours ago, Star Dreamer said:

I think something is not right and you need them to provide you some more info. First, I think the Meritor ZF trans is the Freedomline which is a two pedal autoshifting transmission. If the truck has a stick shift in then then they need to take a picture of the sticker in the door jamb  that shows which trans came with the truck originally and see if they swapped it out. Also I did not think a stick shift showed what gear you are in on the dash, but I have never driven one to know. Can you verify that with some here that has a 2000 with a stick?

640000 miles on an 18 year old truck is only 35k a year which is very low for a working truck, I put more miles on my car in a year. Can you verify what they used the truck for? Can they give you an hour reading, hopefully the truck didn't just sit idling all the time.

Have them send you a picture of the brake a clutch pedals area. 

Also , I would imagine that frame would be spotless with those low miles.

Age may have caused the rubber items to be deteriorated, so plan to replace things like airbags, belts and airlines.

Have them give you the date code off the tires or send pictures of it.

Dave

Hi Tom,

I agree with Dave about some questions that need to be asked. Find out what engine is in the truck. If it is a D12 take a really good look at where the wire harness goes thru the valve cover. There has been some of the guys here on the forum that has problems with the wire harness with oil getting into the harness. About a $1,500 / $2,500 fix. The person that is looking at the truck for you have them take a lot of pictures with the best camera that they can find. The reason for a good camera is to show as much detail as possible. That way you can also see some stuff for yourself. Also take a look at the bottom of the doors for rust. If the truck is in northeast Ohio let me know.

Keep asking questions. If it doesn't feel right follow your gut. Don't buy a truck just to buy a truck. RandyA also has some good advice.
Al

2012 Volvo VNL 630 w/ I-Shift; D13 engine; " Veeger "
  Redwood, model 3401R ; 5th Wheel Trailer, " Dead Wood "
    2006 Smart Car " Killer Frog "
 

 

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I have a bunch of pictures of the "supposed" truck. I know that there are some things that just don't sound right.The reason for the sale is

Quote

because my husband passed away 2 months ago (he had a heart attack) and brings me bad memories and that's the reason I want to sell it asap. (email quote)

. There is a stick sticking out of the floor with a clutch pedal in the pictures and the pictures look like it was professionally detailed. Time will tell..........

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1 hour ago, Nuke-E said:

Sounds like a Freedomline.  If you lose the speed sensor, it's not going to show the gear indication, and will only shift manually (as in flipping the paddle).

It's a manual transmission. The pictures show it as one. However.......... I have a 'funny feeling' I probably won't hear much more about it...... The asking price is ridiculously low, husband just passed away, want to sell it quick, PLUS I checked on the name on the truck....... All I could find was a company out of Philadelphia, PA with one truck and one driver that shows 2016 mileage of 197,261. That comes out to about 4,100 miles per week. That's hard to do with one driver....https://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/query.asp?query_type=queryCarrierSnapshot&query_param=USDOT&query_string=2257294

Also: http://transportation-services.findthecompany.com/l/1604288/National-Trucking-Service-LLC

 

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Are you aware of the scams on Craigs list with cars, sounds like the same deal.    The ad prices a car for way under market and the sob story is "fill in the blank" the photos are stolen images, there is often a discrepancy like features or options in the pics.   Generally, if it's too good to be true it is a scam.

 

Steve 

2005 Peterbilt 387-112 Baby Cat 9 speed U-shift

1996/2016 remod Teton Royal Atlanta

1996 Kentucky 48 single drop stacker garage project

 catdiesellogo.jpg.e96e571c41096ef39b447f78b9c2027c.jpg Pulls like a train, sounds like a plane....faster than a Cheetah sniffin cocaine.   

 

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54 minutes ago, Steve from SoCal said:

Are you aware of the scams on Craigs list with cars, sounds like the same deal.    The ad prices a car for way under market and the sob story is "fill in the blank" the photos are stolen images, there is often a discrepancy like features or options in the pics.   Generally, if it's too good to be true it is a scam.

 

Steve 

+1. With Tom's latest comments that sounds like your typcial scam. 

Dan (Class of 2017) - 2012 Ram 3500 & 2005 Alpenlite Valhalla 29RK
Contact me at rvsolarconsulting.com or Two Wheel Ramblin

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16 hours ago, Mntom said:

If this works out I would be able to put another  $10k into it and still come out good. Depends on what the woman that says she has a clean title says.

So the truck must be free?? A 18 year old truck should only be worth $10k. My son just sold a 05 Freightliner for $12k after being listed for 6 months..

I like CL, but usually pass on the too good to be true listings.

Greg

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Yea, it's not quite free, but I was able to find out that the number that was used to text me was a known scammer number. They won't get back to me as to what phone number to call them or even a location of the truck...... Surprise, surprise.......... Actually I was kindof hoping to 'play' with them for a while....... Shucky darn.......

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I had a house for sale last year with a real estate and that agent called a month later questioning why I also had the house listed on CL for rent. The CL ad used the same real estate pictures and description and I had to really convince him it wasn't real. I tried making contact with the CL poster for an appointment, but he was always busy and suggested I stop by and look into the windows instead. The poster then wanted me to wire him the deposit and he would mail me the key since he was out of town. I tried to meet the CL poster in person and even offered a years rent in cash in person. Surprise, no response and the local police said they couldn't do anything. Another CL scam.

Greg

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9 hours ago, gjhunter01 said:

I had a house for sale last year with a real estate and that agent called a month later questioning why I also had the house listed on CL for rent. The CL ad used the same real estate pictures and description and I had to really convince him it wasn't real. I tried making contact with the CL poster for an appointment, but he was always busy and suggested I stop by and look into the windows instead. The poster then wanted me to wire him the deposit and he would mail me the key since he was out of town. I tried to meet the CL poster in person and even offered a years rent in cash in person. Surprise, no response and the local police said they couldn't do anything. Another CL scam.

Greg

Greg,

No worries.... I have the keys to the "house"........

Do NOT send me any money......the more money I have the more trouble I get into.....

Now I could send you the "key" .....IF .....you send Ten new Bridgestone 24.5 all positions tires to my address at 800 Independence Ave . Wash. D C,  and my buddy will hold them for me......

Best not peek in the windows Greg.....the lady has a Glock......ouch...

 

Drive on.......(just gotta love .... Craigslist)

97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S

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12 hours ago, Mntom said:

Yea, it's not quite free, but I was able to find out that the number that was used to text me was a known scammer number. They won't get back to me as to what phone number to call them or even a location of the truck...... Surprise, surprise.......... Actually I was kindof hoping to 'play' with them for a while....... Shucky darn.......

Glad you were able to discover this without any issue. This is a good example for others to watch out and beware. 

Of course now you will get tons of of bogus phone calls now that they have your number and will sell it to others. I almost think we should have a throw away phone number that you can use to have people text you to until you can verify they are legit.

Dave

2005 Freightliner Century S/T, Singled, Air ride ET Jr. hitch
2019 46'+ Dune Sport Man Cave custom 5th wheel toy hauler
Owner of the 1978 Custom Van "Star Dreamer" which might be seen at a local car show near you!

 

Check out http://www.hhrvresource.com/

for much more info on HDT's.

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2 hours ago, Star Dreamer said:

Glad you were able to discover this without any issue. This is a good example for others to watch out and beware. 

Of course now you will get tons of of bogus phone calls now that they have your number and will sell it to others. I almost think we should have a throw away phone number that you can use to have people text you to until you can verify they are legit.

Dave

Last time I sold stuff on CL or Letgo, thats exactly what I did.  Cheapest phone the Dollar Store had...

Alie & Jim + 8 paws

2017 DRV Memphis 

BART- 1998 Volvo 610

Lil'ole 6cyl Cummins

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I put my old toy hauler on CL.  Big mistake.  Last time I will ever use it.

The vast majority of the calls I got were from "brokers" from out of state looking to buy/sell my camper.  A total waste of time, which I still get occasional out of state calls about it a year later.

 

I wound up selling the rig through a friend who owns a small local car dealership off his lot.

Av8r3400
2012 Volvo VNL 730 D13 iShift & 2021 Grand Design Momentum 397TH

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I'd rather die trying to live - Than live trying not to die.   -Leonard Perry

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4 hours ago, Dollytrolley said:

Greg,

No worries.... I have the keys to the "house"........

Do NOT send me any money......the more money I have the more trouble I get into.....

Now I could send you the "key" .....IF .....you send Ten new Bridgestone 24.5 all positions tires to my address at 800 Independence Ave . Wash. D C,  and my buddy will hold them for me......

Best not peek in the windows Greg.....the lady has a Glock......ouch...

 

Drive on.......(just gotta love .... Craigslist)

What do you drink in your morning coffee??

Greg

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