Rebuilt truck worth the price?

[Rickmo]

I have noticed that the rebuilt trucks on GL go for quite a bit more. Is it worth the price difference over a clean running non-rebuilt truck with similar mileage on the odometer.

 

[MtnSnow]

When doing searches related to your question you will come to find it's still pretty much a crapshoot... Some rebuilds were done nicely & correctly and others have had all kinds of major issues...Same can go for non-rebuilds... Personally I'm happy with my non-rebuilt as the majority of the issues I have had with mine are the same type of the majority of issues seen even in the rebuilt trucks (lack of use & sitting for years) aka dry rot/sunbaked items and the like.

 

[mahdey]

Picked up a rebuilt truck from Sparta last month. Had 7 miles and no hours. Had a bad starter. Aside from that, everything is new on it. CTIS works etc. New tires with the tits still on them and all.

 

[mkcoen]

Mine doesn't have a rebuild tag any where but only 488 miles on the odometer and, although a 1991 truck, has a 2009 engine - per the engine tag. The tires look like they have about 500 miles on them so kind of goes with the mileage and the paint, although faded some from sitting in the Texas sun/heat looks pretty fresh, the front headache rack is fiberglass with fresh green CARC but the troop seats and side racks are wood and severely worn ( probably traded from another truck they were keeping and easier to remove than the headache rack). So far the only really bad thing I've found was the cab top thread rot (Texas sun again), dead batteries, clogged fuel filter, and the CTIS isn't working right (just haven't had time to diagnose it yet). I paid about $1500 more for it than a bunch of ROUGH trucks selling the same time at Ft Hood. Almost all of those were sitting on flat tires and I know of 2 trucks personally that had blow outs on the way home. I figure if nothing else I have $1500 worth of better tires.

The key, if you're able, is to inspect the vehicle. Know someone with a 1008 or 1009 and a slave cable? Take them with you. I used to check out vehicles at Ft Sam for folks from all over the country and, while I'm not an expert, could at least give them some more info than GL would (like would it start if slaved?). There are ways to move the crapshoot closer to your favor than the house's.

 

[Rifleman]

The best advice is go look at the truck you want to bid on, and if you can't do that then have a S.S. member who lives close by go look at it for you. Doing it this way will give you some piece of mind before you bid.

 

[mahdey]

Mine doesn't have a rebuild tag any where but only 488 miles on the odometer and, although a 1991 truck, has a 2009 engine - per the engine tag. The tires look like they have about 500 miles on them so kind of goes with the mileage and the paint, although faded some from sitting in the Texas sun/heat looks pretty fresh, the front headache rack is fiberglass with fresh green CARC but the troop seats and side racks are wood and severely worn ( probably traded from another truck they were keeping and easier to remove than the headache rack). So far the only really bad thing I've found was the cab top thread rot (Texas sun again), dead batteries, clogged fuel filter, and the CTIS isn't working right (just haven't had time to diagnose it yet). I paid about $1500 more for it than a bunch of ROUGH trucks selling the same time at Ft Hood. Almost all of those were sitting on flat tires and I know of 2 trucks personally that had blow outs on the way home. I figure if nothing else I have $1500 worth of better tires.

The key, if you're able, is to inspect the vehicle. Know someone with a 1008 or 1009 and a slave cable? Take them with you. I used to check out vehicles at Ft Sam for folks from all over the country and, while I'm not an expert, could at least give them some more info than GL would (like would it start if slaved?). There are ways to move the crapshoot closer to your favor than the house's.

You hit the nail right on the head. Lets say a rebuilt truck goes for $2k more. You check it out and it's a jewel. I figure the 2k premium as follows, parts I DON'T have to buy to make this truck perfect again. CTIS works, great saved some money and headache there. It builds air, awesome, no need to spend anywhere from $60 for a PPV to $400-500 for an air compressor. Tires, well that's easy. It's kind of a long term thing if you plan on actually keeping the truck. I plan on never getting rid of either the deuce or 5 ton.

However I am currently looking for a project, and am eyeing a few No start trucks/ No air pressure. With that said, I have noticed there is no set price on trucks. One week, trucks go for CHEAP, my rebuild was 5k, and some other weeks, like this week, non running, crappy tires and just beat up went for 3-3.5k.

Ultimately, it comes down to what your time is worth.

 

[MtnSnow]

Remember that all rebuilds are not the same.....Not all the same parts are rebuild/replaced.... Bottom line is that it is best to do a site visit and checkout the truck(s) you are interested in or arrange for someone else to do it for you if not local to you..

 

[gimpyrobb]

Unless you inspect a truck, you should only bid up to scrap value. Anything else and your gambling.

 

[mcmullag]

I have bought two rebuilt 923A2's and was/am very happy with each one. One rebuilt in 2007 by the KS sustainment division, one rebuilt in 2009 by Unicore (whomever they are?). Keep watching, you may find one for a good price.

 

[BKubu]

The first thing we all need to do is stop calling them rebuilt trucks. I know I have been guilty of this. Just the other night, when showing a friend my trucks, I caught myself several times referring to one of my RRAD trucks as rebuilt. Most of them...not all (some of the facilities appear to rebuild trucks)...are not rebuilt as in overhauled. The RRAD trucks, in particular don't appear to be rebuilt at all. They basically go over the trucks to fix problems while leaving most of the original truck intact. This sounds great, but I have found that their process often masks problems. It seems to me as though they tend to err on the side of leaving things alone. I have a truck with a leaking radiator (it was just painted and had new stickers applied) that failed after about 700 miles, a bad alternator (again, it was repainted) that failed after fewer than 100 miles, a RRAD-rebuilt NHC250 with a blown head gasket that failed after about 160 miles, a RRAD truck with a 6CTA motor with a serious valve tap (not sure when it started, but the truck was showing 1,200 miles since RRAD touched it), crushed hoods that were straightened, leaking rear engine main seals with new transmissions installed (why not replace the rear engine main seal when the tranny was replaced) (fewer than 1,000 miles since RRAD), transmissions that won't shift into 5th gear...on and on. These problems were not culled from others' posts; these are all problems that I have experienced on my own trucks, with the exception of the transmission problem (another friend on this list experienced that problem and told me about it).

There have been many other threads on this. Another poster (his name escapes me at this moment) posted a link in another thread regarding what RRAD does when they "rebuild" trucks. Trust me, it is not very impressive. As I said initially, though, it does appear as though some of the facilities have a more thorough rebuild. Trucks coming out of the Kansas Readiness Center appear to have had a more involved repair and retrofit process. I have only had one of these trucks so I am basing this more on what others on this list have said (I believe SUPRMAN has a cherry Kansas M923A2 that he is selling as a means of seeing what their product looks like).

 

[wheelspinner]

I have noticed that the rebuilt trucks on GL go for quite a bit more. Is it worth the price difference over a clean running non-rebuilt truck with similar mileage on the odometer.

No. An actual inspection is the only thing that can justify a higher price.

 

[porkysplace]

The first thing we all need to do is stop calling them rebuilt trucks. I know I have been guilty of this. Just the other night, when showing a friend my trucks, I caught myself several times referring to one of my RRAD trucks as rebuilt. Most of them...not all (some of the facilities appear to rebuild trucks)...are not rebuilt as in overhauled. The RRAD trucks, in particular don't appear to be rebuilt at all. They basically go over the trucks to fix problems while leaving most of the original truck intact. This sounds great, but I have found that their process often masks problems. It seems to me as though they tend to err on the side of leaving things alone. I have a truck with a leaking radiator (it was just painted and had new stickers applied) that failed after about 700 miles, a bad alternator (again, it was repainted) that failed after fewer than 100 miles, a RRAD-rebuilt NHC250 with a blown head gasket that failed after about 160 miles, a RRAD truck with a 6CTA motor with a serious valve tap (not sure when it started, but the truck was showing 1,200 miles since RRAD touched it), crushed hoods that were straightened, leaking rear engine main seals with new transmissions installed (why not replace the rear engine main seal when the tranny was replaced) (fewer than 1,000 miles since RRAD), transmissions that won't shift into 5th gear...on and on. These problems were not culled from others' posts; these are all problems that I have experienced on my own trucks, with the exception of the transmission problem (another friend on this list experienced that problem and told me about it).

There have been many other threads on this. Another poster (his name escapes me at this moment) posted a link in another thread regarding what RRAD does when they "rebuild" trucks. Trust me, it is not very impressive. As I said initially, though, it does appear as though some of the facilities have a more thorough rebuild. Trucks coming out of the Kansas Readiness Center appear to have had a more involved repair and retrofit process. I have only had one of these trucks so I am basing this more on what others on this list have said (I believe SUPRMAN has a cherry Kansas M923A2 that he is selling as a means of seeing what their product looks like).

That was posted by wsucougarx . Links to it have been posted in several of the dozens of threads on rebuilt trucks .

 

[BKubu]

Thanks, PORKYSPLACE! That was the poster.

 

[porkysplace]

Thanks, PORKYSPLACE! That was the poster.

No problem .
These what's a rebuilt truck worth threads need to join the zombie, bugout and insurance threads and get deleted.
A truck is worth what someone will pay . If you pay too much for a junk truck you should have done better research before buying .

 

[Trailboss]

Unless you inspect a truck, you should only bid up to scrap value. Anything else and your gambling.

+1 If only going by the GL description and photos, bid the scrap price, minus the fees and taxes and the cost to get it home, and the cost to haul it to the scrap yard after you see what you're dealing with. I admit it, I'm a bottom feeder, and proud of it. Sometimes I even get lucky.

I've learned the hard way to only go higher if I or someone I've talked to has actually touched the truck.

 

[Csm Davis]

RRAD are what I call lipstick rebuilds, mainly paint, I have seen probably 100+ trucks with fresh RRAD rebuilds at Camp Shelby awaiting rebuild with less than 50 miles on them since they were so called rebuilt. I have 2 great looking trucks at my house that both have bad motors and fresh rebuilds one is Trailbosses that I believe has a bad head gasket and another one that if you pull the dipstick it looks like glitter in the oil. And I have seen lots more to the point I am now telling people to stay away from the RRAD trucks. Even the fresh Camp Shelby rebuild is not holding up to my expectations I have one and have worked on several others and they are having problems mostly small but not what you would expect from a fresh rebuild. I got to watch the rebuild process at Camp Shelby and I believe that it is a good one but not perfect.

 

[162tcat]

I agree with Csm Davis, stay away from RRAD rebuilds. All of the ones I've seen or owned have more issues than a non rebuilt rig. A fresh coat of CARC isn't a fix all, especially when applied right over the rust. The moral of the story is do a thorough inspection or don't bid. I've seen absolute junk trucks go for 5k+ and others in great condition go for $1,500.

 

[corvette9]

I have a RRAD 2011 overhauled truck. I have to say theres no way you can call it a rebuild truck. Looks like most of the truck was sand blasted and painted. No grest job either. All new tires which is nice. When I got it home the batterys where up and it fired right up. Runs down the road great. But you start looking close and you can see it is just dolled up. One wiper switch is bypassing so it keeps bursting the air line. I have a new one here. No other types of leaks anywhere yet.

I think buying a nice clean untouched truck for far less money is the way to go. I would not pay top dollar for an overhauled truck again. I don't regret it but never again.