Purchase New, Lease New, or Buy Used?

[Skyflyer]

I am preparing to go on a trip around the US, potentially into Canada, maybe even to Alaska, with a travel trailer (4500 lbs wet). I am trying to decide between purchasing a new RAM, leasing, or buying used. I'm looking at the Laramie Diesel (Diesel because of the great gas mileage...even though Diesel costs more for the engine, the gas, and the maintenance).

I don't know how far I will be driving, and I plan to be boondocked and be off the beaten path and off paved roads. So because of the potential to accumulate mileage and the potential to scuff up the truck a bit, leasing may not be the best choice.

I have always leased in the past and as I look at the financials around purchasing a $60+K truck, they don't look so good...particularly the depreciation. In three years the 60K truck will be worth probably around 38K. That's a huge drop and a tough pill to swallow. (there's also the large monthly payments)

The alternative is to try to find a used RAM--three years old with low mileage--where the bulk of the depreciation has already occurred.

I would love to hear your perspectives on this situation......

Thank you!

 

[jdefoe0424]

I'm going to guess that most are going to tell you to find the gen 3 ecodiesel, which is only available in the 5th gen new body style. Unfortunately there are not many used out there and they're likely priced so high you might as well buy new.
I haven't seen many here complaining of issues, but I don't frequent the ecodiesel engine section of the forum. You can find it HERE.

Laramie's are a good choice, if you keep the options down you can still have a healthy payload for towing and hauling. My configuration is about 1650lb payload and would yield roughly the same numbers for an ecodiesel because of the bump in GVWR that they get.

 

[BoDarville]

I am preparing to go on a trip around the US, potentially into Canada, maybe even to Alaska, with a travel trailer (4500 lbs wet). I am trying to decide between purchasing a new RAM, leasing, or buying used. I'm looking at the Laramie Diesel (Diesel because of the great gas mileage...even though Diesel costs more for the engine, the gas, and the maintenance).

I don't know how far I will be driving, and I plan to be boondocked and be off the beaten path and off paved roads. So because of the potential to accumulate mileage and the potential to scuff up the truck a bit, leasing may not be the best choice.

I have always leased in the past and as I look at the financials around purchasing a $60+K truck, they don't look so good...particularly the depreciation. In three years the 60K truck will be worth probably around 38K. That's a huge drop and a tough pill to swallow. (there's also the large monthly payments)

The alternative is to try to find a used RAM--three years old with low mileage--where the bulk of the depreciation has already occurred.

I would love to hear your perspectives on this situation......

Thank you!

On the depreciation, keep in mind that if the truck stickers at $60k with some work you can probably get it close to $48k. That helps the math a lot, though you still have to deal with sales tax.

I did a 15k mile lease, because I drive a fair amount and didn't want to worry about it. Probably added around $50-60/month over a 10k at most. I leased instead of a purchase because I've never kept a vehicle past 3 years, because I didn't want to pay full sales tax, and because I didn't want to tie up cash in a depreciating asset. Plus, the deals at the time made for a great payment. I expect to have equity in the truck at the end of my lease, but if I don't, no big deal.

I usually buy 2-3 year old depreciated vehicles, but the used truck prices right now are so high that it made more sense to go new.

 

[CMil527]

I prefer leasing.. new vehicle every 3 years!

 

[Funkanella]

I wasn't sure if I wanted to buy new or go used. It came down to a 2019 with 25,000 miles or a 2021 brand new for me. The 2019 had a few more options (mainly the HEMI I wanted) but was a few grand more so I went new.

 

[mikeru82]

I'd tend to agree with you that leasing probably isn't a good idea for you since it will be subjected to brush damage. You'll be responsible for repairing any damage that's consider beyond "normal" wear and tear. How long are you planning to keep the truck after this trip? A new truck might seem like it will be more reliable, but it's actually an unknown quantity. With used, you should be able to find a good used truck with the complete service history available. I don't think I would take a brand new vehicle on the type of trip you're planning.

 

[Trippi]

I would say lease - I have turned in vehicles with sizeable dings and scratches on them that didn't cost me a penny at turn in. You can also get wear and tear - I forget what Ram calls it for like $19/month if that gives you piece of mind.