Sometimes, it is best to cut your losses and regroup. It is very difficult to make it as a lease operator. Payments and costs are much too high, especially starting out. If you don't have money or credit, I would recommend that you find a company driving position and start saving your money. If your credit needs work, then spend time building up your credit. The best way to become an owner operator is to actually buy your truck with your own resources. The failure rate for owner operators is high. It is extremely high for lease operators. I prefer paying cash. If you are disciplined, you could pay cash in a year or two of saving your money. If you don't want to pay cash, then you can save enough in a year or two that you can have enough for a good down payment. Most lenders will want to see about 20% down in order to finance class 8 equipment, depending on credit. Don't make the mistake, like others, who think you need a new or nearly new truck to make money. No one needs to spend that much on a truck, starting out. The name of the game is to make money. Older trucks are often more reliable than most of the newer trucks and more affordable. If you do decide to finance a purchase, try to keep your payments less than $1,000/month. Believe me, the lower payments will be much appreciated during the slow times. Besides, you can always double up on payments and get the title free and clear much faster. Once you pay off your first truck, you can always trade up. Some of prefer driving older trucks. I would rather stick the extra money in my pocket than make payments.
There are some leasing companies that will finance trucks for those with less than perfect credit. It isn't much different than buying through a conventional lender. I don't think that anyone should try to buy a truck until they have at least a couple of years of driving under their belt. Experience gives you a better perspective on what to expect when you actually buy a truck. Many drivers get in too big of a hurry to buy a truck before they have a good understanding of this industry.
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