Question:
My friend - whom I drove with a couple of summers ago - works for CR England. I know all I have read, but it works for him and he is doing fine and I think that is all that counts. But on leasing...
a few years ago he decided to lease instead of being a company driver. When he went into the lease department he tried to negotiate their lease program - they wouldn't budge, and now would he (he is a pig headed Italian new yorker like myself). Well, to make a long story short, they had multiple lease programs available. The one thaty advertise is the one where they finance, but they offered others. In the end, he worked as a company driver for another 6 months and saved enough for the down payment needed to get into one of the other programs that he thought was better. He wound up putting 4500 down and saved 150 bucks a week in payment (which should tell you a little about how these companies boost your payments) and 4 cents a mile in certain fees ( I have no idea what the fees were ). I also understand that his maintenance account was full after 7 months and I think he said it saved him another 4 or 5 cenets a mile. The lease is up next month and so far he is still saying he is going to keep the truck - be he is also looking so who knows what he is going to do. But I can tell you after seeing his checks while I rode with him that he did make a nice amount of money (although it was boosted by the fact that we were doing lots of team loads).
But it worked out for him/ is working out for him, so I wouldn't say it never works out. I just think you should do you're homework and know all the fees and everything you need to pay every mile on top of the truck payment. I sent him a few more question on his email so hopefully I'll have more in the next few days.

Answer:
I take it that your friend is single and 'lives' in the truck on the road almost all the time, right?
His lease is due shortly, how much is his end of lease balloon payment? If he didn't plan for that, a couple of things can and will happen.

• 1. He could refinance the truck for 2-4 more years.
  
• 2. He could give the truck back and walk away.

Answer:
yes, my friend is single and outside of his cell phone and satelite service he has next to nothing in bills and no other real responsibilities. Very good point.
Last I heard - over the christmas holidays - he is going to pay off the truck. He was able to pay additional money over the term of the lease so that his payoff is very low. I believe he had a special clause in his lease allowing him to make the extra principle payments every quarter - but I can ask him.

Answer:
Has your friend been able to pay all his taxes? It's damn hard on .80 cents a mile after you pay for a truck and all expenses.
Unless you are single and understand the lease 110%, RUN as fast as you can the other direction!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you use the search feature here, you will find all kinds of "Lease Horror Stories"!
It has been suggested by some members here that one should spend at least 5 years as a company driver before making a move to acquire a truck! I totally agree!
Do yourself a big big favor! DON'T DO IT!!!!
Spend years doing research before you dive into something like this. If you do that, then you shouldn't have a problem running your own business.

Answer:
Tell your friend it's a known FACT CRE is among the biggest lease sharks out there. The very first time he ticks off his DM, He will be sitting in North Dakota empty, and he won't move until that DM has dried his eyes and sought out councelling to repair the damage. Oh nd by the way, a "hold" will be placed on his fuel card, so he won't be able to fuel or make a draw the entire time until the DM gets his feelings patched up.
I'm not making this up either. I have come across a number of CRE folks in the shiney Classics who have been locked up at the truckstop by a DM who didn't like being yelled at for only having 1800 mles a week! It's yet another area of proof that L/P's are the scam of the century. They can turn that faucett on, and they can surely turn it off. Tell him to take that phoney garbage truck back to SLC and tear up the lease. And get a company hand job ASAP, because CRE will waste little time smearing his DAC because they didn't LIKE him!
L/P's are set up most times so you CAN'T go load that truck yourself to keep moving. And CRE always has enough cheap freight to sell, so you won't be sitting because there's no freight! Tell him to run, not walk, and the heck away from them ASAP!
Head Warrior, TFBU
On The Mend.....

Answer:
And its the truth. What impresses this gentleman in income would be laughable to most knowledgeable folks in the industry.
Son, you need to see all the books before you know what the real income is. There are alot of expenses you dont see listed on his check.
CRE is the absolute worst in trucking, but they are having a tough time keeping that title! As more and more unknowing newcomers are swayed by all the rampant lying by companies AND O/O's who want to look like Big Deals as they go broke.

Answer:
SRJ; he said his freinds lease is about up.
If he has the cash to pay the truck off, he is done with the lease. Why would he have to run away fast?????
If anything, I would advise him to pay it off (if he can indeed do so) and lease his truck on with a good paying owner/operator outfit (if there is such a thing in some minds).
Why is it so hard for some people to belive that others may have success in a program.
There are success stories all over out there.
The failure stories do far out number success ones, but they are out there.
I'm talking from experience in the "failure" department with 'SelecTrucks', but I realized I was failing in the first month and let the damn thing go back without penalty.
I got lucky!!! It's apparent this place is never going to change....then again; why should it? It gets the clientel it deserves.
Bette Midler

Answer:
He had three options at CRE: (ALL bad)
Start making payments on his company Century, starting at $540/week (that's ONLY for the "truck")
"Buy" a new Classic for $680/week
Make payments on a used century/classic starting at $600/week
Now CRE likes those 3-year deals with a balloon at the end. But they also give you the option of refinancing the whole screwed up deal again.
Do the math and add a minimum $20k ballon at the end. There ain't NO freightliner on the planet worth paying that much for. So he can pat himself on the back for surving the worst screwing of his life. But if he really believes he can just take that L/P truck and go do what he wants with it, he better go back and read the fine print on his contract. L/P's are designed for you to NEVER "own" what you're making paymnets on. You are renting, plain and simple.
Or have you some neighbors that have former Prime, Swift, CRE, etc., L/P trucks sitting in their yards with their own names on the title?
People warn about those scams because that's EXACTLY what they are. And I really don't believe this person "has just about paid his L/P off". Some do manage to keep alive making truck payments exceeding $2400/month. But it don't mean I would ever congratulate them. Just like I'd never read a serial killer's life story: Just because he got away with it don't make it right. Sorry if you don't agree with that, but you don't agree with much anyone has to say anyway......
If this wasn't an LP, I stand corrected.....

Answer:
While he leased through and on with CRE and has been with them for almost 5 years now, the lease is not through CRE's company. I believe Wells Fargo financed the truck. When he is done, he owns the truck (if he pays the small payout) - that was in his lease contract.
Your point about what CRE does to put you in another leased truck was the reason for this post. Leasing isn't necessarily the worst thing as long as you look at your options. From what I see the companies that will lease a truck to you charge way to much for the lease and by offereing them for no money down, they get people into leases they are not ready for. I can just talk from personal experience - when I wanted to buy a house, I saved and then bought with engough money down to insure I wouldn't have financial problems. Same can be said about when I financed my first car. I think that if the only way you can get a truck is by leasing through a company with no money down, you should stay away.
My friend looked into other options and wound up getting a leasing package that he has been successful with.
As to the .81 per mile comment, I was with him as he deadheaded to a SC pig farm to take a load from there to Seattle. He secured the contract himself as he sometimes does when CRE can't get him a load within a certain amount of time. While it payed more per mile, when you add in his unpaid deadhead and the collection process - and the trailor rental - I bet it wasn't to far from .81 cents per mile. I don't know that for sure though.