Have you ever dreamed of becoming your own boss, but didn’t have the financial resources to buy your own truck? Fortunately, for drivers like Owner Operator Gerald Drummer, PAM’s Lease-Purchase program offers the chance to lease to own, without a huge upfront investment.

Gerald says it’s important for truck drivers to ask the right questions before you lease your first truck.

“I had questions before I signed on the dotted line,” he says. “So I called the PAM recruiter to see what they were offering. I got to ask them lots of questions, like let’s talk about home time. Let’s talk about overhead, like insurance. I want to know everything from A to Z.”

Okay Gerald. Here are the answers to these questions, and what you need to know before leasing your first truck.

What are my leasing options and what do they cost?

There are multiple equipment and cost options for new lease-to-own drivers. When you lease with PAM Transport, you don’t have to put money down on a truck, and you can keep your weekly expenses lower by participating in PAM’s NEW low-cost lease pricing for fully-equipped 2018 trucks at just $379 per week for solo drivers. Plus, team owner operators can lease the 2018 trucks at only $679 per week. PAM also offers the option to buy at the end of two years for only $12,500.

Once you’re ready to grow your fleet with some newer trucks, choose from 2020 & 2019 Peterbilts and 2019 Cascadias. This means you can offer your drivers newer trucks with the latest bells and whistles, with great weekly pricing and lease-to-own options. 

What are the lease-to-own pros and cons? Give me the good, the bad, and the ugly.

First off, there’s fuel. You pay for it. And it will be your biggest expense. The good thing is, you can buy diesel at any of our preferred fuel stops at the PAM corporate rate. Or, shop around and find the best price you can.

When you enroll with a lease-purchase trucking company, you are immediately reclassified as an owner operator. This means you get to make owner-operator money from the get-go, but it also means you have to cover owner-operator expenses, including truck payments.

But there are plenty of perks when you lease to own with PAM, including:

• No cargo insurance: No need to pay that extra $200 a month because PAM pays the cargo insurance for you.
• Cheaper fuel: You can buy diesel at any of our preferred fuel stops at the PAM corporate rate.
• Easier licensing & permitting: Fees are paid by PAM upfront and then charged back to you at $50 per week, interest free.
• Less tax paperwork: PAM pays the annual $550 IRS Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax up front, then charges it back at $20 per week until it’s paid off.
• Cheaper maintenance & repairs: Because you have full access to our repair shop, getting repairs done can save you thousands of dollars.

What are my insurance requirements?

PAM provides trucking liability insurance for our lease-to-own drivers. You will need physical damage insurance to cover any damage done to the tractor. Bobtail insurance is your liability insurance when you are bobtail, also known as non-trucking liability.

Also, because you’re effectively your own business as an owner operator, the federal government requires you to pay your own occupational accident insurance (basically your worker’s compensation insurance). Be aware that you won’t receive health insurance from the company you’re hauling freight for. You’ll have to buy it yourself.

Fortunately, PAM can help you navigate all this paperwork and guide you through the process, so you can cover your insurance bases. We’ve also made some arrangements to help our lease purchase program drivers minimize out-of-pocket expenses. We are readily available to advise you on running your new business, so you can keep the most money in your pocket.

How do I know if I qualify for lease-to-own?

Even if you’re leasing to own for the first time, there’s no money down and no credit checks at PAM. Eligibility requirements include:

• Student drivers can take advantage of the program after three months with PAM.
• Drivers are eligible after three (3) months of verifiable OTR experience in the past year and at any time that was completed at an accredited school or carrier-approved training program.
• Drivers are eligible after one (1) year of verifiable driving experience, which can be a combination of OTR/regional/local, in the past three (3) years.

Ready to Take the Wheel of Your Future?

If you’re ready to take the first step towards becoming an owner operator, a lease-to-own program offers low upfront risks with huge potential rewards. To date, 350 PAM drivers have discovered the Lease-Purchase program is a great way to make more money, own the truck you drive, and get a bit more flexibility in your schedule.

So why wait? Email us at info@pamdrivingjobs.com or check out our Lease-Purchase program on our website.
Need a company-owned truck job now as you plan for your lease-to-own future? Check out our available jobs today.