good or bad
 

Was just wondering is it good or bad to lease to own a truck and why

It's 95% a bad idea for a driver that has been doing this job for years. It's 250% a bad idea for a driver that's never done the job. I've been doing this job for 12 years and there's no way I would do a lease/purchase deal from a carrier. Period. They're set up for the company to make the money, not the owner/operator. For the most part, from what I hear from the L/P guys, I make more money driving someone elses truck with no worries about the maintenance and repairs. Also, for the new driver, you don't know what this "life" is all about yet. A huge portion of brand new drivers walk away from the profession in their first few months never to return. Would you want to go into HUGE debt and find out that you absolutely can't/won't do this job? That'll bankrupt you quick when they nail you for $80,000 after you quit.

You're reaching/have reached the point of desperation when you consider the fleece/purchase program son. There's a reason why carriers do this>because it makes good sound economic sense for them to do and the fleece operator be damned. The washout rate of the fleece program is 99.9%. Yep, every once in a while a carrier messes up and and someone succeeds>they have a parade that day and he has a street named after him!

The fleece/purchase is a fools game>Vegas has better odds!

Agreed! Just do a search on this forum, you'll find plenty "why"!

I just wanted to know I can scratch that one off my list thanks guys

Leasing to buy from a carrier is not a very good option. Plenty of horror stories with that option.

I do know several people who have leased to buy from 3rd party sources and did pretty well. A couple of them even got more trucks from the same leasing outfit the same way. At least with those outfits, you are not tied to a carrier. It is just a creative way to finance a truck and get moving.

I really have no experience doing it this way, but places like Lone Mountain Truck leasing seem to be fairly reputable. The guys who I know that have done this method have used Lone Mountain. We don't live in a perfect world, and going this route may be a viable option.

i only know 3 people that did a successful LP. one had a S load of money in the bank. husband and wife team. the other paid half the truck cash after 2 years. the other now is a trainer for swift and doing well.


other then that i'd run the other way.

depends on what you're talking about when you say "lease to own"....if you're refering to a LP from a carrier then everyone is correct in that it's not a very good idea.......some succeed but many fail....do a search on here and i'm sure you'll find hundreds of negative post of a LP.

however, if you're refering to a LP from say a dealership and then running your own authority or leasing on with a carrier thats a different story.

the 1st truck and trailer i owned was an LP through a dealership and then I leased it back to the company I worked for as a company driver (got a whole thread about my experience on here), after sitting down with the finance guy it worked out to my best interest to LP since I was a 1st time "buyer"....my contract was a lease (from a finance company not a carrier) with a $1 buyout at the end.

I am now on my 2nd truck and trailer and both of these are straight purchases. Interest is lower and I have established my credit worthiness.

Hi Devidice, nice to see things are holding up for you. Havent heard anything from you for a while. Sorry for the hi-jack. Best of luck to all.

all is good my friend :-)