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Move up or stay the same?

R

Roadpilot

Expert Expediter
I have been working for American Expediting for six months. I started with a minivan and was doing OK (mostly local or within 2 hours of Pittsburgh,PA). Then the transmission in my van died. I got it fixed, but it just keeps nickle and diming me. So it's going to be sold, Learning Experience #1: Don't buy a 13 year old van with a questionable pass and run the wheels off of it.

I used my car (small station wagon) for the past two months and did OK with it, we deliver for a few local direct-ship pharmacies. But since the company always needs drivers with cargo vans, I've been thinking about moving up. But the only van I want is a Sprinter. I did a marketing paper on it in college and I know it's probably the best choice out there. But as many know, the price of admission to the Sprinter is a bit steep, compared to Ford or GM vans.

Basically, the cpm for the wagon and for the Sprinter are fairly close, but since the Sprinter can haul infinitely more stuff then the wagon, I figured the jobs would be better (in general).

My only problem is spending nearly $30,000 on a van, especially since I don't plan to do this kind of work for more then two or three years. I am a commerical pilot, but I don't have the experience to get a job in flying right now. But I need to pay bills and I don't like sitting behind a desk or else I wouldn't have chosen aviation as a career.

I know, buying a another truck only sends me into debt further, but at least the truck will pay for itself and with the tax-write offs, even more so. I figured out using the OOIDA calculator that if I run 60,000 miles or more, I stand to net $30,000 dollars on running costs of around 50 or 60000.

What it comes down to is: 1) Do I buy the Sprinter, feeling fairly certain it will more then pay-off and having a very flexible vehicle in which to work with? 2) Stick with my car

I enjoy this job though and if aviation doesn't pan out within the next couple of years, I can see continuing with this for a while.

Thanks for to all who reply.
 
B

bigguy1001

Expert Expediter
Move up. But don't just move up to a van. Take that 30K and buy yourself a quality used straight truck and get significantly more bang for the buck. Yes, it may not be as casual as what your doing now. And yes you will have to do logs and cross scales. But to get the maximum return on your 30K investment consider going to a regulated vehicle signed on with any one of the larger, stable, established expedite companies. Why settle for 30K, which will take more than a casual effort by the way, when you can get 40-50K? If you're mechanicaly inclined, or know someone who is, there are great trucks in the market in your price range. Keep enough cash to pay your own way for the first month or so, and your off. The problem is that cargo vans are far too easy to get into. Anybody that can strike a deal at the local buy here pay here car lot that has an old electricians van for sale can get in, and probably has. Do yourself a favor and step past the van level and get a straight truck. Good Luck!
 
ACE

ACE

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
In your situation as described by your post.
I would buy a van and stay with what you are doing if you continue to be profitable and like the work.
The van will be easier to sell when you move on to flying.
The van can also be used for personal use around town, so you may want to sell your wagon.
I would buy a new van this way you know how it was driven and maintained from day one. I also think 1-ton vans are the way to go because of there construction and they are more effective in hauling heavier loads.
 
Lawrence

Lawrence

Founder
Staff member
That is actually a good deal on the van.

Lawrence,
Expediters Online.com


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T

trhoades

Expert Expediter
I can't see how a gasoline engine w/68,000 miles is a good deal for 19,800, when you can buy a new e-350 w/diesel for about 24,000-28,000. Especially with the new incentives from auto makers.
 
R

Roadpilot

Expert Expediter
>Move up. But don't just move up to a van. Take that 30K and
>buy yourself a quality used straight truck and get
>significantly more bang for the buck. Yes, it may not be as
>casual as what your doing now. And yes you will have to do
>logs and cross scales. But to get the maximum return on your
>30K investment consider going to a regulated vehicle signed
>on with any one of the larger, stable, established expedite
>companies. Why settle for 30K, which will take more than a
>casual effort by the way, when you can get 40-50K? If you're
>mechanicaly inclined, or know someone who is, there are
>great trucks in the market in your price range. Keep enough
>cash to pay your own way for the first month or so, and your
>off. The problem is that cargo vans are far too easy to get
>into. Anybody that can strike a deal at the local buy here
>pay here car lot that has an old electricians van for sale
>can get in, and probably has. Do yourself a favor and step
>past the van level and get a straight truck. Good Luck!


The van is a comfort thing for me. I am doing making OK money with a minivan, but I've turned down some better jobs because the cargo wouldn't fit. Plus, straight trucks are gone a lot more, the van still keeps me closer to home on the average, which I need because of school and flight training. If I planned on making a career out of this, I would ante up to a straight truck.

But ACE is more in-line with my thinking. A van would be easier to sell if I needed to. Plus, I can still park a cargo van in my driveway and use it for personal use when I need to. Can't quite do that with a straight truck.

And I agree that wouldn't be a bad price for that van, if the rebates from the manufacturers weren't crazy!

Thanks to all who have replied so far.
 
R

Roadpilot

Expert Expediter
> In your situation as described by your post.
> I would buy a van and stay with what you are doing if you
>continue to be profitable and like the work.
> The van will be easier to sell when you move on to flying.
> The van can also be used for personal use around town, so
>you may want to sell your wagon.
> I would buy a new van this way you know how it was driven
>and maintained from day one. I also think 1-ton vans are the
>way to go because of there construction and they are more
>effective in hauling heavier loads.

The only problem with selling the wagon is I just bought it in July, so I still have only made two payments on it. I have considered trading it in on a van, but I just got out of a negative equity situation with the car I traded for the wagon. But at least if I did that, I could make extra payments on ONE car (van) payment instead of two vehicles. It's not out of the realm of possibility, but it's a long shot.

My wifes car is a lease and it's up in 6 months. I figure we might just suffer with the wagon until her lease is up, then she can drive it, I can drive the van and get a cheap set of wheels for me to use when I'm not working.
>
 
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