What's the point of leasing?

Most that lease are new drivers and know nothing about that company.The success of leasing is extremely low.I use to have some compassion for these Drivers that lease but not anymore.If they fail they have no-one to blame but themselves.

 

Thank you. It's common knowledge that leasing sucks but every person thinks they are the exception.

 

Tell me about it.They think They re going to be that one person that actually succeeds.Companies don't give drivers a chance to look over the contract or take it to a a lawyer,they want your signature right then and there in orientation.That should be a red flag.Drivers have no idea how many miles they'll get they automatically believe the sales people or recruiter.Seriously how would they know.

 

Recently signed a contract for a lease truck, it was on the computer in digital form. page by page on the company server. Take your time to read it but the next person presenting info for the company is coming in a few minutes (see how they are hurrying you along). Plus many of the digital pages were just a little x where you click to sign but the numbers like on the page for stipulated loss value over time were left blank. I asked for a paper copy of the lease, she said we don't do that, but you're welcome to log onto the server from outside and print a copy. As far as I know I don't have a user name and password yet for the server. Will find out this week and get the thing printed up. I always carried a paper copy of the lease in my truck per regulations, not sure how this company thinks we don't need it.

There are some pros and cons to leasing.
Pro--
keep the same truck during your tenure with the company rather than switching into another unknown company truck everyso often and having to clean up someone elses sticky pee and cigarette smoke stains. Much better to clean up your own pee.

6 years of experience, company positions were offering $0.4x mileage pay to me. Lease a truck I can beat that by at least $0.10 or more depending on many savvy business practices and factors. Meanwhile a good portion of my pay is going toward investment into a truck that I me I is babying along to know its gentle maintenance history rather than going to some used truck lot dealer and hoping the used fleet truck that had 55 company drivers live in it over the last 4 years did not do their best to destroy.

 

So is the risk. The depression was not just because crops were failing, it was also because people borrowed money. If all your assets were paid for and wall street collapsed and you had to park the truck for a little while, you would still have the truck when it was all over. Look how many lost their trucks when the oil went bust.

 

I get the same faint whiff of BS from lease-purchase plans that I get from telemarketers trying to sell me a time share in the Bahamas.

If I ever decide to be an O/O, it won't be until I've got at least a few years under my belt in this industry. And I'll buy my own truck with money I've saved for the purpose. Just seems to me to be unwise to start a brand new career by immediately putting myself in debt with a $100k (or more) vehicle when I don't even know the first thing about operating a truck.

 

Actually it was because of the deflation that was triggered by but not caused by the stock market's slide. When things cost so much less and people were thrown out of work, it didn't matter what you owned, people wouldn't/couldn't buy it and by the time you got back around to using it, you may never got a real chance. By the late 20's, things were getting too cheap, credit for things were easy to get but the assets were losing value just as they were sold. It is like today, too many sub-prime lending practices are going on, too many easy to get loans handed out but (for example) the auto industry has finally recognized the fact that leasing will kill them in the long run, but don't care, their sales driven bonuses are all that count. SO they will over produce, oversell and then wonder why they can't sell or even lease a car to people who can find just a good enough one for half the price. one huge reason why companies like Ford are diversifying into other areas so to pad their bottom line when another disaster hits.

Trucking is the same thing, I just bought four rather newer (2013) trucks this past week, I borrowed to get them but hey the market value is three times the sale price because the oil work is dried up for now - the owner had to move them out of his inventory or file for bankruptcy.

The issue of credit and money and all of that is hard to understand for many, credit leveraged in a good way with smart planning seems to always make money in the long run. Most I have found out go into this thinking that the $1.10 rate is great while not understanding that they can not sustain a living with such thin margins and volatile competition. I don't recommend a lease unless one has their ducks in a row before they make a final decision, too many jump into it and rather lose out then complain how unfair it was to them that the company did this or that or sold them a lease option.

 

One of the main contributing factors to the Great Depression was too easy credit. People could buy on margin (credit) up to 100%. Today it is like 25% (someone may come along and correct me).

So if you had $100 bucks to invest, with 100% margin, you could actually invest $200. But when or if the stock fell below $100, you're bust and the margin call comes in. Your account is zero at $100 value or even negative if less than $100. If you don't have the $100 to cover the margin call, someone has to pay. Multiply this over thousands of billions of dollars and investors who cannot make a margin call and you have a busted stock market. Whole economy crashes.

 

I think your explanation sounds a lot simpler than what actually happened. That's fine though. I'll continue to use credit and spend less of my actual money to make money.

 

Yep and you will send the bank 10k in interest to keep from sending uncle sam 3k in taxes. Makes a lot of sense to me.