I can't believe that person is still employed. On fleet trucks the only real way to keep them on the road (and hence, making money) is to do preventive maintenance. I had a buddy that owned about ten semis that hauled steel in the NW Indiana area on local routes, so a couple loads per day loaded to the max weight limit of the roads. He said that a single day of not hauling loads on a single semi ended up costing him around $300-350 in lost income, AFTER all the bills and payrolls were paid.
Tell me any normal maintenance such as oil and trans fluid changes that will cost a business owner that does their own maintenance that much?? Now, add a trans rebuild and multiple downtime days together because of skimping on preventive maintenance... $15-20k realized loss to the business easily. Per truck. Adds up quick!