Quote:
I am very interested in purchasing a truck, but my calculator tells me that would be a major mistake... what am I missing? (Smart-asses need not reply)
your not missing as much as a lot of other drivers I have run into over the years. why ? because your looking, noticing & asking questions. as I did 10 years ago when I gotinto trucking as a o/o. everything was different then. however the basic principles still apply.
many truckers are like so many in home foreclosure... champagne taste on a beer budget, had to have a house, car & furnishing they could not afford because they saw so many other people doing it. they either felt insecure or let their common sense go. cause when it's all over, most all will tell you.. they knew better. when I first started, I bought an ole walmart cabover for $15,000 cash. it had 400,000 miles on it. I ran with 14 other o/o's. they all ridiculed me for not buying a hood.
although hoods of the same year with 600,000 miles were going for more than twice the price I paid for mine. but that was when fuel was low & freight was abundandt. it was not long after that that things started to change. by 2000-2001 I have watched all the regulars with the high priced chrome lose it all.
when things were going well, they though it would never end & lots of them bought things & financed things they could afford only if everything stayed the same. witch by history's lesson... never do.
I operated as if that day would be my last load & last paycheck ( so to speak)there are still great opportunities in trucking. you have to have a good plan & stick to it. do not reward yourself with high priced chrome out of insecurity. reward yourself with peace of mind, with is priceless.
figure out how & where you want to run before you decide what you want to buy. dont want to go over the road & be gone for3-6 weeks at a time?? then dont get a high priced truck that requires you to have to do so. when I pulled up to unload , I would make the same for that load as the guy in front of me with the high truck payment. though I did not have the bragging rights of a real nice looking truck. I had peace of mind. the nice trucks are fine, but just like a first car or even a first home .. it is or should be something you can afford & then trade up later on when your experiece & financial level increases.
my refernce here is refering to my particulair experience witch was & is in northern al area & pulling flatbed.
find what can & will work for you in trucing.. wish you the best of luck.