LIVERMORE — Residents voted 15-6 Thursday against buying a low-mileage 2005 Ford F-550, plow truck for $40,000 and buying a new dump body for up to $8,500.

In the same vote, they also rejected selling the town’s 2008 GMC dump truck by bid to pay for the 2005 truck.

Those in favor of the purchase considered it would be an even asset swap. Those against wanted to keep the truck through another winter and not run it too hard.

Clint Boothby moderated the meeting.

The 2008 truck has 33,000 miles, while the 2005 has less than 6,000.

The Road Committee, including David Dion and Jessica Tessier, spoke in favor of buying the Ford F-550, which they considered a good deal. The truck is for sale locally.

Tessier said the 2008 is considered a road hauler and not for plowing snow as it is used by the town now.

Currently the truck is at an Augusta dealership to try to determine the trouble with the automatic transmission, town administrative assistant Kurt Schaub said. There is also a problem with the rear-end, and the wiring harness needs to be repaired because it is chafed in a few spots.

The town has one final payment of $17,563.89 on the truck due in August 2013. When the town bought it in 2008, the truck with all the plowing equipment, dump body and sander cost $84,776.

The title of the truck is not tied to the loan, Schaub said. It is a general purpose loan.

Highway Foreman Roger Ferland said the rear-end in the 2008 has had to be replaced every year. The next time the warranty will have expired, he said.

“Evidently it is not specked out for what we’re using it for,” Ferland said.

The Road Committee is just trying to save taxpayers some money instead of constantly having to have the truck repaired, he said.

The town has a 2001 Ford F-550 that has kept going and going, and is still going, Dion said.

Several people spoke against buying the truck and in favor of keeping the 2008 at least another winter.

Selectperson Peter Castonguay said in his opinion the town is jumping into this if it goes through. He said the F-550 could be a good truck or it could be a bad truck, he has known people that have had both.

The 2005 would come equipped with a plow, wing plow and sander.

Matt Dion, David Dion’s son, said last year the GMC did well on the road and it “pushed some snow.”

Ferland was asked if the GMC would go through another winter.

“It would make it through another year,” he said, but he wants taxpayers to know it will probably need another new rear-end next year.

NOTE: The article has been modified to reflect the correct amount of the estimated cost of a dump body. It was incorrectly reported.

dperry@sunjournal.com