Buying older ISX truck for cash vs "fleet maintained" newer ISX

[Waterloo]

If you do step over the edge and buy a truck... Who will you work for? I am sure you will more than likely lease on to a carrier? Don't believe a word they say in regards to rates or weekly mileage. Trucking is very cyclical, what is true today will not be true tomorrow. An honest company will be honest with you in this regard, sadly there are few out here. My phone is ringing off of the hook right now from two outfits I used to work for. They are not calling due to a sudden uptick in freight volume, they are calling because their drivers are quitting due to lousy rates and little if any freight... Keep that in mind when researching a carrier or even the one you are currently working for, especially if they have a mix of company and lease trucks. If you go with a dedicated route, that has it's own set of issues too...

Then we have your mechanical skills... Can you wrench on a truck? I'm not talking about an in frame in your driveway, just general maintanence stuff. And do you have the tools? These shops are getting pretty outrageous in their hourly rates, around here they are hitting $165 an hour. I think the average is around $130 to $135 an hour at most of the stealerships depending on their location. That is to rich for my blood, and monies I am using to buy tools... I just ordered another tool box from Home Depot, LOL!

Twenty years ago this was a fun racket, and you could make some good money out here, I did... But now, I would not recommend anyone buy a truck, no matter how much I hate them, especially a new one... There is no shortage of trucks out here, or drivers for that matter. The industry is over saturated with both.