lease to own questions

a good rule of thumb is NEVER! "fleece" a truck from the Co. you are signed with. if you MUST lease, find an outside Co.

 

I have a buddy who leases with Koch out of Minnesota. He gets 100 percent of the fuel surcharge, but it only covers the entire trip for fuel about half the time, and any extra comes out of the pay for the load. His truck payment is 450 a week, plus .5 cpm gets taken out per load and put into a maintenance fund. He seems to make decent money if he gets the miles. He pretty much does strictly Minnesota to LA or san fran cali. The spots he makes the good money is trips that have multiple stops because he gets 50 bucks per stop. Been thinking about doing this but im gonna wait until spring or summer cause now doesnt seem like a smart time to lease a truck.

 

Don't forget you pay your own repairs and tolls and taxes. You break down, better have American Express.

 

With Koch you dont have to pay cash for the repairs you can charge it an pay koch back in payments but yeah maintenance is your responsibility as well as taking taxes out of you paychecks and paying taxes.

 

Why would anyone ever use the lease program from a company if it is so bad?
With so many drivers leasing trucks from their company, there must be some advantage to doing it.

If drivers make less money as a lease driver,why would they ever attempt it?

Has anyone ever spoken to a lease driver that enjoyed it?

 

because it is a "one way street".
the Co. will portray it as "the best thing since sliced bread"
but in actuality it just transfers all the risk to YOU.
they also hold ALL the cards.
at least with a lease from an outside source you can change Co's without losing your (if any) equity, in the truck.

 

My buddy seems to enjoy it but yes you are taking all the risk. But you do make more money than you would as a company driver, as long as nothing breaks down and you keep rolling. But you get the freedom of your own truck and the freedom of having your own business.

 

Your gross pay will be way more than a company driver, but your net will be about the same.(before taxes)

The fuel surcharge is on a sliding scale based on the average price of fuel countrywide.

If you get a good truck, get good fuel mileage (at least 6 mpg average), don't take any advances, get good loads, and don't spend too much on chicken lights & CBs, you can usually make about as much as a company driver. Just make sure you pay your taxes or Uncle Sam will eat that ### up come tax time.

 

The problem with lease deals is that you have all of the responsibilities of an entrepeneur without any of the control necessary to ensure your success.

If you were a true O/O and freight was slow, you could and would supplement with load boards or other brokers freight to keep moving. You're not allowed to improve your fortune with a lease deal. If they give you 1200 miles a week, you sit and stew in it and there's nothing you can do. A smart business person would take matters into their own hands, but you can't.