Yep....pick-ups bring a premium here.....I know a guy who bought a 2004 Dodge 4x4 crewcab in Oklahoma for 5k,couldn't touch it for twice that here.That's why I drive a Toyota Corrolla.....gas mileage is great to,I can drive to Houston (250 mi) for $20 and spend the rest on the grandkids.

 

Here are a couple;

http://www.truckpaper.com/listings/d...15508625518fc1

http://www.truckpaper.com/listings/d...15508625518fc1

http://www.truckpaper.com/listings/d...15508625518fc1

http://www.truckpaper.com/listings/d...15508625518fc1

http://www.truckpaper.com/listings/d...15508625518fc1

http://www.truckpaper.com/listings/d...15508625518fc1

http://www.truckpaper.com/listings/d...15508625518fc1

 

As you know, I usually recommend most people start out with a good used truck. There are several reasons. The first reason is the monthly payments. You can buy a good use truck for around $20,000, pay 20% down and finance the balance with payments well under $1,000/month, depending on your credit. Using your figures for a new truck that you pay $144,000, you will need about 20% for the down payment. That comes to more than $28,000, just for the down payment. Your monthly payments will likely be more than $2,000/month. If you had the $28,000 for the down payment you would be better off just finding a good used truck and paying cash. One other expense most don't consider is collision or comprehensive insurance. This type of insurance covers your equipment should you become involved in an accident. It is usually 2 1/2-4% of the stated value. Most will probably be around 4%. At 4% your annual premium will be around $6,400. Even if you could get collision at 2 1/2% your insurance premiums would come to more than $3,000/year. That is at least $250/month in addition to your monthly payment. The same insurance on a $20,000 truck would be around $800/year or less. The insurance costs alone would be enough to make the decision for me. One other thing to remember about class 8 collision insurance is that they ONLY pay market value for the truck and won't pay more than the stated value. Freightliner depreciates more than just about any other truck. If you are involved in an accident and your truck is totalled during the first couple of years, you could be left to pay off the truck even after the insurance company paid what the truck was worth. That could be thousands of dollars and you still wouldn't have a truck. There is Gap insurance which covers the difference, but costs extra. Carriers who do these fleece purchase programs don't always tell you about all the other costs involved in leasing their truck. You could easily spend $800/week by the time everything is figured in to your costs. And that doesn't include fuel. I believe in keeping costs low, especially starting out. If you want a new truck, work with the used truck, save your money and trade up in a few years. Once you pay for your used truck and save some money, you may even be able to pay cash.

As to why would someone buy a truck and lease it to a carrier? There are several reasons. The main problem is capital. Most drivers who purchase a truck don't have a lot of cash. Trucking is a very capital intensive business. If you are running hard, you will probably burn around 100-125 gallons of fuel per day. At $2.50/gallon, you will spend from $250-310+ on fuel each day. That is just for fuel. There are other expenses you will incur running a truck. If you lease to a carrier they will pay for the liability and cargo insurance. If you run your own authority you will need to pay this yourself. This will cost you from about $5,000-20,000 per year, depending on your experience, credit, type of freight hauled, base of operations, traffic lanes. If you have limited experience your premiums will likely be from the middle to higher end of these figures. I pay almost $4,000 for each of my trucks, but I have a good MVR, good credit, no history of claims, and many years of experience. I also don't frequent many high risk areas. You can probably finance most of the premium with about 20% down. There is a learning curve. You will make a lot of mistakes. We all do until we learn the business. There are a number of compliance costs, such as joining a drug consortium. There are other things which need to be addressed to stay legal. When you run your own authority, you will need to get your own loads. When you lease to a carrier they help you find loads, and help you finance your business by paying you weekly, in most cases. If you run your authority, you will be responsible for collecting your receivables and financing your business until the money starts coming in. There are ways to finance your receivables through a line of credit at your bank or factors. Either way, it costs you money which reduces profits.

I don't think that your friends are clearing the numbers you noted, especially the leasing guy. They could be grossing the numbers you mentioned, but unless they are in a specialized part of the industry, they are not likely netting that much money. You make more than most lease operators and don't have the headaches. I have looked at a lot of different lease programs offered by carriers. I have yet to see one that makes sense for the driver. You may pay $325/week for a payment, but have other expenses or costs which must be added to the payment for a true picture. I will be glad to look at any lease purchase program and check the numbers.

If you want to lease a truck, there are legitimate leasing companies that will lease you a truck and have a buyout at the end where you own the truck. In most cases, you will not be restricted to whom you can lease. If you want to switch carriers, you can take the truck with you. If you lease from the carrier, then you will likely not be able to take the truck with you should you decide to leave. You could also lose your maintenance account. That will depend on your contract. Good luck.