The Good, The Bad, The Honest Truth of a New Roehl Lease Operator

Just got my truck back from Freightliner. Had a pm and a couple of air leaks fixed. I've given up on having Roehl do any work on this truck. That is a double edged sword. It costs more than having Roehl do the work, but I get to have work done where I chose and trust as well as on my schedule. Roehl doesn't believe in doing a pm before 40k miles, I want it done twice as often. I also get to talk to mechanics who specialize in my truck and engine. One of the things I found out was that the fuel filter Roehl had been using was the wrong one. They were using a filter for a pre-egr engine and the dealership doesn't even stock it anymore.

 

Have you figured out how much you'll pay for that truck in total, and what the interest rate on the borrowed money winds up being? 'Cause I've read a lot of these threads, and it seems no one ever looks at that.

 

How many weeks is your lease for? It is least a minimum of 3 years which is 156 weeks. This would be 156 payments of $437 plus the 9000 buyout. That is over $77,000 for a truck that list all over the truck papers for $33,000 to $38,000. Most of Roehls leases are about 6 months longer than that so it could be $10,000 more. Eric I am not trying to be a jerk, I am only pointing this out to others that have asked. The object of any business is to have the lowest operating cost possible to help maximize your profits. A driver is giving up over $40,000 in profits just for the privtlage of leasing a truck thru Roehl based on the over inflated cost of owning that tuck.

 

Preach, a really good shop is the Port of Plains Ambest in Lamar Co. They do all my PM's. I am very happy with them. After Roehl messed up my coolant filter I never let them touch my truck.

 

I have a Truck Centers Freightliner dealership and shop thirty miles from my house. The head of the service department lives in my town and has seen my truck often. They made a good first impression, we'll see how it goes long term. I like the idea of being able to drop the truck off and then go home to enjoy time with the family. If it takes longer than expected I'm not stuck out on the road, I'm at home.

As for the lease payments, you are right about watching what you pay for the truck. Also you need to know what maintenance issues are you likely to deal with and how much will it cost. In my case I have a dpf that will need serviced at some point, overheads and injectors that will need adjustment. Someday I'll need an engine overhaul.

In my case my truck lists in Truck Paper for about $70,000. My payments will work out to about $68,000 to $70,000 with a $12,000 buyout. I would classify it as a fair deal and much better than most of the other companies I looked at. My issue isn't with the truck lease. My issue is the weak miles that Roehl continues to offer. My wife and I have the attitude of do what we have to to survive until the truck is paid off, then it's time to go somewhere else.

One more thing when you enter a lease you are not making a downpayment. You are making your first two truck payments in advance. They will take out $75.00 a week until you have four truck payments set aside in an interest bearing escrow account. They will also take another $75.00 a week for an insurance deductible. You will also pay full price for your set of locks (they don't tell you about that one or the $100 deposit on your prepass unit.)

 

I agree and here is how I calculate it: Using the number $437 per week X 52 weeks = $22,724 divided by 12 months is $1,893.67 per month for a lease payment with $9,000 down. Buying that truck using the $38,000 less $9,000 on a three year term at 11% the payment is $949.42 The savings is a whopping $33,993 on the purchase vs lease. You can buy a new $109,000 truck with $9000 dn at 8% for $1753.32 for 72 months.

 

Good luck but for me if I was going to be paying for a truck I would want one that doesn't look like every other company truck but sincerely good luck.