Lease Purchase Programs?

Hi everyone.

I am looking for information about the various lease purchase programs out there. I'm preparing to lease a truck with a company and make the next step in my career. I don't have this option with Maverick because they don't offer it for the refrigerated division, mainly because it's still small and they can't guarantee enough income for a lease operator.

So, what I'm looking for is a refrigerated carrier that will hire out of Fort Worth, TX. I would like to find a walk away lease, so at least if I completely screw it up my life isn't over. I'd prefer one that has freight all over the US, as I do have family in a couple different areas and it would be nice to see them on occasion. Plus, working here I have never been out in the west and southwest areas, and I'd love to see those areas just because I've always wanted to.

I'd also prefer somewhere that leases used trucks - the payments on a new truck are so high that it would be difficult to save any money for my business until a long way down the line. And finally, I must actually be buying the truck, I'm not interested in a lease where I'm not purchasing anything. I looked into Prime, and this is apparently what they do, and I'll just stay a company driver if I'm not actually working towards buying a truck.

I'm a single guy with no wife or kids, and I pretty much live in my truck except when I visit my parents and siblings at home, so my only real bill is my cell phone. I'd like to do this while my situation is the way it is now, so that way if I do fail, it's not a disaster.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I've been looking at some programs, unfortunately I'm still not sure what to look for in terms of rates. I've seen some that pay a flat .90 per mile for all miles to the truck, and others as a percentage. Any help on this would be wonderful as well.

Thanks in advance to everyone who takes the time to type out some info.

 

Thanks for the info so far guys!

I know there are a lot of people out there who preach against the lease programs, but it would be a bad idea nowadays in my opinion to attempt to purchase a new truck, get an operating authority, and try to survive off of load boards. Not to mention my credit is only average, and I don't have $15,000 for a down payment.

It's similar to opening a restaurant. There aren't many people who would jump up and go to "Tim's Diner" but everyone loves Subway. Sometimes it's a good idea to have a valuable brand name behind you.

In my view, the slightly lower rates you receive via a lease rather than purchasing outright are akin to paying a franchise fee to have a well known name on your truck. Plus, with a walk-away lease, if I just can't make it work, I can go on with my life, instead of running from bill collectors who want the $150,000 or more that I committed to when buying a truck.

Keep it coming though, every post is helpful, as long as it isn't insulting