Going to train # c r england....advice??

Thanks, Rollover! I have the $ to buy a truck today, but as I said, I don't have the knowledge or experience to actually make it work, or even be positive enough to know I want it. Right now it is just a 'plan' that I hope comes together. I love it when a plan comes together! Off to school on June 14! At least the wife and I will be together after training, which is what we really want after years of kids and long hours. We actually like each other, unlike most married couples I know close to our age.
Agaain, Thank You.

 

It would be best if you can do company driving first and after a year, then make up your mind. There are several threads in here that can help you understand being an O/O and you can join OOIDA and they will be gad to help as they have several publications on just that subject!

 

cornhole....youre paying 73 grand over the life of your lease you dont even get to keep what left of the truck? your lack of brains shows in your posts but i really wouldnt brag about getting raped the way you are

 

At this point I'm really having a hard time believing a word of that from "most" people. I can understand "lookin out for someone" to an extent even with some of the things being said but when things get outta hand like they did in this thread I dont think I can allow myself to believe you when you say that I'm bein' "looked out for"..... I see it as most of you just dont wanna hear or read about someone who says they work for a company with such a bad reputaion and informs you of not being treated unfair. You'd rather hear the complaints rather than the praises.

Again man, we dont plan on keepin' the truck when the lease is up. But, we do have that option. I dont know what exactly has to be done to buy it but again, we arent keeping it and since we already thought about not keeping it a long time ago so, we never asked.

I wonder how much time will elapse this time before someone else feels they need to tell me that I cant keep the truck or will have anything........any takers?

So, JCT just "gives" you the truck at the end of the lease? No other uh, hidden requirements gave to be agreed upon?? Hmmm. And you know this for sure? How much are the lease payments?

I havent looked at every thread in the "I hate ______company' forum but from what Ive seen, no company is perfect in some way, shape or form.

And why do you say Prime is a step up from were we are? Arent they chargin' like over 800 bucks a week for the same brand-new truck we have? Ours is only 507 a week.

Its a not a matter of "what I like" its more like not having a bunch of options. It may not be the best company but atleast its a job. They arent screwing us, at least to our knowledge. Maybe to some of you old timers who are too used to the ways of the old days but in this day of age, I really dont know what coulda been the better route. I dont think anybody knows. Ive already asked the question like once or twice on shootin us the company names that would hire us in an instant with the experienece we have AND would pay us as company drivers more than what England is paying us as Lease/Ops through England, but no one has yet to fulfill that request.

I know we are just apprentices but we're not stupid, either. I know we have a long ways to go but dont act like we're incompetant to make semi-sorta descent decisions.

Cornhole....LOL Good one. NOT!!

I know that amount sounds like a lot but you gotta realize that we will gross between 120-140 grand each year so as far as I'm concerned, that 73 thou over a 3 year time period is chump change. Besides, that lease payment is a write-off.

No, "you're lack of brains" shows that you arent fully reading the posts. We DO have the option to keep the truck we just again, man, Im getting tired of repeating this, just chose not to! Besides, were not really sure what options lie in the furture when this lease is up. Right now, there is a comitment. In a little less than 3 years, there wont be unless we decide to buy the truck which as Ive said before so listen, we are not keeping the truck when the lease is up.....

Once more, If you have the comprehension skills of a rock and fully show it, do me a favor and keep your trap shut. Otherwise, fully read the conversation before you make a half-witted comment.

 

Of course you have the option to buy out the truck after the lease is completed. I know about the England lease (been there done that), it is just a matter of what the balloon is after the lease and who you can find to finance the package. I don't know, never asked, if England will do the financing after the lease to purchase.

This is one thing I have never understood on this forum...if a driver is happy with whatever company, he/she is probably feeling confident and going along in life content with their position at the time. Things can change, and maybe they will even improve...so why belittle them when they are happy?

Sounds to me like you are satisfied where you are right now...be a duck and just let the water roll off your back.

I didn't read the whole thread, so with these numbers about your estimated gross...you must be solo. Actually the TRUCK will gross that...depending on how good your tax man is...your taxable gross will be about 30-40k.

You might want to consider rethinking that one...since you have invested so much into the lease at that point. If the lease is like it was with mine...there is the matter of "excess miles" you have been paying into each month (or quarter)...these monies will be a large part of your "down payment" when financing the balloon purchase amount. Let's say you have a balloon of 38k to buy out the truck...your excess miles should be about 10k, so your actual buy out will be 28k to own the truck. This does not include the purchase tax (not like buying a TV or automobile either, very different in the Class 8 truck group). Plus you will be able to use some (not a whole lot) depreciation when you own the truck. Also, if you own the truck, it is a much more substantial "trade in" and will lessen the down for the purchase of a new truck if you are thinking along that line. And by having a "purchased, and owned outright truck" as part of the trade in...you should get a better interest rate on your purchase.

It sounds to me like you have been thinking this one through on your own...just possible, no one ever told you some other points of consideration before you make your final decision. Good luck with your process!

Aw c'mon...do I have to go back and read every post now???

 

Maybe they will, maybe they wont. Hopefully after we take a break once the lease is up to do a few things, we can try the O/O thing or get on with a higher paying company where we wont have to lease.

I dont understand it either.

I try but sometimes its kinda hard to accomplish, ya know??

I drive with my wife and those numbers were estimated because we havent driven a full year as lease ops so we dont know for sure. I just know that the expensees (minus the maintenence and other expences) annually will be about 80 grand a year which is estimated fuel, lease payment, insurance payment, estimated varible mileage payment and permits.

Thats true but as I said, I really dont know what will happen at this point when the lease is up. We havent really planned to that extent of the future since all we are focused on right now is driving the truck and makin money.

Thank you. At least someone on here has something positive to say.

LOL, that satement was more centered on the people that refuse to listen that I have to constantly be repeating myself to....

 

This has to be the best quote of the century. Why in the world would you keep paying $2K+ of hard earned money,on a truck that you do not own, or have no intentions of buying in the end.. If you have that much brains in your head, you would not be pissing away that much money each month on a truck you have no intentions of owing.. Now go ahead and say that I'm being mean or do not no sheit about how England is giving you a great deal..

You proved other wise by sigining that lease, then again knowing that your pissing away a lot of money, on a truck that you admit you do not want.. Shows that you have as much sense as a box of rocks..

 

You're not being mean(yet).......

Its no different when you lease a car for personal use. You can either turn it in for a new one at the end of the agreement or you can finance the one you have. The thing that alot of you dont seem to realize is the fact that I can walk away from this deal at any time and not have to wonder about what to do with the truck. I dont have to worry about selling it.

Heck, you gonna start bashin England among all these other companies that lease their trucks as well from the dealers that they supply for their company drivers?? These companies dont buy trucks, they lease them just as we are.

Besides, I will have gotten my use out it when the lease is up. Ofcourse, we could keep it, but I dont care what anyone says, the older the truck, the more money you have to put in it for repairs. Motors, trannies, axles, brakes, ect, ect dont last for ever. Do you realize that when we turn this truck in that it will have over 500 thousand miles on it??

Why do you see it that way?? You are looking at this way too much in the "black and white" manner.

I may be spending 2 grand a month for this truck but with the gross revenue that it brings in pretty much pays for it. Besides, since it IS considered a business regardless of what angle you wish to view it from, Everything we spend on this truck is considered a tax writeoff. Although we havent had the truck for a whole year yet to get an exact figure, but I figure my wife and I will bring home a combined annual take home revenue of 50 to 60 grand.

So again, tell me how you think I have as much sense as a box of rocks??

 

Let’s see, the average small trucking company buys a fleet spec tractor for around $100k. With depreciation that tractor is worth about $45k after three years. They can use the depreciation as a tax deduction, then either auction or trade the unit in, likely getting less than market value, buy another unit and keep on doing business.

This same company has accurately calculated their cost of doing business and will pay the driver a certain wage accordingly, with differentiations based on experience and a few other factors. However the company has to haul freight profitably to stay in business.

OR

A bigger company can buy that same fleet spec tractor for around $85k due to their “buying power”, lease that tractor to a driver for 3 years at $500 per week for a total of $78k and, then attach a “market value” residual at the end of the lease for about $30k. If the driver buys the tractor, the company profits $20k-$30k on a depreciable asset. Pretty good trick. The added bonus is that if the driver decides to end the lease without buying the unit, it’s only three years old so it can be leased to another driver under the same conditions which equal more profit to the company.

This big company has also accurately calculated the cost of doing business and, for them it is much less because their employees are now bearing a large percentage of their cost so…. They can work for much less money and still haul freight profitably. However, the driver’s compensation will be less because the rate is less and the company has a par cost per mile that they collect first.

Not to mention that now a lot of hard costs have been deferred from the company to the employee, streamlining the company’s cost of doing business, likely increasing their profit margin as well.

So in the first instance the company must keep their trucks loaded and profitable to ensure their success. Everybody benefits to one degree or another.

In the second instance the company only needs to keep the truck busy enough to ensure that the lease payments are made because, they profit not only from the loads that the truck hauls but, from the lease payments as well.

If they can lease more trucks they can increase their revenue as long as they can keep each truck just busy enough so that the driver can make the payments.

Ultimately it’s not in the company’s best interest to keep L/Os as busy as they can, because if they do, it reduces the amount of loads available to other L/Os…. Reducing the company’s profit on leased trucks.


Draw your own conclusions.


Just sayin’


.......... Jim

 

Its not????

Hmmm, I gotta think about that one for a min......

First off, England doesnt buy these trucks. They lease them from the dealer. When the lease for the L/O trucks and Company trucks is up, they go back to the dealer so For example, when we get done with this truck, it goes back to England then England turns it back in to where they bought it. This truck will got get assigned to anyone else unless we dont keep it the full three years. At that point, if it were to happen, depending on how much time is left on the lease, they will either A, let some one else lease it for either the 6 month demo or, let someone else lease it for the remander of its term or B, turn it into a company truck. Thats why they have different lease agreements. One is a 6-month demo on a used truck. Not sure if you can do the 6 month demo on a new truck, tho. Second is the "finish the lease on someone elses truck. For example, You can finish out the lease on an older truck. If the truck is a year and a half old, then the lease agreement on that truck is for a year and a half because thats the remaining time on the lease for that truck. Third is the 3-year lease on a brand new truck which is what we did. Mainly for the warranty and the fact that no one had been in it before us.

To my knowledge, the reason they supposedly push the lease is because when you lease, they dont have to pay for all the fuel, maintenence, permits and all that other gibber-gabber......

Maybe that is part of their "scheme" but the way I look at it, people are a lot more prone to taking care of the trucks when they have to pay for the damages they inflict. They are also more prone to lowering fuel costs when they have to pay for it.

Ive seen a lot of company trucks that were thrashed because the drivers didnt have to pay for the repairs. They didnt care how much money was being spent on all the excessive idiling. They didnt care about fuel mileage.

Oh and just one more tidbit......

Not sure if this were true, but IMO, if the L/O's, O/O's or IC's whatever you wish to call them had to pay full price for the fuel, Elngland wouldnt have a reason to govern the trucks; nor would they have a reason to disable the 5th-wheel slide with the 5th wheel all the way up or allow the ruck to idle under certain requirements.

Team L/O's and the O/O's are at the top of the priority list for loads. Even over company teams.

Did you know that they cut company drivers down to the neighborhood of 250? Thats also the reason they made OTR trucks teams only because of the supposed less expences for having one person in one truck.