Lease, new or used ?

Don’t do it!

 

If you’re going to do it, definitely get a new truck. You’ll save some money on payments if you get a used truck, but you’ll spend a lot more on repairs driving a used truck that may not have been properly cared for. Once you sign the lease you’re stuck with it, whether it runs well or not.

Keep in mind that as a Lease Operator at Prime you’re still under forced dispatch. It doesn’t really matter how good of a driver you are, your income is determined by how good or bad your dispatcher is. Good luck.

 

Holy crap , forced dispatch as a l/o.

 

Definitely do it, Prime needs the money

 

Not sure if you’re being sarcastic or not, but yes... when I was at Prime the L/O’s were dispatched exactly like the company drivers. You have zero control over your income. Pretty scary with such a big lease payment

 

Yeah no kidding.

 

@ghostzapper how much driving experience do you have? If you told us what your thoughts were on L/O vs. company driver and what your long term goals are then maybe someone here could help you make sure you’re on the right path.

 

That's news to me. When were you there as a lease op?

Yes you have a dispatcher that sends you a load one you're empty but you're not forced to take it. You can say no and wait for the next offer.

Obviously there is a little more to it then just saying no. Give them a business reason as to why it doesn't work for your business, but that's neither here nor there for this thread.

To the OP, new or used at prime isn't much of a difference. You're talking about a truck that is either used between a month or 32 months. They are all under full warranty as well. Before you pick a used one read through the maintenance history and see how well it was taken care of or if it was a problem child.

 

I left Prime almost 5 years ago. Yes, technically you can refuse a load. If you do that though there’s no guarantee you’ll get another load sent to you right away and there’s no telling how long you may have to wait. You’ll never see a load board and rarely be given a choice between multiple loads. It’s almost no different than being a company driver as far as dispatch is concerned.

To be clear, I did very well at Prime for awhile because I had a great dispatcher. I know other drivers though who were chewed up and spit out of the lease program because they drew the short straw on primary dispatchers. Most night and weekend guys were a joke and completely useless.

Maybe things are different now, but in my opinion your success at Prime depends mostly on if you hit the dispatcher lottery or not.