I read all the posts regarding the O/D’s starting up or buying their new trucks with great interest as I am doing the same. I have chosen a Merc 2745 V8 plated at 44t with lots of extra’s (900lt fuel tanks) air con, etc. 200k on clock immaculate. I have spent hours on the net going over lease deals, insurance, trailer deals, accountants who understand the haulage business and all the other bits required to put together a company for me.
I am now in the last stages of it all and I have got it all together including a contract hauling to Italy every week starting December for 58 weeks. My business will go live 1st November this year and I am working right up to Friday 28th October.
The reason for this post is:- I look and ask trawl through all relevant posts etc. but would’nt it be a good idea for TRUCKNET to get the companies that are out there to come on here and offer advice to all of us regarding how they can help the new start ups? They might even be interested in advertising with you!
Also lets have a NICE TO DO BUSINESS as we have a name and shame why not the opposite and let people like me be able to name the companies that have bent over backwards to help realise our dream.
Congratulations on getting this far, I am in the process of choosing a tractor unit myself, as everthing else is in-place, but its been a long old drag, but I guess you don’t need me to tell you that!
I agree with your suggestion, there is something similar on Loadup.co.uk, but I get the feeling its not updated, as it always mentions the same companies, and in doing my research, as I sure you have, there are a lot of OD’s out there that have been burnt.
I’ve looked into factoring to spread some of the risk, what’s your thoughts on this?
So, I am very supportive of this idea and it would interesting to see how much support there is out there for this initiative, as if it saves just one OD from going under, its got to be worth it.
Good luck in your new venture.
Regards
Paul
Sorry got the wrong end of the stick with my last post, as I scanned through the initial post I drew the conclusion that it would be a good idea to name and shame the bad companies, but why not be more positive and talk about the good ones. 
I, for one, would be interested to hear what your experiences are with Merc dealers, as I’m looking at 1840’s at the moment as a first purchase.
MUST LEARN TO READ ALL THE WORDS - OR JUST TO READ!
Paul
It has been a long haul and I must say that the guys and girls at VOSA are a great help. I do mean that we all should put down the companies that have helped us not only the bad ones as I have read in these forums. The Merc dealer I have used (from all the others) was Rossets in Crawley Dave was the salesman and he got me just what I was after. My contract I got via the web from http://www.freighttender.com a good site not only for european.
Thanks for listening
Big Truck for information, I had the VAT people on the phone yesterday, nothing to worry about they assured me ! But, they did mention a fixed payment scheme, where I would still charge 17.5% on invoices, but seeing as I was paying monthly they would discount the payments made to them, so they only receive 13%.
I don’t know whether this scheme is open to all, or people that would possibly be claiming a lot of vat back, from European purchases, etc. - as I never get to ask them for money - but it sounded interesting, and it would help monthly budgeting.
Anyway, just thought I’d throw that in.
You mentioned in a last post that you had your O licence ready, can this be done if you don’t have a tractor unit yet, as I am presuming that the maintenance stipulation on the licence application relates to the unit in question. Or have I read that wrong?
It concerns me at the moment as I’ll possibly have to wait 9 weeks before a licence gets granted, and having a unit stood for a couple of months not doing anything concerns me!
Good luck!
I have my national “O” licence sitting here but I think its the specific vehicle licence disc your talking about.Hopefully when I get a unit (maybe tomorrow!!) it won’t tke long to get the disc issued!!
We can get the vehicle disc over the counter at the DVLNI,as long as we have with us the HP agreement,servicing contract,insurance details,cheque for £48 and O licence/VED.
funnyfut:
The Merc dealer I have used (from all the others) was Rossets in Crawley Dave was the salesman and he got me just what I was after.
A pal of mine has just bought a new 2546 from him and suggested I ring him for a quote.This I duly did and recieved nothing , so I rang him again and still nothing.I mentioned this to my pal and he asked again if Dave could send me a quote but still nothing and I rang him again and guess what yep I have still to this day received nothing from him.
Incidently my friends vehicle turned up at Crawley and was supposed to have some extras fitted at the dealer.They had it for 2 weeks without doing the jobs so he told them to take it to the aldershot depot (the original dealer he dealt with on his previous Merc) and they did the jobs within a week 
So this just goes to show there is no consistency in these places.
Why is it such hard work to buy a new motor?
There seem to be a lot of new owner drivers on here - just in case ou haven’t visited my site, I have lots o fgood advice and contacts that you may find useful - and it is all free!!!
Good luck withyour start ups…
Julie
