lease vs. buying outright... what does it cost??

Not to be an *** about this but this is a business, fees are part of the deal and the structure of a business relationship isn't one where you get a free ride.

It is good you discovered these things about ownership but however, the 10% is just the beginning of the venture, many people fail to get that they need more than just a down payment and that is where they get caught up on it. One thing I will tell others is if you don't have the means to maintain that truck or keep it safe, then you have no business being an owner. A lot of people cry about this and say that they will build a fund up but that's just plain BS.

However for thousands, being a company driver isn't the end of the world, they may excel in it, some of the most successful drivers are actually companies drivers and are rewarded for it. it may not be a fit for you, but people have to start somewhere and being a company driver can't be worse than a temp driver who has to deal with a lot of BS.

If you are not happy with Swift, go somewhere else, there is a lot worse companies to lease to.

 

59 QUALCOM 1 12/01 QUALCOM 20.00
83 INSURAN 1 12/01 BOBTAIL 5.770
81 INSURAN 1 1/31 O/O COLLISION INSURANCE 22.46 0
86 INSURAN 1 12/01 OCC/ACC 32.31
69 PREPASS 1 12/01 PREPASS WEEKLY FEE 5.00

Care to point out the slimy underhanded fees that I'm paying here.

And the slimy $.09 is on 11000 a month, dispatched miles, not 2200 hub miles per week. And three options that happen with the money. First, you decide to lease another truck after completing the lease. The funds in the over mileage account rolls to the over mileage account on the new truck.

Second you decide to buy out your existing truck, the over mileage account applies toward the payoff.

Finally if you decide to walk away at the end of your lease - or before - then and only then do you lose the funds in the over mileage account. And Swift doesn't get that money. The over mileage account is a requirement of the principle - PACCAR. Mercedes Benz and those fund go to them.

You might be able to pull more than the $1.40 per loaded mile, that you get at Swift. But you will find that most of that is going to go out the door in fees that Swift doesn't charge - registration, tolls, trailer rental, admin fees ... etc.

 

I guess there are a ton of responses and questions you can get with your siutation. There are so many different variables to consider to give you a good short answer, but I would have to ask you many questions first. $2300 is pretty steep, but what do you pay for? Is the truck new? Do they give you solid break down coverage and warrantee? Are your rates good with Prime, etc. Just to give you an idea, I personally have gone through high costs trying to get my thing going. Insurance in my case was over $5,000 down and some companies wanted nearly double that. I got a $48,000 truck so taxes are going to be around $3,000, registration another $1200 at least. You need money for fuel, breakdowns etc for a couple of weeks, keeping in mind that truck payment dont stop coming, so I would say try to have around $20k for everything before you jump into it. It may be best to lease on to someone to start off while you save but idk about Prime. I've only heard horror stories about them in the past, but honestly I've never dealt with them. Taking care of the legal paperwork and stuff really is not that hard and not worth forking over too much for. All you need is to be organized. I personally put all my expiration dates on my google calendar and it reminds me when it's time to renew something. Simple and not worth paying for.

 

I have buddies that work at swift(they are morons).. you seem to be leaving some deductions out and leaving out the fact that swift doesn’t pass on it’s fuel discount to its O/O...you do know they get a huge discount at all the truck stops and pocket it and charge you full price right? That’s flat out criminal

 

You are more than welcome to point out the missing deductions ...

As for the fuel discount … Only if you use their fuel card at the locations they get a discount. You can use the card, with no penalty, wherever you want and there is no out of network charge. Nor are you required to use their card. And it's not a big secret … It's in the contract. You use their card, fuel at their preferred vendors, they keep the discount. It is also in the contract that the fuel card can be used anywhere it's accepted, whether Swift gets a discount or not, for no additional charge.

But that's all water under the bridge. Knight came in and screwed up the program. Notably, they eliminated the ability to work directly with a broker, finding our own loads and negotiating our own rates … I gave it a couple of months, then found the company I had been looking for, took their numbers off my truck and moved on.

 

I have heard this crap so often i wonder at the state of affairs for our country and its literacy and education levels.

First off you dont get taxed and then pay for the truck, fuel, and insurance... those are expenses. You are taxed on profits and wages only. It is higher (visually only).

Employees split the tax with employers.

If you are self employed you are both the employee and the employer.

If my employer didnt pay half, and i had to pay it all, i would want a 12.5 percent increase assuming no state taxes.

Point being we all pay the same taxes... you just have a sense of twisted logic. (Note, not this individual specifically i mean as a group because this same urban legend is repeated constantly.

Paying for 1/2 tax plus labor and me paying an additional 1/2 tax equals 1 complete tax per labor unit worked. Same as you.

Thank god you dont have a c corp and get hit 35% whiners. Lol

 

Run it's a trap