Hi, I was pretty much convinced to buy used Renault Premium truck (2013). They are reasonably priced, look pretty modern and apparently are very good and reliable.
What are your thoughts?
To be fair Pete I’m not sure too many O/D fellas on here run a Premium as most are well established and have “fussy” drivers to consider!!!
I will say this:
I’m near sure there’s VERY little difference between a 2011 Premium and a 2013 model
(Did new T series come out 2014?)
except maybe bitta KMs and defo price!!!
Renault dealers offer some real sharp deals on Premiums on their various in-house “used truck” plans.
Some of those plans even allow you to complete deal then look over truck and give dealer list of “cosmetic” improvements needed on said truck up to certain amount say £2/3k.
There will be “Full driveline” warranties offered too but check small print.
There are also various lease companies in CM advertising fresh Premiums on deals think around £250/290week Inc R&M etc.
On other hand check CVA Auctions etc about country that have batch of Premiums up for bidding,
get there to a few and compare prices/condition etc to forecourt yokes offered by the dealers.
If you lined up a selection of 2011/12 460horse various makes of trucks in yard and asked me to pick one to drive on 1/2 nights out or local work it would be the 460DXi Premium every time for me.
Yes IMHO they really are that good!!!
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Only problem we had was a wiring harness wore through, cost 350 quid to put right @ Renault
I’ve never owned one, but have worked with people who do.
Apart from the usual electrical issues which all trucks seem now to have to a greater or lesser degree, they seem to be quite good. They have a very high content of Volvo componentry, in fact, apart from the rear axle suspension set up, then mechanically they are VOLVOs front to back.
The main difference between the older model and the range T is, I think, that the T is available with the thirteen litre engine, whereas the older Premium used only the eleven litre, a good enough unit, but was pretty much at its limit at 450hp.
One operator I know said he would be reluctant to have another as he had had a lot of fairly major issues with it. He said also, that in fairness, the manufacturer had been very good when it came to resolving problems, and had never once contested a warranty claim.
If you could find one with sensible miles for sensible money, I’m sure it will be fine. However, as Harry Monk and I said in one of the other threads open on this subject, if I were you I would definately go down the route of a lease, with R+M on a used tractor. It’s a big leap into the unknown that you are about to take, and risk management plus the need to preserve your working capital may make the difference between modest success and catastrophe.
Best of luck with it , however you decide to go.
My gaffer is Volvo through and through.
He added/replaced an ageing FH in November 2017, with another 3 year old (V4) one, which had done 750k!!! Cost? £36k. I kid you not. 
Before he bought it, I told him he could have bought 3 late Premiums for that, thus replacing our fleet of 3, but he wasn’t having it. Wouldn’t be so bad, but we rarely do nights out, so the Premium would have been ample. And we have a Renault dealer about 400 yards away.
I have driven Premiums from the 385DCi right through to their demise before the T Range, and never really had any problems with them. As a fleet truck doing a couple of nights out max, running Volvo components, you would be hard pressed to find better.
Just make sure all of the electrics are ok, and watch for panel damage, especially the steps, front bumper and rear air deflectors at the back of the cab. The drivers seat base tends to wear quite quick as well, and the seats themselves get grubby because the colour is light, so buy seat covers. The chassis tends to get surface rust quickly, so a repaint would be handy if you can swing it. The hammock type top bunk is no good if you are a little heavy, and folded away is still in your face when you in the bottom bunk. Put your hand under the material, and push it up to the roof in folded mode, (Through itself.) or opt for the single bed if there is only you.
Some do come with a fridge, so look around for one, but storage is not great. The outside lockers, if you can call them that, are basically pants.
Ken.
we have one here ,it hasn’t been trouble free 560,000kms at present ,
broken wires , water pump, window wiper linkage ,you have to buy complete with motor , window regulator , water header tank ,now needs an intercooer,
this is a one driver truck that is never ran at more than 38t , oily engine in them too , they are cheap as chips for a reason , would I buy another , probably yes total cost of ownership is still ok , if I was starting up on my own I would take a chance on one , £13-£14k will buy you one with 350,00k on it run it for a year and do your sums again , what could you loose , we have daf Scania Volvo and Iveco and the only thing in the yard that beats the premium in running costs is ,Iveco . we can run Iveco 450 -460 bhp here to 1million kms not something I can see the 460 Renault stretching too neither engine or cab ,
our work probably isn’t typical of most peoples as stated 38t max never see a motorway and plenty of b roads ,
as previous poster said the 13lt Volvo in the t cab will be my next Renault , 13lt well on top of the job in the Volvo but the Volvo is plagued by wiring faults again something that may be down to the nature of our work on bad roads .
Thank you very much for all your feedback.
I will be operating from Grays area (still looking for a yard) and there is a Renault dealer on my doorsteps. I think I’ll go for £13-£14k one and Renault said that they can do £175 pm on R&M. That way I can test the waters. New lease will put me back £380 pw but it will lock me in a deal for 3 years.
If everything goes alright I will go for a new rig but I would like to find out if I can earn a living from it first.
Worst case scenario I can always sell it up anytime I want rather than waiting for my lease deal to run out.
At that sort of money, you will get a very late one. Be choosey and have a ■■■■ good look around as there are plenty out there, even if you have to travel.
Keep us posted.
Ken.
The Renault dealer at edge of A1M just past J49 is it heading North■■?
Has pile of fresh looking Premiums,
Bet they’d do a SHARP deal on the mint green ones!!!
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Big Truck:
The Renault dealer at edge on A1M just past J49 is it heading North■■?Has pile of fresh looking Premiums,
Bet they’d do a SHARP deal on the mint green ones!!!Sent from my SM-J500FN using Tapatalk
Thanks for info 
Driver Pete:
Big Truck:
The Renault dealer at edge on A1M just past J49 is it heading North■■?Has pile of fresh looking Premiums,
Bet they’d do a SHARP deal on the mint green ones!!!Sent from my SM-J500FN using Tapatalk
Thanks for info
Think that’s them.[emoji6]
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They are ex Bring at Thompsons…
Ken
Quinny:
They are ex Bring at Thompsons…Ken
I’m looking into Premiums now to expand the fleet, (to a massive two vehicles!) and I’ve told Thompsons I’m not interested in a resprayed green one!
Driver Pete:
Thank you very much for all your feedback.
I will be operating from Grays area (still looking for a yard) and there is a Renault dealer on my doorsteps. I think I’ll go for £13-£14k one and Renault said that they can do £175 pm on R&M. That way I can test the waters. New lease will put me back £380 pw but it will lock me in a deal for 3 years.
If everything goes alright I will go for a new rig but I would like to find out if I can earn a living from it first.
Worst case scenario I can always sell it up anytime I want rather than waiting for my lease deal to run out.
I’ve got a 67 plate T on a lease at £385 a week and its hassle free motoring. But for number two I’m going to need it to be a bit cheaper than that so I’m looking at either a 62/63 plate ex-Wincanton-ish premium or the 2yr/£280 a week deal on a 15 plate T. At that point in the market I would rather get a loan for the unit at around 12k and after two years at £133.84 a week I’ll own it outright.
The one piece of advice I can deffinatley stand behind is that if you have the money to buy outright, keep hold of it and lease. That way if things go badly you have a backup, if you spend it all now and a customer doesn’t pay up, you are sunk before you are properly underway.
nsmith1180:
Quinny:
They are ex Bring at Thompsons…Ken
I’m looking into Premiums now to expand the fleet, (to a massive two vehicles!) and I’ve told Thompsons I’m not interested in a resprayed green one!
Driver Pete:
Thank you very much for all your feedback.
I will be operating from Grays area (still looking for a yard) and there is a Renault dealer on my doorsteps. I think I’ll go for £13-£14k one and Renault said that they can do £175 pm on R&M. That way I can test the waters. New lease will put me back £380 pw but it will lock me in a deal for 3 years.
If everything goes alright I will go for a new rig but I would like to find out if I can earn a living from it first.
Worst case scenario I can always sell it up anytime I want rather than waiting for my lease deal to run out.I’ve got a 67 plate T on a lease at £385 a week and its hassle free motoring. But for number two I’m going to need it to be a bit cheaper than that so I’m looking at either a 62/63 plate ex-Wincanton-ish premium or the 2yr/£280 a week deal on a 15 plate T. At that point in the market I would rather get a loan for the unit at around 12k and after two years at £133.84 a week I’ll own it outright.
The one piece of advice I can deffinatley stand behind is that if you have the money to buy outright, keep hold of it and lease. That way if things go badly you have a backup, if you spend it all now and a customer doesn’t pay up, you are sunk before you are properly underway.
Would you still stand by that advice if you could afford both?
Apart from the fixed costs i see for me personally no benefits of leasing instead of buying
Yes, to my eyes then only drawback with leasing option is the lack of ownership.
Fixed costs are king. It’s so much harder to aim at a moving target.
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I think if I was in nsmiths or the OPs shoes, then leasing has a lot going for it. I have done it way back , but once you can afford it, you’ve got some solid years behind you, there’s nothing like owning a vehicle yourself, and even better if you can cash flow it.
In fairness we did low mileage so we can keep our vehicles longer than most.
The driver gonna be on the new T series or the Premium??
I would advise NOT to “microlise” him/her as you do your operating figures/everyday workings on here!!![emoji848][emoji847][emoji106]
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Big Truck:
The driver gonna be on the new T series or the Premium??I would advise NOT to “microlise” him/her as you do your operating figures/everyday workings on here!!![emoji848][emoji847][emoji106]
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The driver will be in the Premium, at least until I can afford to replace it with a T.
The other thing that I am very much looking into at the moment is putting the owned vehicle on four on four off and running it all week long as I won’t have to worry about mileage limits. My lifestyle wouldn’t be compatible with working 4 on 4 off.
As for my openness, thats set to change anyway. A large part of what prompted me to be so free with the numbers is that there was so little accurate numbers available on the internet for new starters. Yr2 onwards the numbers become a bit more proprietary. I’ll still be more open than most but there are several areas, including the relationship between me and the employee which are not for public eyes.
nsmith1180:
Big Truck:
The driver gonna be on the new T series or the Premium??I would advise NOT to “microlise” him/her as you do your operating figures/everyday workings on here!!![emoji848][emoji847][emoji106]
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The driver will be in the Premium, at least until I can afford to replace it with a T.
The other thing that I am very much looking into at the moment is putting the owned vehicle on four on four off and running it all week long as I won’t have to worry about mileage limits. My lifestyle wouldn’t be compatible with working 4 on 4 off.
As for my openness, thats set to change anyway. A large part of what prompted me to be so free with the numbers is that there was so little accurate numbers available on the internet for new starters. Yr2 onwards the numbers become a bit more proprietary. I’ll still be more open than most but there are several areas, including the relationship between me and the employee which are not for public eyes.
I understand that but I get the feeling via your very informative posts that you may well “smother” a driver when you look at “nitty gritty” daily running figures!!![emoji4]
I would jump at chance to work 4on/4off especially if it could be 2days/2nights similar to “Fireman” shift.
Not many offer it over here in NI and money ain’t good enough for the amount of weekend working.[emoji52]
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I’ve got a 67 plate T on a lease at £385 a week and its hassle free motoring. But for number two I’m going to need it to be a bit cheaper than that so I’m looking at either a 62/63 plate ex-Wincanton-ish premium or the 2yr/£280 a week deal on a 15 plate T. At that point in the market I would rather get a loan for the unit at around 12k and after two years at £133.84 a week I’ll own it outright.
Congratulations on your success as an OD thus far; your cost management to date has certainly been very impressive and is a key component to running any successful business venture!
If you can get a drive for £280 a week – when starting out, why did you not get one of these to drive yourself? Naturally, it is not as luxurious as the T range but purely on a financial basis it would save you £5040 pa?
When you get the second truck on the road, will the driver be subbing or will you look for your own account work?
Thank you for your openness and contributions on this forum to date and good luck!