Please HELP! I'm having trouble financing a truck!

How long did that 4000 dollars take you?

Is that all? Let's say you got the truck. A load of fuel 300 gallons is about a thousand dollars.

What are you going to do when you need 4 fillups in a week one way around the USA?

Is that it?

Im not trying to be difficult. But wait a few more years preferably 10 before you start tossing down credit applications.

I had a repossession decades ago, it took me 10 years before anyone will lend a #### thing. It was 30 before I borrowed a dime.

 

Wow that's a lot to ask for.

"Giving a percentage to another company" seems to be part of the theme for those who don't get how it works.

If you only have $4k to put up, then maybe you need to find another way to do this, I would think maybe having $30k in the bank would be a good start to show you are serious.

 

A first time buyer is not getting a loan with 4k down on a used truck. Its gonna take 25% and an intent to lease letter from an established carrier to even be considered.

 

I'm not an O/O. I researched it several times over the years, and spoke to a lot of O/Os.

The recurring theme of those discussions was this:

"If you don't have at least 6 months of living expenses saved up, AFTER paying for your truck, you're not ready."

There's exceptions to everything. I've met very few exceptions to this "rule".

YMMV and good luck, but it sounds like you're setting yourself up for further financial strife.

 

This is crazy!

 

If you lease to a reputable company with good paying freight, that isn't needed. Money to cover initial start up costs, a good solid maintenance fund, plus a month to cover living expenses will put you in good spot to get started.

 

Try your local credit union. A lot of them do commercial vehicle loans. Way lower interest. Mine didn't bat an eye when I asked for 40k. Didn't even ask for a down payment which made it so I kept my cash for emergencies/repairs/etc.

 

6 months money to operate regardless of actual revenue that might take three or more months to pay out provided there are no claims, conflicts, he said she said etc etc etc.

I get sick to my stomach when I think of so many people going to orientation who did not have 20 dollars for food. Much less money for the LP truck they just signed a stack of papers.

I hate to be difficult. I once bought a 94' FLD short roof for about 41000 with a first payment due in three weeks and some odd days with a tank of fuel to get and papers, tags and so forth organizing that first week I took possession.

It was a eye opener for me how much the money seems to spin in something like that to get going, much less keep it going. To be fair there are posts in my past here on TTR that explains the overall situation more fully as this was a facility that teaches company drivers to become O/O over 4 structured years. If you could not success then trucking is not your path forward.

It's a little bit of a regret I suppose. It was a very nice little tractor. Im pretty sure I would have gotten many years out of it. But I view it also that when a door is shut, it's shut.

 

That's what I did 3 years ago on my first truck. It was a 2010. I put down 25% and the local community bank gave me 5.5%
money.

As you said, I brought an intent to lease contract from the carrier I had already been with as a line-haul & office guy for a couple 3 years.

It's not easy, but getting a reasonable interest rate is possible.