Looking at leasing a new Truck, any advice?

[subysti]

I've always purchased my vehicles and never leased before. Looking at leasing a new truck. My wife will drive it primarily and might put 10K miles a year on it. Decided on a new Tundra but leasing will keep the payment down and if she doesn't like it we get something else in 2 or 3 years. Any secrets to leasing I should know about?

 

[GiddYupJoe]

Pay attention to the money factor and residual, both are areas they can work you from the back end. From what I know, negotiate the best price on a base model first. Don't tell them you are leasing. Once you come to a agreed to price then you can start asking things like, how much more will it be if I add leather, nav, etc... Then you can move to the lease factors. Typically you can reduce the monthly payment (by reducing the money factor) by adding multiple security deposits, then you get this back at the end. I have actually been researching this same topic myself. So others can chime in that have real life leasing experience. If you join up on the Toyota forums I bet you can find exactly what money factors and residuals currently on Tundras.

 

[GiddYupJoe]

@subysti I remembered about this nice excel file I had at work that breaks down all the variables in a lease. This may help when you are putting together your deal. Good luck!

 

[subysti]

Thanks @GiddYupJoe That should help out a lot. I can see what kind of rate I'm actually getting by making the payment match theirs.

 

[Big Shasta]

Tundra's hold their value VERY well. Leasing will be just renting it. I never understood leasing.

Check out www.tundratalk.net Lots of info there on pricing and resale value.

I paid 28.5 +TTT for my 2012 Tundra SR5 5.7 2WD DC in January 2012. Sold it for 25 in May of this year to a buddy. 25K was trade in value. It booked at 26.5K. Pretty damn good 3.5 years later.

 

[subysti]

@GiddYupJoe curious about the spreadsheet. Looking at the formulas the 2nd number is the Base cap cost. Description says it the negotiated price for the vehicle but there is a formula there basing this on a percentage of the MSRP. Should I let it calculate this number or replace the formula with the actual price I get?

 

[GiddYupJoe]

I didn't use the formula and just used negotiated #s. I think the formula was for "illustration" purpose.

 

[SCSTWG]

I have purchased and leased quite a few vehicles and feel both can provide pro's and con's depending on your situation. The first thing to be concerned with when leasing is the mileage. If you have any chance of blowing away the mileage limits, leasing is a bad move. If however, you have a stable situation and are confident that you can drive around the miles you are provided I think they offer good value with a number of upsides. Be aware that all leases are not created equal because of promotions, finance rates and residual values. I would try to open your search to multiple vehicles because you may find that a Toyota Tundra that stickers for $40k and a Ford F-150 or Chevy 1500 that stickers for $40k have dramatically different leases. Since you effectively are renting the car for 3 years, I might go to my second or third choice if there was considerable cost savings. IMO, leasing is becoming more attractive as new car prices are through the roof and the cost of repairs is so high. I bought my 2008 Ford Expedition EL Limited with the intention of keeping it 10+ years and driving 150,ooo+miles. Now that I am into it 7 years with 120,000 miles, I wish I would have leased instead. The vehicle has required one expensive repair after another and because of the reliability issues, I am afraid to take it on long trips with my wife and kids which was one of the reasons I bought it in the first place. Having run the numbers, I would have been better off leasing 3 comparable vehicles over 9 years and I would not have had to deal with the hassles of repairs.