The more I research Lease/Purchase the more I realize....

That is the defining ability between success and failure, leasing is a business ... not like a business, a business.

If you don't understand how business works, you will fail.

 

Have you ever run or own business or had PnL responsibility? ... If you have, trucking experience isn't that critical ... If you haven't, trucking experience isn't going to make that much difference.

 

Very well said but I think there is more to it than just they screwed me and someone's lack of knowledge. The one thing I hear a lot from unexperienced drivers is they think that they can take more time off and be home more which is a huge fantasy. I should know I have been leasing for 2 and 1/2 years. I am one of the rare success stories. I have a thread on here called my leasing adventure where I give my numbers and experiences out for everyone to learn from.

 

I ran some numbers for my company and running the way I run now, it would basically just be a ~47% raise, IF I never have to spend more in maintenance than what they already take out ($0.06/mile).

The lease people I ask talk to and see fail and talk about about the lease program, at least here, are people that,

Think since they make more money, they can take more time off. They end up taking home about the same as they did as a company driver and were able to handle personal expenses, but they failed to set money back for business expenses and got in a hole.

They are too far in debt, and think the opportunity to make more money will help. I've talked to a guy that was in a lot of debt and thought it would be a good idea to take out a payday loan to pay for the upfront costs to get into a lease here, and just never could recover.

And most of all, people that just have no business sense. They think the job only consists of driving. They have no idea how their truck works and how to maintain it, they trust strangers to manage their finances and taxes, and just simply don't do anything besides drive and hold everybody else accountable for his/her failures.

The people here I've talked to that are doing good and are being successful at it,

Know what they're doing. They are experienced. They manage their hours of service properly. They keep their tractor in great condition and do pre-trips daily. They communicate effectively. They're just experienced drivers. They're not somebody with 6 months experience that wanted to jump into leasing as soon as they could thinking it would just equal more money.

They have business sense. They talked to me about taxes, they know what expenses they need to keep track of, they understand IFTA and gave me advice about fuel planning. They did their research.

And they are willing to work. They didn't go lease to avoid certain areas, or only to run 1,000+ mile loads. They take what's available and keep moving and stay busy.


I feel like these very same reasons are the leading cause to the failure rates among many owner operators as well. They think it's just driving and more money because they own a truck, but it's not. It's like a pie. And when you are desperate to get your own truck because you're desperate for money and go lease a truck for high payments instead of properly getting your personal finances in order and starting a business smartly, your pie shrinks. When you give away a slice to a company like Landstar or Mercer or whoever to get you work, your pie gets smaller. When you accept posted rates from a broker or even offer a lower rate than posted because you have no negotiation skills, that pie gets smaller. When you refuse to learn how to be your own accountant and file your own taxes, your pie gets smaller. When you have no idea how your equipment functions and how to take care of it and just wake up and drive, your pie gets really smaller. If all you know how to do or care to do is drive a truck, then that slice of pie isn't going to be any larger than the pie you get driving as a company driver.

 

well I read all that and I think I’ll go get a piece of pie.
I once again learned I can’t make any money working at Landstar.

 

Question...what company would you recommend to even begin a conversation about a lease purchase?

 

If your filing your business taxes you may as well l/p from a mega.