Should I buy my Taco when the lease expires?

"Mid Engine" (jdlogan2006)
06/11/2020 at 12:33 • Filed to: None

The lease expires in February 2021. Monthly lease amount is $371 (my company gives me a $386/month allowance + 20 cents a mile). Come February I will have ~ 20k miles on the truck. Why so little? I drive my Cayman most of the time, the truck is used for truck things like fetching building materials, dump runs, etc.. with a Cayman and a Miata, we need a utilitarian vehicle in the stable.

From Toyota: The residual value on your lease, as determined at lease signing, is $26,798.00. Your scheduled lease maturity date is 02/19/2021. Please note the amount to purchase your vehicle after all lease payments have been made would be the residual value plus applicable fees and taxes.

So my options:

- buy out the truck and drive it forever

- buy it out and flip it. Don’t think I’ll make any money on it though

- turn it in and get something else, maybe lease another Taco?

- buy a new stripper truck, ambivalent to brand, no Fords though

- buy a used truck

What say you Oppo?

DISCUSSION (18)

jminer > Mid Engine
06/11/2020 at 12:42

This is a tough choice - there are few good values in buying a truck right now. I gave up and bought a TDI SportWagen though so I don’t have much good advice to give as I was unable to solve this problem for me...

ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy > Mid Engine
06/11/2020 at 12:46

With that little mileage on it, you may do better than you expect on buying and flipping.

Mid Engine > ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy
06/11/2020 at 12:53

maybe, the problem is the state sales tax is almost 10%, so the truck ends up coming in at almost $30k

Nothing > Mid Engine
06/11/2020 at 12:58

Is the allowance given automatically, does it work with a lease or purchase? My initial reaction was to trade it in on a new Taco, but you have a low mileage one now that you know. Me? I’d keep it...

Who am I kidding, if it was me, I would’ve sold it two years ago and be on my third different vehicle by now.

ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy > Mid Engine
06/11/2020 at 12:58

Holy freaking crap! Alabama state sales tax on a vehicle is only 2.5%.

Mid Engine > ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy
06/11/2020 at 13:01

We don’t have a state income tax, so the sales tax is high

Mid Engine > Nothing
06/11/2020 at 13:05

The allowance is good so long as the vehicle has four doors and less than five years old, so I could collect another two years of monthly stipends, then it drops off some.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Mid Engine
06/11/2020 at 13:17

Sometimes knowing what you have and it’s condition is a good thing. Even at 30k buy back you know you are not going to find another Taco for that price. If you are getting this $ 371 lease stipend then I would be very tempted to shop for something interesting in the 4 door area with a very low down payment on the lease, another Taco, Chevy Colorado, ford ranger.

Mid Engine > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
06/11/2020 at 13:40

Well, I keep getting the stipend if I buy out the Taco, my company doesn’t care whether I lease or buy (or even have a monthly payment to make for that matter).

I’ll never buy another Ford product after getting screwed over in the Focus we owned, transmission knowingly dangerous and sold all the same. N ever been a fan of GM styling (unless I can score a st ripper for $20k or something) and I d on’t trust FCA reliability , so whatever truck I end up with probably w on’t be one of the big three. Taco’s hold their value like on other, I sho uld probably keep it. Still expensive but reliability is really important to me

Mid Engine > jminer
06/11/2020 at 13:50

I do need a truck; I’m building a house and a shop this year and will get plenty of use out it, otherwise a wagon would be a great choice.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Mid Engine
06/11/2020 at 14:06

* Laughs in Californian*

Oh wait...

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Mid Engine
06/11/2020 at 14:20

If you don’t need to transport more than 1 other person in a pinch, I would figure with your new acreage that owning a truck with a longer bed would be a consideration. Buy the Taco, flip it, buy a used longboi.

Mid Engine > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/11/2020 at 14:26

you’re 100% right Dr. , only problem is I need a four door to get me my sweet monthly cash. Most longboi’s are crew cabs, the only workaround is to buy a utility trailer when I’m hauling really big stuff.

RangerSmith > Mid Engine
06/11/2020 at 14:33

Find a used diesel. I know you don’t like Ford’s but the 2011+ superduty is pretty reliable

haveacarortwoorthree2 > Mid Engine
06/11/2020 at 14:39

I don’t know where you are or anything about Taco prices, but if you are in Texas, trucks hold their value insanely well.

Mid Engine > RangerSmith
06/11/2020 at 14:46

Never gonna buy another F or d product, p eriod. I would n’ t drive a Ford if it was given to me.

Mid Engine > haveacarortwoorthree2
06/11/2020 at 14:47

I’m an hour east of Seattle, yeah there’s plenty of trucks on the road but I don’t think it’s to a Texas level.

jminer > Mid Engine
06/11/2020 at 16:17

Makes sense - for me it was just a want and not a need. If I didn’t have to park in an old underground garage with small spots at work I probably would have bought a Frontier but didn’t want to drive it 50 miles a day on the highway and park it in tight spots all the time so I bought a wagon.