Buying A Truck???

Personally myself... I would work and learn as a company driver, rebuild your credit rating and build up a little savings as well before taking a jump into leasing or buying a truck..

There is more to being a successful lease operator or owner operator then many of us new drivers realize...

But yes, there are companies that will and you will pay a high interest.

 

Knight will lease you a truck to do container work out of the ports in seattle/tacoma....

 

Check with Cardinal Logistics, driveforcardinal, they have a good deal and it's not a lease deal, it's a purchase. The website has a USA map & if you click on your state, it will show the terminals in the state.

 

I bought a truck with 2 1/2 years driving experience. I also knew just enough to get myself in trouble. Driving a truck and owning a small business are two different things. There are so many variables to consider, I would seriously recommend getting a couple more years experience and truly learn the industry. The industry has changed a lot in the last decade, and will morph into God know's what in the next decade. Start doing your research. Analyze market trends in your area. Study and learn the freight you wish to haul. Study the local politics of the area you want to run. All kinds of crazy laws concerning big trucks are enacted and revoked every day. Ask yourself this: Are you prepared to fail?

 

Leasing a truck not a very good idea,They are setup to make the company money and not you,you might survive for awhile,But beware,you will never own that truck,some have gotten lucky.I finally realized it just doesn`t make sense anymore,drive for someone else,but be careful in choosing a carrier.
I finally found a better one here close to home,My avg.Take home net every week is about $850-900,I only run around 7 states all northeast,have some good perks too.Now I work SMARTER,not harder...No longer chase miles I hope to get

 

I started as an O/O, hauling a parking lot so different freight might make a difference. I actually got my experience in a dually and 3 car trailer, and once I retired from the Marines I bought a 7 car.

But like others have said, it's not easy running a business AND driving. When I'm not driving, I'm booking the next load or sending invoices or keeping up with IFTA and all the other crap you MUST stay on top of. I just convinced the wife to leave her job she hated anyways to stay home and take car of the kids and run my business. It'll be nice to come home and RELAX. and Don't lease to own- you might be a lucky 5%, but echoing what others have said they'll screw ya. Just like a marriage- it's GREAT when you first start, but things quickly start to umm, LESSEN in quantity......

 

leasing is kind of like asking a convict if he wants the electric chair or drugs to end his life. you will have some drivers claiming they made big money with a lease program,and some have but not very many. its simple math the more times a company leases the same truck to some other driver the more money they make. back when midwest distribution was in operation a truck might have 10 owners or more before it was wore out. get a little more driving time and use a good bank or truck lender. lots of luck

 

I echo most folks and suggest learning and making the mistakes that come with learning on someone else's dime before jumping into being the one with the signature on the line that goes broke if you don't succeed. Run a company truck like you own it and practice being an OO on the company's dime for a while first. But barring that: do keep in mind that there are pros and cons to leasing vs purchase but one thing to consider is that while there may be some advantages in leasing and lease purchase and being able to get "your own truck" with bad credit fairly easily you don't develop equity in the asset as you pay for it so if you hit a money crunch and need some capital you don't have an asset with equity to try and get some cash flow with in most lease deals. Kinda like rent to own. It ain't really yours. You can't borrow against it if you need to. If your not interested in keeping the truck and have all intentions of turning it back in when your lease is up then it may be something to consider but do be careful and go over every single word of the contract with a fine tooth comb and remember: If it sounds too good to be true it probably is. You're just not seeing the hook.

Best of luck and remember; This week's be safe from me is three points of contact getting in and out the rig and put your stuff on the floor or seat before climbing or your gonna bust your arse bad one day. Saw a Dude go down hard at the fuel island last week and he was hurtin' for sure. Don't let that be you.

 

You are starting off on the wrong foot when you say you have poor credit. Unfortunately there are too many dealers who would take advantage of your plight and really stick it to you with high interest rates etc. it's always best to clean up your credit depending on what you classify as poor credit. It takes time to clean it up. I know, I've been there but it's worth the wait.
Trying to buy a used truck is a challenge in itself so that's another situation you have to ponder.