if youve read any of my posts recently youll know i was looking for a motor to do up for shows v8 scannie or a yank.well that all got kicked into touch last night when my mrs said do you still wanna be an ownerdriver and as its been something ive always wanted to do i said yes.she said ok we,ll look into it .some people have said i need a load of cash in the bank to get me through the first few months but how much.ive got somewhere to park a motor and a friend with a national and inter cpc would be willing to be my transport manager until me or the mrs passed it .with the possability of euro work i was thinking of either a 470 magnum or 470 eurostar both of which are cheapish to buy second hand.or are tere other options. cheers jonah 
I think you need to be looking at having around £10,000 in the bank to get started Jonah, £6,000 of it has to be always available to cover any repairs etc, I’m sure the money has to be shown to them as being in the bank for around 3 to 6 months.
Good luck 
cheers davy ive been doin nights the last 3 weeks and the mrs and kids love having me home so apart from running one day and night on trunkin work with another driver it would mean tramping and i dont wanna do that anymore so im gonna do my cpc this year and see how the wtd effects things cuz i think tramping for employed drivers will stop. i think something like the old pony express will replace it with change over depots around the country although i could be entirly wrong.thanks for the reply
Seem to remember the TC wants to see the TM doing about 15hrs per week. Not sure why, cause one truck doesn’t take that long to administer! But its worth allowing for that in the business plan which you should submit to both the TC and the Vat man. (Vat man came back to me 3 times with loads of strange questions — but didn’t say another word when I let them have a 15 page plan with loads of numbers and market research).
Whatever the amount of finance is now required by the TC, this should be available after you have allowed for buying/financing the truck, insurance, running costs etc. You need to keep the TC money available at all times (some say they will take into account credit facilities and accounts receivable — but don’t bet on it!). So your cash flow forecast should be showing the TC money is always to hand.
If you’re going as a sole trader, then you can show your savings accounts and the like to satisfy the financial requirement. BUT (big but in my view) you’re better off loaning money from personal accounts to the business and keeping totally separate records — a lot easier to see how the venture is performing.
There are loads of posts on here that you should take a look at before filling in the forms.
Oh DOOOOONNNNNNNTTTTTTT DO IT, You will regret it !
You need to start up:
£5400 in ya bank to get you O lIcence for 1 vehicle
You will need to cover your outlay for approx 45 days or longer the following:
Diesel, Insurance, repayments (Truck),phone, repair costs, Maintenance costs, parking costs, Road tax (payable up front), expenses and your own wages and any other things which tend to crop up!.
Bear in mind when you do get paid it will be for your first week not for the 4/5/6 weeks that you have done and for which you have had to pay for. You will become a companys creditor as you will have paid all the costs to get the goods moved. Oh and thats bearing in mind if you get paid at all, so easy ripping haulage subcontractors off (Its happened to me, so i know)
Believe me, it aint worth it, stress, hassle and purely from the financial point , you dont get back wot you put in!
Agreed with all the above, only your going to do it arn’t you, so just remember big new shiny trucks are great, but don’t earn any more than small older faded trucks,(reliability aside, BIG factor though) save money where ever possible and be prepared top work 7 days aweek, I’ve just got back from the yard now, readying the truck for a 3am start tommorow, then out all weeek AGIAN! Good luck! Tramper.
Tramper:
Agreed with all the above, only your going to do it arn’t you, so just remember big new shiny trucks are great, but don’t earn any more than small older faded trucks,(reliability aside, BIG factor though) save money where ever possible and be prepared top work 7 days aweek, I’ve just got back from the yard now, readying the truck for a 3am start tommorow, then out all weeek AGIAN! Good luck! Tramper.
Couldnt agree more. When I started I also looked hard at ex fleet units, plated at 28 ton and uprated them to 38 (at that time) good reliable motors with good servicing, they earn well and aint done hard work running at top whack all the time! They were always the right money as well, but of course zero glamour.
Mal.