diesel trucks-worth it?

boatman37

Well-Known Member
Jun 6, 2015
4,211
pittsburgh
Boat Info
2006 Crownline 250CR. 5.7 Merc BIII
Previous: 1986 Sea Ray 250 Sundancer. 260 Merc Alpha 1 Gen 1
Engines
5.7 Merc BIII
So asking for my son. He just started a new job and was given a 2018 Silverado Z71 company truck for work. He is working a few hours from home and stays in hotels. His car is sitting here in the garage doing nothing (2017 Subaru WRX). He has a company gas card that he can use for all refills, even when he comes home. He works 6 12 hour days and is only home late Saturday night until Sunday afternoon. If he uses his own vehicle the company will give him $1600/month. His boss and co-workers all use their own trucks. So all that said, he is thinking about buying his own, the question is, gas or diesel? It will be a 2500 and he won't be towing (unless I get a bigger boat...lol). But he will be driving about 30,000-40,000 miles a year. I am figuring resale on the diesel would be much better? If he makes double payments and pays it off in 2-3 years and trades it back in before 100,000 miles he would be ahead? With a diesel he would have probably about a $40,000 asset to trade whereas a gasser would be about $25,000-30,000 trade in? He would be getting the upper trim levels so about $60,000 new.

I have never had a diesel and don't know much about them but the drivertrain will be under warranty the whole time he owns it. He will still be able to use his company fuel card even if it is his truck.

Thoughts/opinions?
 
I have owned both-1/2 ton Silverado Z71 and 2500 Duramax. Both were driven as my daily vehicle as well as to pull various trailers. Given the monthly stipend and fuel card, I would go get a fully loaded 2500, make double payments, pay it off in 2.5 years and start putting $1600/month in the bank!

Just my $0.02...I loved the diesel!

Bennett
 
So far that is probably the plan but after 3 years he would probably trade it in for a new one. At that point it would be getting close to 90,000-100,000 miles (the Dodge has 100,000 mile powertrain warranty) but then he would have about a a$30-40,000 trade in on the next one so he could pay that one off in less than 18 months then bank the stipend away after that.
 
Why buy more truck than is needed? or a truck at all if it isn't needed. I think I'd look for good used, a couple year old, vehicles and start banking part of that 1,600 bucks right from the start.
 
I have driven many many trucks over the years on a daily basis some emergency vehicles mostly unmarked pick ups
Both 1/2 ton and 2500/3500 diesels I own a 2016 silverado 1500 now. Given that your son is young he probably won’t mind sitting in a 2500 for 12 hours a day I know when my day was done I couldn’t wait to get out of them. We’re talking trucks in the 2000-2015 year models not the old steel f250’s.
I agree buy an off lease 1500 save the money and his back.
 
2019 Silverado 1500 is going to have a 3.0 liter Duramax, any chance he can wait? That might be the best of both worlds
 
already nice company truck.. less liability to keep/use... sell the WRX and buy boat! done!
 
So asking for my son. He just started a new job and was given a 2018 Silverado Z71 company truck for work. He is working a few hours from home and stays in hotels. His car is sitting here in the garage doing nothing (2017 Subaru WRX). He has a company gas card that he can use for all refills, even when he comes home. He works 6 12 hour days and is only home late Saturday night until Sunday afternoon. If he uses his own vehicle the company will give him $1600/month. His boss and co-workers all use their own trucks. So all that said, he is thinking about buying his own, the question is, gas or diesel? It will be a 2500 and he won't be towing (unless I get a bigger boat...lol). But he will be driving about 30,000-40,000 miles a year. I am figuring resale on the diesel would be much better? If he makes double payments and pays it off in 2-3 years and trades it back in before 100,000 miles he would be ahead? With a diesel he would have probably about a $40,000 asset to trade whereas a gasser would be about $25,000-30,000 trade in? He would be getting the upper trim levels so about $60,000 new.

I have never had a diesel and don't know much about them but the drivertrain will be under warranty the whole time he owns it. He will still be able to use his company fuel card even if it is his truck.

Thoughts/opinions?

Who is paying the insurance?

Their truck = Their insurance/liability.

His truck = His insurance/liability which I'm assuming needs to be commercial.
 
Working 6 days a week. Driving a vehicle you do not own at no cost to you. Why on earth would you want to buy and depreciate your own asset? Not a way to build wealth. Sell the car you own and put the money in your rainy day account. Get a w-2 for personal use of the company truck. Cheapest way way to drive.
 
Working 6 days a week. Driving a vehicle you do not own at no cost to you. Why on earth would you want to buy and depreciate your own asset? Not a way to build wealth. Sell the car you own and put the money in your rainy day account. Get a w-2 for personal use of the company truck. Cheapest way way to drive.

+1, years ago my wife had a company provided car and gas card - those were the days! Car breaks down, get's hit, needs gas - not on her dime. Later they did away with the company cars and reimbursed her for mileage etc. Still got reimbursed more than the monthly car payment, but by the time you add everything else in not nearly the deal the company car was.

Plus, and don't take this the wrong way, but what if your son looses his job? Does he really want a new truck with payments on the monthly nut? A fully paid company vehicle is a rare thing these days - take it!
 
I'd let the company buy the truck! If he wants a nice truck to drive, buy whatever he likes and drive it when he's home. Also, take really good care of the company truck. Employers may notice his care and will not hesitate to supply a nice replacement. Most employers won't like diesel due to the epa crap on them that costs a fortune.

I've owned two diesels, Ram and Ford. Both are great but the Ford only has 23K on it. Ram went to 140K before I traded it. Nothing was wrong when I traded it either.
 
Diesel Pick-Ups are cool. I’d love to have one.
But, given those circumstances I’d keep driving the company truck and let them worry about insurance, maintenance, payments and depreciation. Why take on a depreciating asset and possible headache if you don’t need to.
I had a job provided take home car for several years and it was fantastic. No expenses or worries.
 
Well technically it wouldn't be a depreciating asset? With the company truck he does not get the $1600/month. If he uses his own vehicle then he gets the $1600/month so it's more like an appreciating asset? And it has to be a 4x4 truck. They drive in the fields and mud every day. 1/2 ton gasser would get the job done but after 3 years and 90,000 miles it won't be worth near as much as a 2500 diesel. I was comparing comparably equipped 3 year old trucks the other night with about 90,000 miles on them and there was about a $10,000 difference between the gas and diesel trucks. So after 3 years the diesel would be about a $35,000 asset where the gasser would be about a $25,000 asset, all paid for by the company. The company would still pay for all fuel whether gas or diesel so mileage isn't that important but would be considered.

The job is 6 12 hour days 2 hours from home so no time for a boat or any other toys...lol. Because of that he is thinking of only staying there a few years and make as much as he can then move on. If he has a paid for truck worth $35,000 then that would make a nice trade in on his next vehicle.

He is thinking of a slightly used truck but a slightly used diesel is almost as much as a new one and with the amount of miles he puts on it a gasser would have to be extremely low miles. Any diesel would absolutely have to have a warranty. He thought about buying a $15,000 truck and paying it off in a few months but it has to be reliable.

The whole thought behind him using his own vehicle is that he wants to rake in as much money as he can while he is there to try to get his student loans paid down. If he keeps a company truck then in 3 years he still has a loan on his WRX and really no further ahead financially than he is now and still no assets. If he buys his own he gets rid of the depreciating WRX that he is making payments on and has a $35,000 asset after 3 years that he didn't pay a penny for?

And his insurance should be good. It wouldn't be a 'work' truck, just a vehicle that gets him from one site to another. He doesn't haul or tow anything other than his hard hat and paperwork. The only reason for the diesel is the amount of miles and the resale.

1500 Duramax does't sound bad but I wouldn't buy a first year model and I'd be surprised if it lasts. The Dodge 1500 Hemi was a flop and I have doubts about the Nissan being any different so wouldn't get my hopes up for the Chevy either...lol.
 
Being a mechanic who has worked on the big 3 in diesel pickups ill just offer my advice.
Any Diesel Truck Chevy/Dodge /Ford have all been problematic with the emissions.
Mostly with the Diesel Exhaust Fluid system .
Im sure your son can't afford to have his truck down because of check engine lights or emissions problems.
All the Dealers suck today.
Most of them only have 1 Diesel Mechanic, which makes getting the truck repaired a long wait.
Where i live its always a 2-3 week wait to get an appointment to bring the vehicle in.
I would stick with a gas motor.
I drive a 07 Gmc 2500classic with a Duramax.
Its a great truck but it doesn't have any emissions on it.
 
Another factor to take into consideration is the potential tax impact of taking the allowance vs. keeping the company vehicle. Depending on the way the employer's plan works the extra money may go straight to the employee's W2. It used to be that this had a minimal impact since the employee could claim a deduction for mileage but I understand the new tax law has taken that away. So, whatever additional tax a larger W2 brings might need to be taken out of the equation. I only know this because I'm in the middle of potentially changing several company programs based on the new law and this one is on my list to worry about. My tax firm tells me the regulations are still in development so the full impact is a little unclear while the IRS updates its regulations to reflect the law.
 
Don't forget sales and excise tax and insurance in my state goes by drivers age. Those 3 items in Mass. could easily be 10K over 3 years. Are people really paying 35K for a pickup with 90K miles on it ?
 
Good point Alnav. Currently he gets a per diem for housing that is not taxed. I would guess that the truck per diem is also non taxed but not certain. A co-worker that started a week before him just turned his company truck back in and is going to start driving his own (2013ish F250 gasser). He talked to his CPA about it and after weighing everything he was further ahead financially using his own.
 
Don't forget sales and excise tax and insurance in my state goes by drivers age. Those 3 items in Mass. could easily be 10K over 3 years. Are people really paying 35K for a pickup with 90K miles on it ?
I searched cars.com and there were 2015 2500 diesels for $40-42k. These were the loaded up editions which is what my son would be getting. They had about 80-90k miles on them. I purposely search fotr high mile 3 year old trucks to see what they were going for.
 
Pretty sure at least in this part of the world, that the 1600 would be considered taxable income. You can write off any depreciation and interest if financed but the balance should be added to your income.
I would enjoy the company vehicle.
 

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