To buy or not to buy that is the question...

I have a 18 tacoma sport, 35k miles, great shape and no dings, scratches or anything. For all intents and purposes it's in perfect shape other than being driven for 3 years. Looking for peoples recent experiences with lease end. I can buy the truck for $28k right now. Do they typically offer any sort of value to get you into a new purchase and in order to get your vehicle? From what I can tell, Based on local inventory, I'm assuming they'll put right on the lot with no changes except a quick interior detail for 34-35k.Thoughts on lease end experiences??

 

If it's problem free and you like it, buy it. If you don't like it turn it in or trade. How the trade goes is up to your negotiating skills. If you want to sell it, you have to figure how to get a clean title to new owner/financier.

 

I’ll be in your position in 2.5 years so I’m posting here to hear others opinions. If I were you now I would most certainly buy the truck. It’s going to be hard to find a truck in your condition at that price point. If you want something new get another lease. It doesn’t look like you’re too into modding the truck just from the pics you’ve posted, so a lease might get you better payments then if you buy your truck outright. I know that I’ll be buying my truck hopefully with cash at the end of my lease so I have the title in hand and can sell privately if I really want to.

 

I would consider how much (if any) you put down to get into the lease and how much you've paid for the term of the lease. Is that total + the purchase price of the truck worth it? They're are good deals to be had on new trucks.

 

I bought the lease out on my 12 Tundra for $18k. 5 years and 69k later I traded it in for a Tacoma for $18,700. I have zero regrets buying out that lease, but Toyota Financial made it hard for me, they would rather you turn the truck in because they will make a huge profit. The dealer started calling me 6 months before the lease was up to come in and they would give me another truck and waive the $3k deposit. At the time the truck was selling for $10k above my buy out. I believe you can also negotiate the equity towards a new truck, but I didn’t try that.

 

Don't know where you are OP, but I'm seeing those sell for mid to high 30s in my neck of the woods. If you want a Tacoma and are happy with the trim and packages of that one, buy it. There is room for negotiation, but I doubt you have much leverage. What you do have is a crack at a good deal on a used truck that YOU know the history of.

 

I’d highly considering buying it out if I was in the same situation, it would sell here for 32-34k

 

Keep it if you’re happy. Best choice every time in my opinion from a financial perspective. Even though the trucks hold their value, switching vehicles almost never works out in your favor financially

 

I would buy it, the lowest I have seen a used TRD sport around here is 34k, and that was with accidents on the CarFax report.

 

At $28k, it’s a tough choice, I would try to negotiate with them on providing some equity on a new ride first and go from there.

 

In my area that's a good price too. If you like the truck and it doesn't have any issues I'd pull the trigger. I'm also a quicksand fan too.

 

It’s worth 29-31k on trade....retail is 31-34.4k trucks are popular in the winter months so expect the high end of those numbers. At 28k it’s a buy even if you have to carry paper.

 

Nice clean, last of the quicksands and below market, I'd buy it.

 

I am with you 100%.

I don't lease but that is a separate conversation than what you are asking. This is a math question. You know that the buyout price on your truck is $28K. Do yourself a favor and go shop for a new truck that you really like -- then look at the numbers. Lock down the price of the new truck you like and compare the two numbers. I would bet that the decision will be a no brainer in favor of keeping the truck that you have. Also, three years and 35,000 miles on your current truck is, in my opinion, not an issue at all. That truck is just getting warmed up. And since you know the truck, you know it has very little wear and tear.

The only reason to consider making any kind of jump from where you are into a new truck is if there are some glaring features that you really want. But that doesn't appear to be the case here.

 

Can you buy any comparable for 28K? No? Then buy the one you can.

 

I did do this, really only change was to go to a manual transmission but that truck is 42k haha, leaning towards a purchase, then probably a couple small upgrades. Thanks for everyone's input!

 

Buy it, sell it privately, pocket the $$$ and then go lease another one.

 

28k is what I bought mine for with 27k miles. I bought it in April before the prices when nuts. Mine is a Quicksand sport MT.

 

Awesome. And there is the cold, hard math:

Option 1: $28K for a great condition, 3 year old truck with 30K miles.

Option 2: $42K for a great condition, 0 year old truck with 0K miles.

Comes down to a very simple question: What is $14K worth?

Fun exercise, though. Please do post back what you decide to do. Sorry, but I love these kinds of "would you rather" scenarios.

 

If you still like it, buy it. FWIW, the Toyota lease residuals seem pretty good. Im about to buy my parents '18 Highlander XLE, with 33k miles on it for the residual of $25780. Carmax offered them $29k for it.