New Kenworth w900? Worth it?

Go new. You'll enjoy the ride and peace of mind with warranties. Don't bother getting a junker they're nothing but a headache

 

OK the cold hard truth is most o/o gross big money. Two and three times what a company driver does. And by the time expenses eat into it they keep less than a company driver. That's just how it is. When you're doing what everyone else does that's how it goes. Nothing special about it. You're a commodity basically. That is not to say you couldn't get yourself into a $180,000 truck and pull it off but the odds are against it and you will have little life outside of your work. I knew that back then and it intimidated me. Knowing what I know now I wish I had done it then. Chances of failure are high. As long as you go into this eyes wide open and quit looking at that $150,000 gross as if it is something special. Cause it really isn't.

 

That $150,000 gets whittled down to a paltry sum in very short order. You will probably end up married to the truck for some time. Take some reasonable projected figures and subtract those numbers from 150,000. It is way easier to draw that big fat number down than it is to build it up. rollin coal has nicely summed it up.

 

Advice from a savvy old man I knew: 30 days in prison is a d_ _ _ long time & 30 days on a note comes d _ _ _
quick.

 

You yourself said that the pay was $6k a month if you took it easy. So that would be the slacker rate.

 

Now If only that were on a bumper Sticker...

 

Very few owner operators actually make more money than good company driver positions. It's up to you too be one of the few instead of one of the many.

 

Just FYI for you folks quoting prices for W900L Icons in the US: the Canadian dollar is only worth 76 cents US right now. New truck sales are taking a serious hit and used truck prices up here are going crazy. I got a quote on a new Western Star 4900 EX Lowmax a year ago at $205K. But seriously, if you wanna drive a brand new long hood, I don't think they're going to be around in quantity for much longer.

All things being equal, a brand new truck with all the bells and whistles doesn't earn a penny more than a 15 year old truck. But let's say that 15 year old truck needs about $2K/month in upkeep. Compare that to your brand new $4k/month truck truck payment and decide for yourself which way you're further ahead.