There are many factors that impact resale value for trucks. Dale Tower, vice president of remarketing for AmeriQuest Used Truck Services Inc., suggests that OEM selection, engine choices, horsepower, automated transmissions, APUs, SCR non SCR, super singles, chassis side fairings, single or double bunks (in sleepers) and even the color of trucks are all items that will minimally to significantly affect the saleability of equipment in today’s market. Truck condition itself is vitally important. “Trucks that are clean, look great and have been cared for in full trade terms will get the first and the closest attention,” he says. “Advertising or communicating that your trucks are ‘as-is’ connotes lower to much lower quality and may make it difficult to attract buyers.
“After three to four years of operating through a used truck shortage, the market experienced an abrupt reversal early last fall last to being in over-inventoried condition that may last for some time,” Tower continues. “Everyone knows what happens when the supply and demand curve reverses itself. In our industry, it makes selling used trucks much more challenging. Inventory availability has fluctuated, and the EPA emission updates and other technology improvements have certainly varied the specifications of the equipment out there. Perceiving the receptiveness of controllable specifications of future used assets to the used market is an important consideration to make when buying new. If your focus is strictly what is beneficial on the new purchase side with disregard for its sell-ability after it has served its useful life in your operation, then you could face some real challenges when it comes time to sell that equipment.”
Growing inventory
Of course, in an over-inventoried market, price will be a key consideration in the decision process. “Regardless of specifications there are a lot of other choices, and hopefully your equipment is booked to the level that you can feature your trucks at the current market value. If not, there has to be some attractive other draws and considerations for your trucks,” Tower notes.
Another challenge is the growing inventories of late-model trucks available. Many large fleets found efficiencies early in the last decade to turnover their fleets as the warranty ran out; in many cases in three years and 300,000 miles. This was certainly a smart decision for these fleets in controlling cost, but made those used trucks much more expensive.
“When there were only a few fleets operating this way, they were easily absorbed into the used market,” Tower related. “Now there are a significant number of fleets operating in this manner, which has over-run the number of used truck buyers that can obtain credit for that level of an investment ($60,000-$90,000). Previously the ‘sweet’ spot to sell a tractor was five to six years and 500,000-600,000 miles, and those trucks are normally available in the $30,000s.”
Features to maintain resale value
“At SelecTrucks, the majority of Freightliner trucks were originally operated by the most successful mega-fleets in North America,” says Bryan Howard, director of sales and distribution for Daimler Trucks Remarketing Corp. “As a result, the trucks in our inventory have been spec’d for optimum fleet performance, and field-tested for proven reliability. While the first owner specs the truck to meet the specific needs of the fleet, this often leads to the question of how the truck will be used in its second life—which is typically unknown.
“Therefore,” he continues, “the premium specs the second buyers value make the unit attractive to a variety of applications. For instance, if you wanted to optimize the future resale value of your vehicle, spec a Cascadia Evolution 125 72-in. raised roof cab with a Detroit DT12 transmission, air slide fifth wheel, aluminum wheels and Parksmart. The secondary retail market prefers big bore engines in big sleeper and will pay more of a premium. Last year the majority of the Cascadia 125 sleepers were sold with Detroit DD15 power. Not only do the majority of our new truck fleets demand 15L engines, but the used market does as well.”
