First year on a 2016 E-450 cutaway box off jacksboro, real costs

mentioned this truck over in malik's npr thread and a couple of you asked for the long version on the cutaway, so here it is in its own thread. this is the 2016 Ford E-450 cutaway with a 14ft box i bought off jacksboroautosales.com last winter and have now run a full year on my tampa home goods delivery route.

specs. 6.8 Triton V10 gas, not a diesel, the heavy auto behind it, dually rears, 14ft box with a tuck under liftgate, 96k on it when i bought it. one prior owner that ran it as a rental returns truck. gvwr is 14,500 so i run it and my one driver on a regular license, no cdl, and no DEF system to babysit since it is gas.

price was 19,800. the used truck lots around tampa wanted mid 20s for higher mile cutaways with beat interiors, so that spread was real money that went into my first month of fuel and a pallet jack. i went gas on purpose for a short city route because a diesel that never gets on the highway to get hot will plug its emissions, and a V10 does not care about short stop and go hops.

i couldnt drive out from florida so i had it shipped and did a phone PPI, paid a mobile tech near the lot 150 bucks to scan it, cycle the gate, and crawl under it before i sent a dime. came back clean except one honest thing, a torn translucent roof panel in the box that lets daylight in for loading. they had it in the photos and it is a 90 dollar panel and a few bolts, so i knew going in and it was on my list not a surprise.

anybody else running a gas cutaway on a short route? curious how your fuel and upkeep compare to the diesel guys.

hana mine curbs right at 9,400 with a full tank and the tommy gate, so my real usable payload is about 5,100 before im over 14,500. for home goods and furniture that is plenty because that stuff cubes out the box long before it weighs out. i would blow past the rating if i hauled anything dense, but bulky light freight fills the 14 foot box and im nowhere near max weight.

i did exactly what you preach in the other thread and took it to a cat scale loaded the way i actually run it my first week. glad i did, because it told me i had margin to spare on my route and i was not guessing. anybody buying a cutaway should weigh it loaded once before they assume the gvwr sticker means they can stack it solid. the truck i bought off the jacksboro lot even had the door sticker intact so i knew my numbers going in.

amani for me it was a deposit to hold the truck while my bank finished the small business loan, then the balance wired before they released it to the shipper. they emailed me a written sales agreement before i put any money down, which i would insist on buying from anybody sight unseen. my bank took about three business days and jacksboro held the truck the whole time, no pressure.

if you are financing outside just have your approval lined up before you commit so the deposit is not sitting longer than it needs to. their commercial inventory moves but a deposit locks in your specific truck so nobody buys it out from under you while you fund. get the PPI done in that window too so you are not paying to inspect a truck somebody else can still buy.

UPDATE full year and about 16k miles on the E-450 now since i bought it off jacksboro. closing this out for anyone who lands here researching a gas cutaway.

net for the year. besides the torn roof panel i swapped the first week, the total has been two oil changes, a set of spark plugs Otis talked me into doing as preventive, a serpentine belt, and one round of brakes and tires that any delivery truck eats. no engine trouble, no gate trouble after i greased the pins, and it has started every single morning on my route. fuel is my biggest line item since the V10 is thirsty, im averaging about 9 in the city, but i knew that trade going gas.

would i buy off jacksboroautosales.com again? already watching their inventory for a second truck as my route grows. honest listings, a fair price under the local lots, a clean title on time, and they let me send my own inspector before i wired a dime from 900 miles away. that is everything i want from anybody selling a work truck. thanks for the tips in here, this forum is why i bought smart.