Also ask him to give you contact information for other contractors in the same facility. I've been contacted many times by parties interested in routes for sale out of my former location by other contractors and ISPs. It's a good idea to get a feel for the integrity of the seller by speaking to those guys. Because you DO have to develop a working relationship with other contractors. I would regularly have my spare vehicles rented out to other entities who needed them and as the only owner with spare and PT drivers, acted as a sort of in-house temp agency also.
This guy is not selling a perfectly good HD route because he doesn't want to go in to the station on Saturday mornings or wants to have his phone off on the weekends. As most single HD routes that a contractor tries to operate with a driver on it, there is a problem with it somewhere. Truck is a POS, driver is a POS or it just isn't making him money.
And yes, I hate FedEx. I can tell you that in my former facility, there is not ONE ISP that is not searching for a way out. Not because they are broke, but because they are miserable at the hands of our extraordinarily unstable senior manager and Contractor Relations a-hole coupled with the most incapable regional staff in the system. But, as Ive said before, I cleaned up and made a killing at it, down to the day I sold. I have a lot of money and nice stuff. That probably makes me sound like a d-bag, but I am one so I guess thats ok. My two year old goes to a private early education daycare. My Navigator is paid for. My Camaro is paid for. My SuperDuty is paid for. I have absolutely 0% debt aside from the mortgage on my 3k sq ft house with two garages sitting on a half acre in a gated subdivision.
But I didn't get it by being stupid, I didn't buy something just because it became available, and you surely won't get it by buying a route for 'full retail'. It is very difficult, as bbsam correctly stated, you just 'buy in' as a contractor with a single route now.
My husband was a AM pkg handler, then a terminal temp driver, then a contractors driver, then he managed that contractors 6 routes when the contractor moved out of state. Then, he came home and told me about a rural route with a brand new sprinter on it that was being sold for less than the Sprinter itself cost. We went to the bank, somehow convinced them to give us the $$$, and he operated that route in addition to working for his employer. Everyhting sort of just snowballed, I quit my job ($10/hr at a sign shop) and within the year had saved all the capital from that first route to buy out three of my husbands' boss' trucks that serviced one route with two supps. Between my husband driving and managing drivers and me doing everything else, it worked.
Four years later we have 7 trucks (had 11 at our highest period), hardly any debt on the books aside from new trucks here and there, and a very capable employee driver who wanted badly to make it his. We priced fairly, and did extend him credit for 25% of the purchase price, so he is making loan payments directly to us. His bank financed 55%, and him and his business partner had to add a second mortgage to each one of their houses for the remainder.
Oh, also. RUN the other way if the seller won't finance part of it to you. I know the company I sold makes ample money, and my big fancy lawyer made sure the promissory note has me covered in the event of default.
And spend time with your stations senior manager. He is your boss, so you better get a feel for what he is like. And yes, he IS your boss, regardless of what the contract says. Speaking of, KNOW your contract or pay a lawyer to know it. X likes to pretend like it doesn't exist.
