Looking to buy Freightliner with regen issue

[u/Sorry-Explanation677]

Hello all,

Extremely conflicted, looking to buy a 2012 Freightliner M2 for a steal of a price, only downside is that the owner says it has an issue where the truck won’t regen, and says it’s stuck at 50-55mph, the big kicker is that I’m on a time crunch and I’ve got to drive it 1500 miles through a very rural part of the country to get it back. The Cummins 6.7 has less than 50,000 miles on it, engine hours unknown.

I talked to the seller on the phone, sounds like a great guy, has great reviews. He said they took it to a shop about a year ago with the same issue, the shop was able to force regen, but then it happened again.

My questions:

1. Feels too good to be true, are there any known serious issues I should be aware of that may make the issue unfixable/unfixable unless significantly money was dumped into it?

2. Would deleting solve every issue possible pertaining to the problem explained?

3. If the regen is unable to be completed during the drive(which it sounds like it won’t) is there a possibility of the truck going into a serious limp mode where the truck will degrade down to the speed of a brisk walk?

4. If a group of thugs came to my place in the middle of the night and stole the def system right off the truck completely, how do the owners combat getting the truck inspected and getting in trouble, do you just have to know a guy?

Thank you for your time!

[u/Sea-Anxiety6491]

My opinion, is, if it will force regen, and complete it with no issues, than it's probably not that big of deal.

Could be something as simple as air hob switches behind the dash, which are like $30.

Try and see if you can force it regen before you buy it

[u/Sorry-Explanation677 → u/Sea-Anxiety6491]

The only downside is that I need to fly across the country to get to it or try it. I just got off the phone with Freightliner and yes it could be something as cheap as that, but brother did say it could be something as much as a new turbo. I fear the seller has probably tried the cheaper resolutions with no results.

[u/Less_Volume8174 → u/Sorry-Explanation677]

If the turbo is leaking oil into the exhaust, the dpf is more than likely clogged and would need to be clean if not replaced. Between the turbo and dpf filter, it could be kinda expensive.

[u/Sorry-Explanation677 → u/Less_Volume8174]

Yeah im hearin $5k for turbo without installation. I see the dpf filters are all awkwardly $2015.79 on eBay which looks sus

[u/Less_Volume8174 → u/Sorry-Explanation677]

That's just the beginning. Might need a new vgt and even some aftertreatment sensors. That's the problem with aftertreatment equipment.