Got a few newbie questions

i would suggest you do a search for all of those categories on this forum; for they all have been explained in detail, a few hundred times

you and the ms. can peruse thru the various questions and answers and you will get more information than you may need, but it will definitely satisfy your curiosity

use the "advanced search"

click in title

lease

pets

passenger

schools

(thats four different searches)

 

I'd recommend Watkins and Shepard for all your needs. I'd say no newbie should lease, learn to drive first. Good luck!

 

1) Swift, prob others
2) yes, my experience was bad
3) DON'T !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Good luck!

 

lease...for the most part dont, and certainly NOT as a new driver. you cant trust the leases to be what they claim, so do LOTS of research and talk to current l/o's before getting involved. and id further suggest that in the time you wait (a year at least) youd be better off saving up each week and buying a used truck outright. not terribly good business practice to lease from your employer...they have too much incentive to help you fail. many less than reputable companies take advantage of this. if you pay for awhile on a truck, and then fail, they keep your money and can then sell the truck to someone else. your failure is a win for them.

this is not to say there are no leases out there that are a decent deal. but they are eclipsed by the ones that are literally designed for you to fail. a new driver doesnt usually know enough about the industry to be able to tell the difference. they can ALL be made to sound good, given the right spin. but when you lease, you are assuming they will give you enough miles to make the payments and make a living. if they dont, you are still stuck there. unless you walk away and forfeit all the money youve put toward the truck.

look online at some of the auction sites and used truck sale sites. you can get a decent used truck for 15-30k. start a relationship with a local credit union. save some money. and then in a year you should either be able to buy one for cash, or maybe get a loan from the credit union.

 

also id suggest that if you have some idea that you may buy a truck sometime in the future, and you are not a mechanical genius, there is no better time to learn all you can about the mechanics of the truck than when you are with your trainer. youll be living in a small metal box with this guy for 4-8 weeks, why not get all you can out of it? make sure you pick his brain about everything you can think of. ESPECIALLY make sure before you get out of the trainer's truck that you are comfortable with tire chains. this is fairly simple to teach, but if not taught, itll be pretty embarrassing to have to ask a total stranger at the roadside to show you how to do it. i went a couple/few years not knowing how...99% of the time you dont need them, but when you do, please make sure you are comfortable with how to do it. dont be me, stupid to a fault. back to the idea of mechanics...you want to be able to tell many things about your OWN truck when you buy one, so learn all you can from your trainer.