Thanks for all the replies! I really appreciate the insight you guys could give me. As far as buying Vs. leasing goes, it's no question if I want a nice, powerful truck, I'm going to have to lease. I'm not a fan of buying used just because I don't know what the guy before me did to it, not to mention; I would most likely never be able to accept a car in the condition that most people let their cars get by the time they go to sell. This car will be maintained by a professional auto detailing biz, so this car will look as good as it does today in 27 months when I turn her in, so I won't have to worry about paying anything extra. The only mods on the truck will be a flowmaster 40 welded in as soon as I get her. I hope I enjoy the truck as much as most of you seem to do.

Thanks for all your input,
Shaun

 

The 15,000 would not be nearly enough on my part. I have had my truck since the end of october and I already have 20,000 on it as of yesterday. Do whatever you think you need to do to make your life happy.

 

318 a month? Psshhhht, I WISH my payment was that low. Let me tell you the deal I got and then you can make your own call. I had a 2003 cavalier, blown head gasket, anti-freeze on the dipstick, 93k miles on it, payoff was 12k and it was worth 2000. I walked into the Dodge dealer, they said they would give me 6500 for the cavalier,another 5000 off the truck, and I walked out of there paying 672 a month for a 72 month term. So what they did was pay off my negative equity on the cavalier and sold me the truck for 1500 under invoice.

I didnt care so much what I paid on the new truck but I HAD to get out from under the cavalier and they did that for me.

I couldnt be happier!! (aside from a vibration when accelerating in 4WD)

 

Yeah, you misunderstood me. If you follow the lease to the letter of the contract, you are correct, you turn it in and walk away but most of the time mileage is a big issue and you wind up paying out the rear for over mileage or, you never really get to enjoy the vehicle because the mileage thing is always in the back of your head. Speaking from driving in Texas where it takes me 25 minutes just to get to town to buy a loaf of bread, a lease will hurt you in the long run. The negative equity will come if you want to trade it in. Lets say you decide to go to GM and away from Dodge. A lease is supposed to pay on the depreceation of the vehicle but it hardly ever does. I had a GM smart buy lease that ate my lunch. From a business standpoint though, a lease makes better sense. It also for people who want the smaller payment now and will just deal with the consequesces later assuming they break the mileage limit. On my lease agreement if I remember right, the overage price was .25 a mile. Go 10,000 miles over and Dodge will expect another $2500 out of your billfold. This money never disappears so if you do go into another lease with D/C, the $2500 will follow you into it as well.
Assuming you can stay under the mileage limit, a lease is not too bad and you get to get a new vehicle every 3 years but from what he is describing he wants to do, I would try to avoid it.

 

I hear what you are saying stump. Mileage has never been an issue for me and leasing works well. The smartlease is a nightmare and although I dont know all the details, I never hear anyone saying they liked the smartlease. Like I said, I have had six leases and have two active ones now (dodge ram and town and country minivan) and never had a problem not even once. Just my two cents.

 

If you want to keep the truck, and you are willing to ultimately pay a higher price after all is said and done, then the lease is not a bad idea if you want to keep the payments down. I did the same thing with a 94 Dodge Stealth AWD Twin Turbo Chrysler Executive Program Car (mouthful): $43,000 new in 94, on the lot for $39,900 in Jan. 95, I paid $25,800 for it on lease ( Best friends with the salesman ). I leased it for 3 years @ 3.25% int. (~15,000 ), then bought out the lease (~15,000 ).

Buying the car outright would have been considerably more per month to own. I modded the crap out ofit because I knew I was going to keep it. In the long run, I probably paid about $3000+ more for a car that I could not otherwise afford. I still have the car today running +/-520hp. Getting ready to drop a 1000+hp motor in it. I will probably have this car till I die or become too old to work on it.


Daniel

 

I baught my truck brand new in sep of 2004. sticker was 26k, they had 5k in rebates. payment for 72 months is 387.

 

i leased my 06 ram 1500 QC. never leased before. most of the salesman at teh dealership and my sister in law that works there explained all the terms of it and i got a great deal by leasing the truck. nbot a bad deal depending on your siuation and if you dont go over the mileage you do walk away from the lease. most people take care of there cars if you trash your car like a moron then a lease isnt for you. but if your like most people who baby there brand new car your fine. If you go over the mileage just buy it afterwards and then trade it in for a new truck right away. for me doing that i lose less money than i would have with the backwards loan i was in with my trade in. ( they took care of almost $8500 for me) so with this deal i might lose out on a few grand but thats fine with me. depends on personal situations. it has its advantages and disadvantages. the way i look at it i will be paying a monthly payement on a car regardless so i dont care if its mine or not( in my eyes its mine regardless because i make the payemtns and i drive it.)
. lease isnt for everyone but for some it works out real good in the end. got to look at all the factors though just my 2 cents

 

Most of the time a lease is a bad choice. It is easier for tax write offs though. The only time you should lease is if you do not want to keep the car after the term AND you have a business. Before me and my wife got married she had 2 leases. She would not do it again. 1. if you go over the milage you pay big bucks, 2 you own nothing in the end sowhen you buy again you have not equity 3 if you damage it ( noticable scrtches included) you pay. If you own a 4X4 truck you will haul stuff and go off roading, it will get scratched up or damaged somewhat. If you are looking for a cheap payment buy used. I have always had new cars and for the first time I bought used. I bought a 2006 1500 SLT QD cab 4X4 for $20600 and it had 15,000 miles on it. Look around on the internet and you can find better deals. when you buy new the truck is considered used as soon as you pull off of the lot and you just took a $8,000 loss.

 

Have you asked your accountant about the business tax credit (loophole) for depreciating >6000 lbs trucks? I believe it is still available.

Read about it here and here.