Before you go to work for prime you need to read this...

Yes I'm new, but I just don't understand the whole company-lease game. Why even go there? I don't know, maybe my perspective is different, having run a business for 30+ years (not trucking). It seems to me a good business person finances through more conventional means ... interest rates are at their lowest in over a generation! If your credit won't allow it, WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU WILL SUCCEED RUNNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS? Period....end of discussion!

Not only have you significantly increased your operating costs in the financing, but you will be forever under-capitalized. I realize many working folk think the grass is always greener on the other side. And I understand the working man harboring the dream of owning one's own business. The lure of being one's own boss. But guess what? As a business owner I had more "bosses" than I could count! Not to mention every employee I hired was like adopting another family!!!

But there just aren't any shortcuts. There are business realities. I suspect the rampant failures at L/O may be attributable to the American illness of falling victim to desiring "instant gratification". That's been the success (failure) of Madison Avenue (NY heart of advertising)...creating a desire in the American public and then offering an "easy" way to satisfy that desire. Can you spell C-R-E-D-I-T C-A-R-D? E-A-S-Y C-R-E-D-I-T? Or N-O P-A-Y-M-E-N-T F-O-R A Y-E-A-R?

Again, I'm new to the trucking world. But good "business advice" is to mend/build your credit, save for a sizable down payment, set aside adequate money for operating capital and slow times, get plenty of experience/advice and then GO SLOW. If you can't do these things then don't go there!

And I believe there's nothing wrong with being a good employee ... they're in pretty short supply ... and things is short supply are more valuable!

 

Oh man another horror story everyone else to blame but the ones starring in the mirror. Im one to vouche for prime. I have my ups and downs. Part of the business side. 2500? Maybe after fuel. Turning down loads much? Too much time on loads? Or the one thats kills most people hometime. Please note to everyone reading. MUST BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO GO HOME. yes the lease you can go home for 6 days but expect the same lease payment to come in that week. If Ones was struggling why not ask some of the people on the site for advise on what the need to work on? Why come on heere when its too late and failed?

 

So you're saying he had to pay for the truck weekly on top of fuel and other expenses? Oh my! If you didn't know that you shouldn't have signed a lease in the first place! Do a little research before you bad mouth this company.

 

Like I said......Her husband had to request to be transferred from the company A seat training to the lease orientation. Nobody twisted his arm, and he had a 3 1/2 day class on the lease & all of its contents. He even took a test on what was taught.

 

Why do so many Prime drivers, with less than one year experience, believe they know so much...

 

Just did my research. Enough to kno about the leasing option. Doesn't matter if I'm new or old; I do the same job and you'll always learn something no matter how long you've been at it pal! Here's a better question... Why do new drivers who do the same exact job as old drivers get so much ####? If i couldn't do the job I would have been fired. Prolly cause they are pissed I'm making just as much money as them and half their age. I am far from knowing it all, but I know enough to get my career on the right path buddy.

 

This thread is one of many that think its a get rich quick scheme. I know I learned my lesson staying up and hearing about the great infomercials on late night tv.
It's like hot ice. Awesome Idea right? Psshhh.

It's like warning everybody don't play with fire cause you will get burned. I dont get it...... tacos?

 

I have been running with Prime on their flatbed side now for a year. I have been a lease operator here for most of it. My fixed costs for the week are right around $1000/wk plus fuel which brings the weekly expenses to around $2500-$3000 depending on where in the country I am at the time. Even so, running how they recommend you run, I still bring home $2000/week after all expenses are paid for. Most people that complain they never make money at Prime didn't follow the recommendations of the company to run slower. Their trucks are setup to do better at lower speeds. Lease operators can run 65mph, but doing so makes a major dent in the wallet. I'm sorry that you had issues at Prime, but I can pretty much GUARANTEE that it was not Prime's fault that it didn't work out. Taking time off, advancing more money than is provided by default for the load, spending too much time at the terminal, and running the truck too hard are the 4 major reasons that most lease operators fail. Not everyone can do it. You really have to pay attention during orientation and listen to your dispatchers to make it work.

I'm not pissed at the original poster for their opinion of the company, I just want to try and set the record straight that it probably was not Prime's fault. They really are a good company, with some drivers that have been there 26 years now.

 

I'm certainly not PO'd at either the OP or the other gal who posted here complaining about the lease program. One common thread I've notice among folks who have had problems leasing is that they run their business on autopilot. There's no attempt to construct a profit/loss report or even to look at their settlement statements on a weekly basis. If you aren't plugged into the numbers, how do you even know whether you're making money or not? Answer... you don't.