I've given up on the idea of going owner operator. There are a lot of jobs that pay too well as a company driver especially when figuring risk into the equation. So I went and bought a Harley instead. LOL! I'm gonna work for the man and let him take the risk besides I want a family in next couple years.

[tracer]

Originally Posted by MichiganDriver

Thank you so much for posting that. I'm so very tempted to start with an el cheapo high mileage truck but there's a voice in my head telling me I wouldn't know how to pick out a good one and not get burned.

I know the sage advice from GMan and others is the $10k special, but man I'd be broke down on the side of the road again and again wondering how I could be so stupid as to think I could pick out a diamond in the rough when the guys that DO know what they're doing have passed it by.

Exactly! That's why I bought a $64,000 truck. Somewhere in between, you know? Not too cheap - with only 165,000 miles on it in 2007. This was a 2004 model International (in the picture) and despite some upgrades and repairs it has served me well. It's paid off now and I thought of getting a new truck with $2,500/mo payments but decided to upgrade my trailer instead. I'd say get a decent truck with roughly $1,500/mo payments for no more than 48 months and be happy. Mileage: 300,000 miles or less.

[GMAN]

Originally Posted by P0rk Ch0p

I see your point.

But, i could get insurance on it if it wasn't for commercial use. So, i could drive it, just not for business. plus, for what they want for it, it would be paid off by time i go to actually put it to work.

I've been wanting to buy a FLD like that, just to chrome up and take to car shows etc around this general area.

Do you want a truck to just drive around at car shows or a truck that you put on the road and use to earn a living? Personally, I would not buy a class 8 truck unless I could put it on the road and make money with it. You may check with Progressive. They insure inexperienced owner operators or drivers but usually have mileage restrictions on how far you can drive. I believe that it is about 500-800 mile radius of your home base. If you buy a truck and just drive it around locally, it will not count as over the road experience. It is the otr experience that most commercial insurance companies seek.