Why would anyone get into a lease purchase????

Can you make more money running your own truck? Yes. Will you make more money? Maybe. It's a big maybe too. $4-10k/wk gross is a pretty big swing there. If it's closer to $10k, sure, it's worth the hassle. Even after expenses you'll never make that kind of money driving a truck for somebody else. But those are probably not typical weeks either, and if they are they won't be for long...there's always a downturn in freight right around the corner. If it's only like $4-5k/week, yes you're still taking home more than an $80k/yr job after expenses, but not a whole lot more, and that's not money you can spend like a W2 paycheck either, so you're probably living on about the same amount of money as the well-paid company guy is. As a small business owner, you'll be paying yourself a salary out of your revenue for the week/month whether you consciously realize it or not, but most of that money has to go back into the kitty to fund operating expenses, maintenance/repair bills, and of course your tab with the IRS and state at the end of the year. (At least if you're smart and want to stay in business most of that money goes into the business account and stays there.) Well paid company guy doesn't have to worry about any of that stuff...they even deduct your taxes and you usually get a refund at tax time for cyrin' out lout. That'll never happen running your own truck. But most importantly the company guy doesn't have the truck to worry about. That's a whole new level of responsibility and financial liability that will really smack you in the face if you aren't prepared for it. Even if you are, like I said you might think it's fun for a couple or a few years and then realize it's kind of wearing you down a little bit being a 1-man show and possibly not worth the hassle if the money's not "enough better" than a good company job. But I wish you luck and don't mean to rain on your parade. Just a different perspective and some things to think about.

 

The 4K-10k range is because it comes down to if you run under your own authority or lease on to a company if you’re in a bad freight area and take regular home time. If you choose the company route it’ll depend on the company are you being paid by mileage? Or percentage? Or salaried? The lowest I was told was at JB Hunt for a salaried O/O account $2500 wkly that’s before truck payments, fixed fees, fuel, taxes, etc once I did the math I realized I’d bring home that’s less than company pay that’s if I brought anything home. Schneider from my understanding average is $3500-4500 Wkly but they’re no longer percentage based everything is like a secret the pay you see on their board is what will be put in your account. The company I’m signing on to is 80% if I use their trailer 85% if I don’t. I was quoted the average pay I can expect for where I live and if I do my 34hr reset at home I can expect to make 6k-7k with really good weeks in the 8k-9k range. Of course I have payments, expenses, plus money being put in an escrow and maintenance account plus I’m putting away 25% of my net after expenses for taxes so every week about 2k-2500 comes out of my check After I take out the company’s 20% that leaves me with 2600-3300 being my take home wkly not bad at all for a 24yr old without kids just rent (which is split between my partner and I) a car note and car insurance

 

... Because a business owner isn't going to be making an interest free loan to the government.

Neither will a smart employee, but most don't understand that the refund is the government giving their own money back to them.

 

I'd get back around $1000 or less from the IRS when I had a 65-70k/yr job. Not enough to get worked up about (less than $100/mo), but enough to be a nice little bonus and incentive to get the taxes done quick. It's also nice as a W2 guy to be able to do your taxes in about 20 minutes with TurboTax for practically free with minimal risk of ever getting audited. With the standard deduction being so high now, hardly anyone itemizes now and it's super easy. Running your own truck, tax time is a bit of a headache and is one more reason why it really needs to pay to be worth the trouble. And you're on the hook for 100% of the payroll taxes don't forget. And there's no benefits, 401k, workman's comp...that's all on you, as is the replacement cost of the truck when it's time for a new one. So it's difficult to compare apples to apples with company driver's vs owner operators and I suspect a big part of the profit margin in the rest of the industry relies on owner operators running their equipment too cheap. Big companies don't generally make that mistake. They have bean counters that crunch the numbers who don't even care what the inside of a truck looks like.

 

So for those who are in leases, or those who are ok with leases. Who would you go with and why. ? I ask because i see some companies with what I think is ridiculous leases, but I have never leased a truck before. A "PRIME" example is being into a lease well over $1000 a week (after all the stuff they add on ) . Like I said I dont know anything about leasing a truck but $4500 a month (or whatever it runs) before you even put a drop of fuel in the truck seems crazy to me.

 

And there in lies a mindset difference. You see a tax refund as a bonus.

I find the idea of paying close to $100 a month, just so I can get it back as a "bonus", after filing paper work, to be demeaning.

 

1. JRV
2. F2F
3. Landstar
Main reason my truck isn’t leased through them. So no chances of being sabotaged at the end of my lease. Second reason with the first 2 I get to pick my own freight off any load boards of my choosing. And get 80% of all of my loads. Landstar because they have a good reputation among L/O and O/O and I heard their load board is pretty good and no trailer rental fee.

 

Landstar's trailer rental is a cut in percentage.

 

Leasing lets you see what it's like to own a truck before buying one and can offer more money than company positions, thus allowing a person to save up to buy their own truck.

The 2.5 years I leased between JCT and TransAm let me pay off some old large debts, give money to my mother to pay off some of her old large debts, help get a desperately needed new roof for her house and some new major appliances, and put a 20% down payment on the truck I bought at the end of 2019. It honestly worked out very good for both of us. Took both of us from living paycheck to paycheck barely able to pay bills due to the interest on old debts to not having to worry about living expenses.

Granted that's not typical, you have to be willing to work hard and actually save your money. Two things not commonly seen in today's society.

 

Dream big now, soon as the next down cycle hits which will be sooner than later, most of them will be shattered. Folks are gonna be slapped into reality quickly.