I notice posts on this site regarding trucks once 3 years old start to give no end of electrical and mechanical problems , whats the best and worst makes and models in your experience ?.
06 plate MAN TGA, had 2 1/2 years, very little trouble
57 plate MAN TGA, had 13 months, 1 EBS error that needed the MANCAT computer to wipe the stored fault codes and an air valve
various DAF XF’s, nice truck, but had some shocking reliability from some of them 
I think they are all much of a muchness nowadays so long as you keep on top of the maintenance.
All trucks go wrong, there are various problems from all makes on here. It’s the back up that really makes the difference, moreys in salisbury are the reason why I keep buying daf.
My opinion, for what it’s worth is not worth paying the premium for something Swedish if you’re on the tarmac doing regular work. Everything else is much of a muchness, others will probably disagree, but I also think Mercs are more expensive in parts to maintain than the equivalent DAF/MAN/Iveco/Renault.
With a 3+ year old truck knocking on for 500k or so the maintenance issue is not so much brand related but that the probability of having to replace a whole load of different parts increases greatly. You’ve got the big three of air dryer, compressor and turbo then you’ve got a load of stuff that won’t necessarily leave you stranded like exhausts, clutch and drive axle brake chambers but will just wear out. All these things have a much tinier probability of needing doing within the first three years.
It’s all a balance. Personally, I’ve never thought it stacks up buying new and things like whether it’s main dealer, independent or ideally self-maintained all make a difference as well.
i got it in my head from the start that running older trucks rather than buying newer is the way to go just deal with the problems as they occur but as time has gone on ive become more concerned about the down time its that that i think is the problem ive just had the man off the road for the best part of a week the part its self not being a problem price wise but the the lost work being a major concern i think if i could put pen to paper on some good paying work - and that being the point i would buy something alot newer with r+m but til that work comes round i just daren’t .i have heard of some real horror stories of alot newer trucks outside of any warranty having what i would think where minor ish problems been major bills. once the trucks ive got at the moment need relpacing i havent a clue what to buy
Out of curiosity, what’s wrong with it that it needed to be off the road for a week?
I think there’s a bit of Pot Luck involved when buying any secondhand truck. I needed an alternator and tensioners in July and I had the clutch release bearing fail in October, it’s obviously a false economy to replace that without having a whole new clutch assembly fitted so that was an expensive repair, but only had three days of downtime due to those two events together and so far it’s cost me much less than it would do to have been paying the finance on a brand-new tractor unit although I appreciate that that situation could change with a run of bad luck.
a days earnings times 5 days offset that against the cost of newer vehicle say 350 a week ish get one out of the garage and then put one of the others in makes me think sometimes but as you say you need a bit string of bad luck to make it stand
how many you running now then Lee?
and what ya got?
pm if you wish 
am running 3 the same old man f2000 a eurotech and a foden alpha the iveco runs round the houses and roughly for the same for the man but the foden goes a little further there all pretty reliable for what they are do
blimey lee, got some names from the past in your yard 
on a more serious note i,ve run brand new and paid over a grand a month on finance on one truck, i certainly sleep better at night now i only drive a 6yr old MAN which cost nothing in comparison
If i was doing mega distance all week every week i would consider something newer but i mainly do one motorway run of about 450kms a day so my old girl does me for now
its like a trip down memory lane just driving in the yard lol they do the job plodding around