Commercial trucking is an unforgiving, capital-intensive business where the difference between profit and loss can come down to pennies per mile. Whether you manage a national fleet of 1,000 tractors or you’re an entrepreneurial driver who wants to set out on your own, equipment procurement decisions today can impact your balance sheet for years to come. 

A new Class 8 long-haul tractor can cost more than $200,000, which can be a big investment for smaller fleets or owner-operators. A used semitruck can cost 80% less, depending on its condition. But what’s the trade-off, and how does the secondary commercial truck market work?

Weighing the TCO trade-offs: New vs. used Class 8 trucks

This Fleets Explained entry dives into the used commercial vehicle market and how it impacts the U.S trucking industry. Below, we look at how used commercial equipment cycles through the transportation industry and how that affects a fleet’s bottom line as equipment depreciates and maintenance costs drive total cost of ownership (TCO). Operators can find used commercial trucks through various channels, and there are several things to consider when shopping for that equipment.

Commercial vehicle economics: Upfront capital, depreciation, and the 12% FET

What is the 12% Federal Excise Tax on used commercial trucks?

The Federal Excise Tax (FET) is a statutory tax provision (first created to help fund World War I) that levies a 12% tax strictly on the first retail sale of heavy-duty commercial chassis, truck tractors, and trailers. The FET is one of the oldest and most enduring taxes in the U.S., and it’s one reason many smaller carriers operate older equipment longer. The 12% tax applies to new Class 8 trucks and tractors with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) exceeding 33,000 lb.; it also applies to new commercial trailers exceeding 26,000 lb. GVWR. 

The 12% assessment is levied on the final transaction price, including factory options, dealer-installed accessories, and body upfits delivered before initial highway service. For a new Class 8 long-haul aerodynamic sleeper tractor retailing between $190,000 and $225,000, the FET adds $22,800 to $27,000 to a new truck’s sticker price.

The FET liability doesn’t apply to used commercial equipment. A carrier that purchases a 4-year-old Class 8 tractor for $70,000 doesn’t have federal tax (but state taxes and titling taxes could apply). For startup motor carriers, independent owner-operators, or growing private fleets looking to deploy multiple power units without taking on massive debt, eliminating the pricey federal tax can mean more operational liquidity.

Understanding commercial vehicle depreciation mechanics

Under normalized market conditions, commercial tractors are depreciating capital assets. According to Steve Tam, VP and analyst at ACT Research, secondary truck values historically maintain a consistent relationship with new equipment prices. 

“Every new truck sale, all other things being equal, results in a used truck trade,” Tam explained during an ACT Research event in 2025. “If we didn’t have a used truck market, new truck buyers would be much more reticent to buy new trucks. They have that sense of remaining economic life and an outlet to sell, which adds value when negotiating their next purchase. Historically, if you take all Class 8 used truck sales data across all makes, models, specs, and ages, used pricing runs in a very tight band of about 30% to 35% of the new truck price.”

In a typical operating environment, Class 8 tractors depreciate at an average rate of 1.5% to 2% per month, equating to an annual residual value loss of roughly 18% to 24%. That relationship, however, was disrupted between 2020 and 2022 as pandemic-fueled supply chain bottlenecks and semiconductor shortages sharply curtailed new truck production just as spot freight rates surged. Unable to secure factory build slots, carriers turned to the secondary market to acquire capacity.

By early 2022, used Class 8 truck values roughly doubled from baseline levels. Late-model sleepers with 450,000 miles routinely commanded $175,000—selling above their original brand-new invoice price, or roughly 125% of new truck benchmark pricing.

The market then entered an extended 30-month downturn from mid-2022 through late 2024, characterized by falling spot freight rates, high operating costs, and carrier bankruptcies. Notably, Yellow Corp’s insolvency (then the largest less-than-truckload carrier in North America) released about 30,000 day cabs and trailers into remarketing channels. While a bulk of Yellow’s aging equipment went to driver schools and Latin American markets, the additional used inventory extended the market absorption timeline. 

By early 2025, used commercial vehicle pricing reached a cyclical bottom and began a sustained recovery, establishing a higher valuation floor than previous cycles. Based on general information available in late 2026, here is a look at how new and used Class 8 truck costs compare:

Maintenance and efficiency penalty: Balancing TCO

How do used truck operating costs compare to new trucks?

Used commercial trucks assume significantly higher operating costs per mile than new trucks, according to the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). Rising repair and maintenance expenses, higher roadside breakdown risk, and reduced fuel efficiency mainly drive this.

While used vehicles provide substantial savings on Day One, operating expenditures follow the opposite trajectory. ATRI’s annual carrier benchmarking report, An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking, documents this dynamic. 

ATRI’s operational benchmarking shows that average marginal trucking costs rose to $2.336 per mile—with non-fuel operational expenses climbing to a record $1.854 per mile—in 2025. Across the trucking industry, repair and maintenance expenses increased to 21.9 cents per mile.

For carriers running new Class 8 tractors under factory warranty, maintenance expenses typically range from 12 to 14 cents per mile. Those costs primarily cover preventive fluid changes, filtration, tires, and brake wear. 

Base warranties typically expire when an over-the-road tractor crosses 400,000 miles and four years of highway operation. At this point, carriers assume full financial responsibility for mechanical wear across critical systems: turbochargers, diesel particulate filters (DPF), fuel injectors, water pumps, air compressors, and eventually full in-frame engine overhauls.

Older heavy-duty equipment with 500,000 to 750,000 miles on the odometer can see maintenance costs climb to 24 to 28 cents per mile, according to ATRI. At 100,000 operating miles annually, that gap creates about $10,000 to $14,000 more in maintenance costs per truck. 

Along with additional shop maintenance, aging trucks are more likely to face unplanned roadside failures. ATRI’s operational analysis notes that breakdowns, emergency towing services, freight redirection, and missed shipper delivery windows can cost fleets $1,200 to $1,800 per incident in lost productivity and direct expenses.

Used semi trucks: Fuel efficiency, drivetrain gap, and manual transmissions

Fuel is one of the highest marginal line-item costs in commercial trucking. Since 2018, heavy-duty OEMs rolled out integrated powertrains, downsped engines, automated manual transmissions (AMT), and optimized aerodynamics. New equipment in 2027 will feature even more efficient powertrains that meet long-awaited stringent federal emissions standards.

While Model Year 2027 equipment is yet to hit the road (beyond some testing and pilot programs), a well-driven 2026 Class 8 tractor can average 8.2 to 9 miles per gallon (mpg) with standard highway payloads. In contrast, a 2018 tractor operating in the secondary market typically gets 6.5 to 7.2 mpg. At 100,000 annual miles and diesel averaging $5.50 per gallon, losing just 1.5 mpg could add more than $12,000 to annual fuel expenses.

Transmission specifications also impact operational flexibility. Today, AMTs account for roughly 92% of new commercial truck builds. Most large carriers have moved exclusively to AMTs, which can reduce driver fatigue from gear shifting and simplify operations. More new commercial drivers are also trained on AMTs.

In the used truck market, older units equipped with manual transmissions can shrink a fleet’s driver pool. But some trucking operations still prefer manual transmissions over the modern AMTs.

“If you’re in West Texas where the oil field is active, manual transmissions are on fire,” Josh Sluder, dealer development director at Integrity Truck Sales, said last year during an ACT Research seminar on the truck market. “Automated transmissions dominate the big fleets, but there are still specialized vocational applications that will pay a premium for a clean 10-speed or 13-speed manual truck.”

Active safety and insurance considerations for used truck buyers

New commercial vehicles are packed with sophisticated ADAS, such as fused radar-and-camera collision mitigation braking, active lane tracking, blind spot detection, adaptive cruise control, and more.

Older used vehicles that have some safety technology usually have first-generation radar units prone to false alarms. Many lack active braking systems. Operating equipment without the active safety architecture now common across North America increases a fleet’s collision exposure, directly impacting commercial auto liability insurance premiums. This cost center averages 9.9 to 12 cents per mile across ATRI’s fleet benchmarks.

How to find used trucks: Retail, wholesale, auctions, and exports

Commercial vehicles flow through four distinct remarketing channels: franchises and independent retail dealerships, wholesale brokerages, public auctions, and international export channels. Each offers varying levels of reconditioning, pricing, and warranty protection. 

Here is a look at the four primary ways commercial trucking equipment changes hands:

1. Retail dealerships

Franchised OEM dealer networks and independent retail dealerships are the most common first stop for a used Class 8 truck. Retail dealers acquire off-lease fleet inventory or trade-ins and invest in reconditioning the vehicle before resale.

Warren Auwae, veteran commercial dealership executive with Velocity Vehicle Group, described the retail preparation process during the same 2025 ACT Research seminar:

“We regionalize our reconditioning and spend heavily on frontline preparation down to new tires, mechanical overhauls, and interior cosmetics,” Auwae said. “That is why 100% of our frontline trucks leave with a minimum 30-day warranty. The largest percentage of mechanical failures happen early on in a new owner’s tenure, and having verified condition and warranty backing gives buyers confidence.”

2. Wholesale brokerages

Wholesale dealers operate as business-to-business liquidity facilitators, purchasing packages of 10, 25, or 100 trucks from large fleets, leasing companies, or OEM remarketing arms.

Wholesalers do not recondition equipment; assets trade strictly “as is, where is.” Wholesale brokers operate on tighter margins, distributing blocks of vehicles to retail dealerships that handle local mechanical prep, cosmetic repairs, and final retail sales.

3. Public auctions

Commercial auctions run by firms such as Ritchie Bros. and Taylor & Martin use an absolute, no-reserve bidding model. Unlike passenger vehicle auctions that feature dealer-only lanes and reserve minimums, heavy-duty commercial equipment auctions sell each asset to the highest bidder on sale day. 

Steve Oliver, national sales director at Taylor & Martin, highlights the three core principles of commercial auctions:

“Our sales are built around the three Vs: volume, value, and variety,” Oliver said during the ACT Research seminar. “Our auctions are open to the public, bringing the retail end-user directly into the bidding pool alongside wholesale dealers. Buyers participate because there is a genuine opportunity for value, while sellers achieve immediate liquidity and clean balance sheet disposition.”

Auctions offer snapshots of market pricing. When freight rates or fuel costs shift, price adjustments appear first at auctions. However, auction purchases carry elevated risk: Assets sell without mechanical warranties, making thorough pre-sale visual and operational inspections critical. 

4. International export markets

Aged, high-mileage, or emissions-obsolete commercial trucks don’t get left in the junkyard if they can still run—they just leave the U.S. Some 15,000 to 20,000 used Class 8 vehicles are exported to secondary markets in Mexico and Central America. Many export destinations lack ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) or diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) infrastructure, creating steady demand for older, mechanically simpler pre-emissions tractors or units modified for international service.

Market cycles, trade strategies, and regulatory shocks

Why are late-model 4-year-old used trucks in high demand?

Late-model 4-year-old used commercial trucks are seeing higher market valuation due to the production echo of the 2021 pandemic supply chain bottlenecks, which curtailed Class 8 vehicle production. 

Commercial equipment replacement operates on multiyear cycles, but trade timelines differ significantly among carriers. Large for-hire truckload carriers typically rotate equipment on a three- to five-year schedule to cycle out trucks before base factory warranties expire.

Conversely, private fleets often operate equipment on five- to eight-year cycles. Because private fleets (non-trucking companies that use trucks to move their own products or assets, such as retailers, construction companies, home services, and foodservice) typically run fewer highway miles and treat transportation as a customer-service cost center rather than a profit center, they amortize capital investments over a longer operating window.

Because commercial vehicle manufacturing plummeted in 2021, the market experienced a supply shortage of clean, 4-year-old off-lease equipment. 

As Integrity Truck Sales’s Sluder pointed out last year: “The traditional rule of thumb in used equipment used to be ‘4 years old, 400,000 miles, $40,000. That benchmark is gone. If you have a clean, late-model, low-mileage tractor today, you set the market. We are seeing $5,000 to $10,000 premiums on that vintage because fleets are competing for a limited supply of quality off-lease trucks. 

Regulatory pressures: EPA 2027 and trade policy

Looking ahead, emissions regulations continue to shape secondary market valuations. The EPA 2027 heavy-duty low-NOx rule mandates more than an 80% reduction in allowable nitrogen oxide emissions. The new regulations initially required OEMs to offer even longer warranties. But the Trump-era Environmental Protection Agency proposed rolling back those Biden-era expanded warranties before 2027. Even without the longer warranties, a Model Year 2027 Class 8 truck base price is expected to cost $8,000 to $12,000 more per unit. 

Historically, major emissions rule changes—such as EPA 2004, EPA 2007, and EPA 2010—sparked substantial fleet prebuy cycles as carriers purchased late-model current-generation equipment to avoid the higher prices of newer, unproven engine technologies. 

Regulation uncertainty in 2025 and early 2026, however, left fleets unsure if EPA 2027 would roll out as envisioned. By the time the federal government provided enough clarity in mid-2026, most build slots were spoken for. By Labor Day, all remaining 2026 prebuy options were exhausted, according to the two primary North American OEM research firms, ACT Research and FTR Transportation Intelligence.

Trade policy adds another layer of market impact. ACT’s Tam pointed out that used commercial vehicles can serve as an economic buffer during periods of international trade friction, such as the Trump tariffs.

“Used trucks are directly insulated from import tariffs and first-retail taxes,” Tam told FleetOwner. “If new vehicles face tariffs or regulatory cost increases, used trucks become a natural safe harbor for buyers trying to manage capital expenditures. That shifts demand straight into a fixed secondary supply environment, applying upward pressure to secondary truck pricing.”

Do your homework: Inspecting and vetting a pre-owned Class 8 truck

Buying used commercial trucks based on exterior paint and a short test drive can create significant financial exposure. For example, engine replacements can exceed $40,000, and aftertreatment rebuilds run $8,000 to $12,000.

Professional fleet maintenance managers and experienced used truck buyers rely on three diagnostic procedures: 

• Engine control module (ECM) diagnostic interrogation: Technicians connect OEM diagnostic software to extract operating data. The ECM report details lifetime fuel consumption, total engine idle hours, average operating speed, hard-braking events, and active or historical diagnostic trouble codes (DTC). Comparing engine hours to odometer mileage helps identify high stationary idle time—an operating condition that accelerates engine component wear and loads exhaust aftertreatment systems without accumulating highway miles.
• Laboratory fluid spectrometry: Sending engine oil, transmission fluid, and coolant samples for laboratory analysis identifies trace contaminants and internal wear metals. Elevated iron points to cylinder liner or camshaft wear; copper indicates rod bearing degradation; and aluminum suggests piston scuffing. Detecting glycol in the oil flags internal head-gasket or EGR cooler leaks, while raw diesel dilution points to failing fuel injector tips.
• Exhaust aftertreatment and DPF evaluation: Emissions systems remain a common source of roadside fault codes. Technicians should inspect the diesel particulate filter (DPF) core for thermal cracking, review soot and ash accumulation cycles, execute a forced stationary regeneration to measure differential exhaust backpressure, and verify NOx conversion efficiency across SCR sensors.

Also evaluate secondary warranty coverage. If the equipment is three to five years old, it might still carry OEM powertrain or emissions warranties that can be transferred to a secondary buyer for an administrative fee.

After factory warranties expire, some dealers offer 30- to 90-day base warranties and partner with third-party service providers to offer extended powertrain, turbocharger, and aftertreatment protection. Adding warranty coverage to financing packages protects working capital during the vulnerable early months of operation. 

With smart planning and budgeting, a used truck can become a profit center for the right owner-operator or fleet if they are willing to trade some long-term efficiency for a lower upfront investment. But also knowing when to put your used equipment on the secondary market and move to something newer can make a big difference in trucking operations and TCO.