Peter Smythe:
“Prestige” doesn’t pay the rent and feed the kids.
I know, but I cant fight the desire to start as I have meant to go on. Any of the four would be profitable.
Big Truck:
430 Stralis??
I got quotes early summer for 140km/yr 460 £309 800l tanks and 480hp £319!!!
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No, definitely a 460. Unless the salesman has messed up again but you cant get a 430 Stralis XP only 460, 480 or 520.
cav551:
Own Account Driver:
Get the Iveco but put the £80/week saved on the Renault in a building society account by standing order and forget about it.
You’ve even got tyres included in the Iveco deal.
You both make excellent points. I have a test drive on the Iveco booked but Sherwoods cant get me an XP to have a go in. Instead Ill be driving a 2013 model. The gearbox will be different and the tyres but my main concern is the cab. Getting in, getting out, the transmission tunnel and the driving position, all of which are unchanged between Euro 6 Gen1 and Gen2. The benefit of driving an older one is Ill get a feel of what it will be like later in the agreement in terms of cab wear etc. The other problem is if they have never seen one, can they get me one in time to not annoy the client, but Ill be asking those questions on Monday morning.
At the moment I am leaning towards the Renault on the basis of both cost and the fact its tried and tested in my little world. I am very tempted to say sod it and go for either the Merc on the grounds that its my personal favorite of the bunch or the Volvo on the basis of the prestige brand and the heavy kit list but thats purely on the grounds of the fact what ever I go for ill be living in for at least three years, probably six so Ill go for the best I can get.
Iveco Stralis is a decent truck, the drivers seat as what i call kidney crushers or car rally style seats, where you can press buttons to inflate air bags inside the seat supports, adjust to sit where it is a tight fit, on the sides and lumbar spine support .
They also pull well .
As said before, lots of lights flash up on dash for something that is not wrong .
He does seem quite enthusiastic about a lot of what he does, also his last truck was an MAN, which maybe doesn’t say much for MAN’s.
Quite nice to see a truck driver who actually seems to enjoy his work and seems very relaxed by the actions of other drivers.
Well, dilema is resolved. Been to look at a new Stralis today and was very unimpressed.
Seats too firm by far.
Steering wheel adjustment too easy to trip by accident.
Dash was made out of recycled 2001 Dihatsu Copens.
Scratchy nasty rattly plastics everywhere.
Judging by the feel of the panels, I really wouldn’t want to crash one, it would hurt.
Found out that the quote he gave me was on the wrong truck with no VED and no tyres despite being told otherwise in a previous email.
Talking to a fitter in the workshop and they have only received a single day of class room training on the 2016 Stralis and no practical.
My intital impression was that a 2008 Renault Premium was better built and more luxurious.
So all that was digested and I’d decided against the Italian before I spoke with the clients later in the day to give them an update on my progress. Their response, ‘thats good, we don’t want an Iveco pulling our trailers anyway!’
I managed to choke the undiplomatic resonpose of ‘AND YOU COULDN’T HAVE BLOODY TOLD ME!!!’
So, Iveco’s out because its horrible. I would be willing to live with it for the extra profit but I wouldn’t be willing to demand another driver live with it. Its junk. The Volvo is out because the local dealer are incompetent. The Renault is on ropey territory as another potential client is early terminating all of theirs because they are shedding drivers faster than they are burning diesel. I like it but if I cant find someone I trust to cover when I’m off I’m in trouble.
Looks like its going to be the Benz, its the one I prefer, its the one the client wants, (well, the client likes Scania but I’ve told 'em the chances of getting hold of a new one this year are slim enough and I cant drive the old one without becoming a ■■■■■■■. They kill my back). Just the final check to do, sign writers template is winging its way to me through the interweb overnight. I’ll check I can make the Merc look beautiful in my colours and away we go to serious indebtedness.
Thanks for all the opinions guys, you have made this a whole lot eaier.
No. I didn’t want to place an order for a truck I’d never seen or driven and I can’t spend 3 years in a current R-Series without serious bills for corrective back surgery. MAN is another brand I have not considered because of concerns I have had with their product in the past. I picked three trucks that I had driven and liked plus one truck that cost said had to be considered and of the four, three have been eliminated for various but I think valid reasons.
These 480 MAN TGXs are worth a quick quote just to compare,
Very happy with mine as VERY smooth on road/BIG cab XXL/comfy bunk/pulls well although not yet run in.
The AS-Tronic gearbox isn’t the worst once you’ve driven it for week or two.
nsmith1180:
Well, dilema is resolved. Been to look at a new Stralis today and was very unimpressed.
Seats too firm by far.
Steering wheel adjustment too easy to trip by accident.
Dash was made out of recycled 2001 Dihatsu Copens.
Scratchy nasty rattly plastics everywhere.
Judging by the feel of the panels, I really wouldn’t want to crash one, it would hurt.
Found out that the quote he gave me was on the wrong truck with no VED and no tyres despite being told otherwise in a previous email.
Talking to a fitter in the workshop and they have only received a single day of class room training on the 2016 Stralis and no practical.
My intital impression was that a 2008 Renault Premium was better built and more luxurious.
So all that was digested and I’d decided against the Italian before I spoke with the clients later in the day to give them an update on my progress. Their response, ‘thats good, we don’t want an Iveco pulling our trailers anyway!’
I managed to choke the undiplomatic resonpose of ‘AND YOU COULDN’T HAVE BLOODY TOLD ME!!!’
So, Iveco’s out because its horrible. I would be willing to live with it for the extra profit but I wouldn’t be willing to demand another driver live with it. Its junk. The Volvo is out because the local dealer are incompetent. The Renault is on ropey territory as another potential client is early terminating all of theirs because they are shedding drivers faster than they are burning diesel. I like it but if I cant find someone I trust to cover when I’m off I’m in trouble.
Looks like its going to be the Benz, its the one I prefer, its the one the client wants, (well, the client likes Scania but I’ve told 'em the chances of getting hold of a new one this year are slim enough and I cant drive the old one without becoming a ■■■■■■■. They kill my back). Just the final check to do, sign writers template is winging its way to me through the interweb overnight. I’ll check I can make the Merc look beautiful in my colours and away we go to serious indebtedness.
Thanks for all the opinions guys, you have made this a whole lot eaier.
So the company running the Renaults are shedding drivers because ■■? , whats the problem nsmith , havent they got a Scania badge on them perhaps■■? .
nsmith1180:
My intital impression was that a 2008 Renault Premium was better built and more luxurious.
So all that was digested and I’d decided against the Italian before I spoke with the clients later in the day to give them an update on my progress. Their response, ‘thats good, we don’t want an Iveco pulling our trailers anyway!’
.
Are you seriously telling me you have a customer that cares what make of truck pulls thier trailer?
And why are you going for a new truck, you can get contract hire deals on used Mercedes and Renault were offering deals on low mileage premiums, which included drive line warranties and breakdown cover.
nsmith1180:
My intital impression was that a 2008 Renault Premium was better built and more luxurious.
So all that was digested and I’d decided against the Italian before I spoke with the clients later in the day to give them an update on my progress. Their response, ‘thats good, we don’t want an Iveco pulling our trailers anyway!’
.
Are you seriously telling me you have a customer that cares what make of truck pulls thier trailer?
That is a new one on me also to be fair,
sound a wee bit like they’re up their own arse to be honest.
Nothing that wrong with the Iveco Highway I don’t think and another £100 gets you the “super luxury” seat which I’m informed isn’t anywhere near as hard to sit on!!!
Always been a fan of the Stralis as a good truck for just getting on with the job.
Used to have really terrible quality interior plastics but they’ve improved these especially in the top spec models.
Keep on top of the maintenance with on time servicing and they’ll do you as good as most other trucks out there, certainly nothing will touch it for the price but you can get some excellent deals from MAN if you try or so I’ve heard recently.
nsmith1180:
My intital impression was that a 2008 Renault Premium was better built and more luxurious.
So all that was digested and I’d decided against the Italian before I spoke with the clients later in the day to give them an update on my progress. Their response, ‘thats good, we don’t want an Iveco pulling our trailers anyway!’
.
Are you seriously telling me you have a customer that cares what make of truck pulls thier trailer?
And why are you going for a new truck, you can get contract hire deals on used Mercedes and Renault were offering deals on low mileage premiums, which included drive line warranties and breakdown cover.
nsmith1180:
My intital impression was that a 2008 Renault Premium was better built and more luxurious.
So all that was digested and I’d decided against the Italian before I spoke with the clients later in the day to give them an update on my progress. Their response, ‘thats good, we don’t want an Iveco pulling our trailers anyway!’
.
Are you seriously telling me you have a customer that cares what make of truck pulls thier trailer?
And why are you going for a new truck, you can get contract hire deals on used Mercedes and Renault were offering deals on low mileage premiums, which included drive line warranties and breakdown cover.
Well said that man , my own thoughts entirely .
Price comparisons on Used Mercs with maintenance made a new one with a bit of discount look like the more attractive option. Unless I was willing to accept starship miles on the truck I would have been paying £350 for a used one anyway, better to get a new one with full warranty etc. The work is there to pay for the wagon so why not start as I mean to go on.
As for the picky clients, they may have had reliability problems in the past perhaps which is why they are not keen on them. As for the interior plastics, they are still horrible. I had pretty much ruled it out after taking a look at one. They feel like a far inferior product and its not just the dash plastics. The whole cabin is very 2008. The actual cab feels insubstantial, it doesn’t feel solid like the Renault, let alone like a Merc, Volvo or Scania. They also said they would show me a used one to see how well they wear but after my initial impressions wouldn’t do so, which leads me to believe that they don’t wear to well. Throw in the mistakes in the quote and we were very unlikely to be doing business anyway. The client just put the final nail in the coffin.
Ditto with the used Premiums. There are competitive offers out there but the increased reliability and liveability justify the extra cost in my opinion, especially as the money will be there to pay for it.
These are the guys I want to work with but if we were on completely opposite sides of the argument over the Iveco I would have said thanks but no thanks and found other work. We are not yet at the point where either party can’t pull out, (but don’t worry I’m not placing any orders until they are committed to a long term deal) and if they were refusing my first choice because the badge on the front I would have walked away.
Well just read thro this thread with much interest, there have been some good points raised and discussed.
I’m retired now after 40yrs driving lorries and I have driven quite a few different makes/models and owned
some for a while, if it was me striking out again with decent work there is only one truck on my shopping list
a Daf XF 510 superspace.Fabulous, quiet,very comfortable,very roomy and important very good on fuel,mega truck
and built in Britain.
You have my best wishes for the future.
JSingh:
Was there a massive difference in the price? They do say you get what you pay. I don’t run Iveco’s but my dad had one he got really cheap about 5 years ago and it was never ending trouble, you can’t have a motor down losing work but then again I know people who run a fleet of just Iveco’s but my gut says stick to what you know a lease is a fairly long time and you want a reliable truck behind you my guy is always getting anywhere between 10-12 mpg on my Actros
Clipper run with just Ivecos don’t they… all brand spankin new motors as well.
