you asked for it.

If you aren't the one doing the lease purchase, what's it to you? Did it make you feel better to write a paragraph-less screed about a topic that is of no concern to you?

 

I don't have any sympathy for anyone that doesnt have a success story leasing.They deserve what they get.Most know it's a bad idea but still does and many have zero knowledge about this industry or their company and still leases so they deserve whatever happens.

 

The problem with lease purchase is when you sign on to one of these ridiculous mileage programs where a dispatcher controls you and on top of that they're only paying 90-100 cpm plus fuel. That's just destined for failure. Operation cost (including fuel and a maintenance fund) is going to be around 80cpm.

So assuming fuel surcharge is 25 cpm you're really making less per mile than a company driver plus paying employer taxes on top of that.

On the other hand if you do a lease purchase operating with your own authority or with a decent percentage carrier it's not neccesarily a bad thing, although right now the market is terrible for taking any risks. The bare minimum that any lease operator should run for is $1.60-$1.70 all miles IMO. You can be very profitable in that range assuming your in the 2700-3000 mile per week range.

 

I am still just trying to figure out who it was that asked for this thread.

 

I have no experience with a L/P and personally don't think I would ever do it but to generalize that it's a bad idea and wrong for everyone is ignorant. its a business deal. If you're a good business man and have a strong work ethic then I don't see any reason why you couldn't make it work. Yea some companies are gonna try and stick it to ya, but you got to be smart enough to see that and take your business/service somewhere else. You're still doing the same job, there's just more on your shoulders. With great risk comes great reward if played right. Learn to play the game, make some good money and end up with a truck you can call your own. It's not for everybody. They just make it sound like it is.

 

Amen, brother!

I agree, probably 90% of the L/P programs are a rip off. But I won't say that all of them are, there are plenty of success stories posted all over these boards. Someone with decent credit, money saved, good work ethic, and a good business sense, with the right program, could make a nice living.

 

On a l/p you have to consider what the carrier is paying for. You can make it on $1.00 to $1.35 a mile when you are running under their authority, you are getting their fuel and tire discounts, they are paying tolls, etc, etc.

 

@UFO @stevep1977 @Md420 @Anonymousproxy I've never had the "pleasure" of doing l/p due to the fact that I was fired from OTR before given the chance. But you all have interesting points. First @UFO you're correct at how the megas seem to screw the prospective driver. But there are some holes everywhere I can see in this. Now the rates are ridiculous (the lowest I saw at the company I worked for was $650 a week) and it is true. Stevens would purchase the new trucks and have them brought to the yard and decals put on them for the company. Then they'd pass them off to the "lease" driver as a means to "train" them in what it's like "run a business" and mold them into "owner operators". Now my first trainer was a lease op with them. He trained as a means to meet his notes on his truck. Apparently, he was buying the truck from Stevens as he'd already began personalizing it. With Stevens, you never really owned the truck in some cases. You did get a big check afterwards that was to encourage you to try again. Me personally, I would've paid my heavy debts had I survived with "fleece" program as they called it.
To all of the rest I've listed the successes and failures as a l/p or lease op in the industry is to taste really. I was a company driver and banked quite a lot believe it or believe it not. Most will complain that they "weren't getting the miles promised" and felt "screwed over" by the company. Unfortunately, I never had that "pleasure" either. I didn't turn down loads and was at the ready. I even had to give up good loads for crappy ones because Stevens and as quiet as it's kept other companies, run off "favors" they "owed" to some of other drivers. That's how I lost my first "big load" for a smaller one. It paid off and I was given the chance again after a 34hr reset. I relished in it and I' don't regret it at all. Most of the drivers who complain about not making it in the trucking industry don't know how to put back for a rainy day; this is to include the rookies who whine. They want to spend their time at the truck stops at the buffet or in the arcade. They want to abuse the cash advances and I've seen some not Transflo their trips when they needed to. Those are some of the main ways that even company drivers stayed in the red.
Mainly, most want the title of "Owner Operator" but don't want the responsibilities involved. It's truck driving, not high school where mommy and daddy can pay your vehicle off if you're a good boy/girl. "Lease with us and make $3000 every week with the best lease program in the industry!!!" Hahaha! Right. After fuel, insurance, repairs (God help you), taxes, QUALCOMM fees, APU fees, and other misc. government robbery, you know it isn't happening. That's where the "putting back" thing above comes in. Remember: The majority of the pay is paid to the truck. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, is remotely slanted in the favor of you the driver.
P.S. To those of you who stopped to read this post, it's for the rookies who come here and complain. Thanks for your time.

~Voodoo "Oinkie" Pyg.

 

Oh @pattyj you ain't never lied ma'am. That's what my post was all about. Why whine if YOU didn't do your research?

 

I'm pretty outspoken that's for sure.