SHOULD YOU BUY A NEW OR USED TOW TRUCK?

There isn't one right answer. It depends on your cash, credit, and how much risk your business can handle.

A new rollback in Canada runs $230,000–$280,000. That means a big down payment, a monthly truck payment, insurance, and eventually repairs — often for five years or more.

Used trucks range anywhere from $25,000 to $150,000+, but the purchase price doesn't tell the whole story. Say you have $100,000 available:

• 2011 Freightliner — $60,000, $20,000 down, $40,000 financed at 12.5%

• 2026 Freightliner — $260,000, $60,000 down, $200,000 financed at 6%

The older truck preserves cash but is more likely to need repairs — and repairs cost more than money. They cost downtime. A truck down for three days means lost revenue, possible overtime, turned-away calls, and disappointed customers, while your fixed costs keep running.

After about 10 years of owning towing companies and buying trucks, my view has shifted: whenever the business can comfortably afford it, I'd rather take the higher, predictable payment on a newer truck. New trucks still break — hoses burst, sensors quit, DEF systems act up — but less often, and preventive maintenance only reduces failures, not eliminates them.

So don't just ask "what's the payment?" Ask: what will this truck actually cost my business to own? Payment + interest + insurance + maintenance + repairs + downtime + lost revenue. That's the real number.

The exception: startups. If you're starting out with capital but no revenue history yet, be cautious about committing to a big truck payment before you know what the business can produce. If you can buy two reasonable trucks outright instead of financing one expensive one, seriously consider it — redundancy matters. One truck down can mean the business is down. Two means you can still work.

Whatever you choose — new, used, cash, or financed — never spend your last dollar on the truck. I'd want a new company to keep at least a $10,000 repair reserve after buying equipment, growing it as the trucks age. A blown engine, transmission, or rear end can run five figures, and the breakdown doesn't care whether you have the money.

After a couple years, the equation changes — you know your revenue, seasons, and costs, so you can actually calculate what another payment would cost you. At that point, an established company might choose a smaller down payment on purpose, because keeping $50,000–$100,000 in the bank is worth more than eliminating debt.

A $60,000 truck can be right. A $260,000 truck can be right. Cash or financed — both can be right. What matters is understanding why you're choosing it.

Buy the truck your business can afford — not just what your bank says you can afford. And always keep enough cash to survive when something breaks. Because eventually, something will.

— The Towing Playbook