Driver with over 20 years experience making the jump to IC Choice!

the new vs used truck debate has been going on forever.

There risk with always having a $3000 a month new truck lease payment over your head.
There's risk of a used truck costing you thousands upon thousands of dollars in repairs and being in the shop all the time.

All up to you

 

There's a risk of having a 3k payment and having, thousand of thousands in repair and down time.

 

That true but a warranty helps

 

warranty while great to have doesnt pay the lost revenue.

 

One Word

GLIDER

 

You know I have thought of a glider and it is definitely a possibility. Fitz has a Columbia that is less than 110K and if I wanted a Cascadia they are $125,000 with no FET.

I'll keep you updated on what I find out.

 

If you want the security of a new truck with a warranty PLUS the security in knowing that it won't be an emissions lemon that lives in the shop, a glider is a great way to go if you can get financing for it or purchase it outright. Get any truck with a N14 Celect+ or a 12.7 S60 Detroit or a 6NZ C15 Caterpillar and it will do you right. All those engines have electronics so it's no problem to hook up elogs and since it's a new truck, you won't run into the problems of "well it has to be 10 years or newer to pull for us" if you want to lease to a carrier.

The downside is obviously the cost of purchasing a new truck. You take a hit no matter what when you purchase something new. If you have substantial savings, a used truck in good condition might be a good option to consider. But, the downsides to this are obviously the risk of it having a major failure that could cost tens of thousands to repair, plus, depending on where you go if you want to work for a carrier, it may be too old. Not to mention old trucks like to keep the owner busy. Whether or not you mind working on little things here and there is just a personal choice. A shop will eat you alive if you have to run there for every single fix.

It's not entirely true that you will get screwed tax time with a new (or used) truck. I was able to deduct the entire cost of my used truck when it came tax time this year. Depends on how you purchase it whether or not you can do this. However, if I sell it in the next couple years, I will then have to pay up come that years' taxes. Since I plan to hold on to this truck long-term, no problem for me.

Leasing a truck has it's advantages too. Being able to deduct the entire truck payment with taxes is nice. With SFI the track record seems to have been that as long as you end in good standings and don't have a negative balance due to them, they won't come after you if you terminate your lease early, as long as the truck is returned in good condition. That is not, by any means, what you sign on the paperwork though. Legally, they can come after what you still owe as I understand it.

To me you really just need to look at your financial situation. If you don't have substantial savings and a willingness to work on it from time to time I would avoid a used truck. It's not for everyone. Nobody there to hold your hand or move a payment over to the next week if things go wrong. For me having a used truck has been great. What I still owe on it has such a low payment that it has been no problem for me to park it while I've needed to be come off the road for a while. If I was leasing or making a new truck payment that would have been over months ago.

Good luck on whatever you choose. For many I still think the smart choice is to try the 1 year lease. Zero down, hold on to all your savings, go out there and get your feet wet and see what you think. If you want to, save up or finance what you still owe on the truck at the end of the year, keep it, or take it and trade it in for the truck you really want.

 

That's good stuff right there.. I agree with pretty much all that.
I agree on the one year lease but a new Shaker on a one year lease is only $1k up front and Schneider was giving a $1400 lease on bonus when you lease on with a new truck so that washes out.

There's risk no matter the choice of truck, that's for sure.

 

A lot of o/o's get into trouble because they buy a truck right before it begins a major maintenance cycle, which is when a lot of used trucks go up for sale.

My opinion is buy new or buy old and pay cash. If you break down you're going to lose the revenue regardless of what year the truck is.

With new warranty covers the repair. With old and no payment you've got cash for the repair and no payment to worry about.

If you have a big payment, and loss of revenue, and have to cover the repair, it can all add up quick as money poors out with none coming in.

Of course if you have it, pay cash for new, or almost new, and get the best of both.

 

I can't believe the SS-4 versus 147C problem has come up again with SFI. Since I obtained my EIN number from the IRS over a decade ago, I no longer have a copy of my SS-4. The IRS will not issue more than one EIN to an individual for a sole proprietorship. The IRS will send you a 147C letter that confirms your EIN number. SFI rep confirmed to me 2 weeks ago that they had everything they needed from me. I then gave 2 weeks notice to my current employer. Today SFI rep calls and says they do not have SS-4 form from me and I can't go to orientation without it. I tell her they have 147C and verified with me two weeks ago that it was fine and it was ok to give 2 week notice. She asks me to send 147C again. I resend previous email and she says that the 147C is fine and I'm good to go. So basically I got the crap scared out of me, but hopefully all is good.