The Lease-Purchase Trap vs Buying a Truck: The Real Math

Lease: 44 cents a mile. Bank loan: 21. Same model truck. "No credit? No problem. Drive today." Here's what that flyer adds up to in Dale's model, and the math to run before you sign. This is video 4 in the trap series. Video 1 built Dale's cost tower and found about 79 cents left per mile on a $3.13 all-in rate. Video 2 added a loan payment on a truck Dale was buying. Video 3 added insurance per mile. This one is about deductions, risk and walk-away terms on a truck Dale may never own. What we cover: How a lease-purchase is built, what the CFPB flagged after reviewing 40+ agreements (as reported by Land Line), and what 49 CFR 376.12 says a lease must spell out Dale's model lease: $750 a week for 156 weeks, $175 a week in maintenance escrow and a $10,000 balloon. These are example inputs, because we found no neutral benchmark Total paid in the model: $127,000 on the lease vs $79,216 on a 12% bank loan, with ACT's $64,007 average used Class 8 price (September 2026) as the price tag Per mile at 8,000 miles a month: 44.1¢ vs 20.6¢. The loan runs a year longer, so we also show both over the same miles: 33.1¢ vs 20.6¢ Why people sign anyway: credit. The same loan at an example 25% APR comes to 25.5¢ a mile, still under the lease's 33.1¢ on the same miles, but only if a lender says yes and the down payment is there The new formula line: lease deductions per mile, which replace the payment line if you lease, run from 10,000 down to 4,000 miles a month What's left per mile in the model at 4,000 miles a month: 11.7¢ on the loan, −31.6¢ on the lease Who carries the repairs, and why the model treats escrow as held cash Walking away at week 52 in the model, plus what escrow rules and default terms can mean What the federal Truck Leasing Task Force reported, and where that stands. Its ban is a recommendation, and H.R. 5423 isn't law When a lease can still work, including a lower-payment version with no balloon: 26.4¢ on the same miles, still above the 12% loan and about level with the 25% one A 10-question before-you-sign checklist Every example uses Dale, a cartoon owner-operator. Dale's numbers are labeled models, not anyone's real contract, and terms vary by program. Task force findings are presented as its findings, not as settled fact about every lease. This video is not legal or financial advice. Have a lawyer or accountant read any contract before you sign.