From expanding your fleet to simply replacing unrepairable trucks, there are many motivations that may lead you to consider buying a commercial vehicle. At Commercial Truck Trader, we’re dedicated to connecting business owners and drivers with the very best trucks and vans for their lives and livelihoods. Our online marketplace offers listings of new and used vehicles. Those glossy new trucks are immediately appealing to anyone. However, for some customers, new isn’t always the most practical choice, which is why used commercial vehicles also perform so strongly on our site.
What makes purchasing a used truck or van such a smart decision for so many? In this article, we’ll review the primary benefits of buying used commercial vehicles:
1. Frugal
It may be the most obvious incentive, but it’s true that acquiring used trucks is significantly cheaper up-front than purchasing a new vehicle. A truck or van typically experiences its biggest drop in value in its first 12 months. This means you can often find great resale deals on commercial vehicles that are older than one year. Additionally, depreciation is much slower after the initial first year decrease. So, if you buy a used truck and later sell it yourself, you may not have to part with it for too much less than you paid, putting good money back into your pocket (in addition to whatever profits the vehicle helped you earn).
Yes, buying a brand new commercial vehicle can be a long-term investment, but for some companies, especially new and growing businesses, saving on immediate costs can be the most important concern, helping them quickly expand their fleet, land more jobs, and make more money.
Extra Note: You can find great deals buying previously rented trucks from dealerships, as they typically like to fill their rental fleet with recent models, meaning you can get a vehicle that’s not too old from a seller who will have taken good care of it. Additionally, many dealers offer solid warranties, service agreements, and maintenance plans for used trucks and vans. You can also get lower premiums from insurance companies, as well as better deals from lenders and financiers, all of whom consider used vehicles to be less valuable (of course, we know differently!).
2. Familiar
Used trucks typically have a dependable life-cycle and performance capabilities that should be familiar to you and your drivers. Particularly if you can acquire the commercial vehicle’s telematics (digital data on engine hours, idle time, fuel economy, alerts, etc.) or records of maintenance, you can approximate how well you can expect the truck or van to work and for how many more years.
Being able to confidently rely on a used vehicle helps you to precisely plan and execute your routes and jobs, and ultimately help make your fleet more productive. Sometimes, technological and operational learning curves with new trucks may actually hinder work, along with driver concerns about even slightly dinging the new commercial vehicle. However, you can always get right to work with familiar, previously used trucks and vans.
Extra Note: Reputable dealers should be able to provide you with greater certainty when purchasing used vehicles, and you are more able to hold them accountable if they don’t deliver on what they promised you were getting with a purchased truck. You take a greater risk when buying used trucks or vans from unfamiliar private sellers, as you may not know their or the commercial vehicle’s history, and may have less avenues of recourse if you feel swindled (though, of course, most private sellers are perfectly honest workers, just like yourself).
3. Flexible
Used vehicles give your company flexibility, since used trucks are readily available in a wide range of options. When purchasing new commercial vehicles, you are restricted to recent models and potentially lengthy production lead times. With used trucks or vans, you can shop for any model produced in the past few years or even older if a vehicle has been well maintained. Additionally, you have flexibility in repairing older trucks, as brand-name parts are typically widely available from shops and individual sellers. If the commercial vehicle isn’t too much older, you can acquire parts directly from the manufacturer.
Extra Note: Affordable used trucks and vans can also be helpful to have on hand as simple backup vehicles, providing additional flexibility if an unexpected breakdown happens during an important job with a tight deadline.
4. Friendly for the environment
Members of Gen Y and Gen Z, who increasingly make up a greater share of the workforce, care about how the industry affects the environment. As such, sustainability is an emerging benefit of used vehicles. At first, it sounds illogical that older, less fuel-efficient trucks could be called eco-friendly, however the acquisition of used commercial vehicles decreases the demand for newer trucks and vans. Because manufacturing requires a considerable amount of electricity, raw materials, and so on, purchasing used vehicles actually helps limit unnecessary truck production and our industry’s overall carbon footprint.
Whether you have an immediate need for a commercial vehicle, or simply wish to plan ahead for your company’s future, it’s a good idea to know the many benefits of purchasing used trucks and vans. From affordable costs and broad availability to familiarity and eco-friendliness, used vehicles can be the perfect choice for your life and livelihood.
SOURCE: www.commercialtrucktrader.com
