Question for SNI choice guys. Why did you choose?

THANK YOU, TennMan

 

Actually the Detroit is king of mpg closely followed the new improved paccar MX engines.

 

(Oops, posted this in the wrong thread)

 

Well, i'm throwing my chips in with the Choice Program. My employment app is pretty much done. I just had to get my old EIN back from the IRS...previous O/O. Melissa at SFI approved me for any truck in their inventory. I wanted a low mileage used truck over a new one to save $$$. I'm fond of T680's. She steered me towards a nice low 82k mileage one, with good specs, and a TriPac APU. Only $2k down. At $138k used, it was no bargain. Pretty much at retail price as equipped. She sent me a quote based on a 60mo lease, with a residual of under $17k. SFI doesn't negotiate their prices (or so she told me), so i started looking at dealer stock. Even with my good credit, a substantial (10-15%) down would be required for a late model, low mileage truck like i was looking for.

I went back to look at SFI's inventory list Melissa had sent me a second time, and i came across another listing for a '14 T680 with 82k mi. At first i thought it was just a double posting of the same truck i'd looked at earlier because mileage was the same, but the color was different, and it was priced at $125k, $13k less than the first one, and $30k less than what a new one would cost. The lease was only 30mo instead of 60mo on the other, so it would allow me to finance the residual ($62k) a lot sooner. I had her send pics and a quote to verify it was genuine, and it checked out, so i pounced on it immediately.

Now i'm scheduled to do orientation in Green Bay on May 5th. It's gonna be a long drive, but i need my gear with me, and airports are a PITA. Good news: i'll still qualify for the $5k sign-on bonus and $2k maint. escrow because my paperwork will be done before the end of April. I'm looking forward to joining the team.

 

Geez, they're asking a lot for those Kenworths... my Cascadia Evo is $148k and it was brand new with 90 miles on it.

I wonder... do the Kenworths cost that much more at a regular dealer, or is this an SFI thing?

And I wonder what the Volvos run... I'm considering one of those for my next truck after this lease is up.

 

The Kenworth's are decked out to O/O specs where as the Evo's are more like a company truck. I looked at several Freightliner dealers and a Evolution decked out 13 speed upgrade interior dd15 windows in bunk area refrigerator upgraded radio was 158k

 

That was without any APU also.

 

Ahh, that makes sense then. And hell, a good APU will set you back 4k - 5k by itself.

So, if that's what they're costing through the dealerships, then SFI isn't overcharging for these trucks by nearly as much as people on here try to claim they do. I keep reading stuff like "I can get that truck for $100k, they're ripping you off, etc". But if that's the price you got directly from a dealer, it sounds like SFI has them priced about right.

 

I am choosing the Schneider Choice program because I like Schneider, they have a huge freight base,as a 1 truck operation I believe its easier to let an experienced company handle the regulation side for me, I have dealt with Brokers in the past and it's not the best experience to say the least, Schneider has a support network all across the country, Brokers have their preferred driver's they give best freight to and it takes awhile to get in good with a broker but the biggest reason I am doing it is because with SFI I sign a 1 year lease with a residual and it gives me the option of at the end of the lease walking away or re-up in same truck or a new one. That's what I am looking for to make sure I am successful before I commit long term.

Now with that said I am in this for the long term and plan on being successful however if the economy tanks then I have an out in a year. I could go buy a truck from a dealer thru my bank but they don't give me an out in a year. In a year I plan on part 2 of my business plan going into effect and going from there.

I was told by someone whom i look up to who is very successful " All successful people not only have a plan for going into business, they have an exit strategy too"

 

I will also say that SFI offers a service just like the convenience store does. Can you get a truck cheaper of course, but you can also get milk cheaper at the grocery store than at the convenience store. So for now I choose convenience.