How do I Buy a truck?

Walmart trucks would be an exception to that. They maintain them very well. That said it's still an emissions queen plastic truck. I wouldn't pay a premium for one (or any truck!) but I imagine they probably do command one compared to your typical used fleet units for sale. Otherwise I suggest OP go get his head examined.

Expenses have doubled in the past 5 years. Rates are lower than the lows people complained about 10 years ago. It's a story as old as trucking. Sound like a good business to get into when you're not even thinking about the business part? I mean anyone can own and drive a truck.

 

I owned a truck for around 6 years. Now I’m working for someone, but if I went back to it I believe I would be very interested in leasing a truck from a dealer or something like that. Not a lease purchase from a trucking company of course. A full service lease would make for a much less stressful operation I believe. Also it’s more tax deduction, so I think it would help on taxes quite a bit. Just something to think about.

The company I work for leases from Ryder and knowing you won’t have any big repair costs, plus being put in a loaner if your truck goes in the shop is a pretty good deal I believe.

 

I don't understand them either. Either this person is a fancy troll, or really is looking into all aspects. We've heard from them on a number of subjects, and that's great, but I'd hoped they got the message by now, that buying a truck is a bad idea. They have been here 10 years, and should know better by now, in fact, why would they ask such a seemingly silly question? Sorry to be gruff, but PAY ATTENTION. The world is a mess, and trucking leads the heap. How can you ignore the fact 88,000 trucking firms went under in 2024( a number I still can't believe), please pay more attention to what's going on, eh?

 

Get a Rig Dig Report on any truck you're interested in. Compare it to other trucks with the same specs on platforms such as Truck Paper. Hire a certified mechanic to inspect any truck that you're serious about buying. The few hundred bucks you pay a mechanic is nothing compared to the misery you will face if you buy a truck with issues that a mechanic would catch. Stay away from trucks that you cannot inspect or road test. Find a truck that was sold by the dealership that is selling it used. Ask to talk to the original owner.

Do not be seduced by chrome!

 

I knew this thread would be interesting just by the title alone. Certain topics get people upset. Like diving into an O/O situation without any plan.."How do I do it?" Lol

 

It's not really about how much time, it's about how much knowledge. I've known guys with a year under their belt that made an earnest go of it and guys with decades behind the wheel that still aren't ready.

Can you tell us how many miles you drove, how much fuel you put in the truck, and average price per gallon during your time with Schneider? Without looking it up, can you explain IFTA? Do you know what permits you need? Again, without looking it up - how much does a B PM cost, how much do tires cost, and average labor cost?

If you can't, then you're definitely not ready.

Blair has an all in operating cost of $1.45 a mile and revenue of $2.75 (if I remember correctly). I have some quibbles with his number. The first is that Blair is running paid off equipment and isn't accounting for replacement costs in his cost per mile. From an accounting standpoint, that's fine. Me, I like to add in those things. The other problem being that he drives like 5 miles a week. I'm not knocking it, but he has worked long and hard to get himself into a position to run value freight and can afford to sit and wait for loads that are worth running. But it does skew the numbers a little bit. Depending on who you ask, average cost per mile is between $1.50 and $1.75, not counting driver pay. New operators will have higher costs, so I would be planning on at least $1.65 a mile. Spot market is sitting a little over $2 a mile. 35-50 cents per mile isn't much to live on.

You think the bottom is about in - it's not. Class 8 truck orders are down, trailer orders are down, hiring is down - all that indicates the bottom hasn't been reached. While 88,000 carriers have gone inactive/out of business, there are still more active carriers now than in 2022. Lots of guys coming in thinking they can grind through the present until things pick up. So even when freight volumes pick up rates are going to be slow to follow because of all the excess capacity (incidentally, freight volume is still not all that bad) .

A final thought - almost no one has thought you buying a truck is a good idea. A couple tepid "if you're going to do it, do it this way", but most have said it's a bad idea.

 

That's the paradox. If you're asking "How do I buy a truck?" "How do I find loads?" "Should I buy a truck?" then that's prima facie evidence that you aren't ready in the slightest.

 

Man yall a bunch of Debbie Downers in here. I say do it. Find a truck that you like the looks of that runs and drives and plunk down your cash. Only way you gonna find out what's what. Best of Luck.

 

The company I drive for also leases some of their trucks from Ryder. In fact I’m in a 2025 International LT from them. I picked it up on 12/1/24 with 638 miles on the odometer. I have absolutely no idea what the costs are, but I’m sure they got a volume discount on 5-year leases for a considerable number of trucks. I know one of the things they considered is that Ryder has shops in/near every major city and a lot of mid-sized ones. With my previous truck over six years I’ve had breakdowns repaired in Springfield, MO, Texarkana, TX, Shreveport, LA, and Hammond, LA, and tires replaced at a few locations. I THINK that the repairs, tires, batteries, and oil change/service are included in the price of the lease, but I could be mistaken.

Again, I have no idea how much the lease costs, possibly more than the cost of a new truck purchase. I don’t know because I’m very much happy being a company driver and letting someone else worry about it.

 

You are kidding?

You have a long way to go to be an O/O.

A long way.

My expenses are over a buck, and I am cut to the bone.