How do I know if I can afford a $67k truck?

Hey OO, you're on the right track. I think it's totally possible for you to make it. Like I say, when I bought my truck, I had no business buying a truck, but it was something I always wanted to do, and I learned fast how to cut corners. Just make sure who ever you pull for is up front, as there are tons of crooks in that business. It's why they don't have their own trucks doing it. I like Hurst's view on this. He's a member of the forum and is pretty sharp. Not sure you can PM him yet, but usually has good advice for an O/O.

 

IMHO starting out with a company such as Landstar especially with virtually no experience as an O/O is taking a massive risk. There are knowledgeable people on here that will tell that the juicy loads at Landstar never even make it to the board.
And looking at what you have stated, having low personal finances, gives me the impression you don't have enough cash in reserve to ride the rough times and/or getting to know the business.
You can't do this on a shoestring budget. Don't even think about buying a cheap truck.
If you want to know about the affordability of buying a truck, a bank can figure that out for you. After all, they will be the ones to lend you the $$. First you will need a great FICO score 700+ in order to get a decent interest rate. For instance Arrow truck sales quoted me 12-20% without even looking at my credit. I said thanks but no thanks. But as a first time buyer, chances are that the bank will need a sizable down. Could be as much as 20% down. Too many trucks have been repo'd because of drivers who have turned out to be poor business people.
Being an O/O has it's allure but don't be fooled. Do your research and visit a couple of banks about financing.
Also check out local credit unions. I financed my first truck with them. You are going to get plenty of conflicting feedback on your situation.
Good luck

 

I didn't want to discourage you with my earlier response but please do your research and make sure you're confident you really want to go this route. It's rough, especially starting out it can be overwhelming if you're not prepared.

 

There's no catch.... If you live in Chattanooga youre in a great spot for freight. What that previous poster said is correct, quite a few loads don't make the board because an agency will call a driver they know and trust to see if he's available for it first. If not him, then another, then another, then they might post it on the board. This is apart of trucking, no different from working with a broker and they offer you the load first before posting it on ITS or TruckersEdge. Once you get to know agencies and their freight tendencies, you could be one of those they call before posting that load on the board.

Also another thing, guys are saying buy a pre-emission truck, have y'all seen the prices on those things lately?? Hoods with a million miles are running around 65K, hell TMC is selling there Petes for 60K. I'm thinking about trading my 06 W9 in with close to a million miles because a dealer told me he would give me 40K for it. The 2013 and ups have gotten better, I wouldnt take my chances with an 08-12 though.

 

Imho I'd suggest staying away from the '08-'12. Either buy newer or older.

 

Hey hawkjr, I see that prices for pre-emission trucks has jumped. Supply and demand, I guess. I think this emission baloney is such a farce, and I guess I'm not the only one.

 

You'll be fine, though I'd choose a different truck. You have great credit and credit lines, so being picky and finding a well maintained older truck 2007 or older should be fairly easy. You need to get a business plan together. In reality, you can afford a brand new truck with a 500,000 mile warranty here, and I'd recommend that over the truck you're asking about, but I think a 20-30k pre-2008 truck with full records is a much easier way to learn. There's less stress to make a payment and you can learn to make better load choices. You should be able to average $2 a mile to the truck with the proper load selections. More revenue, less miles. You're in the heart of the southern auto industry there in Chatt, so I would use that to your advantage. I got a phone call in the middle of the night, empty at Monteagle, to move a die to SC for an unbelievable rate not too long ago.

 

First I meant to say that I wouldn't touch a 08-12, I corrected

[QUOTE="semi" retired;4501429]Hey hawkjr, I see that prices for pre-emission trucks has jumped. Supply and demand, I guess. I think this emission baloney is such a farce, and I guess I'm not the only one.[/QUOTE]

And yeah those prices have jump tremendously. I had a 2012 T660 that i didn't have any problems with. It was a good truck. It just kept having coolant leaks for some reason.