Lease Purchase Programs?

Boy Howdey · Nov 26, 2013

CaptainX3 said: ↑

Didn't realize people were still posting in this old thread of mine LOL.

I think I've finally given up on the dream of buying a truck. Can't find a lease purchase program that even gives a driver a real chance at success, and even though I know there has to be at least one out there somewhere, asking about it on the forums here is equivalent to going into a crowded church and claiming God doesn't exist.

It's a hard truth I've learned... Most lease purchases are designed to fail, no one talks about the good ones that may be out there, and being a company driver even at top pay levels doesn't leave enough to save to buy a truck outright. At least it doesn't for me anyways. And I don't see myself making any more than the .42 per mile than I do now with any other company.

Looking on the bright side, $700 a week take home isn't terrible. I could be unemployed and a lot worse off.
Click to expand...

Look at the Prime threads.

Chinatown · Nov 27, 2013

CaptainX3 said: ↑

Didn't realize people were still posting in this old thread of mine LOL.

I think I've finally given up on the dream of buying a truck. Can't find a lease purchase program that even gives a driver a real chance at success, and even though I know there has to be at least one out there somewhere, asking about it on the forums here is equivalent to going into a crowded church and claiming God doesn't exist.

It's a hard truth I've learned... Most lease purchases are designed to fail, no one talks about the good ones that may be out there, and being a company driver even at top pay levels doesn't leave enough to save to buy a truck outright. At least it doesn't for me anyways. And I don't see myself making any more than the .42 per mile than I do now with any other company.

Looking on the bright side, $700 a week take home isn't terrible. I could be unemployed and a lot worse off.
Click to expand...

I have several friends that bought their truck through Greatwide and are very successful. It's not really a lease, it's a purchase they help you finance, then you haul their loads. They even give you $2000.00 for the down payment. The successfull drivers I know bought used trucks from truck dealerships such as Freightliner or Volvo. Check Greatwide website.

CaptainX3 · Nov 27, 2013

Thanks Chinatown, I appreciate the info. Their website seems to be very vague on the purchase program, but if I decide to make a change I'll give them a call.

Brandonpdx · Nov 28, 2013

CaptainX3 said: ↑

Well, I definitely plan to be part of that 15%. As far as I can tell, leasing is the only viable option. It wouldn't be a smart idea to try to buy a truck myself nowadays and try to survive off of load boards. There are just as many that fail doing that as there are that lease through companies. And either way you end up with a truck payment. And saving to buy a truck outright is just not practical in today's economy... company drivers just aren't paid enough to save $150,000 anymore.
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Well, the peterbilt dealership will roll you out of there with 20% down last time I checked (in 2011). The only way you'd have to come up with $150k for a new truck is if you had no proof of employment...in other words no gig lined up/nobody to lease on to. Obviously they won't finance you under those circumstances. Most guys trying to get into the O/O game for the first time don't have $30k down payment lying around either though...I get that.

The Indy-O/O's who finance or pay cash for their own trucks who survive off load boards and personal portfolios of customers are far and few between. It takes years or even decades to get to that point. It's also a ton of paperwork and a huge hassle to be an independent O/O above and beyond worrying about the truck itself. The upside of leasing onto a company is that they have entire office staffs on hand to push the paperwork and of course cut your settlement check every week without fail. (Indies are out there chasing people for money for loads that have already been hauled, or dealing with factoring companies who take their cut...)

CaptainX3 · Nov 28, 2013

Brandonpdx said: ↑

Well, the peterbilt dealership will roll you out of there with 20% down last time I checked (in 2011). The only way you'd have to come up with $150k for a new truck is if you had no proof of employment...in other words no gig lined up/nobody to lease on to. Obviously they won't finance you under those circumstances. Most guys trying to get into the O/O game for the first time don't have $30k down payment lying around either though...I get that.

The Indy-O/O's who finance or pay cash for their own trucks who survive off load boards and personal portfolios of customers are far and few between. It takes years or even decades to get to that point. It's also a ton of paperwork and a huge hassle to be an independent O/O above and beyond worrying about the truck itself. The upside of leasing onto a company is that they have entire office staffs on hand to push the paperwork and of course cut your settlement check every week without fail. (Indies are out there chasing people for money for loads that have already been hauled, or dealing with factoring companies who take their cut...)
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I think my biggest issue with going to a dealer and financing a truck is my credit. It's not all that great. If there's some way to get a lender to ignore my credit rating and base their decision on my business viability, then that would be perfect. Of course, it's not a perfect world LOL.

I still stand by the fact that I wouldn't get a truck and one my own authority and survive off of load boards. If I did buy a truck I would lease it on somewhere, probably Landstar or something similar. The trick is getting the truck itself without a massive down payment.

Cbake84 · Nov 30, 2013

if you figure out how to get a truck without a huge down payment, please share that tip

CaptainX3 · Nov 30, 2013

Hence why I originally said that the dream of owning a truck is pretty much dead.

If you're making enough money to be able to save that kind of cash in a reasonable time period, why bother taking the risk at all? You're doing pretty well. However, even at .42 a mile and now supporting a family, saving is not possible for me. Hell, right now I have $11 cash to my name, having gotten my paycheck only yesterday. It all went to bills and support.

And after reading over and over again about the lease purchases, there's an overwhelming number of people that really got screwed on them. So obviously doing that isn't a good idea.

I'm smart enough nowadays to know that those who told me you can make $1500+ weekly in trucking as a company driver are full of it. I've never ever come close to that. And I know that I'm being paid more per mile now than most companies would offer someone of my experience level. Believe me, I've checked. Haven't found any company that'll even match it.

Cbake84 · Dec 2, 2013

the only lease purchase i would have any faith in is JCT's. having talked to some of their drivers and read the thread Running with JCT, i think it is set up to help a lease operator become successful.

CaptainX3 · Dec 2, 2013

Cbake84 said: ↑

the only lease purchase i would have any faith in is JCT's. having talked to some of their drivers and read the thread Running with JCT, i think it is set up to help a lease operator become successful.
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Everything about JCT's lease program really impressed me EXCEPT for the .90 per mile plus FSC pay rate. That is too low. I've heard many drivers say that their cost per mile to operate their truck runs somewhere around .85 per mile, factoring in ALL costs. At that rate, you're barely making more than a company driver in profit, which leaves no margin for error, and no room to put back extra cash fast enough to cover a major problem when it happens.

If they'd go to a percentage rate on all of their loads, they'd just about have as good of a program as one could expect.

Boy Howdey · Dec 2, 2013

CaptainX3 said: ↑

Everything about JCT's lease program really impressed me EXCEPT for the .90 per mile plus FSC pay rate. That is too low. I've heard many drivers say that their cost per mile to operate their truck runs somewhere around .85 per mile, factoring in ALL costs. At that rate, you're barely making more than a company driver in profit, which leaves no margin for error, and no room to put back extra cash fast enough to cover a major problem when it happens.

If they'd go to a percentage rate on all of their loads, they'd just about have as good of a program as one could expect.
Click to expand...

Prime pays 72% of the load. Their lease drivers average $1.55 to $1.72.

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