Full Maintenace Lease vs New Truck purchase.

The naivety is cute, but it will lead to bankruptcy. A new owner/operator should never consider a new truck as something they could ever "afford". You are going to have strong weeks and lean weeks. The truck WILL need service.

Could be anything from an oil change to a sensor swap. Only difference is, an oil change is cheap and can be done yourself in your driveway. The sensor swap needs diagnostics laptops to find the problem, special tools to remove the proprietary fasteners and such on the equipment surrounding the sensor housing and the know-how about how to go about installing it correctly (which usually requires manufacturer certification at their training facilities).

The other problem is that where you break down can lead to even bigger problems. You won't always be broken down, conveniently in the Love's parking lot. Sometimes it will be 60 miles from the nearest diesel shop, 200 miles from the nearest dealer shop and that $1200 tow bill, late delivery fees and downtime (waiting for the part to ship from one coast to the other) are going to screw you out of that truck payment for the month.

You can buy reliable equipment for $20k-30k that will need less than $1000 of service over the course of the first year if you do your research and due diligence on the equipment you buy. Sure, it won't be pretty, and it won't get you all the cute girls at the truck stop, but you'll be making money, PROFIT on every load you haul, not worrying about whether or not you can make that truck payment.

And isn't that what being an O/O is about? Making money, plain and simple? Go about this logically, and pick the path of least resistance to the highest amount of profits.

Don't sign on for a lease program with a new truck to run garbage, cheap freight for another company. If you are serious, buy your equipment, get your authority and find good freight on good lanes and get #### done. BE YOUR OWN BOSS and learn from the centuries of experience that the people on this forum and out in the world have to offer you.

I'm not looking right now at buying, but my first instinct when I will look is to buy something 1985-1999, CAT or Cummins, nice and reasonable price, do alot of the mechanical work myself and make money. Not only do I get the flexibility of the elog exemption, but I get something that is RELIABLE. Something that will get me to my destination ON TIME EVERY TIME.

That is the key to being successful in trucking, whether company driver or O/O. And you can't do that sitting in the shop waiting for the $1200 sensor to ship halfway across the country.

 

This is what you think before owning a truck.

Reality is oil changes alone $3600 a year.

A typical month with an older truck.
Fuel shutoff selnoid dies at shipper $457
Rear diff seal home shop $300
Air governor and air dryer road shop. Another $500

 

I've been driving a 2004 Pete 379 SH with a C-13 CAT for a good 8 months straight now. Only issue outside of regular maintenance was a valve solenoid that went when I was headed east on the I94 in Minnesota getting into Wisconsin. Truck derated to 90% power (about 425 hp from the 470 setting). I ran it through Chicago, up into southern Ontario and back through Ontario to Winnipeg derated the entire trip without a problem.

Do that with a modern, emissions motor and it'll derate you 75% until you go to a shop to have the code cleared.

I may have exaggerated the low costs of maintenance, but compared to a one-box on a DD13, or any other emissions garbage, you'll be saving tens of thousands of dollars.

 

Run that truck over to Haggai Automotive and Diesel down in Griffin GA (Atlanta area, by the Speedway). I have a 2008 ProStar with your motor. I just in framed it down there, in a driveway, at Rawze's house. The motor is running very good, knock on wood. Everything on the truck is pretty much new, from the motor, brakes, slack adjusters, tires, etc... I really went through the truck when it was discovered the last in frame I had, the dealer installed 450hp CM-2350 internals in my 600hp CM-871. Me Hagg discovered that when we ordered parts...

The dealer sent $14,000 in parts, but I still spent another $22,000 in more parts and other expenses, I was the labor. The bills do not stop when the truck is down. The truck still has a clear title. I don't know what I would do with a truck payment, being a slave to a lending institution for thousands of dollars a month is not someplace I want to go.

Repair what you have, Mr Hagg down there in GA can fix the issues with your motor and the truck. Folks come from all over the country to have him in frame their Cummins motors, he is #3 in the nation for in frames with Cummins. He follows the book, he does it right, not like the dealer did me. And if you want to save a few bucks, he will allow you in the shop to help with the in frame of your motor. How many outfits will do that?

And you have a good motor too. No fuel pump issues to contend with and a solid money maker when properly tuned. It is honestly an easy motor to maintain with a bit of knowledge.

 

I can't offer an opinion on a full maintenance lease but I've had new, 2011 crapcadia and 2013 Volvo 780. The Volvo was almost trouble free but maintenance was very expensive. I have a 2012 Columbia glider now. Not much to look at, the first year I went thru some cash getting it the way I wanted. But I will say it is the cheapest truck I've EVER owned to repair and maintain. Gets great fuel mileage, and anybody can and will work on it, so I'm not spending $125 an hour or more.
I'd never buy another truck.

 

That video was shot at Mr Hagg's (Jerry) shop, he was in the video where they were prepping the pistons for install. Jerry was an immense help to me when I was down at Rawze's house. He is a smart cookie and does not cut corners. All of his work is warrantied, and he stands behind it. He is normally booked out a month in advance for good reason. I spent quite a few days at his shop while we were waiting for parts from Michigan to arrive. They really know their stuff, and I spoke with folks from all over the US and Canada that came specifically to his shop to have his crew work on their trucks.

I would give him a call, I bet he can get your truck back to the point you will not want to sell her.

 

^^^^ TRUTH


This is EXACTLY why the fleet model rolls out used units between 400-500k, the maintenance costs go up "the hockey stick" on the chart. Costs start to dramatically increase to keep it going. Stuff just wears out.

The new model keeps the overhead costs more fixed ... Less playing of the maintenance rollercoaster.


The extended warranty on emissions and engine are wise given the costs out of warranty it's a good business decision and piece of mind.

The loss of Revenue production from loss of uptime on a used truck can also kill you.

In my example, the loss of one power unit for ONLY one week ,every quarter , equals a loss of $30, 000 of Revenue alone per year...PER Truck

.... Plus the cost of repairs.. Often about the same amount. $60k gone.... About enough to pay for NEW truck payments on (2) trucks.

Irrelevant.

Who pays for the truck payment when the USED is broken as they often are? How about the lost revenue? Then you get the huge repair bill on top of it.

** If used was trully the more profitable route CONSISTENTLY ... Every fleet owner would use it as the business model to increase profit.

Fact is, patching up a used truck is a losing deal the vast majority of the time.