Harry Monk:
Immigrant:
Buy with that Money a House and rent Rooms awayI would say that if there was one thing guaranteed to lose money faster than a truck over the next two to three years, it would be a house.
it comes down to location tho harry, here in the peak district i haveānt seen much of a drop yet!
i will say they are not selling as fast as a few years ago tho!
rob.jonesno1:
Hi All,
Should I go ahead and buy my own unit !! and what is the best to pull for, I was thinking bulk,anyone out there that pulls for a bulk company and what should I expect say for a load from Sussex to Manchester or Liverpool ! and what would be the rate from UK to France or Belgium
Or maybe fridge work !!
Advise would be greatfully recived
Cheersā¦
[/quote]
contactSTOBART TRAINING ACADEMY 0151 495 4450 between-mon-fri 09.00-17.00 sat 09.00-12.30 or email TRAINING2@STOBARTGROUP.COM
lines very busy so im led to believe,so youll have to have a bit of patience
Where is robk when you need him 
If you want to do it DO IT but do your homework a lot of people tend to put the cart before the horse u need work lined up and regular paying work then start thinking a bout units trls etc, each field of haulage will require a different type of unit,trl combination etc
I started on my own few years ago and Iām still here, living the dream
ady1:
contactSTOBART TRAINING ACADEMY 0151 495 4450 between-mon-fri 09.00-17.00 sat 09.00-12.30 or email TRAINING2@STOBARTGROUP.COM
lines very busy so im led to believe,so youll have to have a bit of patience
Well, it was advertised internally at first, as only being available to Stobart employees. Trouble is, not one single Stobart employee took it up.
So then they advertised it in the mainstream press, but I understand that take-up on that has been virtually nil too. So I canāt understand why the phone lines would be busy.
Why donāt you do it Ady, if itās such a good deal?
Genuine question.
He must be getting commission for every idiot he convinces to do it.
IMO,any business where the non negotiable ātax takeā (fuel and RFL) adds up to two thirds (66%) of operational costs and plus,as an owner driver at the end of the food chain,your revenue is āfiltered throughā another contractor( fast eddie et al) is not worth considering,unless of course you are cab happy and have suicidal tendancies!! That ācraicā of Ady1 about the telephone lines at āfast eddie conā sorry ātrainingā being busy is just tongue in the cheek B.S.!! Remember,you may think you were only setting out to ādrain the swampā but you will most certainly end up with Crocodiles snapping round your arse !! But if you are determined to āhave a goā no ammount of disuasion will prevent it,best of luck Sucker !! Bewick.
Bewicks post is the most sensible here. Speaking from experince as well I was doing around 50% of turnover on fuel as a subbie itās far to much to have a decent return on your investment.
Even if you buy your truck outright to start you still have to put money aside to replace it at some point.
kr79:
Even if you buy your truck outright to start you still have to put money aside to replace it at some point.
Fuel and the above has been mentioned but where does maintenance and inspections come into all this?
Presumably thats also on top of the rest!
A front tyre can cost upwards of 350 quid for a cheapie, letalone oils, filters, brakes and then an inspection every 6 weeks.
Thats all whne things are running OK, what if then you should need a clutch in it etc.
Where are you?
You mention Sussex so Iāll put my 2p in as a local.
If you want to do your own work then, as others have said, find the work FIRST. There are companies around Sussex that are taking subbies at the moment but it depends on where you are.
Do you already have your CPC? if not Iād get it before you think even further. Donāt even start answering the other questions till youāre āreadyā and have got your CPC and O License. At that point start thinking āDo I want to be an ODā because at least then you can walk into places, negotiate contracts and see if it works out.
Once youāre set up with the paperwork and have only (probably) an grand or two into it (bar time) then go see some companies. You never know, one might say āYeah weāve got two loads that need to be out of here next weekā at that point go and lease yourself a truck for a couple of weeks, and get on with it and see how it goes.
Buying at truck, before youāve even pulled a load for someone as a subbie, just isnāt making sense in this climate.
If you want to ābe your own bossā but take away SOME (but certainly not all, and with just as much chance of failing) of the risk, then why not try a tipper franchise?
If you do decide to go for it, then good luck. But paperwork and contracts first, only look at buying a truck once youāve been up and running for at least a few months, then you never know you can probably get a decent one on a lease rather than looking at some piece of junk off eBay.
Never, ever buy a truck out of capital (unless its a Ā£5000 banger).
It will take you 10 years to write the thing off against tax.
the only reason anyone makes money out of trucks is because they lease/contract hire them and write 100 per cent of the payments off as an overhead as they go.
Gembo:
kr79:
Even if you buy your truck outright to start you still have to put money aside to replace it at some point.Fuel and the above has been mentioned but where does maintenance and inspections come into all this?
Presumably thats also on top of the rest!
A front tyre can cost upwards of 350 quid for a cheapie, letalone oils, filters, brakes and then an inspection every 6 weeks.
Thats all whne things are running OK, what if then you should need a clutch in it etc.
I was only picking out the ābig lumpā of cost,which leaves very little to pay for everything else,in fact, I would suggest it would be an impossibility to make any kind of return with the kind of rate structures within the transport industry to-day when fuel makes up such a major part of the cost of operating.From memory of costings during the time I was in the business,fuel accounted for as little as 18% but over 25 years it did slowly climb to 22/23% as a result of wars in the Middle East but mainly as a result of the punative fuel taxes imposed by whichever of the political parties were in power,and there lies the main problem,70% of the cost of a litre of derv is TAX.It is not,and never was,the fault of the Oil Companies.The secondary problem would appear to be the operators themselves who believe they can always do a particular job cheaper than A. N. Other which,based on the above fuel costs is painfully not the case !Cheers Bewick.
GasGas:
Never, ever buy a truck out of capital (unless its a Ā£5000 banger).It will take you 10 years to write the thing off against tax.
I am fairly sure that you will find that vehicles are written off against tax over five years and that this is a non moveable feast.
As many will know, I am in the process of obtaining an Operatorās Licence and putting a vehicle on the road. Some people say I am mad, but before I even sat my CPC I had work lined up on which I could make a living and a modest profit with a reliable company which has been in business for 50 years, and with whom I have worked in the past. I have done the maths, forwards and backwards and inside out.
For now I will only operate that one vehicle, but have applied for a licence for three vehicles and trailers. One day we will come out of recession and when we do I will expand to three vehicles.
It is possible to make a reasonable living as an owner driver. Whether I manage to do so or not, I know many people who do.
rob.jonesno1:
Hi All,
Should I go ahead and buy my own unit !! and what is the best to pull for, I was thinking bulk,anyone out there that pulls for a bulk company and what should I expect say for a load from Sussex to Manchester or Liverpool ! and what would be the rate from UK to France or Belgium
Or maybe fridge work !!
Advise would be greatfully recived
Cheersā¦
[/quote]
this may also help you
any IRISH lads out therenow doing it for you,all you need is 14,500 euroes,fully maintained unit,including tyres,road tax and insurance etc,full uniform and ppe +parking,doing it in dublin,surrounding areas,numbersbove,best of luck
ady1:
this may also help you
any IRISH lads out there
Well, as Iāve asked you before (you never answer the question), why donāt you do it if itās such a good deal?
Harry Monk:
ady1:
this may also help you
any IRISH lads out thereWell, as Iāve asked you before (you never answer the question), why donāt you do it if itās such a good deal?
i think youll find there were seminars at crick this week for those who are intrested in doing it 
Harry Monk:
GasGas:
Never, ever buy a truck out of capital (unless its a Ā£5000 banger).It will take you 10 years to write the thing off against tax.
I am fairly sure that you will find that vehicles are written off against tax over five years and that this is a non moveable feast.
As many will know, I am in the process of obtaining an Operatorās Licence and putting a vehicle on the road. Some people say I am mad, but before I even sat my CPC I had work lined up on which I could make a living and a modest profit with a reliable company which has been in business for 50 years, and with whom I have worked in the past. I have done the maths, forwards and backwards and inside out.
For now I will only operate that one vehicle, but have applied for a licence for three vehicles and trailers. One day we will come out of recession and when we do I will expand to three vehicles.
It is possible to make a reasonable living as an owner driver. Whether I manage to do so or not, I know many people who do.
Itās 20% a year on a CV, but its on a reducing balance, so you get 20% of purchase price in year one, but 20% of 80 per cent of purchase price in year 2 etc.
ady1:
Harry Monk:
ady1:
this may also help you
any IRISH lads out thereWell, as Iāve asked you before (you never answer the question), why donāt you do it if itās such a good deal?
i think youll find there were seminars at crick this week for those who are intrested in doing it
And you were there?
Harry Monk:
GasGas:
Never, ever buy a truck out of capital (unless its a Ā£5000 banger).It will take you 10 years to write the thing off against tax.
I am fairly sure that you will find that vehicles are written off against tax over five years and that this is a non moveable feast.
As many will know, I am in the process of obtaining an Operatorās Licence and putting a vehicle on the road. Some people say I am mad, but before I even sat my CPC I had work lined up on which I could make a living and a modest profit with a reliable company which has been in business for 50 years, and with whom I have worked in the past. I have done the maths, forwards and backwards and inside out.
For now I will only operate that one vehicle, but have applied for a licence for three vehicles and trailers. One day we will come out of recession and when we do I will expand to three vehicles.
It is possible to make a reasonable living as an owner driver. Whether I manage to do so or not, I know many people who do.
As you appear to have done your homework well Harry,could I ask what % of your projected T/o will be spent on Derv? and have you got in place a fuel surcharge/discount mechanism which has been accepted by your customer from the āget goā? although only having one customer will be precarious to say the least ! āeggs in one basketā and all that. Cheers Bewick.
i looked in to o/d , had a good lump of money given to me so no loans or overdrafts to
consider. had work lined up at above ave rates then looked into what id get out of the deal.
fuel, service, repair, tax, insurance and a wage that was basicaly the same as i get now being employed?
in the end i payed the mortgage 
