Buy a truck for a year?

Years ago in my last week of CDL school I asked my trainer - who had 35 years of experience and well over 5 million miles under his belt - what his top 3 pieces of advice would be? I asked him to wait until after graduation to answer. At the end of the day after completing the school... newly minted CDL in hand... we sat on the tailgate of his beat up old truck in the parking lot and he answered the question ...the most important one was “have an exit strategy”. So that’s always part of the plan

Fools Errand.. you made some really great points in that post. I’ve watched this happen more than once and we weren’t ready. Worth considering.... thanks. - HS

 

We have two friends who leased a truck to get started (out of CDL school). After 6 months they walked away with no damage to their credit and went to another company with a lease program. Six more months of leasing. That was also a walk-away. The company didn’t treat them right - for a 2nd time. The lease however, gave them experience with commercial credit - that doesn’t always happen with a lease. The next truck they purchased brand new. Kept it for 1 year than traded it in and bought a custom cab. That truck is now signed on with a great outfit out of Florida doing only high-end specialized freight.... relatively recession-proof for the most part.

I really have enjoyed watching their success happen as a result of having a plan and following through even when it was tough.

I appreciate all the insights and opinions being posted because it helps us weigh out all the possibilities.

Right now we’re going to hold off and continue getting our “ducks” in a row... that feels like the wise decision.

 

So... the discussion continues in our house!

By lengthening the time we plan to run, say 2-3 years instead of one. Purchasing new now and weathering the next year with the learning curve while still having more say over the kind of work we do — with a truck under warranty — along with very lower personal overhead — and enough savings/capital for unexpected repairs/situations — would you say this makes more sense? Or still wait it out and go company for now?