Buying a used heavy truck always carries some risks – there is no guarantee that the heavy is accident-free, has real mileage, and was properly maintained. There may be some hidden problems or areas of concern. Here we are five things you should always check out before you purchase a used heavy truck or construction equipment.
You should always check a used heavy truck’s history records before you put any money down on it. While a used heavy truck history report will not give you a 100% guarantee that it will be perfect, but when you are looking at investing thousands of dollars on it, it is worth it to pay for a history report that could give you some information about its past.
If you find that the used heavy truck or heavy construction equipment has been in any type of accident, you need to skip it, and buy something else. With the thousands of accidents that happen each year, the odds that the truck or equipment you looking to buy has been in one are good. You need to investigate and be sure you can spot any signs of an accident because if it was not reported, it will not be on any kind of report.
The engine of any heavy duty truck or construction equipment you are looking to purchase should be looked into thoroughly. If you are unable to do this yourself, get a qualified mechanic to check to check it. This is because you do not ever really know how well the engine was kept up by the previous owner or owners. Even if there are low miles on the truck or equipment, if it was never given maintenance there could be a number of problem lurking in the engine.
Along the same lines you need to check out the transmission on an automatic and the clutch on a manual. Replacing one or both can be a very expensive repair, especially in a heavy truck. You need to familiarize yourself with the signs that there is a problem or have it checked out by a mechanic.
While it is highly illegal people and dealers still continue to roll back odometers to make a truck appear to have less miles on it than it really does. You will buy the truck and not know the real mileage until it has a problem. Most experienced heavy truck mechanics can tell if a truck has had more use than the odometer says. If you are able to buy one of the newer used trucks that have a digital odometer you will have protection against this same because they cannot be turned back.
