BEST LEASE PURCHASE??? (to head me towards ownership)

The lease purchases aren't all bad!! Yea if course there's a few bad deals out there.. There's no difference then my doctor leasing his office space.. Did you know that most all gas stations aren't run by the owners of the land or the building? Most all are leased! It's life so don't believe all these drivers out here saying you can't make a living doing a lease! But don't go to a company charging you 600 for a truck a week paying you .90 a mile.. Now you have to crunch numbers and pick the best option for YOU.. Hell I've made money at EVERY company I've drove for and at the same time I hear drivers where I worked at b4 saying there not making any money.. So there's only one wY to reLky find out that's going for it! Where's there's a will there's a way!

 

There are a lot of company's out there offering lease purchase in my opinion you should never sign for a used truck, your probably buying someone else's problems. And always have the contracts reviewed by an attorney. And if you are in a position to put up a down payment then it would be a better idea to buy your own truck out right and I would join Owner Operators. They can help you get started in your own business. But that's just my opinion.

 

Why in hell would some maroon come to me and tell me what he requires before buying a lease option truck. You don't tell people what you require, this is real life not a TV Reality Show.

 

What ???? Where did this come from?

 

To answer your search for suggestions, first of all before you enter ANY LP program, better ask yourself this question...Do I have about $10,000.00 saved up, in case, something happens to the truck after the warranty runs out? IF not, and most people don't, then about 95% of these major trucking company leases are NOT going to work for you regardless of the truck. The absolute BEST, suggestion I could give you is go to someone like ARROW Truck leasing, or someone similar that will get you a MONTHLY payment, NOT a weekly payment. and before you ask, yes it will require you to have good to decent credit and a down payment. Also, if you find a truck with an APU that has less than 500,000 miles on it and younger than 4 years old to where your monthly payments will be less than about $1200.00/ MONTH..you better run with it or check to make sure it is NOT stolen!! I will tell you that I would rather have a truck that has 500 - 800k miles and gets around 7 mpg than making less than an employee at McDonald's!! DO NOT fool yourself, you should talk to some of these older O/Os out here and learn about what you are up against before you decide to go full bore into ANY lease...Once you sign those papers, it will be ALL on you and nobody will be there to help you when you get in trouble...Good Luck!!

 

To find a company that will fulfill all the requirements you request in a lease purchase all you have to do is follow the yellow brick road & talk to the wizard!!(tell Dorothy hello!)

 

I agree with Navy Vet. I went thru a l/p for my first truck. It was the worst two years of my career. I made it though. I traded up at Arrow for a Pete 387 O/O spec w/apu. My payments are 1300/mo. But I put down $10,000. In my opinion, especially after my experience, if you do not have the funds for a down payment then being an owner op is not a good option right now. You need to think ahead, what if you are hurt and cant work for a month, or have a major repair? Can you afford too make your bills as well as the truck payment and insurance until you get back too work? If the answer is no, wait until you do. I just get irritated seeing so many people fail because they didnt plan ahead, an have the money saved. Its not easy being an O/O.

 

My experience only. I started out leasing a 400000 mile truck then traded it in after paying it off quick (because it wasnt worth much). Used it to buy the first of 4 new trucks in succession, over the next 12 years. Had my own authority and just 3 accounts/customers. The trucks never broke down. Had my own trailers. Tie into fuel discount programs like landstar. They also let you haul your own freight, which should be your ulitimate goal. Remember, truck dealerships financing dont sell to drivers w/o considerable OTR experience. Lease op company scam artist like England charge newbies a fortune each month for the truck because they have no experience or credit. Thats the prob with the typical CR England type of scam: They're selling to newbies through their own company. Start collecting info on the smaller customers you are delivering to now. I would also consider doing something a little "specialized", be able to offer the shipper something most big carriers cant offer. Stop talking to recruiters, as most are liars. Study lease op forums online. Once you buy a new truck, keep it while its under warranty only, then trade for another new truck under warranty. Ask the prospective leasing carrier for a copy of their contract. Forget attorneys, you need to be able to understand the lease yourself. BTW, another reason to eventually get your own authority is because your DAC cant be ruined by some carrier. You can also still run paper logs for the time being ( and run alot more miles)

 

I would like to see what a Good L/P would look like. I am the type to not put everyone, or thing in live, in the same pot. So, is there any good lease purchase options out there? If not, what would a good one look like? Come on now, in life there is bad and good, and of all that, there are those deals that are mostly bad and those deals that mostly good. I have seen nothing in life that is all bad, to all people. In other words, what works for you, may not work for a majority and visa versa. Yep, poison is bad for EVERYONE,,got it.

From my research I have come up with what I feel may be a viable plan.
1. Truck is a late model truck say, 2005-2009 (Not a year I personally prefer)
2. Payments and deductions low enough to allow the driver to make as much as a company driver but, high enough to pay off truck within a few years.
3. A plan that allows the driver as much freedom as possible, like picking loads off a load board, but also another source.
4. A walk away lease
5. A Maintenance program that covers the truck bumper to bumper, for the 1st part of the lease.
6. Ability to swap out trucks, if the one you first get is crap.
7. Ability to pick from a small number of trucks, maybe same make and model.
8. Training program to help the driver move into truly being an O/O, like ATBS
9. Fuel card
10. Medical program
11. A company that truly cares about the driver. I mean I am all for profit, I want to make a profit too but, not off the backs of others. That's called Integrity. I feel that may be the one thing that is not there.

Ok, there is my good plan, probably missed a couple things, as I have never done a L/P but, I may change my mind in the near future. I just want to turn this conversation, about L/P, around and see what we come up with. Instead of the same old,,,"don't do it", "you will fail", "idiot!". That my friends is putting everyone in the same pot, not good or honest. Besides, can we honestly say that every L/P deal is bad?

 

Schneider Choice meets all of your requirements. I am very, very happy with my decision to go choice. Here's a couple of threads you might want to look at:
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/schneider/60873-schneider-choice-program.html
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/schneider/159117-running-with-schneider.html
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...-adventures-continue-dfo-gets-truck-hops.html

good luck.