Best company for lease purchase

Well I suppose you "could" lease a truck, basically live in it and make over a hundred grand a year after your expenses OR you could be a company driver, team up with your spouse and take advantage of the perks and pay afforded to company teams without the hassles of truck ownership.

Company driver teams that run 5500 to 7000 miles per week will make 120k to 150k per year without any truck expenses (depending upon the rate of pay of course). Plus the company drivers get benefits such as discounted medical, dental, health, disability, etc. The best paying companies will even pay for holidays, sick days, personal days, vacation, and 401k matches.

The best part? The company pays for the trucks expenses, half the ss/medicare tax, and workers comp insurance.

Remember once you are a "lease operator" you get NO bennies (unless you set them aside for yourself out of your normal pay).

Just as an example (my wife went thru truck driving school in the fall of 2007 and was trained by me for 6 weeks before we upgraded to full team status);

2008 running team with my spouse (random for half the year and then from Pa to Ca and back) gross 126,000. We were home every weekend and ran about 5400 miles per week.
2009 running team with my spouse gross 120,000. That year was a dedicated route from Camp Hill Pa to Miami Fl twice a week. We averaged 3 days off per week doing this run.
2010 Ran team with my spouse until October 19th (she is out on medical leave now) running random freight mostly between Pa and Ga. We were home each weekend for at least a 34 hour reset and we will gross about 108,000.00 this year.

Again there is money to be made as a "company team". More in fact than these lease/purchase guys will see because they are paying for the trucks expenses and we as company drivers do not.

LMB is no doubt a fine driver. Unfortunately he is working way too hard at his age than he has to. Folks take some time and seriously consider whether you want to be in that truck for 6 weeks at a time before going home. What kind of life is that?

 

I am not gullible enough to get into one. In about 40 years in this business I have only spoken to 3 people who have actually completed one of these fleece purchase deals. I have looked at the numbers with several of the companies who offer them. I don't see how anyone could expect to pay out $800-900/week on just a lease payment and make money with the rates the carriers offer. One guy whom I met told me that the only way he was able to make his lease work is because he was a trainer for his carrier and had extra money coming in from the other driver.

You can go through a legitimate leasing company or buy a truck outright for a monthly payment of about what some of these fleece programs charge per week. It is bad business.

I saved my money and paid cash for my first truck and trailer. You need to have discipline to be successful in any business. Trucking is no exception. I did lease one piece of equipment, but did it through a legitimate leasing company. It was only for tax purposes that I leased it. It was also NOT through another carrier.

Some of the fleece programs actually penalize you for driving too many miles per month. That is a read flag to me. If you work harder you should not be penalized. Under some of these programs you are penalized for your efforts.

With most of the fleece programs that I have checked the driver would make more as a company driver.

 

Running team or running solo is a big factor in your decision to lease or buy a truck. There are advantages and disadvantages in not only leasing and buying but whether you buy new or used or really used. Just an example a good used truck with over 500,000 on it is perfect for a solo. A team may want to consider leasing a low mileage rig. Teams are going to put a lot of miles on the truck and also don't have the hours to do extensive maintenance and fixes like the single drivers. There are a lot of other reasons so if you are considering doing either these are things to think about.

 

I won't disagree that much of the reason for most lease operators failing is due to themselves. Signing such a one sided agreement was their first mistake. I would question how many even bother to read the contract. If you can't make more leasing a truck as you can by being a company driver it doesn't make sense to have the obligation. If you net $900/week after all deductions then you are doing better than most with whom I have spoken who have done these programs.

 

Regardless of HOW you obtain your truck , be it LEASED , PURCHASED , INHERITED , there has to be work for it and you have to be willing to work.

Too many start off with a bang , run hard want load after load , get a few DECENT $ checks and then its I'm taking time off or start buying unneeded toys. When things get slow its OH OH need $.

 

Net $1230.31 ... I put $.10 mile aside right now for maintenance reserve so less $250 net before taxes is $980.

Seriously? I hope that is a typo! If not what a joke!

 

I assume you are wealthy and don't have to work??

 

That $250 he puts aside for taxes and ss, he will probably get most of that back at the end of the year. I know my complete lease payments are a write off, not deprieation like an O/O. So if you look at it that way, I am actualy getting the truck for NOTHING. Wow what a country.....

 

I am not working to hard for my age. I have enough income to live well without the driving job.I retired from yellow freight in 1995, have a good pension, have a great retirement fund, I have no payments. So why should I go out and spend $130,000 for a truck and trailer. I can walk away any time, if I buy one my payments still are there. I don't need the security of a company pay check every week, like most of you do. All my payments are a complete write off, so it's like driving a truck for free. I had shoulder surgery in October, and have been sitting home ever since, collecting disabilty payments from my insurance. No rejection of claim, no hassell, just a check every week. Turned in my truck NO HASSELL. If I go back I get a new one and run down the road.....No matter what you say, or claim(since you have never done this) I have a good, or better yet, Great deal. I am happy with it, I am making money, and that's all that counts

 

I'm sorry, but I'm not buying that one.

How are you able to completely get refunded all your lease payments?