I traditionally have also leased a new truck every 2 yrs.. This August my lease was up.. I went to the Ford dealer and discovered a funny thing... The residual value on the 2 year old lease truck was nearly the same as the deal I was getting on a brand new truck that was the exact same- F150 4x4 extended cab.. The lease payment for a 3 year lease was exactly the same as the purchase payment both with no money down... Plus if I purchased the truck it was a little cheaper due to Ford throwing in more incentives/discounts...
Long story short, I purchased the truck outright rather than leased. The salesman told me that the market is flooded right now w/ used leased trucks which is why Ford raised the interest on the lease payments to compensate for the losses they are taking when these trucks go to auction. He said they are getting a few grand under what the residual value is on these trucks.. Made more sense to purchase outright this time..
My dad just bought a brand new Chevy Silverado 4x4 regular cab and got a very good deal thru GM on it.. He received nearly 9 grand off the truck sticker price... Trucks just are not moving because of the high gas prices and economy right now........
Rich