Lawn Care Forum banner

using work truck as personal vehicle

32K views 110 replies 21 participants last post by  Duekster 
#1 ·
What's everyone's advice on using the same vehicle for work an their primary personal vehicle ? Reason I ask is I was thinking of trading in my car to get a nice 1 ton vehicle for 20k used or just getting a used truck for 10k strictly for landscaping an plowing .. What ya guys think ?
 
#2 ·
buy the work truck for 10k.....why would you want to trash your personal vehicle for work....if you get to the point you send out a crew you still have your car to follow up on them...that said if your a solo operator and wish to stay that way for a while it is nice to have a nicer truck even for work....:usflag:
 
#3 ·
buy the work truck for 10k.....why would you want to trash your personal vehicle for work....if you get to the point you send out a crew you still have your car to follow up on them...that said if your a solo operator and wish to stay that way for a while it is nice to have a nicer truck even for work....:usflag:
pretty solid advice there, one other thing to consider. IF you use your work truck just for work, then you get to claim 100% deductions on the mileage during the year.
If you have a vehicle that you use for both personal use and work - you honestly should be documenting mileage used between the two and only be able to deduct the work mileage. More of a pain in the tail paper work to keep it honest.
 
#5 · (Edited)
do what you can afford, my buddy started out back in 04 with an 92 non turbo diesel f350, used it for everything his whole first season, then summer of 05 he bought a left over 04 f350 turbo diesel and it came with a fisher mm2 plow, he sold the other truck and had one new nice truck for about 6 years before he decided he needed another truck, he bought a f250 gas truck for 2000 with a like new fisher mm2 plow thinking the truck was junk and it turned out to be a good truck so he ended up using it for lawns, then he found a someone that needed a starter in their f350 diesel and he traded straight up and kept the plow, then within the last year he bought an f450 crew cab dually for a "personal vehicle, and now that's what he drives around whenever he isn't working. and it has 10,000 dollar wheels and tires on it....so do whatever you can afford to. having a separate vehicle is nice, but takes time to get to the point.

I only have my one f350 diesel now, its a 96 regular cab, its a little tight, and definitely not very comfortable, but for the 3500 dollars i originally paid for it, I can't see myself selling it ever, Its far too reliable, it has done way too much for me to sell it, even if it got 6-7k for it i wouldn't be happy, I would just rather have the truck, its worth a lot more then that to me. I really would like a newer truck asap but its not something i need to buy so i just plug along with with my 1 old work truck. which is 100% reliable, and never fails to start. My friend and I both worked the ever living crap out of our f350's and it doesn't show, his 04 that he bought new has 160,000 miles on it, and has needed next to nothing for parts, just regular maintenance. my truck with 272,000 takes the biggest beating i can throw at it, and continues to ask for more day in and day out. I'm talking towing 12,000lbs wide open up hill for over a mile. I beat my truck like no other. I also maintain it too, so if it needs something it gets it. sometimes with a full load of oak, I've towed 12,000lbs then put another 150 jumbo cobble stones in the bed which isn't light by any means, and it does its job well. I'm not sure what the weight was but i had 2 full pallets of sod in the back of my truck before, seemed heavy. and overall the truck, still is excellent condition despite being a plow/landscaping truck for 16 years and having a 2 yard sander in the bed for 5 or 6 of them, it really doesn't show. so I wouldn't say you are going to trash your nice truck, It's up to you how you want your stuff to look, but I vacuum my truck out when it gets dirty, and i wash it after every storm i plow. actually that's about it, I really don't go easy when loading the bed with logs, I've loaded my bed with wood probably over 100 times this summer alone and hit the back window several times, no cracks only scratches, same with the bed, there's small dings on the outside of the bed, but no dents anywhere on my truck.
 
#6 ·
The whole having another car for a crew thing I'm not worried about that the moment.. If they does happen down the line I'm sure I can then justify a another used vehicle.. I just know my budget now I can afford about 10k cash for a used truck or trade in my vehicle an get a truck for about 20k I figure for 20k I could get a truck that's pretty realiable, an decent. But I will be driving it during week to my day job about 50 miles a day .. Just thought it would be nice to have a good clean realiable truck for work looks professional an 99% know it won't be a. Problem. But was curious how many guys do this an the pros an cons because i value everyone's device here
 
#8 ·
I use my truck for work only and deduct actual cost as well. The cost to use a 3/4 ton for personal use is just too high. I use a 20 year old Honda Accord wagon that was my wife's car 2 cars ago....cheap to run and it's pretty much fully depreciated at this point. In fact I use it for work-related errands as well but have never bothered trying to recover that cost from the company.
 
#10 ·
I use my truck for work only and deduct actual cost as well. The cost to use a 3/4 ton for personal use is just too high. I use a 20 year old Honda Accord wagon that was my wife's car 2 cars ago....cheap to run and it's pretty much fully depreciated at this point. In fact I use it for work-related errands as well but have never bothered trying to recover that cost from the company.
i will agree with you, but then I also disagree its all relative to what your business makes, for instance you may say the cost of running a 3/4-1 ton truck is high and only be grossing 80k, vs. someone who says its actually quite inexpensive and they take 80k home consistently. not saying that is what you make, it is just an example, or maybe you have a mortgage, a credit card or two, a line of credit and still gross the same 80k and the other guy makes a little more and has no line of credit, no mortgage, 2 credit cards, but because he profits alot more he just pays them in full each month. so to him spending the money to operate a 3/4 ton that may get used for business use once a month, is worth it and he has a nice personal vehicle that isn't lettered up or anything.
 
#11 ·
Yeah situations vary. But I have a 10 year old work truck with 52k miles on it because I keep non-essential miles off of it. I did have another truck that was used for plowing and "beater" duty until a few years ago though. That helped keeping my mileage down as well.
 
#12 ·
i would say get go in the middle get a 15k truck nicer work for a little less personal you save a bit of money dont need to carry extra ins payment and repairs and just take care of it. your work truck is whats going to make you the money you cant risk cheaping out and getting a junker because then you cannot work. if you get something a bit more and more reliable it seems better plus it should look more presentable being prob newer or better kept. With that being said everyone starts some were i had my f 150 for 3 years as daily driver and work truck now next season i have a work truck and im keeping the 150 as a daiily driver bc its paid off also a side work/back up truck if neeed be.
 
#14 ·
See I disagree with the beater because as an owner image (along with work quality) is huge and ur always a salesman always a marketer no matter were u are or what ur doin so in that sense u want to seem professional. If ur drivin a rust bucket likely your work will be associated in a similar way just my opinion.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#15 ·
If I was in the rust bucket the office was closed. I learned to stop taking calls from customers at 8 PM, I answer my phone from 6:30 to 6. I can agree with the image idea but I don't really go anywhere outside of work. It doesn't work for everyone, but IMHO having that 40k dollar truck loaded with the trailer in the driveway for tomorrow was better than me taking it all over God's creation as a personal vehicle.
 
#17 ·
shoot i have a 97 chevy silverado 1500 with 215k miles and i use it for my personal and work. why have two trucks? I mean I LOVE my truck.

I already have a longblock crate 350 vortec tucked away in my shop, so when my engine blows up (cuz im going to run it until it blows up or gives out) ill just drop 'er in there!

but it runs slick as a whistle right now, as meticulous as I maintain it. I expect to get another 50k miles or more out of that engine.

if your going to run one vehicle for your personal and work, I would really make sure that you are maintaining it very well, i mean you should anyway but that vehicle is your capital; no truck, no income.

For example, I always check my fluids every time i fill up, grease my steering parts, brake parts, or anything with a fitting every other month, I stay on top of my oil, air filter, etc. anytime there is a slightest sign of anything going wrong, I take it to my mechanic ASAP. I also practice preventative parts replacements, because I cannot afford another truck and i also cant afford too much down time.
 
#18 ·
The OP has to travel to his job. I forgot when I started doing this I had a social life :laugh:. This is probably the reason I just drive one of the company trucks home. I drove the truck at first but quickly realized unhitching the trailer to go somwhere, or that most places aren't designed for one ton dumps so I figured buying a cheap ride would help and it did. I had a nice truck for making money and another vehicle for the rest of the time.
 
#19 ·
And I don't always answer my phone too but say ur out takin the kids somewere or shopping etc people see you blah blah u get to talkin he owns a business and wants u to landscape it....that's your image that helped not goin out of your way or anything especially if ur trucks lettered up or has some signage I think
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#21 ·
And I don't always answer my phone too but say ur out takin the kids somewere or shopping etc people see you blah blah u get to talkin he owns a business and wants u to landscape it....that's your image that helped not goin out of your way or anything especially if ur trucks lettered up or has some signage I think
Posted via Mobile Device
Would you take your kids shopping in a one ton dump because it was lettered? I think you're missing the point that there are times I'm working and times when I'm not. At the gorcery store I'm not working, here is my office phone, give me a call and we'll set something up. Like I said, I chose to run two vehicles because putting wasteful mileage on a work truck made no sense, even if it is lettered.
 
#24 ·
How do you write off the gas if it isn't business related? One of my "second vehicles" cost me $300 and I ran it for over 8 months and junked it for $250. Now could I run my business truck for $50 in eight months?
I'm sorry to break this to you, but you are the only one who know's if the gas or diesel you used is work related, there is no way to disprove that it wasn't work related, If you don't want to write off then you don't have to, but there is no way to disprove that it wasn't for work. Its pretty tough for anyone who isn't a first hand account to say you used the gas or diesel for personal use.
 
#25 ·
^^ exactly whose say ur not going to look at a job or running errands some work related I just see the other vehicle as extra insurance extra maintenance wasted space when id rather just have a nice truck to use for both now I have 2 trucks I use my dump for work bc that's not a practical daily driver and I use my other truck for eveything else
Posted via Mobile Device
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top