Fleet Leasing Vs. Buy? Construction Company

[Hammer]

Who here buys or leases there work trucks?What make the most sense? We don't need service bodies either. Probably could use 1-3 trucks.

Any input would be great!

 

[Bigbore500r]

Who here buys or leases there work trucks?What make the most sense? We don't need service bodies either. Probably could use 1-3 trucks.

Any input would be great

Your gonna need to give some info to get the right answer -

1) How long are you gonna keep them before they are swapped out
2) How many miles you you gonna drive them in that period
3) How hard are the operators on the vehicles? If they beat them up, your gonna pay thru the nose when you turn them in on a lease. Same with modifying them for work - ladder racks, etc.

 

[Hammer]

Your gonna need to give some info to get the right answer -

1) How long are you gonna keep them before they are swapped out
2) How many miles you you gonna drive them in that period
3) How hard are the operators on the vehicles? If they beat them up, your gonna pay thru the nose when you turn them in on a lease. Same with modifying them for work - ladder racks, etc.

1) How long are you gonna keep them before they are swapped out- Not sure? never leased before
2) How many miles you you gonna drive them in that period- 70 Miles a day roughly, some a lot less
3) How hard are the operators on the vehicles? If they beat them up, your gonna pay thru the nose when you turn them in on a lease. Same with modifying them for work - ladder racks, etc.

 

[Done-it-again]

Would not lease work trucks, the miles and possible damage would kill you at the end.

Buy and take SEC 179 deduction. Hopefully Trump brings back all deprecation in the first year..

 

[FENDERFAB]

Buy. We own 35 trucks for my company. Leasing is way more money.

We either buy new and finance or buy used and pay cash. Have a mix of some older trucks that are paid off and some new ones that are financed. Used to have the whole fleet GMC but now slowly switching over to ford.

 

[lbhsbz]

Check out the rental places used car sales....Hertz/Enterprise, etc...

They've got some pretty decent deals on basic trucks that are a year or 2 old and still have 1/2 the warranty left, for 1/2 or so the original price.

 

[90 Laveycraft]

Who here buys or leases there work trucks?What make the most sense? We don't need service bodies either. Probably could use 1-3 trucks.

Any input would be great!

Barco, new truck every year. Pricy though

 

[530RL]

Consider your cost of capital. If the lease rate is less than what you can borrow at, leasing may be better given all other things the same and vice versa if you can borrow at rates less than the lease rate.

Same with paying cash. If you can make 15 or 20 percent on that cash if it remains in the business, you are better off leasing or borrowing than paying cash assuming the debt and/or lease rate is below what you can make on that cash in the business.

 

[boatpi]

Buy them and buy them this year. This is the last year of the 60% depreciation.. run out four or five years sometimes four years is good because when you sell them, people can still get top rate financing, and they’re worth more.

 

[Orange Juice]

Who here buys or leases there work trucks?What make the most sense? We don't need service bodies either. Probably could use 1-3 trucks.

Any input would be great!

Have them buy their own, and give them a monthly to cover the payment. Cover gas, brakes, tires and oil changes. Any thing above that you compensate with salary. When they leave, theircar and payment go with them.

 

[Cdog]

I have a bunch of f350-650’s in our dealer network. Some with service bodies already.

What state are you in?

Mad dash till the end of the year for section 179 deductions.

 

[Hammer]

I have a bunch of f350-650’s in our dealer network. Some with service bodies already.

What state are you in?

Mad dash till the end of the year for section 179 deductions.

California

 

[Cdog]

California

Shoot me a PM on what you’re looking for and I’ll see what we can do. I’ll be back in the office on Tuesday

 

[HBCraig]

Many of my customers lease trucks and turn them back before 100k miles. That's the MO
Several of them.do that. Nice trucks too Ford platinums

 

[Kenboat]

I handle our fleet of 450 trucks/vans/suv's and always buy new or used.
We run the trucks and vans on the road for about 7 years then send to a big job site to die.

 

[lakemadness]

Talk to Enterprise Fleet Management. My business has about 50 trucks, for many years we purchased. Last year we moved to leasing from them. We still get the 179 deduct. So far it looks like it will pencil better than buying for us. Plus, Enterprise knows exactly when to turn em over and sell at the best value. Pretty sharp. We’ve turned in two that we owned and got more than I though, almost felt I was ripping someone off lol.

 

[NicPaus]

This is the best deal on a work truck. They have 2 with plumber bodies. I would buy if the discount was this big. They have had them for at least 6 months. Going to text my sales rep Monday and offer to buy if I can get this much off. I bought both my 3500s here for 15k off years ago. This truck is tempting as that's a great body with roll up. But I am set on a walk in. My 3500 has similar bed to this.

 

[riverroyal]

I gotta guy. Lol.
Really if need trucks let me know

 

[n2otoofast4u]

We are on Enterprise lease. Fortunately we have been for about 7-8 years so we were able to take advantage of the huge increase in used values while our new prices didn’t surge as much. 200+- vehicles. Pickups are mostly F250, white, 4wd, 2 models up from base. We roll complete fleet every 24 months. Typically we buy at such a deep discount they sell used for close to purchase price. For a while we were selling for more than purchase. It works well for us, but you have to be vigilant with your people to not fuck them up.

 

[Done-it-again]

Talk to Enterprise Fleet Maintenance. My business has about 50 trucks, for many years we purchased. Last year we moved to leasing from them. We still get the 179 deduct. So far it looks like it will pencil better than buying for us. Plus, Enterprise knows exactly when to turn em over and sell at the best value. Pretty sharp. We’ve turned in two that we owned and got more than I though, almost felt I was ripping someone off lol.

That’s interesting you’re getting 179 on a lease. I know you can write off the lease payment every month for the duration of the lease, but you cannot deduct the full cost of the vehicle.

 

[lakemadness]

That’s interesting you’re getting 179 on a lease. I know you can write off the lease payment every month for the duration of the lease, but you cannot deduct the full cost of the vehicle.

Capital lease.

 

[BingerFang]

Talk to Enterprise Fleet Maintenance. My business has about 50 trucks, for many years we purchased. Last year we moved to leasing from them. We still get the 179 deduct. So far it looks like it will pencil better than buying for us. Plus, Enterprise knows exactly when to turn em over and sell at the best value. Pretty sharp. We’ve turned in two that we owned and got more than I though, almost felt I was ripping someone off lol.

Everytime I run a calculation for clients on what they are getting charged for enterprises leasing it’s always twice as much as they were told. Also, they keep the titles hostage in order to stay in their maintenance programs which is wild.

 

[lakemadness]

Everytime I run a calculation for clients on what they are getting charged for enterprises leasing it’s always twice as much as they were told. Also, they keep the titles hostage in order to stay in their maintenance programs which is wild.

If you don't own it outright, yes the lien holder has the title. With all of the trucks we own outright we keep the title, that was our choice. They are still in the maintenance program. It’s penciled for us, maybe not for everyone.

 

[BingerFang]

If you don't own it outright, yes the lien holder has the title. With all of the trucks we own outright we keep the title, that was our choice. They are still in the maintenance program. It’s penciled for us, maybe not for everyone.

Interesting. From the 4 different deals I’ve worked on they stated Enterprise has to hold the title for it to be in their fleet maintenance program even if you own it outright.

 

[Blue Oval]

We do courtesy deliveries for several of the fleet lease companies. On the dealer side, Enterprise is always a 3 ring circus. Wheels do a good job. Most of them have been bought out. Local power company used a couple different lease companies. They now have went back to writing me a check. Not sure of the benefits.

 

[boatnam2]

My GF company uses wheels, we bought her old work car from them, went to pick it up HB dealer, wasn't there, 3 months later we finally pick car up in riverside and some huge car wholesale place after hours of phone calls and emails. last Car they didn't come get from us for 5 months so I drove it, saved a ton of miles on my F-250

 

[Blue Oval]

My GF company uses wheels, we bought her old work car from them, went to pick it up HB dealer, wasn't there, 3 months later we finally pick car up in riverside and some huge car wholesale place after hours of phone calls and emails. last Car they didn't come get from us for 5 months so I drove it, saved a ton of miles on my F-250

Local parts store was renting a truck, their delivery vehicle died. They had a fleet lease coming from Element I believe. No one from Element knew what to do to find their lost new truck. Not my job! I finally got pissed and spent two days on the phone and found it in Kansas. By the time it finally showed up, the truck turned 12 months old. Showed up with a broken windshield, the battery was shot and had a bolt in one tire. Courtesy deliveries can be a challenge. LOL

 

[CLdrinker]

Have them buy their own, and give them a monthly to cover the payment. Cover gas, brakes, tires and oil changes. Any thing above that you compensate with salary. When they leave, theircar and payment go with them.

I know of companies that do this but they try to make the car allowance as part of the pay.

 

[Hammer]

Buy. We own 35 trucks for my company. Leasing is way more money.

We either buy new and finance or buy used and pay cash. Have a mix of some older trucks that are paid off and some new ones that are financed. Used to have the whole fleet GMC but now slowly switching over to ford.

Why are you guys switching to ford?

 

[FENDERFAB]

Why are you guys switching to ford?

Few reasons.

GM no longer makes a half ton long bed truck in a double or crew cab. Ford stopped as well in 2024. You can only get an 8' bed in a single cab and i need to seat more than 3 workers.

For what we do i dont need or want a 2500 or 3/4 ton truck. Fuel mileage and up front added cost for a heavy duty truck is a concern. Plus higher registration fees and costs. My new f150s get 20 mpg and i can get them for mid 40k range.

Additionally we are moving away from NPR style cab over trucks to simple pick up trucks. We have plenty of small trailers if we need to haul something bigger. The NPR trucks are extremely hard to get parts for, get horrible gas mileage, and are difficult to work on.

For the price and what we need out of them the ford f150 has been the right option for us.

Personally i have had alot of issues with the newer chevy trucks. 2015-2020 and up. The transmissions are absolute dog shit. Every single newer silverado i have has blown the trans at or below 100k miles. I still have a majority of GM/Chevy trucks but slowly transitioning as they die. I believe i have 8 newer fords now, anywhere from 2011 to 2024 models. Ranging from f150 up to F550.

 

[NicPaus]

Buy. We own 35 trucks for my company. Leasing is way more money.

We either buy new and finance or buy used and pay cash. Have a mix of some older trucks that are paid off and some new ones that are financed. Used to have the whole fleet GMC but now slowly switching over to ford.

What type of work do you do?

 

[FENDERFAB]

What type of work do you do?

Commerical Landscaping- Construction and maintenance. Also have a tree company doing trimming and removals.

 

[DILLIGAF]

Who here buys or leases there work trucks?What make the most sense? We don't need service bodies either. Probably could use 1-3 trucks.

Any input would be great!

I used to buy and not lease.....Eventually we did away with them all and just did a generous car allowance. The insurance was outrageous. We had service trucks all over CA and into other states at times.

Your CPA should be able to solve this as a math equation for ya

 

[Flying_Lavey]

Have them buy their own, and give them a monthly to cover the payment. Cover gas, brakes, tires and oil changes. Any thing above that you compensate with salary. When they leave, theircar and payment go with them.

He wont be able to attract any descent field talent at all that way. A company provided vehicle is a huge draw and almost a must in today's hiring climate.

I know I would never take a field job that required I provide my own truck.

 

[attitude]

Few reasons.

GM no longer makes a half ton long bed truck in a double or crew cab. Ford stopped as well in 2024. You can only get an 8' bed in a single cab and i need to seat more than 3 workers.

For what we do i dont need or want a 2500 or 3/4 ton truck. Fuel mileage and up front added cost for a heavy duty truck is a concern. Plus higher registration fees and costs. My new f150s get 20 mpg and i can get them for mid 40k range.

Additionally we are moving away from NPR style cab over trucks to simple pick up trucks. We have plenty of small trailers if we need to haul something bigger. The NPR trucks are extremely hard to get parts for, get horrible gas mileage, and are difficult to work on.

For the price and what we need out of them the ford f150 has been the right option for us.

Personally i have had alot of issues with the newer chevy trucks. 2015-2020 and up. The transmissions are absolute dog shit. Every single newer silverado i have has blown the trans at or below 100k miles. I still have a majority of GM/Chevy trucks but slowly transitioning as they die. I believe i have 8 newer fords now, anywhere from 2011 to 2024 models. Ranging from f150 up to F550.

FYI Toyota still makes the Tundra in a double cab with a 8.1ft bed.

 

[FENDERFAB]

FYI Toyota still makes the Tundra in a double cab with a 8.1ft bed.

Great to know! I will definetly keep that in mind. I have a couple toyotas still, they run forever.

 

[DILLIGAF]

I used to buy and not lease.....Eventually we did away with them all and just did a generous car allowance. The insurance was outrageous. We had service trucks all over CA and into other states at times.

Your CPA should be able to solve this as a math equation for ya

One more thing....I offered the old co trucks at a good discount to the employees before getting rid of them.

They were pretty much all in agreement with what we did.

 

[Kenboat]

Note on all 10 speed auto transmission ford and chevy trucks 2020 to 2023 used the jointly developed transmission. We had a lot of failures in both brands at 100K or so.
My local shop explained the reason and really crazy they did not correct until 2024.
We have good luck with F150's with 5.0 but some in 2020 and 2021 burned oil. 1500 chevy have vibration issues from cheap driveshafts.
but overall we get well past 250K out of V8 trucks on the average.

 

[Albert]

We buy pay for up front no payments . Keep them for 5 years . Sell them to private party no dealer buys or companies and oddly enough always get about $1,0000 bucks for them strange

 

[Hammer]

Note on all 10 speed auto transmission ford and chevy trucks 2020 to 2023 used the jointly developed transmission. We had a lot of failures in both brands at 100K or so.
My local shop explained the reason and really crazy they did not correct until 2024.
We have good luck with F150's with 5.0 but some in 2020 and 2021 burned oil. 1500 chevy have vibration issues from cheap driveshafts.
but overall we get well past 250K out of V8 trucks on the average.

I had horrible luck with 2015-2018 Chevy transmissions going out before 100k miles.

I don’t know if the baby duramax is the way to go for gas mileage or go with a V8? I need to do the math on mileage. V8 is 22 ish Highway but the baby DMax is 29 . I’ll take it to Havasu on occasion to launch my 7-8k boat to so I want to keep that into consideration.

My truck will be a little nicer than the field guys truck though

 

[vernnorm5]

I’m actually an Equipment Manager for a Heavy Civil Engineering company. Section 179 is a tax deduction that allows you to write off 60% of the purchase year 1. I take advantage of this option. I purchase Ram 5500’s and Ram 2500’s with the Cummins Engine due to the reliability and low cost of maintenance. We have landscaping crews that I purchased 4 Doors Ram 2500’s for with the Cummins Engine and couldn’t be happier. Ford has too many Fuel pump and EGR issues. We stopped purchasing those. Chevy has DPF related issues that are expensive starting at 100,000 miles and couldn’t keep those on the road either. Ram so far I have a couple with 230,000 plus miles on them with no problems other than normal maintenance. They are the best work truck on the road. The tradesman has heavy duty interior that adds to the durability and well thought out truck. My opinion from experience. Take what you want, leave the rest.

 

[BigAl96]

100% buy them, even moreso if youre letting your guys drive them. Too many times I've seen leased company vehicles get hit with 6-10k fir excess mileage, wear and tear or damage.

Give me a call, I have a dealer license and can either help you source the trucks from auction/wholesale or i can broker the deal thru whatever oem you're looking for 4806398216

 

[Flying_Lavey]

I had horrible luck with 2015-2018 Chevy transmissions going out before 100k miles.

I don’t know if the baby duramax is the way to go for gas mileage or go with a V8? I need to do the math on mileage. V8 is 22 ish Highway but the baby DMax is 29 . I’ll take it to Havasu on occasion to launch my 7-8k boat to so I want to keep that into consideration.

My truck will be a little nicer than the field guys truck though

BTW Mike, not sure if you want to consider this or not, I use my work truck exclusively for work and I have had it right at a year now. I am at just about 25k miles. In one year. When my dad worked and used his truck for work and personal, as you know, he averaged about 35k miles a year. Unless you make the guys drive to a yard to pick-up the trucks every day, I can just about guarantee you those trucks will be north of the 20k a year mileage.

 

[NicPaus]

It all depends on how far the jobs are. My 2015 work truck is under 18k miles. I have 6 jobs going. Most within 5 miles. The furthest being 23 miles and I usually won't work that far but it's a first time buyer and doing my Realtor and her client a favor. It's a nightmare going to that job though. I went there Sunday and it took me 45 minutes. During the week it's a hour at least.

I am still debating buying another work truck before the end of the year. Got numerous quotes on different models. The cutaway trucks the apr is crazy 9.9. The 5500 is the best apr being a 2023 they want to get rid of. 2.4 for 3 years but with zero down still $2970 a month.

I am really leaning towards another dually 3500. But Gas with 6.6. With a 12' harbor workmaster body it's 71K plus fees. And 3.9 apr. The new duallys are 14k gvwr and if I go diesel worried it won't be able to be used to long before ca bans them. My 15 Diesel is 13,300 or so and shouldn't be affected as 14k seems to be the number.