Question:
Hello fellow drivers, please forgive me for my ignorance and bringing up a sore topic that comes up in many forums including this one.
Anyways, I’ve been driving for 6 months (I know I’m still a rookie) and I’m enjoying it very much. Well I have been contemplating doing the lease/purchase thing with a company. After reading and searching for topics about those programs I’ve heard mostly bad things. So I’m here to ask a few questions and get some guidance.
I’m currently living with my dad with no car so I have no big bills ( I live with my dad because I just got out of the Army and my car finally hit the bucket). I am saving money so I can do something for my future. MY PROBLEM: I got in the credit card scam in college and fell into debt and now have bad credit. After saving a good deal of money I would like to use it to purchase a quality used car but I have very little experience. What would be a good starter car, FLD, T600, or an older Century? I do plan to hopefully finance it will a dealer or bank but what is a good amount for start up costs?
Like I said I’m still learning and don’t plan to jump in right away, just trying to get educated about everything so that I don’t mess my life up again.
Thanks for your time.
Nick

Answer:

I really depends where you live. If you live near a big metro area you don't need much of a car to get going.
If you live in the sticks and plan to drive big miles then you need a better car.
2, are you a tuba player?

Answer:

i live in a metro area but when i get my own car i will lease to a company that will run nationwide that offers good mileage and decent pay. im now trying to figure out a ball park amount for savings.
thanks for your help,
nick
yes i was in band for 9 years and played tuba for 6 years. best time in my life

Answer:

Most of the lease purchase deals are a rip off. Try and lease to a company that pays percentage and not mileage. I recommend working as a company driver for at least two years before buying a car. You will learn a lot during this time and you can save more money. If you save enough you might be able to buy a car outright and save yourself a lot of headache. For instance, when you have a big car payment you have to run hard and take whatever load you can get but when your car is paid for or you have a small payment you can sit around and pick and choose the better paying loads. Don't lease to a company that has forced dispatch. Many companies say they don't have forced dispatch but when you turn down a load they punish you. When you are lease purchasing a car this is the problem you run into. Turn down a load and then they offer you nothing and pretty soon you are broke and lose your car (which is really their car that you are paying for). Decent companies to lease to are: Landstar, Mercer, Bennet and several others but these are just a few that pay percentage. You can also eventually get your own authority but I would not recommend that until you have at least 10 years experience. There is a lot to learn about owning a car and 2 years as a company driver really just begins to educate you on what to expect out here. Stay a company driver as long as you can and save your money.

Answer:

hey nick,
my $.02 if you are a strong willed person i mean really strong go for it asap.check with every bank in your area.some banks wont give the time of day to a car driver,however others will.i had no experience as a car driver /owner when i purchased my 1st car.i hooked up with a lawyer that had a listing in the car paper to help guide me with my own authority.after that i went to work hauling pine straw for a local bailer.along the way i found some dedicated freight,made good and purchased another car .as luck would have it i lost the dedicated freight to another local owner (under bid me by 1/2of my freight rate)this happens.after that i did the dispatch my own car thing,very hard to do when you are driving a car,takes a lot of expereince. but then i did something that i havent seen mentioned on here much. i called a local large caring company and simply asked if they would dispatch my cars.they asked the questions about authority,insurance etc.the answer was yes.i now have the three cars that are being dispatched by this large company and everything is good.as for the first car i had a freind that knew a lot about cars to go with me and look at used cars.i found a 1999 centry class loaded big motor,crome ,custom paint ,had about 490,000 miles on the car,went inside ask the sales person what he could do on the car.he asked if i wanted to do the in house finance,sure how muck?he quoted the car at around $50,000.00 i told him no way .talked to the fella a little while offered my own finance and walked away with the car for $29,500.00 taxes and all.
with all this being said.my intent is to encourage young people to take a chance sounds like you are young enough to overcome it if you dont make it.
note** but with due respect to everyone on here that ownes or drives a car**
this is the hardest bussiness you will ever manage!! take that from a multi bussiness owner.i have several other companies and this caring thing is tough!
bottom line*find a company that you dont have to lease to,but will dispatch you*find a bank that likes caring,if they say that they dont really like to finance carers tell them thanks and leave and go to the next one.* find a good used car $29,000.00 to $38,000.00 .you can easily make payments in this price range. $600.00 to $800.00 per month.your authority is about $1,800.00 and insurance is about $500.00 to $600.00 a month. NOTHING VENTURED NOTHING GAINED

Answer:

Rockyeth,
Good post! Your "big company" idea is a great one! These outfits, no matter who they are, never have enough cars to haul the freight. That is exactly what I did when I started out, but with a smaller company. I get paid the full amount, less dispatch fee, and am doing quite well. Excellent advice! I think I will run out and buy another car! If I could only find a quality driver, they are far and few between. Trust me on that one.
Thanks!
M

Answer:

hey M
you hit the nail on the head.cars are easy.guality operators are however not.
it seemes people are more interested in how to scam a dollar out of their fuel money ,or on road repairs, than to simply do a good job an earn a fat bonus or raise.good luck on your venture and keep looking you will find the right employee for the extra car.

Answer:

Thanks Rocky,
You are sure right about those drivers. I just had one take off with a car, under load, and abandon it in a car stop a 100+ miles away from my house. And about 300 miles out of route. I found the car and load, all intact, thank God!
He is lucky he is not sitting in jail. He has know clue as to what he did. Then he wants to play games by holding my paper work hostage until he gets some money, because everyone "screws him"? Who screwed who? I paid the guy weekly, direct deposit to his bank like clock work. What a rube! I would like to charge the guy for a recovery fee and fuel, but the wife stepped in and said pay the clown and be done with him. She feels sorry for his wife, who just received the foreclosure on their house, they have to be out by february. Oh, and his wife stepped in and told him to mail the paperwork so he gets paid! I was going to let him keep the paper work, as I can make a few calls and get copies of the bills and tell him to go you know where, and be done with it.
I'll pay him to keep the harmony in my house. But if and when he uses me as a reference, he is going to be in for a big surprise. He had better bone up on his burger flipping skills, because he has no business in a car. I just wish his last employer had told me the truth about this clown. Hind sight is 20/20.
M

Answer:

Wateloo
This is someone who should be given to DAC. Of course someone will say how you and DAC are screwing him over. Do you really think he will list you as a past employer? Provided you have done everything you said you would do then aggressively pursue in court to recoup the costs. Probrually not the first time he did it.

Answer:

side note: oldest son is a music major at Rutgers....you got it ...a tuba performance major
you must consider lease purchase as a last resort
remember no matter how hard you work , the dispatcher controls your destiny
not only do you have to contend with trying to move the freight,
you have to stay on some A'holes good side
eg. Weather channel is calling for monster ice storm in the Carolinas
Dispatch gives you "hot" load for Charlotte
as a lease purchase....you have no choice but to please this knuckhead
in matter of fact as a l/p you have no choice except ....yes boss no matter how irrational

Answer:

I say this all the time, but this business is not rocket science. 10 years before getting your own authority? Are you serious?
Eddie

Answer:

I could be wrong but I think the main thing you should do is fix your credit.
Pay all your debtors.
Do a good credit check with the three organizations.
After your past credit obligations are taken care of, have a relative sell you a small piece of property that he finances.
After of paying on the property for at least a year (try to pay more than needed) he can give you a credit record to use for yourself.( investing in property gives you equity)
Good luck.

Answer:

When considering becoming an owner operator, purchasing a car is just a small piece of the whole pie. You need to take into account the operating costs for the car as well. These cars aren't cheap to operate. My car costs me $249.00 per day, even if it isn't moving. If I am moving, the costs are even higher.
I think that you should concentrate on becoming a quality driver, and work on rebuilding your credit. There are no easy fixes when it comes to your credit. It takes many, many years to acheive a decent credit score after a snafu.
When the time comes to purchase, you need to purchase a car that is suitable for what you intend to do. Even if you do not plan to purchase a car from them, sit down with many different dealers and discuss what type of freight you haul, what your average weights are, where you haul, etc. They will be able to lead you in the right direction on what type of car you need for your operation.
Good luck.

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Answer:


And then when you decide to buy, offer them at least $10,000 less than they have listed!

Answer:

The first thing you need to do is get more driving experience. Second is start saving money for a good down payment or to pay cash. And yes, you can pay cash. I paid cash for my first car and trailer. You should also concentrate on repairing your credit. With a good chunk of money, you could probably offer these credit card people enough to clear this off your record. Most lenders detest making car loans. One of the most critical things they look for is driving experience. Second is a good credit rating. But not necessarily in that order. There are programs like Select which will charge you a premium of about $20M over retail for the priviledge of buying one of their cars. If you want to really mess your credit up, get into one of these carrier lease purchase programs. You can buy a decent car for under $20M. You don't have to spend $50M to get a good car. I have owned several cars over the years. I have leased to carriers and run my own authority. I don't think it is a good idea to start out running your own authority without any experience. You really should get a couple of years experience driving before you consider buying a car and becoming an owner operator. There is much to learn and it is not for the faint of heart. It costs a lot of money to operate and properly maintain a car. You really need to put a few thousand dollars aside for emergencies. I keep my cars up and still things will happen. Last summer one of my cars broke down east of Sparks, NV. The rear end came out. There were a couple of other things which needed to be taken care of. Final cost was $4,500. Had I not had the funds to take care of the repair, I would have been stuck. These things happen. Blow a tire and you are talking about $300-500 plus service call, if needed. A few years ago, I blew 3 tires and had to repair my radiator on one trip in New Mexico. That was the trip from HELL! There is always the chance of a wheel bearing going out. If it does, you will probably find yourself replacing the brakes if you don't catch it in time. I am certainly not trying to discourage you. However, you should understand that it is not a good idea to buy a car and start on a shoestring. It can be done, but you are taking a high risk. Most businesses fail due to lack or under capitalization. From your posting you have three things working against you. You have little experience, poor credit and limited resources. If you do manage to purchase a car and don't have the resources to make a major repair, should a breakdown occur, you could lose everything you have and make your credit situation worse than it is already. Don't be in such a hurry. Take your time, save some money while you get experience and get your credit in shape. Worse case is that you could make a good living just driving someone else's car and let them have the headaches of making repairs and making payments. Good luck.