Which would you choose?

Hey :
From a long time O/Os look at this. No matter what truck you choose from THEM you have a very long road ahead of you...

Go to the Bank and buy a truck... Then lease it were there is some money involved.
You are renting that truck and may never own it.. Hope you are not married. You won't be long..

Ask O/Os that have been out here a little longer before you Jump into this.. It was already said and he was right..
There are very few lease to own deals out there that you will come out on top of ..
I have owned and paid for 5 trucks now and now have my 6th one.
Never have I leased one like you are about to do. But I know many that have and lost their butts.

A little more time under your belt may be needed also.
The correct term for what you are contemplating is "Lease operator" Not O/O...... Unless you get a "Walk away lease" I would have nothing to do with it..

 

Hi, i'm quite new to the board and was looking to speak to someone or if you know anyone in this board that has experience with or has test driven the Navistar 2010 Maxxforce engines. Thanks in advance

 

if you don't listen to me , it's okay, but please listen to the other 10 guys telling you not to lease a truck from swift. nothing wrong with swift, ??????????????????????????????, never been there. but never , never, never lease where you work , or #### where you eat. it will more than likely not work out. don't make their truck payment for them. buy you a truck and lease it to them , if you like, but please don't put it all together. operate your business as a business. if you don't have enough money to do a down , somewhere, then wait. save some more money. go at this as a business, have operating capitol set aside. running money , some call it. they will control your every move because they know you have no , and i do mean , no choice. free advice and worth every penny. johnny

 

The point of the lease programs is to put the responsibility for that truck into the driver's hands, you can't be called an owner/operator per say because the truck is still owned by the company you work for, however the truck is leased in your name (at least it is through my company) so it is your truck and you can do with it what you choose as long as it is within the boundaries of the lease agreement. If you lease through your company there will be stipulations on what you haul and how you do it. You are still bound to the same requirements and responsibilities as a company driver, and then some. You must haul only freight assigned to you by your company (you cannot go out and get your own freight), you are leasing the truck under their authority. In my company's case, you can make modifications to the truck as long as it does not modify the speed of the truck or the horsepower of the engine and must be reversible.

I leased a 2009 KW T2000 and, except for a few hiccups here and there, I have done just fine. I am not married or have any kids though and that's where most people seem to get in trouble. You will have up and down weeks just as you do as a company driver, but the ups and downs are much more severe and downs can very easily put you in the red if you are not careful. The other thing is taxes...you will no longer be an employee of the company, you will be an independent contractor (which is not entirely true, you are more or less a semi-independent company driver) and therefore responsible for 100% of your tax liability, the company can no longer deduct those from your settlement.

If you do choose to lease don't let it be because of that shiny new truck in the back of the lot. You must make the decision based on what you want out of your career. Yes, the lease programs at most companies are less profitable than an outside lease but what most people don't understand is that there are many positive points about these programs vs. outside leases. If you loose your job, the lease is terminated (yes it may go on your DAC, but at least you aren't stuck with a truck and no way to pay for it). No credit checks in most cases. Bad credit? No Problem! If you can drive 1000 miles you can make a truck payment. Paying for fuel may cost you another 1000 miles, say you run another 1000 miles over that and thats another $850-$1000 in your pocket that week. Keeping your fuel mileage up and your fuel costs down also increase your paycheck.

As for the truck, find out from other drivers the issues they have with their trucks, find out which ones seem to have the least problems. Then drive each one and see which one best fits your needs and wants out of a truck, personally the KW T2 fits me perfectly.

Whatever you decide, good luck and roll it safe.

- JW

 

None of those trucks you listed will be worth much in the event you actually do complete the lease and go to trade them in.....why you are wondering ?? Because they are company trucks and company trucks flood the market when the big fleets turn them in....

Do NOT lease a truck go to a bank and finance a truck when you are ready...

 

The T2000 is much heavier than Prostar, but has a lot more storage in it. If the Prostar has a Commins power plant, you will get better fuel economy with it. Most likely, that is what's in the KW, but, again, it's a heavy truck. Prostar will be a quieter, smoother ride, but without all the bells and whistles of a T2000. Go tour each one and talk to drivers who have them. Ask them what the drawbacks and pluses are to each truck.

Regarding leasing from Swift: I had the opportunity to lease from them. I have looked at their leasing program and it just wasn't for me. But, there are some who are successful and able to purchase their trucks. I leased from Prime, which will get some of these guys stirred up a bit. I already am aware of the parameters of my lease. I actually read it before I signed it. Do your research on this and, again, talk to guys who have been there before you take the plunge.

Good luck...

 

No...You don't!!

You want to be a Swift company driver that's dumb enough to make the payments on a truck that YOU will never own!

It's called a LEASE OPERATOR! and there is a world of difference between a LEASE OPERATOR and an O/O!

You've been driving for a very short time and you know so little about this business that you don't even know how much you don't know!

STAY IN A COMPANY TRUCK!!! GET SOME EXPERIENCE!

Then if you want to be a REAL O/O....Go out, Buy a truck, get authority or lease to a DECENT COMPANY and find out what's really going on here.

LEASE OPERATORS that call themselves O/O's are an insult to real O/O's!

 

Why not one of each?

 

Hey :
You have now heard the truth from the last few post .
You will be broke most of teh time with any lease purchase. But it from a bank or not at all.
Time under your belt will "help" you make better moves if and when the time comes.

All most all of those company trucks are light spec. gte under it , get a few numbers off the tranny and call a good tranny shop or any good dealer and ask them what this tranny is. It IS the lightest one they could get when ordering that truck. The numbers don't lie.

Correctly stated > O/O and lease driver are two planets apart... Don't be fooled by their lease purchase talk. They already own the truck and they would soon own you too.

Add it up and do the math .. what would you be paying for that truck..
It will shock you and it is way more than the highest interest loan you could find.

Most of those lease trucks start out OK and then hold on ...
See the numbers.. How many paid off their trucks and how many lost them.
I would listen to what you have heard here , some of these guys have been around the block and know ... I do.

I never fell for the lease purchase crap. On my 6th truck and paid for all of them.
Good luck at what you decide.