Comments By David M.

I wanted to get some of the above misconceptions out of the blog and shed some light as to the "real" information surrounding Western Express's Lease program. The program is designed to turn a driver into an Owner without the financial risk of purchasing a truck independently on their own credit or down payment. This world has a lot of uncertainties, so when a company is willing to shoulder the burden of your financial risk without a credit check and a down payment then maybe the intent isn't a bad one. Take that coupled with the overall cost of ownership and purchase price and another level of legitimacy is added into the mix. Most lease purchase program's in America today are actually just "lease - lease" programs where you lease a truck for 3 - 4 years then pay a $45 - $60,000 balloon payment at the end, OR, they have reasonable payments with unreasonable terms, like $425.00 per week for 260 weeks. At Western Express, this is the first Lease to Own program of its kind in many years, that is actually pricing trucks below retail and actually empowering the LP driver to success. In 2 to 3 years one of these trucks will be parked in your driveway, and will be yours free and clear. So if you have the dream of truck ownership and don't want to sign on your own credit, a program like this is exactly what you are looking for. If you are happier not owning your own truck and the extra responsibility, then ownership through lease purchase or a straight purchase wouldn't be for you anyway.

Western Express has both Van and Flatbed contractors and both have ample opportunity to make great money while fulfilling their dreams of ownership. The average pay is like a previous blogger quoted in the $1.45 - $1.85 range per mile and Western also pays FULL rate on empty miles as well, which is a real game changer in this industry. The example above stated that 2500 miles would not be profitable, but a 2500 mile week actually can be very profitable with certain elements in place. 2500 miles would equate to approximately $3650.00 in revenue, and would require approximately 400 gallons in fuel at $3.58 per gallon average this week. So you business calculation would be: Your business: $3650.00 Your Fuel Cost: $1432.00 (based on 6.25 mpg) Your Truck Pkg: $700.00 (est) Take home pay: $1518.00

Out of the $1518.00 take home you would still have taxes to pay as a regular company driver would, but your average take home cent per mile would be approximately 60 cents for all miles to the house, plus the purchase of your own equipment. So at the end of 2 - 3 years you would own a tractor with approximately 500 - 650,000 miles, earned a very good income potential of $80,000 or more per year, and gained your independence in the process. All of which based on the weekly mileage of 2500 miles per week.

Since the Western Express Lease Purchase program began in March of 2014, the world of lease purchase has changed slightly by offering a plan not often seen since the early 1980's. The architects' plan for this program was to take available trucks and find individuals that were done with the company side of life and wanted more. The "how much" more would be entirely in the hands of the contractor that leased the truck, not the company and not the limitations of the common "lease to lease" programs so many of us have become accustomed to in this industry. They wanted to find a source of common ground that would allow an average person to do extraordinary things with the right tools in his/her hands, and a business partner that believed in his/her abilities to go farther. There is nothing worse than an extraordinary amount of talent wasted because the right opportunity never came along. One of my favorite quotes is:

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

I live by these words every day of my life because I do believe that if a person is given the right opportunity and finds something that he / she truly enjoys in life, there is nothing that can stop him or her from great success. Persistence is the key to all great achievers, and Western's lease program isn't the answer to everyone's success, it is merely the fertilizer that will allow many to achieve it.

David