Anyone here completed a lease with STEVENS?

gonzo you are blinded by your own ideas....I make 9 cents per mile more than a company driver with 5 years experience, after ALL expenses are paid...that includes taxes, health insurance of my choice, vacation time, and if something major fails on my truck, I get a new truck. I don't have to spend the money and time to replace an engine or transmission. Move into a new truck and down the road I go.

Your pencil may be sharp, but your mind is closed.

The most profitable companies in the world lease their equipment, their buildings and the land.

Trucks do not build equity....that is why the IRS allows you a deduction for depreciation. You will always sell a truck for less than you purchase it for.

why does steven push the lease option...they make money. They are in business to provide a service, and to make a profit. Anyone who does not understand the contract they are signing, should not sign that contract. Buyer Beware.

 

This is what I have been thinking reading all these post. If you lease a truck you will file as a business owner. If you have a good accountant, and can keep good records. There isn't hardly anything you can't deduct . But lease or company, you have to be willing to put in the effort and the miles. I personaly don't see the difference between leasing a semi to enable you to make a better income, than renting a house. As far as I'm concerned same principle. There is nothing wrong with having a plan for your life and setting goals and taking the steps to get there.

 

Additionally if you open a business on Main Street, USA most communities have ordinances against living in the business location. "Cot in the back" situations. Leasing a truck as your place of business comes with a simple apartment in some cases, a full blown RV in others.

 

I knew everyone would get all jumpy and try and pick my words apart.. Just like they do on the CB... One guy asks for the time.. Someone says Oh it's 8 O'clock and 3 other guys say no, it's 8:02.. No, 7:59... What I am saying is Steven's lease SUCKS.. try and post somthing positive about their lease I dare you!

HOW is it better than going out and getting your own loan and buying your own truck??

He "says" he netted $9000....okay now prove it... I can say anything on the CB or for that matter on this forum.. backing up those words is whole nother matter. I try and shed some insite for people to look at before they blindly jump into a dumb lease .. But, hey the dumb lead the dumb I guess.. The ONLY person it's good for is Steven't you have that much correct.. The lease does NOTHING for you as a driver....

Why, would you lease rather than just drive a company truck..(I'm not talking about Steven's.. drive a company truck for someone WAY better than Steven's...) How about some examples of where it makes more sence to do so???

How is it better to try & force newbies to lease a truck when they just get into the business?? How is that safe?? Never mind immoral.. I sure don't like sharing the road with numb nuts that take 3/4 an hr. to back into a truck stop parking space.. How can those guys sleep at night trying to JAM those leases onto unsuspecting new hires barely with enough experiance to drive a truck out of the driveway?? If they are that bad at driving how are they at conducting business? They cannot comprehend the big picture of trucking if your head is in the sand. How is it better to throw away health insurance? How is it better to throw away vacation time, How is it better to make payments for somthing you'll never own..

I've heard that I am the dumb one because I cannot gain equity in a truck.. Not entirely correct.. First off I do deduct the cost of my investment on taxes... by depreciation...100% depreciation.. I might add.. Usually over 3 or 4 years. SO for the first say 4 years in business I won't have to pay ANY taxes.. I in most likelyhood won't have much in the way of breakdowns because my truck will have warrenty or be practicly new.. At the end of 4 years when it's paid for and totaly depreciated tax wise I start having higher maintaince costs.. things like clutches, brake jobs, tires, water pumps, radiators ect. all wear out so those are deductable..I deduct EVERYTHING I buy for the truck. But I still have a truck that is worth somthing.. Pete 379's hold their value the best right up there with W-900's.. I have a 2001 Pete 379 extended hood.. which is worth about $30-35K. I bought it used with 290k mi. in 2003. It's paid for itself and then some.. I have not ran it into the ground by working smarter not harder like I said previously.. I have only 815k mi on it That's 525,000 miles I've driven in 7 1/2 years that's 70k per year.. My LOWEST gross I ever made per year was $97k for a $1.38 per mile for all miles ran that year loaded AND empty... (Nope I didn't work hard at all that year but I wanted to.. I am able to make those decisions.. As a lease you cannot... Your a slave to that truck, your a slave to the weekly payment.. you cannot sit or you fall behind, if you sit too long you may never catch back up.. Bam.. your trucks repo'd your outa there..

How is this better than buying your own?? The ONLY winner in Steven's lease is Steven's period.. Just take a drive by Steve Arron's house someday and see if he will even give you the time of day... He could care less about you, your family, or if you're sick and in the hospital dying... Yea, that's someone I want to emulate...

 

okay so I'm a newbie with stevens, and having been traimed by a lease operator (4 years with stevens) and now an O/O ( 11 years with stevens) I first have to say your wrong on quite a few points.

first, stevens has a walk away lease, meaning your not making it you move back into a company truck. I have talked with 2 people who have done this. Both are now lease ops with stevens.

second. As a lease op, you can write off you lease payments, so when you own your truck and can't depreciate the value anymore the lease driver will still be making uncle sam pay the bills. Also, you have to take into account an owned truck warrenty will end, which means your putting out the repair bills. Lease, warrenty intact.. Less expense on repairs.

also before you can even become a stevens lease operator you have to qualify.. Meaning they don't shove you on it unless they know you will make money.

does steven care if you make it? Yes. Why? Because if you fail they don't make money.

and I have seen 5 different lease operators settlement checks right from the stevens site the money is there

and everytime I ask them why they stay with stevens, they all say the same thing.. They make money

I plan to go pre-alliance in grad fleet.




and when I ask them why they stay with stevens,

 

Gonzo you are nothing but a liar who wants to spread false information. You stated you would not be caught dead working for stevens, then claim you did work for them.
That is not picking your words apart, that is catching you at a bold faced lie.


I have nothing to prove to you. I post my numbers else where for people to see.

Your truck today is maybe worth $15 to $20,000. Nobody that wants to run a profitable business wants your piece of junk truck.

You are jealous that you could not succeed as well as Mr Aaron did. I have stated numerous times, no company cares about the individual employee.

I deduct everything I buy for the truck too.
I deduct the full lease payment too....something you can not do.
My equipment is always under warranty. If I break down for more than 1 week, I get a new truck. You don't.

I have health insurance of my choice, not what Stevens thinks I need.
I am not a slave to the truck payment anymore than you are. I am never behind, for I plan ahead, and always have money set aside for time off, vacations...

It is you who have your head in the sand...
You have only your beliefs in what is the "correct" way to be a truck driver. At one time you took hours to back into a dock, a parking space.

I do not need to beat my chest, and say I own that pete 389 with the long nose, and fuel guzzling engine. A truck is a tool to make me a profit. How I get said tool and pay for said tool is NOT your concern. I run my business different from you, and I make a satisfy living, with time off when I want it, where I want it.

It is people like you, who finally admits you have an ax to grind against stevens, blaming them for the current state of trucking. Why not look at yourself...Your attitude, how yours is the only way to be successful, and then cry about Mr. Aarons house. You are jealous that you are not as successful.

Yes there are people who are happy driving at Stevens. Yes there are people who are happy leasing their equipment. Yes there are people who are profitable at stevens.

Yes I make Stevens money, if I did not, they could not continue to be a company to lease to, to haul freight for. There is nothing wrong with them making a profit. There is nothing wrong with Steve Aaron having a nice large house. He is successful and can afford it. I do not expect him to care about me, only his business, and His family.

 

Gonzo, TLeaHeart doesn't have to prove anything to you. You throw out numbers and call them Apples. TLH tells you his Oranges story and you have the nerve to tell him that his Oranges aren't Oranges because they don't match your Apples.

TLH shared his NET per mile earnings of $0.39/mile. You gave your Gross of $1.38/mile. What year was this?

You tell us your Apples story and expect us to just take your word for it. But at the same time you want "Proof" of anybodies Oranges story. You still have not responded to the original question as to why a $0.39/mile rate that a lease operator claims to NET is measly when compared to a $0.30/mile rate that a company driver grosses.

Last time I checked, after you have proved yourself to Steven's you can lease a brand spanking new Kenworth T700. Now you tell me if you can afford to buy one? How much would your downpayment have to be? What would be the loan terms? Could you just walk away from the truck at anytime you wanted to?

If you can "Prove" to me that you could own and operate that T700 more profitably; than, I could lease the same truck from Steven's, I will concede that you are correct. If you can not show me the numbers then I would suggest to you that you haven't proved that Steven's is ripping off their lease drivers.

 

Okay, this is getting ridiculous.. I did work for Steven's but am not going to get in another battle of words with some moron that thinks he knows everything because he has been talked into some BS lease with a POS company that is a well known student CDL mill that chews up and spits out drivers by the hundreds each week..

I made my complaint and youcall me stupid okay.. how?? How do you know my trucks worth 15-20k??? I have seen the Black book value and it's right at 25k right now.. but I have a lot of extras on it and it's well maintained.. It is worth a heck of a lot more than book!!!

As for buying a new truck.. I don't want one.. the new emissions are killing big companies.. even they want nothing nto do with them.. They cost more and are full of problems.. Just look at the dealerships and the stats of how many class 8 trucks are bieng sold.. It's at an all time low right now..

As for defending myself I don't have to.. Just Google Steven's and see for yourself all the nasty stuff bieng said about them.. About their lease bieng a rip off.. About their starting pay bieng the best in the industry..haha

Finding a job that'll pay .30 - .34 cpm starting isn't all that hard.

My main pet peeve about Steven's and companies like them are they preach safety, they screem they are the "best".. but the drivers I meet on the road certainly are not.. They can't drive, they know everything, they take 20 min. to back under their trailer! These companies put 2 students in the truck together and run them like they're an experianced team..

They do not screen their people for those "leases".. (My friend had 6 months experiance and they wouldn't stop calling him wanting him to sign up for Steven's contractor div.! He did not want to do it.. They did not take NO for an answer.. Do youwant to know what they told him.. Steven't said "We are just going to keep calling you untill you say YES!")

Well I have better things to do than to piss the day away here, go fight about this amoung yourselves. Do your own searches, Make up your own mind... I don't have to..

I'll let you decide if what I'm saying is a lie.. The proof is in all the disgruntal people who've posted over the years about Steven's..

 

No proof there. It is common knowledge that disgruntled people are 10 times more likely to voice a complaint. There is no NON rip off report. It takes time and energy to complain or to complement. So many people have to tear down other people, other companies to make themselves feel better about their own miserable life, that they do not know how to complement, or even give honest answers.

Everyone Must do their own research, make up their own mind, and take responsibility for their own choices. I am happy and successful at Stevens Transport. They are like any company, that I have learned how to work within the framework given, and make it work for me. Others will not. Others should never even think about truck driving.

CDL Mills exist. So do computer Tech Mills, advertise everyday on TV, Mechanic Mills... Buyer Beware.

 

Tea.. your starting to get on my nervs.. your the only one here that likes Steven's... Ok.. have a nice day and brag all you want about your superior knowlege.
I may not have the exact wording of the latest and greatest driver handbook. So what.. I voiced my opinion and got my point across..Your trying to get personal with me..

Just let everyone do their own research and make up their own mind.. I guess you have WAY too much time on your hands.. I thought you were getting plenty of miles with them??

For someone who is suppose to be so busy your sure spending a lot of your precious down time trying to belittle me.. I'm home relaxing with a cup of coffee, have a load booked for this weekend where I'll make over $6000 on 2000 miles... (To the truck.. Not gross). You on the other hand should be doing the eat sleep drive thing to hurry up and get there you have a Oh dark thirty appointment to make right??

I have a pet peave with Steven't anyone with 1/2 a brain can see that.. Why do you feel the need to point out the obvious?

As for me working there.. I had a old 198 somthing KW with NO air ride passenger seat just one bolted to the floor and fixed at a 90 degree angle, No jake, spring ride tractor, that wasn't owned by Stevens at all.. It was a Lend Lease truck.. Where Steven't leased their trucks from back then. (I only say this to verify my work history a bit.. I'm not going to give personal info on a open website.)

You see I have all this time off at home and I like to browse the internet over a cup of joe. Why because I can, I actually try and help people with questions, and try and give them somthing to think about before just jumping in with both feet. ....

I hate Steven's and 99% of their drivers just like I hate Swift, FFE, CRST van, some SNI's, JB's are hardly worth a crap either.. Why, because they have absolutely no respect for anyone but themselves.. They hang out in the middle lane forcing people to pass on the right.. You can't tell them anything they know it all.. They only use the cb for picking a fight never to help anyone, If you've been out here as long as yousay then youknow what I'm talking about.. Those are for starters but I'm not going to go into great detail and list "every" pet peeve I have.. You'll say oops you forgot one or somthing similiar.

I'm gonna stop the nonsence and let you have the last word cause I know your gonna pick this post apart just like you've done with every other one.. (Why you feel the need to repost my post in it's entireity is beyond me, guess you like using bandwidth or somthing?)

So in parting I say it again Steven's sucks and if you go to work for them be warned.. Don't get blinded by "pretty" trucks. Read the stories, talk to real drivers in truckstops and see for yourself how happy they are.. Ask if they have ever worked anywhere else. Are they making any $$ or is Steven't nickle and dimeing them? Are they reinbursing for tolls? (Oh, are they still routing you and if you go outside the routing or go over somthing like 15% of the book miles they can charge you for out of route miles)?

I think you will find my warning is accurate!
Now "T" has the floor.. I'm not returning to have a stupid word game with someone who thinks that Steven's is the best thing since sliced bread.. I know better.