lease purchased

Blanket statements that leases are all bad ideas are incorrect. Going to a Pawn shop and pawning your wife's wedding ring seems like a bad idea also. But if you take the money you got from her ring and buy lottery tickets and then you win the lottery, it becomes the best idea you ever had.

For some people the idea of owning the own truck is a dream that they can only reach by paying a higher then normal rate. Leases are 12%. Financing is 6%. Cash is at a discount. Cash would be best but no possible for everyone.

We are all in trucking for the same reason. To make Money. For a company driver that means miles. We want to run as fast as we can for as long as we can. For an owner that is not true. He wants to run as few miles as possible and haul the highest paying freight. Low cost = high profits. So why do companies pay you by the mile? If they can lease you the truck, then you have to begin to think like the owners do. Keep your cost down and make as much profit as possible. That is the key to leasing. It is the companies way to get you to make the most profit as possible. If you lease and just try to run the wheels of the truck, the lease will not work for you in the long run. You have to get the best MPG and still get the freight there on time.

 

It can be done successfully if you go about it the right way and are business savvy. Could also result in udder disaster! Don't do it just because you want a new shiny truck! Make sure you have all your ducks in a row and start off with a good business plan. Never lease on right away with a new company. Reason being is that your dispatcher is going to be your key to success and you want to establish a good relationship and know what your facts and figures are before making that leap.

 

There is some good advice here, and some parroting.

Now, saying if you fail a lease purchase you will lose everything, go finance a truck is one of the most bass ackwards statements I have ever heard. Lets analyze this.

You go, put money down on a truck, you own the truck, or more realistically the bank owns the truck. You hit hard times, you can't make your payments. The bank doesn't care, they want their money. The truck gets repossessed, sold at auction, and you could still be stuck with a bill in the thousands because a repossessed vehicle never brings what is owed to the bank at auction. Your credit now shows a repossessed vehicle and a debt to a financial institution. Oh and during these hard times your bills weren't getting paid, your utilities get shut off. Ok this is worst case.

You lease a truck. You did your research and leased onto a company that lets you get your own loads. You are now in charge of your destiny. Should you fail you turn in your truck (you did research and make sure you got a walk away lease right?). No debt to a bank, no money owed with nothing to show for it.

Now I will say this, go into a L/P unprepared and you are set up for failure. I don't care if you drove a company truck for 20 years. Have you ever made a business plan? Do you understand how taxes work for an owner? Do you know how to use load boards and brokers? Do you understand IFTA and effecient fuel routing? Did you research the laws and your rights when it comes to lease contracts? Do you know anything about freight areas and rates?

This is all stuff I studied, some of it I am still learning. I have the added benefit of no risk as My income is not necessary for our household so I can make mistakes. If you don't have that kind of security be very careful and good luck. In the end you listen to advice then make whatever decision you feel is right for YOU, no one else can make that decision.