Well I got approved for my own financing (no fleece purchase here :P ) at %9.75 interest which is the best I could find. I found a Freightliner Classic XL with 580,000 miles on it for $37,000, I'm putting down $15,000 cash and financing the remaining $22,000. My payments will be $1006 per month for 2 years. I also have $15,000 cash in reserve.

My wife works full time so I have health insurance. I drive for Crete and the miles are there. I've calculated all my expenses and with a low payment, the down payment, cash reserves and no health insurance premiums I believe I'm in an excellent position to do this.

:arrow: I'm really excited and nervous at the same time. I plan on sharing my day to day, week to week experiences on my blog. I'll post a link to it once it's all setup.

I'd like to thank those that have offered advice to me. I'd also like to throw a couple pieces of advice out there to you guys/gals thinking about becoming an O/O...

1.Don't just believe one person or any member on a web forum who is already doing it and may have done it for years. Rather, ask as many people as possible. And prepare for arguments :roll:

2.Don't expect to get rich quickly.

3.Don't spend all your money on toys or chrome, or just be wasteful in general.

4.Always look for ways to cut costs.

5.Don't think that just because you're a hard worker that you will make it as an O/O, there are lots of guys out there who bust their tails 24/7/365 just to break even.

6.Find a local mechanic that you trust.

7.If you get a used truck be sure to take out a minimum of 8 cents a mile (I believe you could get away with 5 cents /mile for a brand new truck) for breakdowns or whatever else.

8.And a very important thing IMO- get an accountant that knows the transportation industry. I've been researching/kicking this around for years and I learned more in one hour by talking to an accountant that specializes in the industry than any other form of research combined.

 

Nice looking truck. Good luck to you!!!

 

nice looking truck. good luck. is the wheel base longer than 266?

 

Considering the age of the truck, your lack of experience, and the climate right now, I think you did pretty darn well on your financing.

 

I'd tell them I wanted Aluminum on my drives for that price. What size sleeper, and you do know backing that thing is going to be a pain in tight spots. Nice truck anyway!!

 

Best of luck to you!!

 

wheelbase is 260"

Age of the truck is 2003, I didn't post that.

And how do you know what experience I have? I'd be criticized by some for doing this even with 20 years experience :roll:

Actually the painted white drives is fine with me since Crete company trucks have the same. I'm going to have my decals white also.

The sleeper is 70" Yeah it's going to be interesting trying to back in at certain truckstops. I'll probably just start using rest areas more since I'm going to be in "save money mode" bigtime until the truck is paid off, and beyond.

 

"Age" of a truck as measured in miles, not necessarily time. The fact is that it's a used truck not new. Almost all lenders will charge a higher interest rate on used equipment than they will on new. By experience, I meant first-time owner-operator. How many years you've been driving makes little difference to a lender. In most cases a first-time buyer will pay a significantly higher rate than a return buyer.

I was being complimentary. You are not a buyer that qualifies for the best rates. Given today's interest rate environment I think you did very well.

 

I appreciate the compliments, sometimes it's hard to tell with all the negativity. And I'm not singling out this board because the members here are much more knowledgable and less arrogant then over at the "clown"-table ohh nevermind :lol:

My next question is whether I should put an APU on this truck? If I plan on staying in it 3+ years and it will pay for itself in a year add rising fuel costs and I think it's a wise investment.

 

If you can afford it, I would. There's getting to be a lot of shippers who don't allow trucks to idle at the dock also.