The best way to start

[I Am LORD]

Ok, so when I started playing ETS2 I started in London, the first truck dealer made available to me was coincidentally the volvo dealer in London city. When I was looking to buy my first truck I had discovered maybe 3/4 other truck dealers (neither of these others being volvo dealers), and the volvo FH16 classic still stands out as the best starter truck. For less than $100K, it beats many trucks at the top of the range for other manufacturers. at least 145 of my 154 trucks are Volvo FH16's, with the others being the trucks I have handed down (after getting the test drive unlimited achievement). I would still stand by Volvo being the best truck in game for power and torque, and for customization it seems to trump most other manufacturers as well. So, my advice to anyone starting out in this game is to wait until you can get the $500K bank loan (by doing multiple 'quick jobs'), then buy yourself a Volvo FH16 classic, and a couuple more to put in your garage, and straight away hire some drivers to start bringing in the profit. In the driver manager, you can select which type of training you would like the drivers to focus on first, I would recommend either long distance (for obvious reasons), or just in time deliveries first. The reason I say the just in time deliveries, is that they seem to be the only ones that provide an EXP boost in the first 2 bars (out of 6). after your drivers have maxed out long distance and/or just in time deliveries, it is difficult to choose between ADR, Fragile cargo, and High Value Cargo. the one thing that I don't find too important is the eco-driving skill, as the price of fuel is not large enough to really make a huge difference until you have around 50+ drivers, and even after that you don't need to worry about it, as you should be making millions by then.

So, My recommended startup. Start in your chosen city, do up to 10 deliveries as quick jobs (driving someon elses truck), until you can borrow $500K from the bank. Buy yourself a Volvo FH16 classic, plus a couple more for new drivers to hire. start levelling up YOUR driver with the 2 just in time deliveries skill points (out of 6) this will give you more experience faster, allowing you to level up more rappidly, then focus on maxing out the long distance (that's personal preference though, however it does make a difference to your income and actually makes the game more interesting), and then keep a balance between ADR, Fragile, and High value cargos. In my opinion it is best to save the ecodriving skills until last, while it will save you a bit of cash, it doesn't seem to provide as much financial benefit as upgrading your other skills.

As soon as you can afford to start buying more trucks and garages, do that. the more drivers you have, the faster you will make money, and the more you will make. Once you reach about 25 drivers you will start to make such profit that you can really start focussing on growing your company, and before you know it, you will have the maximum amount of drivers available (154). And from there it's all up to the driver.

Thanks guys, and have fun :)

[Dan1]

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[sindar58]

Semi agree .. I'd recommen doing only 6 or 7 jobs .. take the 100k loan .. buy the Volvo (I prefer the FH for the player) .. with your own truck .. do some jobs and be sure to find the recruiting stations in every city u visit .. then .. take the 400k loan .. upgrade ur garage .. buy 2 Volvo 16's .. hire 2 drivers (u should have unlocked some recruiting stations) and .. rock n roll :))

[Nimir-Raj]

Or just max out or long distance stat. By the time you have it full you'll have more than enough to buy an upgraded truck (limited by your XP level of course) without the need for a loan.