Truck Leasing - Lease Your Truck

Some things you need to know about truck leasing

Personal Use
To lease a truck for personal use is no different than leasing a car or SUV. A lease offers lower monthly payments than buying with a loan, and may not require a down payment. There are also savings on sales tax in most states. Therefore, leasing may cost you less to get into a new truck, and can save you on monthly cost as well.


However, before making a decision about whether to lease or buy, understand that leasing is best for people who drive no more than about 15,000 miles per year, like to have a new truck every 3-4 years, take good care of their vehicles, don't care about building ownership equity, and have a stable lifestyle such that they won't need to end the lease early.

Ending a lease early can be very expensive. It's more than simply paying termination fees. It means paying the balance of the lease, considering the wholesale auction value of the truck. In most cases, ending a lease early is very impractical. Therefore, if you think you might not be able to complete a lease, then don't lease.

If you plan on using your truck for heavy duty or rough utility purposes, such that the body and bed might be damaged or scratched, you might not want to lease. The reason is you may have to pay for those damages at lease-end when you return your truck to the lease company. Any damages beyond "normal" wear and tear can result in charges to you. Of course, you could get the repairs done yourself prior to returning your leased truck. Or, if you decide to purchase your vehicle at lease-end, the damages won't matter.

Also be aware that many trucks do not have high lease-end residual values as would a luxury car. This makes it more expensive to lease most trucks than a comparable car lease. There are exceptions of course. The Ford F-150 is an example of a truck that maintains good residual value and makes a good lease vehicle. Our Lease Kit contains a full list of all car and truck residual values and lease ratings.

You can expect lease payments on your truck to be approximately 30%-50% less than comparable loan payments for the same vehicle, same terms. If you watch for manufacturer-sponsored lease deals, you can get even better terms.

Since price is the most important factor in a lease deal, look for rebates and dealer discounts. We recommend getting dealer price quotes, which will include any available rebates and discounts, from InvoiceDealers, Edmunds, and Yahoo! Autos. It is best to get multiple quotes so that you have plenty of prices to compare and choose from.

Business and Commercial Use
Truck leasing for commercial or business use is different than personal vehicle leasing, although the purposes are about the same.


First, the type of lease used for commercial truck leasing is different. Most business vehicle leases are "open-end" leases, while personal leases are "closed-end."

Open-end leases have flexible lease-end residuals and are less structured to allow a company to use the vehicle as they need to, and pay for that use at lease-end. Monthly payments are higher than for personal leases and lease-end cost risk is higher. However, these costs are all tax deductible.

Commercial truck leasing offers a number of advantages over outright purchases or financed ownership:

No up-front investment and lower monthly expenses. Operating funds and capital are preserved for more useful purposes.

Predictable expenses when the lease plan includes fixed monthly payments, maintenance, and service

Most commercial truck leases are operating leases and considered off-balance-sheet financing. Leased trucks do not show up on the company balance sheet as an asset and will not affect financial ratios, making it easier to keep credit options open.

Truck lease payments are tax deductible and reduce AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax ) liability.

Truck leasing companies exist all over the U.S. and Canada. Companies such as Penske, Ryder, PacLease, NationaLease and many others are examples. Search online or look in your local telephone yellow pages for truck lease companies in your area.