I want to buy lorry

I always wanted buy my own lorry and start business but what cost im involved in after I buy truck? Is there any government financial help etc available?how it all looks like? I heard I need 10 grand just to start or something? ? Was looking at 18 ton curtainsider and finally will I make money on it im on 23k per year after tax. my target would be around minimum 32k a year.

joker83:
I always wanted buy my own lorry and start business but what cost im involved in after I buy truck? Is there any government financial help etc available?how it all looks like? I heard I need 10 grand just to start or something? ? Was looking at 18 ton curtainsider and finally will I make money on it im on 23k per year after tax. my target would be around minimum 32k a year.

I hate saying this again, but this is horribly true.

Have you ever done Brain surgery ? answer no, why ? Because you are not qualified or know what to do !

There is NO difference in haulage and logistics , there is NO industry that without lots of hard work and knowledge and training that you will succeed in, and in this day and age its a hugely technical business run by big multinationals.
so go drive for someone else and learn lots and get a CPC licence if you must and get your business plan and a huge pile of cash and then consider it.
And at that point you will realise its a crazy idea for yourself, No point in us telling you as you will dismiss it and think you can .
Sorry to be so blunt but the failure rate is huge for small existing companies let alone new starters.
Of course these are just my ramblings but loads of old OD’s here will agree no doubt !

Well I suppose you haven’t done brain surgery either being a lorry driver.instead of giving me no information which I ask for you presented a strong recomendation to leave it because it’s impossible to do.i would like to tell you that I need info about this what I’m need ot do that’s why I’m asking for it.if you have nothing to say my advice is to don’t say anything.thank you.
Btw I have cpc licence.

You asked an “open” series of questions to anyone who reads this thread and now you have your first answer…but you didn’t want to hear that did you??

Ok, so here`s my two-penneth (that’s zero point something of a Euro to you) for what its worth…Go for it, you will make shed loads of dosh. Sure, 10 grand is enough to start up with and after you have paid all your standing costs, running costs etc you should easily clear £30k plus. Don’t worry about having any cash behind you etc either, that will all get sorted as you go.

Its a doddle mate, don’t know why everyone doesn’t do it!..easy money! :wink:

There…is that what you wanted to hear?? :wink:

I run my own truck and I make a reasonable living at it after a rocky start but I’ve always given the same advice, if you have a reasonably-paying employed job where you are treated with respect by your employer, then stick with that.

There’s no Government help as such, although you can exploit the tax system to your advantage if you are good at book-keeping and have a clued-up accountant.

You definitely need to have the offer of work on the table from Day 1.

As for what money you’d need to start, you’ll need to pay for 9 weeks worth of diesel, advance yard rental, VAT on the truck you buy (VAT can’t be built into the finance), maintenance etc etc etc.

But, if you are determined to do it then do it. Again, as I’ve said many times, it’s not the things you do which don’t work out that you regret, it’s the things you thought about doing and bottled out of that you regret. At the end of the day there are no winners or losers, we are all destined to be worm food. It’s what you did before that counts.

In response to your OP …

a. What do you know about the transport industry on a whole.

b. How long have you been a driver.

c. do you have enough money to (a) pay yourself a wage (b) buy a truck (c) tax, insure and maintain the said truck for 1year. (d) have finances to pay for fuel for said vehicle.

if the answer to (a) is little and (b) is under 5 years
and the answer to (c) is yes

you have more money than sense… but don’t let that stop you

you need to do LOADS of homework as in what market are you targeting ie home delivery for Wicks B&Q or some other outlet / work
Where you want to operate from
who’s gonna hold the cpc
who’s gonna cover at short notice if your taken ill
then you have to think about all the other crap that comes in to running a company…

if I had the money I kid you not I wouldn’t think twice about running my own haulage business I would jump at the chance at havin only to work a 4 day week and top up my earnings from the interest I’d be raking In…

If you have a CPC licence you can surely answer all these yourself, I am making a presumption that you mean a dcpc which is not the same thing.

Right…to get answers we need info.
Have you got a base to use ? And its costs ?
Who is the qualified Transport Manager ?
Have you access to maintenance facilities for all inspections and work ?
How many drivers will be using the truck/s ?
Have you got about facilities and access to £12 k to put up for fuel and running costs…this is a MUST have or you will never get an operators licence.
As this is a new business are you prepared for the Operators licence application ?
What do you expect to spend on vehicle/s ?
What type of work have you got/expect to find ?
How many customers have you or do you expect to get and are these contracts that are easy to get out of?
What is your timespan for being paid by your customers ?
Or are you going to use a middle man invoicing company that takes what percentage ?
Have you access to relief drivers and trucks at short notice ?

Or basically as a real quick one liner do you expect to make £350/£400 per day on top of All fuel costs…if not, IN MY OPINION… it ain’t worth it Give up the idea.

OP,

Firstly, take the advice others have given you, even if it’s not what you want to hear. A fool learns from no-one a wise man learns from every one.

Would you walk into a bank with no experience and expect to be given a management role? No, of course you wouldn’t, you’d work hard at a lower level and gain experience. You cant jump the queue, you can’t go from PAYE or SE driver to Owner Driver overnight, with 20 quid and a big smile.

You say you have a CPC licence, do you mean driver CPC or the proper one?

I cant see you succeeding without gaining some experience within the management side of our industry.

I wish you the best of luck with it however.

I’m not being rude or disparaging in anyway but I think you might benefit from some form of training and perhaps an ESL course if you don’t have CPC.

Once again good luck.

To add to 3 Wheelers list of questions

Do you have the budget for your truck + 30-50% for repairs and maintenance in the first year (worst case I know but all your eggs in one basket and that)

I’m looking at an 18t curtainsider too and I’m thinking there’s something I can fill half my empty trailer with for a very low rate.

If you are taking home 23k I think you should forget the 18 tonner. You need a CPC to obtain your operators licence,along with financial standing and a maintenance contract,plus an operating centre.
You will the need a good supply of work with decent haulage rates,otherwise you can forget your 32k clear. I can understand anyone having ambition and wanting to start their own business,but without doing your homework about the job,you will fail.
Best of luck if you do have a go. Prove us wrong.
Cheers Dave.

Seriously you’d want about 50k in the bank to start with between buying a truck, getting set up etc and allowing for things to go wrong. To achieve more than your solid 23k a year in take home you’ll want solid work set up from the word go with a company that pays on time. Unless you are already a driver hand have been for at least five years I wouldn’t change from what you are doing.

Plenty of 18t work around atm for upto £2 per mile if you know where to look just make sure you get something with a tail lift

Like a lot here I have also operated my own trucks, from little vans to artics, as an owner driver you are at the mercy of every cut throat merchant walking unless you have a blackmail picture of someone who will give you as much work as you can handle 52 weeks of the year, you may do okay but you will never be rich, when I started an old guy who worked with Bowmurs (now Pentalever) told me, if you want to make a million in transport - start off with three million.

Its your call but do your homework first, what happens when you are off sick, family emergency, engine failure, you have to be prepared and you will need thick skin, I am not trying to put you off but just give you a heads up.
There is all the advice you will ever need on here … ignore it at your peril, sift through it and make your own decisions.

Good luck.

Firstly ring the traffic commissioners office , ask for a o licence starter pack!
Once you’ve read that if your still keen your gonna need about 20k and a wagon ready to go! Still keen? You need work that pays! No shortage of work that doesn’t !