Before you buy a 2004 Freightliner Columbia truck in Uganda

by Edwin

The Freightliner Columbia is a medium duty truck designed for short or regional transportation. The vehicle has a highly versatile character and can cope with various medium duty jobs. At the moment the truck is sold in South Africa, New Zeeland and Australia.

Before you buy a 2004 Freightliner Columbia truck in Uganda

Designed to for construction or short haul applications, the Freightliner Columbia offers a light tare weight and ideal axle positioning, being available in 6x4, 8x4 and 10x4 configurations for construction work, and 4x2 or 6x4 for distribution jobs. Furthermore there is also the option of a Day Cab or a 34” Mid-Roof Sleeper.

Under the hood, the Freightliner Columbia is equipped with a Cummins ISLe5 engine which delivers a maximum output of up to 400 hp and 1,254 lb-ft of torque. Thanks to its powerful engine and the solid chassis the Freightliner Columbia can be rated to 40,000 kg Gross Combination Mass.

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Buying a foreign used 2004 Freightliner Columbia truck from a local Ugandan car bond

You can find car bonds in Uganda specifically within Kampala from which you can buy your Freightliner Columbia. There also some car bonds that can avail you with strong hauling trucks in Uganda such as the Freightliner Columbia.

However, you have to do good research in order to find a reputable car bond or dealer who will be able to provide you with the truck that will meet your needs and above all genuinely imported machinery into Uganda. You also to make sure that that the equipment has been thoroughly inspected, expertly repaired and backed by extended coverage options so that you're assured of the highest quality, productivity and availability.

You need to look out for prices and discounts. Local car bonds may not charge the same prices for the same truck. Prices of a Freightliner Columbia may be affected by mileage of the truck, condition of the truck, model, and year of manufacture.

A Freightliner Columbia in a good condition can have a price of around USD 50,000 that is approximately 180,000,000 Ushs or above depending on your dealer. So this will also imply that you have to do thorough research and find an amicable truck dealer to sell you one that is in good condition.

Importing a foreign Used 2004 Freightliner Columbia truck from Japan or other parts of the world

In case if you prefer to import your own Freightliner Columbia from say Japan, things change a bit. First it would require you to find a trusted dealer or seller in that regard, determine your specific car features and requirements, expected budget you plan to spend on buying the car and well calculated taxes to be paid to the tax authorities in order to clear Freightliner Columbia.

Although Freightliner Columbia are distributed and sold worldwide, they are mainly sold in Europe. You can get them in South Africa, the USA, Britain, Germany and other countries within Europe. So in case you feel like importing one for yourself, at least those countries mentioned above shouldn’t miss on your list.

It is also very important to examine the truck upon arrival to check and see if all the Freightliner Columbia are included in the Freightliner Columbia it was shown to you before buying it.

The taxes charged by the Uganda Revenue Authority include Import Duty, Value added (VAT), Withholding Tax, Environmental Levy, Infrastructure Levy, and Registration Fees basing on the CIF of the Freightliner Columbia.

On arrival to Kampala, Uganda, you will have to clear the taxes at the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), apply and pay for a number plate and then the third party license.

General 2004 Freightliner Columbia truck reviews for Uganda

As most models in Freightliner’s lineup the Columbia comes with a conventional cab configuration which sets the base for an aerodynamic design. When designing the Columbia, the company’s engineers have paid maximum attention to aerodynamics; hence the truck received a pretty slippery shape with clean surfaces and curved lines.

The Columbia features a lightweight aluminium cab, which besides the fact that maximizes payload it’s also more durable than the conventional steel cabs, as it can’t be attacked by rust.

The front grille features the common Freightliner design with a shiny treatment and horizontal thin strips. The main headlights have a vague petal shape but they fail to gel well with the rest of the body and they look a bit out of place.

The wraparound bumper is as rugged as it can be and features a solid construction being ready to go head to head with harsh working conditions. It’s also made of free pieces which makes it easy and cheap to replace.

To improve the front road visibility, the Freightliner Columbia’s hood is slightly raked, while the windscreen is also fairly big offering a wide angle of visibility.

You can climb inside without too many problems as the vehicle seats pretty low from the ground and the footsteps and handles are ergonomically placed.

Once inside, you’re welcomed by a fairly spacious cab and the common curved dashboard that can be found at most of today’s trucks. But while we like the overall ergonomy and the driver friendly interior, we can’t say that we’re big fans of the cheap materials and the poor fittings. Moreover, the doors jams do not seem tight and the overall refinement isn’t exactly first class.

Fortunately all controls are placed within easy reach, but we find the dash a bit cluttered and misleading.

Ride and handling: The truck is fitted with standard parabolic taper leaf springs, but there is also an air suspension available for the rear axle. This suspension configuration offers a pretty harsh ride as the truck finds it hard to keep the biggest road bumps outside the cab.

On the other hand we like that despite the tall stance, body roll is perfectly kept in check and the truck’s overall road manners are pretty good.

The steering is well weighted and offers an adequate feedback at both low and high speeds.

Our Verdict

The Freightliner Columbia is a fairly practical workhorse which is able to make a compelling case for itself. It’s available in a wide range of models with different chassis and cabin configurations and its lineup of engines is also pretty wide.

The ride and handling are average being at par with what you’ll usually find in this segment.

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