you asked for it.

you would think after many years people would wise up. I keep reading one bad topic after another about idiots who have been fleeced by lease purchase agreements and the hits just keep on coming. not far from where I live is a company that has a bad history of not paying drivers and recently i'm told, went through a sheriff's sale. they are buying a fleet of high mileage peterbilt tractors and doing the lease purchase thing and turning people away due to not enough trucks to lease out. I recently spoke with a guy connected with them who told me point blank, "these guys wrote one of the most predatory agreements out there and it's like nobody even reads the thing, then the drivers complain when they bring home 500 bucks a week. they will almost never actually pay the thing off, and if they actually do, it will certainly be a worn out piece of junk. meanwile the company profits considerably. another thing is, the company is BUYING the truck at the same time it is leasing it out, so they actually don't own It". this is exactly how arrow drivers got screwed when that company went under and those trucks were repoed. I know guys who say they paid off trucks from some of the larger carriers and seem ok with paying what amounts to 200 grand for a cheap freightliner, and others who got close to paying off a tractor only to have been found to have suddenly violated their lease agreement, or, fired, and get nothing. it's an old story. I know this isn't going to stop anyone, but at least stop calling youself an owner operator. you are a liar. you are a leased driver who is buying your job. I have owned 3 tractors in my life and did it the old fashioned way. work hard, don't be stupid with my money, put down a good down payment and do my homework about where to put the truck to work, then, go to work. I wish you folks the best, I really do, but until you grow up and wise up, this story will be told again and again. thanks to the owners of this website for allowing hard working people a place to vent and maybe help those who would otherwise get shafted through no fault of their own, or those who got shafted by being for the most part, stupid an inmature. just my opinion. your mileage may vary.

 

pretty simple. these folks have a nasty habit of suing everyone. I also can't speak to them directly since I have never worked for them directly. I do trust the guy who gave me the info however.

 

nice additude. the simple truth is, most people who do the fleece purchase deal have lousy credit and couldn't buy a box of crackers with their credit score and are perfect for these companies. to answer your question, if you have a cdl and have kept your nose clean, you have a marketable skill and are in demand. you can, and will be rewarded if you are willing to work hard, be careful, and not be one of those morons who companies can't wait to fire. again, the attitude. when I decided to buy my first tractor I saved like crazy and worked hard. we did without some things but surely didn't starve. I bought a used freightliner that was in good shape and kept up on the maintenance. it made the same money as a new peterbilt with all the gizmos. you asked if giving the bank the money instead of a company made the wear and tear go away. I owned the truck outright in 18 months. I spent some of the profits on things like an engine major, trans rebuild, and re ratio of the differentials. I kept up on making sure little things didn't turn into big things. I made decent money and didn't pay a stupid amount to a company to do so. I sold equipment to buy newer and better and the last tractor I owned was I think pretty nice. it did a good job for me. when a guy on a fork lift crushed me into a wall and broke my neck and paralyzed me for almost a year, I sold the truck and we lived a decent life until I was able to return to work 18 months later. at my age, i'm not about to go back into debt, but have a job most any of you would practically kill to get. one thing I want to stress. I believe you guys can do the same or better. I think if you do what's right, you can own your own if that's what you want and not pay a ridiculous price for the thing and not be a slave to a company that hopes you fail so they can clean up the truck you worked hard for, and resell it to someone else. that's what many do. do some guys pay off their lease? yep. but at what price and how long and for every one who succeeds, how many fail? gotta go. this has been long enough as it is. remember I said I think you can. I believe that. i'm not some guru, but rather a guy who does the same job you do and I know you can do anything I can do. best of luck and be safe out there.

 

that company is one of those who is all over the bad company topics here.