JoseCuervo
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- Joined
- Mar 11, 2012
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JoseCuervo
I do one or two rebuilds a year for our business.
I have a bunch of guys who work for me, and sometimes we are slow. So, instead of paying them to BS with each other, I like to keep a project for them. Keeps them in 40 hour weeks, 52 weeks per year, and they seem to appreciate that.
We have a fleet of 8-10 pick ups running, and we put 30-50k miles on them each year. Do the math and we are doing 200-300k miles annually (don't ask about fuel bill). So, 200k miles is pretty much the life of a 'PU used in a commercial application by multiple drivers.
So, we started buying from the insurance auction site copart.com with good success.
After a bit of learning, we have decided the following vehicles work best.
Gas motor pUs with 50-70k miles
Diesel motors up to 100k miles.
No airbag activation.
Prefer rollovers that are "engine start" or "run and drive" tested by auction house.
Frame damage can be acceptable, and easy to fix.
Try to avoid suspension damage. We measure the wheel geometry to verify.
Try to avoid damage (physical) to the traction control /ABS modules.
I can buy 4wd 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, and 1-ton pick ups for $3-5k, repairs for parts usually run $1-2k, and labor is likely 80-100 hours.
I don't worry about resale, as we are going to run them into the ground, and I don't care about the cloud on the salvage title.
The guys also seem to take pride in the vehicles after they participated in the process. They also get to drive nicer vehicles than if I bought them new ones. Heated seats, leather interiors, custom wheels, lifted, grill guards, bigger cabs, etc.
In fact, they are now getting good enough I am driving one as my daily driver, get lots of nice comments on it.
If you have a mentor for it, go for it, it is a good learning process and you likely get a nicer vehicle than normal.
I have a bunch of guys who work for me, and sometimes we are slow. So, instead of paying them to BS with each other, I like to keep a project for them. Keeps them in 40 hour weeks, 52 weeks per year, and they seem to appreciate that.
We have a fleet of 8-10 pick ups running, and we put 30-50k miles on them each year. Do the math and we are doing 200-300k miles annually (don't ask about fuel bill). So, 200k miles is pretty much the life of a 'PU used in a commercial application by multiple drivers.
So, we started buying from the insurance auction site copart.com with good success.
After a bit of learning, we have decided the following vehicles work best.
Gas motor pUs with 50-70k miles
Diesel motors up to 100k miles.
No airbag activation.
Prefer rollovers that are "engine start" or "run and drive" tested by auction house.
Frame damage can be acceptable, and easy to fix.
Try to avoid suspension damage. We measure the wheel geometry to verify.
Try to avoid damage (physical) to the traction control /ABS modules.
I can buy 4wd 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, and 1-ton pick ups for $3-5k, repairs for parts usually run $1-2k, and labor is likely 80-100 hours.
I don't worry about resale, as we are going to run them into the ground, and I don't care about the cloud on the salvage title.
The guys also seem to take pride in the vehicles after they participated in the process. They also get to drive nicer vehicles than if I bought them new ones. Heated seats, leather interiors, custom wheels, lifted, grill guards, bigger cabs, etc.
In fact, they are now getting good enough I am driving one as my daily driver, get lots of nice comments on it.
If you have a mentor for it, go for it, it is a good learning process and you likely get a nicer vehicle than normal.