VW Traton has made a bid for Navistar

ACZL wrote:
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In regards to Daimler/Freightliner, I cannot say they are building the cheapest trucks as all the big semi companies are suffering from the same thing as the big 3 pick-up companies......DEF systems. Have spoken to many and that's the biggest gripe. Reason you may hear/see more Freightliners w/ problems is cuz you see the most of them on the road. Many years ago. International was #1 in pretty much all markets. Freightliner came along with a goal to knock IH off it's #1 perch in same categories. Ford's 6.0 PSD got a lousy rap, but look at how many they sold as well. So while you may see more in way of Freightliner's broke down, they like the RV industry, get/use same vendors for products. and most if not all breakdowns are DEF related.

Most breakdowns are not DEF/SCR related in the class 7-8 truck industry. Most are sensor(NOx, O2, and so on) related which in turn may cause the overuse of the DEF/SCR system. EGR system failures are also high on the list.

However, in terms of being a cheap truck. The reason why Freightliner's are cheap trucks and have very low resale value is because everything around the engine and drivetrain will generally fall apart due to its lower quality materials and poor design in order the keep costs low. You are also limited on how you can spec them because most German manufacturers believe that they make the best product possible and there is no need to improve on what they offer you so you are limited in customization that you can get with other trucks like Peterbilt's and Kenworth's. And I am saying this based on my experience in dealing and negotiating with many German companies such as Bosch, VW, and Continental.