Lease purchase dispatch: when we can help, and when the carrier dispatches you
Here is the straight answer on lease purchase dispatch. If your lease-purchase truck runs under a carrier's authority, that carrier dispatches you and we cannot. If you hold your own MC, or you are getting there, we can. Either way, this page helps you read the deal you are in.
Under the carrier's authority
- The carrier dispatches you
- Their MC on the paperwork
- We cannot dispatch this truck
- Read your lease before anything else
Under your own authority
- You choose your dispatcher
- Rate cons in your company name
- 7% while the MC is new, then 5%
- You approve every load
Lease-purchase or a loan, on one timeline
Set the weekly lease-purchase payment, the balloon and the term, then move the stop month. The Fork compares what you would have paid and what you would own at that month under an EXAMPLE lease-purchase, a conventional loan, a lease and cash. Before the balloon is paid, a lease-purchase usually leaves you owning nothing.
- Pay cash · lowest net cost here$35,965
Price minus estimated value at this month. You own it.
- Loan$59,343
Down, fees, payments, minus equity (value minus balance). Payment $1,715 /mo.
- Lease (FMV or TRAC style)$64,260
Payments only. You own nothing at the end unless you buy it out.
- Lease-purchase$139,308
Before the balloon is paid you own nothing; cost is what you paid.
Net cost of having the truck for 36 months, from your My Deal numbers and the assumptions above. EXAMPLE only: real offers differ. Not financial advice.
Put your own contract's numbers through the lease-purchase deal analyzer or the lease-purchase vs own calculator.
Read the fine print, clause by clause
This is EXAMPLE text written for this page, not a real contract. Pick a clause and the lens explains it in plain words and flags it: reasonable, ask about this, or risky. Use the same questions on your own contract.
EXAMPLE LEASE-PURCHASE TEXT · NOT A REAL CONTRACT
RISK · Risky
You do not own the truck until the very end, however much you have paid. If the deal ends early, you may have nothing to show for it.
Use arrow keys to move between clauses. Read your real contract in full and ask an attorney before you sign.
Can a lease-purchase driver use a dispatcher?
It depends on whose authority the truck runs under. Most lease-purchase programs put you under the carrier's MC. The carrier holds the operating authority, the broker relationships and the insurance filing, so the carrier dispatches you. An outside dispatcher has no role there, and anyone who offers to dispatch a truck running under another carrier's authority is offering something they cannot do.
Some lease-purchase deals are with a lessor that is not a carrier, and the driver runs under their own authority. In that case you can choose a dispatcher, and the rate con comes to you in your company name. Read your lease to see which one you have.
Who owns what in a lease-purchase
| Item | What to look for | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Who holds it, and when it passes to you | Until title passes, the truck is not yours |
| Weekly payment | The full amount, including fees taken from settlements | The headline payment is rarely the whole cost |
| Escrow | How much, who holds it, when it is returned | Money held back from each settlement adds up |
| Balloon | The final purchase amount at the end | If you cannot pay it, the truck may go back |
| Maintenance | Who pays for repairs, tires and emissions service | You can carry the repair risk on a truck you do not own |
| Default | What happens after a missed payment, and any cure period | One bad month can end the deal |
What the law says: truth in leasing
The federal truth-in-leasing rules at 49 CFR Part 376 cover leases between an owner-operator and an authorized carrier. Among other things, the lease must be in writing, say how and when you are paid, list the charges the carrier can take from your settlements, and explain how escrow works and when it is returned. You are entitled to a copy of the lease.
These rules set minimums for what the lease must disclose. They do not make a deal fair or affordable. This is general information, not legal advice; have an attorney read your lease before you sign it or try to leave it.
Questions to ask before you sign a lease-purchase
Ask these in writing and keep the answers with the contract:
What is the total of every payment plus the balloon?. compare it with the truck's price and with an EXAMPLE loan.
What comes out of each settlement besides the payment?. escrow, insurance, fuel card fees, plates and any others.
How many miles or loads can I count on?. a payment with no promised work is a risk only you carry.
What happens if the truck is in the shop for two weeks?. the payment usually keeps running.
Can I leave, and what do I lose if I do?. payments made, escrow and any equity.
Is lease-purchase trucking worth it?
Sometimes. A lease-purchase can put a driver with thin credit or little cash into a truck quickly, and some drivers finish the term and own a truck. Many do not. The weekly payment, the repair risk and the work the carrier sends you all have to line up for years, and the carrier controls the work.
The honest test is the numbers. Add every payment and the balloon, compare the total with the truck's market value at the end, and ask what happens in a slow month. If the deal only works in a good month, it does not work.
Your path to your own authority
If the goal is your own business, here is the usual order. File first, buy or move the truck second:
- Get your USDOT number and MC authority, BOC-3 and insurance filing; see new authority dispatch for the order
- Price a conventional loan or a used truck against your lease-purchase total
- Check what your current lease says about leaving early and getting your escrow back
- Build a cushion for the first slow weeks under your own MC
- Line up dispatch before your last week under the carrier, so week one is not empty
If you already own your truck and your MC
Then you are an owner-operator in every sense, and lease purchase dispatch questions are behind you. Our owner-operator dispatch service plans your lanes, your home time and your floor rate, and you approve each load before anything is booked.
If you bought out a lease-purchase truck with a balloon, know your new payment and cost per mile before the first load. That number is your floor.
Under your own MC, every load is your call
- 1Dispatcher finds and negotiates
- 2Broker sends the rate con to you
- 3You sign it, or you say no
When you run under your own authority with us, we find and negotiate the load, then bring it to you with the rate, stops and weight. If you say yes, the broker sends the rate con to your email in your company name, and you sign it.
If you say no, we keep looking. It costs you nothing, and we never accept or sign a load for you.
What dispatch costs once you have your own MC
7% of gross while your MC is under 6 months, 5% for one truck after that, 4% for two or more. No setup fee, no minimum and no long contract. You pay only on loads you haul.
Every line is on the pricing page.
- 7%MC under 6 months, any fleet size
- 5%1 truck, MC 6+ months
- 4%2+ trucks on one MC, MC 6+ months
- Of gross load revenue. No setup fee, no minimums, month-to-month, 30 days notice, no haul no pay.
Lease purchase dispatch questions
Can a lease-purchase driver use a dispatcher?
Is lease-purchase trucking worth it?
Who owns the truck in a lease-purchase?
How do I get my own authority after a lease-purchase?
Do I have to take the loads you find?
Running under your own MC, or about to?
Tell us where your truck and your authority stand. A dispatcher calls you back with a straight answer.