Lease purchase? YES or NO?

Check out Schneider. There's a couple guys on here that's been successful with their lease program.

 

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Let’s us know how it works out for you….. don’t be shy and keep us posted…….

 

If you haven’t learned to live within your means in 10 years of working for as a company driver why do you think as a lease purchase driver is going to any better?Doesnt your company driving job offer a 401k you could have $100 to 150,000 at the least in it by 10 years.Lease purchase seems to have a very high failure rate.Seems the guys who make it work are married to the truck with no life other then the truck I personally can’t see trading your life for 4 to 6 years for a truck.

 

lolol traded my last 30 yrs to the truck the last 1 has been awesome its a lifestyle though i choose it every time ....gypsy road cant go home...

 

It's not "don't work, don't get paid" - it's paying not to work.

A couple questions for you:

• What is your truck's fuel economy? What is the average fuel cost per mile/day?
• When your truck goes in for a pm, what do the mechanics actually do and what does it cost?
• How often does your truck need tires and what do they cost?

If you struggle to come up with the answers to these basic questions, then you're not ready to own a truck yet. There are several great threads on leasing and costs in the Schneider forum and elsewhere on ttr. As you do your research, start putting $300 a week aside to use as a down payment. I would also check out all the various "sky is falling " threads that are popping up right now. Fuel is going up, rates not so much. It might be better to wait a year, get your money right and then take advantage of the large used truck inventory.

 

I think you missed my point.

Years ago I looked into getting my own truck. At the time, I could tell you the exact cost to run my company truck. I tracked every cost the truck incurred down to each drop of diesel. When you say fuel cost is "around 35-50 cpm" it indicates that you are not currently doing the same. A 30% spread for your biggest expense is not good enough. I'm not trying to be mean, but I watch a new crop of lease operators sign on the dotted line every week. Most of them do not complete the lease at all. Of those that do go the full term, most don't keep the truck.

This is a post I made back in 2014:

"The right way is the way CW and DFO did it - do lots of research, crunch the numbers, and have a solid plan.

The wrong way is to lease a new truck and not know anything about the costs except what your weekly truck payment will be. Not total cost of the truck, maintenance account requirement, rough insurance, rough cost per mile, not if the truck has a diesel or electric apu. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! The only thing this guy knew was that his cousin is running choice and is "making good money". I understand reticence in talking personal finance with a guy you just met and don't even know his name, but I don't think that was the case. He knew his truck payment was going to be $722, but not how many payments, what the balloon would be, etc.

Owning a truck scares the piss out of me. I know that I don't know enough about all lot of things in order to be a successful IC. It constantly blows my mind how some people will blithely put their entire financial well being in jeopardy. Just because Sigfried and Roy look really cool playing with their tiger doesn't mean you should go out an buy a tiger of your own."

Another Company to IC Choice Thread
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Then there's this from 2016:

"Feel free to tell me to mind my own business, but out of curiosity who do you drive for and how much do you gross a year right now? Team drivers should be grossing at least $70,000, plus they have company paid health care (make sure you budget in health care costs, one of those "hidden" costs new ICs forget about). Is it possible to make more as a company solo driver while maintaining time at home needs with a different company?

You or someone else wondered why every time you ask for information you get told how hard it is and how bad an idea leasing a truck is.

We see so many people try and choose to leave for a variety of reasons. The first three truly active IC posters on TTR were @sadwar, @dieselfuelonly , and @chicknwing. Chicknwing left after 6 months because the money he was making wasn't worth being gone from home. He got a job running local LTL for the same money he was making as an IC - with less risk to himself. DFO ran smart as heck, but the stress of owning/running his own business took a serious mental toll (there but for the grace of god go I). Sadwar has done really well over the last (nearly) 3 years, but if I remember correctly the first 6 months were pretty rough. Sadwar had little or no debt starting out, a loving, supporting, gainfully employed fiance/wife, and a cat when he started. He moved into a great freight area that allows him to maximize TAH and Income. Sadwar's hard work is what made him successful but circumstances worked to his advantage. Even being one of the most successful ICs to post here, Sadwar was looking to get out of trucking a few months ago. That should tell you something.

The next three long term guys, @rickybobby , @TennMan , and @freightwipper all have different business models which work for them. Rickybobby plays with his truck half the year and plays with guns the other half (more than a little envious but there are reasons people don't want me playing with large caliber weaponry). In terms of trucking income he makes just above a new driver's annual income. His truck is payed off and when he needed to rebuild the engine his finances/financing was in order. TennMan has stated that he makes about what a company driver would but he went the IC route to better control his time at home. He drives his rear off Monday thru Friday to be home. Freightwipper runs months at a crack and from what I gather makes $10,000 or so more than I do as a company driver (last year $72,000 this year on track for $75,000).

All six of these drivers came in well educated, financially stable, and a supportive wife/single. They all made choices based on calculated risks and have been successful, yet 1/3 of them are no longer ICs. An oft mentioned statistic is that 40% of people who sign onto SNI Choice are no longer with the program one year later - for whatever reason. Even the guys who have been doing this successfully for a couple years have mentioned how much more they're working this year just to keep pace with last year. Buying/leasing a truck is a serious commitment and a large risk. There's a reason equipment finance companies can charge 14-18% interest. I look around at all the new IC drivers who return to being a company driver or leave the industry in a weaker financial position than when they started and have a visceral need to make sure anyone who asks me about Choice understands it's not a "turn key and money pours in" deal. It's hard work, and more importantly its SMART work. If after doing your due diligence you still want to pursue being an IC, you have my sincere best wishes. I will continue being a doomsayer to try and counteract all of the sugar coated advertising thrust in our faces."
Schneider Lease-Purchase..
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As an update - none of those guys are running their own trucks anymore.


If you truly want to own your own truck, start with reading the experiences of the guys on here.

Wiper's Thread

DFO's Thread

Double Yellow's Thread

The Typical L/P Experience
After 6 months this guy threw in the towel saying:

"I won't. I'm not cut out to be a business owner. My anger, frustration and depressive episodes don't help me earn a profit, and my expectations were too high. It's safer and easier being an employee, especially when hearing that even Schneider company drivers take home more than I do on a regular basis."
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As you do the research, start your truck fund. All of the lease deals that I've seen come with a minimum 10% APR, most are 14-18%. If you can get financing outside of a L/P, it will cost significantly less to acquire the truck.

As a last thought - if you think new trucks don't have maintenance needs, think again. One of our guys went into a brand new 2022 last August - the differential grenaded itself in February. It's been 3 weeks and the truck still isn't repaired as their is an argument between Eaton and Freightliner on who is paying for the warranty work. Even though the truck isn't making any money, you still have to pay for it. On Friday I tried to drop off my student with his truck, a 2021 Casscadia. Coolant was leaking out of the block.

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