[GMAN]

Originally Posted by bibnflannel

I guess my question really boils down to whether you can put a price on peace of mind, having a vehicle under warranty all the time, if you take pride in your ride and dont destroy the vehicle..[scratches, burns, excess mileage, etc.], the money you save on the payments over time can be off earning interest or doing something else you need it to do. As far as a commercial vehicle, I see your point as far as a strictly monetary sense. My life doesnt revolve around how much money I can make, its more about being happy, secure, safe, and doing the things I like to do without worrying about unexpected pitfalls, Not everything in life comes down to $$$$.

You don't have to lease a truck to have a warranty. You can either buy a new or used truck with a warranty, just as easily as you could if you leased. Something to keep in mind is that those who lease these trucks to drivers and carriers finance them and the price you pay is in addition to that cost. Just because you have a warranty doesn't mean that everything will be covered. If you want to take all the risk out of life and this business, you are looking at the wrong business. In fact, every business has risk attached. That is why the failure rate is so high. If you want security and not having to worry about things, perhaps you will probably be much happier and safer if you drive for a carrier who can take care of all of the headaches of running a truck and paying all the bills. You may not want to think about the monetary aspect of trucking, but unless you look at the money you are doomed for failure from the beginning. This is a business. Unless you treat it like a business, which includes thinks like money and profits and losses, you are not going to be happy for very long. If you want to do this as a hobby, there are other ways to experience the road. You can rent an RV and see the country. It will be less expensive and you will probably be much more comfortable. I can guarantee you that you will pay more for leasing or renting than you would if you bought a truck. But, you seemed pretty determined to do it your own way. Perhaps you should go ahead and lease a truck and report back to us after a few months. It would be an interesting read.

[Teal 95 KW]

Life isn't all about money....you're partly right there. But, if my bank account didn't reflect my time and hard work out here, then you'd be able to find me in the drive-thru of your local mc donalds. I'm 25, not married, no kids, but I have a VERY expensive car/racing hobby so I'm all abou tmaking as much money as I can, and being in positive financial situation when I do get married. Being "happy" or "content" isn't going to cut it, for 100 hour weeks, sweating my butt off, carrying dressers up and down stairs etc. And, then to top it all off, knowing that $2,500-$3,000 a month of my HARD EARNED money was going to be pissed away on a truck I would never own, or have any sort of equity in....that doesn't make any sense....

And, as Rev. said...excess mileage is the furthest thing from my mind...it's taken me almost 2 years to put 103k miles on my truck in the first place....which, btw...is paid for as well. :roll:

[kips41]

Originally Posted by Teal 95 KW

Being "happy" or "content" isn't going to cut it, for 100 hour weeks, sweating my butt off, carrying dressers up and down stairs etc.

I'll bet Rev. Vassago is wanting to know how you log all of this???
Sorry just had to ask. It's all in good clean fun Rev.

The lease is a fleece. If you want to drive a new truck every 4 years, purchase, figure what the residual will be and put that as a balloon on the back end of the loan and you have a smaller payment and get to write off the depreciation too. There are risks when doing this, the residual better be pretty conservative or you will end up having to pay to trade in the old truck, plus you have no equity built up to put down on the new one unless you have saved outside of the payment.

What one should really worry about is cost per mile. How much is that truck costing you per revenue mile.

I know a guy who buys an old CFI truck, runs it 24 months then trades it in on another used one. Even with maintenance his cost per mile is lower than buying new.

You really need to set you up an excel spreadsheet and run the numbers.
There are too many variables like your revenue per mile, how many miles you drive and estimated fuel economy on the trucks you are looking at, maintenance etc. to give a qualified answer.

Buying is the way to go for the long haul, but you have alot of options on how and what you buy that will make a big difference.

It really sounds like you just want to cruise around in a new ride all the time and that is fine too if you are willing to pay for the privilege.

[Teal 95 KW]

KIPS-I'm a bedbugger as well, so I'm sure Rev. knows what I'm talking about. It's not all driving, it's loading, un-loading, time spent folding pads, doing paperwork, running around faxing weight tickets, BOL's etc. off. Running around checking out orig, dest. for access issues, pre-inventorying a day or two before loading etc. If I go to a house a day or so before and do a packjob...I don't log that, b/c I will take my personal vehicle to the house, do the packjob, etc. I can make it all work on logs, and have yet to ever have logs kicked back by the safety department b/c of HOS violations, speeding etc. 8)

[Rev.Vassago]

Originally Posted by Teal 95 KW

I don't log that, b/c I will take my personal vehicle to the house, do the packjob, etc. I can make it all work on logs, and have yet to ever have logs kicked back by the safety department b/c of HOS violations, speeding etc. 8)

No comment.

[Teal 95 KW]

haha...i knew that would get hm to speak up :lol:

[bibnflannel]

All very interesting replys. Im not dead set on leasing, buying or anything else, thats why I asked the question to begin with, to see what the responses would be. I do know however, that with what ive spent on my truck since I bought it I could have bought a much newer model and probably had less down time, allthough thats not a given either. Its frustrating to have problems all the time, even though I am lucky inthe sense that Ive always gotten home with it. I know your taking a risk whenever you buy a used truck, especially if your unaware of the trucks 'true' history. I like the way the Pete rides, runs great....now...and I think ive finally got it back in shape where I hope it wont need alot of repairs for a while, at least major ones. I just saw a new international with "idealease" on the door and wonderedif it would be something worth looking into, but I guess not.

[yellowcabbill]

What also needs to be considered in this discussion is how long are you planning to keep the unit you are leasing. A lease will allow 100 per cent write off for a business vehicle, when you buy you on the IRS schedule and only allowed so much write off each year. Also some folks like having new all the time and with a purchase you can come up with negative equity if you trade or sell to soon. The best answer involves long term planning and is different in each situation. Also many times a lease will cost less to get started then a purchase. Just my 2 cents/ Bill

[BanditsCousin]

Depreciation works for you. If you can't make it work, fire the accountant. Lots of my Dad's friends buy new trucks every 2 years 8)

[BanditsCousin]

Originally Posted by Teal 95 KW

I don't log that, b/c I will take my personal vehicle to the house, do the packjob, etc. I can make it all work on logs, and have yet to ever have logs kicked back by the safety department b/c of HOS violations, speeding etc. 8)

No comment as well.