Lease-Purchase Trucking: Is It Worth It? The Math Says No

“Drive for us, and in three years the truck is yours.” It's one of the most common pitches in trucking — and one of the most expensive mistakes a driver can make.

Our position is simple: we do not recommend lease-purchase programs. In our experience running a trucking company and a brokerage, these deals come with bad terms, companies often don't honor what drivers were promised, and the whole structure is built to take advantage of drivers who want to get ahead. Here's the math, the evidence, and what to do instead.

What is a lease-purchase program?

In a lease-purchase, a motor carrier leases you a truck, usually through the carrier itself or a related leasing company. You drive for that carrier, and your lease payment, fuel, insurance and other costs come out of your weekly settlement. In theory, after a few years of payments — sometimes plus a final balloon payment — you own the truck.

The problem: the same company controls your freight, your pay and your debt. If they cut your miles, your income drops — but your lease payment doesn't.

A federal task force agrees: ban them

Congress created the Truck Leasing Task Force — with members from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Department of Labor and the industry — to study these programs. In its January 2025 final report, the task force:

• Recommended that Congress ban lease-purchase agreements where the carrier controls the driver's work, pay and debts.
• Called them “irredeemable tools of fraud and driver oppression.”
• Found they're “regularly established to enrich motor carriers at the expense of drivers” and drive a “race-to-the-bottom in driver compensation.”
• Said there are “no effective checks on these programs or remedies for drivers harmed by them.”

Congress has taken notice. The Predatory Truck Leasing Prevention Act of 2025 (H.R. 5423) would ban predatory lease-purchase agreements, and in May 2026 a House committee advanced a highway bill (H.R. 8870) that would direct DOT to prohibit predatory programs and require carriers to disclose outcomes. As of mid-2026, neither had become law — so for now, drivers have to protect themselves.

The math: a typical week on a lease-purchase

Here's an illustrative weekly settlement for a dry van lease-purchase driver running 2,500 miles. Every contract is different, but this structure is common:

Line item	Amount
Revenue credited to you (2,500 mi × $2.00, incl. fuel surcharge)	$5,000
Fuel (2,500 mi ÷ 6.8 mpg × $6.35/gal)	−$2,335
Truck lease payment	−$1,000
Insurance / occupational accident	−$350
Maintenance escrow ($0.10/mi)	−$250
ELD, plates, admin fees	−$100
Your settlement — before taxes	$965

And that $965 isn't take-home pay. As a 1099 lease operator, you still owe 15.3% self-employment tax plus income tax on it — and you have no benefits, no paid time off and you're on the hook for any repairs beyond the escrow.

Compare that to a company driver

	Lease-purchase	Company driver ($0.60/mi)
Weekly pay, same 2,500 miles	$965 before SE + income tax	$1,500 W-2 wages
Who pays for breakdowns?	You	The company
Bad week, low miles?	Lease payment still due	Still paid for the miles you run
Benefits	Usually none	Often health, PTO, 401(k)
Risk of losing it all	High	None

The bad week

Now say the carrier only gives you 1,200 miles one week — slow freight, a breakdown, or you “fell out of favor” with dispatch. Your fixed costs don't move. Using the same numbers, that week's settlement comes out to about −$290. You worked all week and owe the company money. Many lease drivers roll that negative balance into the next week, and the hole gets deeper.

What you really pay for the truck

At $1,000 a week for four years, you'd pay $208,000 in lease payments alone — often for a used truck worth a fraction of that, and sometimes with a balloon payment still due at the end. If you leave or get terminated before the final payment, you usually walk away with nothing.

Why the deck is stacked against you

• The carrier controls your income. They decide your loads, lanes and miles — while you carry the cost of the truck.
• You build no real equity. Walk away or get terminated, and every payment you made usually stays with the company. The truck often gets leased to the next driver.
• Escrow money can disappear. Maintenance escrow is supposed to come back to you, but contract terms and deductions often eat it.
• Balloon payments and above-market pricing. Many deals price an older truck far above its market value, then add a large payment at the end.
• Termination clauses favor the carrier. Many contracts let the company end the lease for vague reasons — often right before you'd own the truck.
• You're “independent” in name only. You take on a business owner's risk without a business owner's freedom to choose your freight.

Better ways to get to ownership

1. Stay a company driver and save. Six to twelve months of steady W-2 pay and a real savings cushion puts you in a far stronger position than a lease-purchase ever will.
2. Buy a used truck with your own financing — from a dealer, bank or credit union — so you own the title and the equity. Then either lease onto a carrier with your own truck (an owner-operator lease, not a lease-purchase) or run under your own authority.
3. Run your own numbers first. Know your cost per mile, insurance and break-even rate before you take on any truck payment. See what insurance really costs a new authority.
4. Own the freight instead of the truck. Many drivers build more income with less risk by becoming a freight agent or broker — no truck payment at all. See what freight brokers really make.

If you're still considering one

Some in the industry — including the American Trucking Associations — argue these programs shouldn't be banned outright because some drivers have used them to build businesses. If you're still weighing an offer, protect yourself:

• Get the full contract in writing and have an attorney review it before you sign.
• Ask what percentage of drivers actually completed the program and got the title. If they won't answer, that's your answer.
• Find out the truck's market value and compare it to the total you'd pay, including any balloon.
• Ask exactly what happens to your payments and escrow if you leave or are terminated.
• Get minimum miles or revenue guarantees in writing.
• Talk to drivers currently in the program — not the ones the recruiter picks for you.

Frequently asked questions

Is lease-purchase trucking a scam?

Not every program is illegal, but a federal task force concluded these arrangements “cause widespread harm” and recommended Congress ban them. In our experience, the terms are stacked against the driver and we don't recommend them.

How much do lease-purchase drivers make?

It varies widely, and in bad weeks it can be nothing or less than nothing. In our example, a 2,500-mile week nets about $965 before taxes — less than a company driver earns for the same miles, with far more risk.

What happens if I quit a lease-purchase?

In many contracts, you lose the truck and every payment you made, and you may owe fees or a remaining balance. Read the termination section before you sign.

What's a better way to become an owner-operator?

Save as a company driver, buy a used truck with independent financing so you hold the title, and know your cost per mile before you start. Or skip the truck entirely and build a book of business as a freight agent.

Own the freight, not the debt

Freight to Freedom is our step-by-step guide for drivers ready to build a business without a truck payment: getting licensed, landing your first shipper, pricing loads, and the load math behind a $10K month — written for truck drivers, by people who've been in the seat.